🇵🇭 112.7 MILLION SOULS—WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY!

What a Privilege. What a Responsibility. And What a Mission Field God Has Placed Before Us.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” — Mark 16:15

112,729,484.

Stop for a moment and consider that number.

That is the latest official population count for the Philippines, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority's 2024 census. It is slightly below the 112.90 million figure we had been using, but the difference does nothing to diminish the magnitude of what stands before us.

More than 112.7 million people.

112.7 million lives.

112.7 million stories.

112.7 million people whom God knows individually.

And for Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International, that number represents something more:

WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY.

WHAT A PRIVILEGE.

WHAT A RESPONSIBILITY.

God has entrusted us with an opportunity to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the Philippines.

And we do not take that responsibility lightly.

✝️ 112.7 MILLION PEOPLE—AND EVERY ONE OF THEM MATTERS TO GOD

It's easy to look at a population figure and see nothing but statistics.

But God doesn't see statistics.

He sees people.

He sees the mother trying to provide for her children.

He sees the student wondering whether there will be enough money to continue school.

He sees the elderly person wondering whether anyone remembers them.

He sees the family whose home has been flooded.

He sees the worker trying to stretch today's wages into tomorrow.

He sees the person who has never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.

And He sees the individual who may have heard the name Jesus Christ many times but has never personally surrendered his or her life to Him.

Jesus said:

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” — Luke 19:10

That's why we're there.

Not merely to establish another organization.

Not merely to put another ministry name on a building.

Not merely to say that Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International operates internationally.

WE ARE THERE FOR PEOPLE.

Mind.

Body.

Soul.

Spirit.

And ultimately—

ONE MORE SOUL.

🌎 WE CANNOT REACH 112.7 MILLION PEOPLE BY OURSELVES

We know that.

God knows that.

And you need to know that.

The Great Commission was never intended to become the private project of one pastor, one missionary, one family, or one ministry.

WE WERE NEVER CALLED TO DO THIS ALONE.

Some are called to go.

Some are called to pray.

Some are positioned to give.

Some can open doors.

Some can provide resources.

Some can encourage.

Some can tell others.

And when all of those people join together in obedience—

THE BODY OF CHRIST GOES TO WORK.

That's why we're asking you to join us.

We need your prayers.

We need you to join your faith with ours.

And yes—

WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENT.

Not because money is the mission.

It isn't.

PEOPLE ARE THE MISSION.

But reaching people requires resources.

🌧️ AND RIGHT NOW, THE NEED IS PARTICULARLY GREAT

The Philippines has endured an extraordinarily difficult period of severe weather.

Throughout August, Tropical Cyclones Luis, Maymay, and Neneng, combined with the enhanced Southwest Monsoon—Habagat—brought widespread flooding, landslides, displacement, damaged homes, infrastructure losses, and tremendous disruption.

And the situation grew far larger than the earlier numbers suggested.

By August 31, the NDRRMC reported that more than 8.8 million people from approximately 2.5 million families had been affected, with about 164,500 people still sheltering in 1,365 evacuation centers. The reported death toll had risen to 33.

Read that again.

8.8 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED.

These aren't distant statistics to us.

This is our mission field.

These are communities where people live, work, worship, raise children, attend school, buy food, travel roads, and try to build lives.

And when floodwater enters those lives—

everything changes.

💧 THEN CAME THE DAM RELEASES

Heavy monsoon rainfall also pushed reservoir levels high enough that water had to be released from several major dams.

On the morning of August 31, PAGASA data showed:

Ambuklao Dam in Benguet had eight gates open and was releasing 644.24 cubic meters of water per second.

Binga Dam, also in Benguet, had six gates open and was releasing 410.40 cubic meters per second.

Ipo Dam in Bulacan had one gate open and was releasing 34.20 cubic meters per second.

Put those three together and you get approximately:

1,088.84 CUBIC METERS OF WATER—EVERY SECOND.

Think about that.

Every second.

Minute after minute.

Hour after hour.

The releases were necessary responses to heavy rainfall and rising reservoir levels, but residents downstream also had to remain alert for rising rivers and additional flooding.

And this wasn't the first time during August.

🌊 EARLIER IN AUGUST, FOUR DAMS WERE ALREADY RELEASING WATER

On August 11, the situation had already become serious.

The Ambuklao and Binga Dams were releasing water as heavy monsoon rainfall pushed their reservoirs close to normal high-water operating levels.

Meanwhile, Ipo Dam was discharging 202.07 cubic meters per second, while Bustos Dam was releasing another 160 cubic meters per second into downstream river systems.

Authorities warned residents in potentially affected communities to take precautions.

At that time, 107 barangays in Bulacan were flooded, with some areas experiencing water reportedly reaching as high as six feet.

This is what people sometimes don't understand when they hear:

“It's raining again in the Philippines.”

It isn't always simply rain.

Rain fills rivers.

Rain saturates mountainsides.

Rain triggers landslides.

Rain fills reservoirs.

Reservoirs approach critical operating levels.

Dam operators release water.

Rivers downstream rise.

Roads become impassable.

Homes flood.

Schools close.

Businesses stop.

Families evacuate.

And suddenly—

SOMEBODY'S ENTIRE WAY OF LIFE HAS BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.

⚠️ ONE IMPORTANT CORRECTION: 3.2 MILLION WERE NOT “EVACUATED”

This distinction matters because we want everything Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International publishes to be accurate.

Earlier reports showed millions of people affected, but not millions evacuated.

On August 11, the Office of Civil Defense reported about 2.8 million people affected, while roughly 27,000 families were in government evacuation centers and another 19,800 families were displaced elsewhere.

By August 13, the affected population had risen to 3,733,883, while 53,570 people were staying in 553 evacuation centers.

And by August 31, as noted above, the cumulative affected population had surpassed 8.8 million.

So the reality is actually broader than the original figure—

MILLIONS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED, WHILE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS HAVE EXPERIENCED DISPLACEMENT AT DIFFERENT POINTS DURING THIS CRISIS.

Accuracy matters.

Especially when we're telling somebody else's story.

💔 IMAGINE IF IT WERE YOUR FAMILY

Sometimes statistics become so large that we stop feeling them.

So forget 8.8 million for a moment.

Think about one family.

Imagine waking up and realizing the water is rising.

You begin moving things higher.

Furniture.

Clothing.

Important papers.

Food.

Medicine.

Photographs.

Anything you can save.

Then someone says:

“WE HAVE TO LEAVE.”

Where do you go?

What do you take?

How long will you be gone?

Will your home still be standing?

Will your belongings survive?

Can you get to work tomorrow?

Will your children's school reopen?

Where will your next meal come from?

Now multiply those questions across communities.

That's why we cannot merely look at photographs and say:

“That's terrible.”

Then continue scrolling.

🇵🇭 THIS IS WHERE GOD HAS CALLED US

We have said it before, and we'll continue saying it.

Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International believes God has called us to the Philippines.

We didn't choose this mission field because it was convenient.

Missionary work rarely is.

We didn't choose it because we possessed unlimited resources.

We certainly don't.

WE WENT BECAUSE GOD SAID GO.

And once you've seen the faces—

once you've heard the stories—

once you've prayed with people—

once you've watched God touch a life—

a population of 112.7 million doesn't look like a statistic anymore.

It looks like—

112.7 MILLION OPPORTUNITIES TO LOVE SOMEBODY IN JESUS' NAME.

🍚 THE GOSPEL AND THE WHOLE PERSON

We make no apology for preaching Jesus Christ.

The greatest need of humanity remains reconciliation with God.

But when Jesus ministered, He also saw people.

He saw hunger.

He saw sickness.

He saw grief.

He saw children.

He saw outcasts.

He saw those others passed by.

That's why our missionary philosophy is to minister to the whole person—mind, body, soul, and spirit.

Preach the Gospel.

Teach the Bible.

Disciple believers.

Help educate young people.

Feed hungry families.

Assist people in crisis.

Respond to disasters.

Help communities.

Pray.

Encourage.

Build.

Go.

THAT IS THE VISION.

🙏 FIRST—WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS

Before we ask you for money, we're asking you for prayer.

Please pray for the Philippines.

Pray for families recovering from flooding.

Pray for communities downstream from dams and rivers.

Pray for those whose homes have been damaged.

Pray for those who lost loved ones.

Pray for children whose routines have been disrupted.

Pray for government officials, emergency responders, rescue personnel, relief workers, churches, missionaries, and volunteers.

And—

PLEASE PRAY FOR PILGRIM OUTREACH MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL.

Pray that God keeps us safe.

Pray that He provides.

Pray that He opens doors.

Pray that He gives us wisdom.

Pray that He sends workers.

Pray that He expands our reach.

Pray that we never become so occupied with programs that we forget people.

And pray that through everything we do—

SOMEBODY MEETS JESUS.

🤝 SECOND—JOIN YOUR FAITH WITH OURS

We're believing God for something much larger than ourselves.

We're believing Him for our outreaches.

We're believing Him for children and students.

We're believing Him for feeding programs.

We're believing Him for humanitarian and disaster relief.

We're believing Him for evangelism and discipleship.

We're believing Him for church planting.

We're believing Him for our building program.

We're believing Him for the resources necessary to establish and expand the ministry in the Philippines and throughout Asia as He opens the doors.

WILL YOU BELIEVE GOD WITH US?

You don't have to be standing beside us geographically to stand beside us spiritually.

Faith crosses oceans.

Prayer crosses oceans.

And so does generosity.

💝 THIRD—WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENT

There is no delicate way around this.

MISSIONARY WORK COSTS MONEY.

Food costs money.

Transportation costs money.

Educational assistance costs money.

Emergency relief costs money.

Building costs money.

Medical outreach costs money.

Evangelism costs money.

Bibles and ministry materials cost money.

Helping people costs money.

We trust God as our Source.

But throughout Scripture, God repeatedly used people as channels through which provision reached His work.

That's where partnership enters the picture.

You may never personally walk through a flooded Philippine community.

You may never distribute a bag of food.

You may never sponsor a student.

You may never preach beneath a tent there.

You may never help construct one of the buildings we're believing God for.

You may never stand where we stand.

BUT YOUR GIFT CAN.

🌎 BECOME A WORLD OUTREACH PARTNER

We're not asking everybody to give the same amount.

We're asking everyone to do the same thing:

PRAY AND ASK GOD WHAT HE WOULD HAVE YOU DO.

Perhaps it's a one-time gift.

Perhaps God leads you toward regular monthly support.

Perhaps your church can partner with us.

Perhaps your business can help.

Perhaps you can sponsor an outreach.

Perhaps you can simply begin with what you have.

Don't underestimate small, faithful giving.

A hundred people doing a little can accomplish what one person may never be able to do alone.

A thousand people standing together can move a missionary vision much farther than any single person.

PARTNERSHIP MULTIPLIES REACH.

👣 112.7 MILLION—WHERE DO WE BEGIN?

With one.

That's always where ministry begins.

One child.

One hungry family.

One community.

One Bible.

One prayer.

One Gospel conversation.

One person who discovers that somebody cared enough to come.

And then—

ONE MORE.

And another.

We cannot personally reach 112.7 million people tomorrow.

But that isn't an excuse to reach nobody today.

🙏 FATHER, GIVE US THE PHILIPPINES

Father,

Thank You for the people of the Philippines.

More than 112 million precious lives, each one known by You.

Thank You for entrusting us with even a small part of this enormous mission field.

We pray for those suffering tonight.

For flooded communities.

For displaced families.

For grieving families.

For those rebuilding.

For those wondering how they'll recover.

Protect communities near rivers, dams, mountains, and flood-prone areas.

Give wisdom to those managing reservoirs and coordinating disaster response.

Strengthen rescuers, relief workers, pastors, missionaries, and volunteers.

And Father—

HELP US DO OUR PART.

Send people who will pray.

Send people who will believe.

Send people who will give.

Send people who will go.

Provide every resource necessary to accomplish what You have called Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International to do.

And never allow us to forget that behind every number—

THERE IS A SOUL.

Give us the Philippines—not for our name, not for our glory, not for the building of an organization—

but that Jesus Christ might be known.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

🇵🇭 112.7 MILLION REASONS TO KEEP GOING

The floods will eventually recede.

Reservoir levels will fall.

Roads will reopen.

Some homes will be repaired.

Some lives will slowly return to normal.

But our mission will remain.

THE PHILIPPINES STILL NEEDS JESUS.

112.7 million people.

What an opportunity.

What a privilege.

What a responsibility.

And what an invitation for the Body of Christ to stand together.

PRAY WITH US.

JOIN YOUR FAITH WITH OURS.

BECOME A WORLD OUTREACH PARTNER.

AND PLEASE DON'T FORGET US IN YOUR GIVING.

We were never called to do this alone.

Together, let's go farther.

Together, let's help more.

Together—

LET'S REACH ONE MORE SOUL.

Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International

Your Feet to the Nations

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