Volume Eight

Dad and Mom Brooks

Cyril H. Brooks was the missionary who invited Ken Engle to the Philippines. He and his wife, Anna, met Ken at Manila Bay in March 1951, took him into their home in San Juan, and gave the bride away when he married Mary Lou. For the rest of their lives Ken and Mary Lou called them Dad and Mom Brooks.

This volume tells their story in four parts: Dad Brooks’s life, from his own book; the Brookses and the Engles; five of his articles; and pictures and papers from Ken and Mary Lou’s file. His whole autobiography, Grace Triumphant, is in the series as a companion book, with every page carrying its 1985 copyright notice.

Please don’t rob God of any glory by attributing any credit at all to us.

Cyril H. Brooks, Introduction to Grace Triumphant

Sources for this volume are listed at the end. From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers).

1898–1912

Named for a Missionary

Cyril Harry Brooks was born on 11 December 1898 near Lingfield, Surrey, about twenty-five miles southeast of London. He was the fourth child of Harry and Ellen Brooks. His father was head gardener on the Felcourt estate, and both parents worshipped at the little Mission Room assembly in Lingfield.

His first name came from Cyril Bird, a missionary who had died of fever in Angola two years before. His parents had given their son to the Lord for missionary service before he was born.

His father died when Cyril was six. His mother lost the estate house and went to work as a housekeeper, and the family moved to Blackheath, in southeast London. About the time of his eighth birthday his Sunday school teacher asked him, “What is whiter than snow?” He puzzled over it until he learned the answer from the hymn.

Wash me in the blood of the Lamb and I shall be whiter than snow.

the hymn that answered the question, in Grace Triumphant, chapter 2

On 7 May 1912 Cyril was baptized at Lingfield, in the baptistry his father had helped to build.

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapters 1 and 2.

1912–1915

Steerage to Canada

Nine days after his baptism, on 16 May 1912, Cyril sailed from Southampton with his mother and his sister Florrie. They went in steerage on the Cunard ship Ausonia, a month after the Titanic went down. They crossed Canada by train to Edmonton and lived in a tent on the river flats, while thirteen-year-old Cyril ran errands for a jeweler and carried telegrams.

In 1913 the family moved on to Victoria, British Columbia, and joined the Oaklands assembly. Cyril was hiking on Vancouver Island in August 1914 when war broke out. He was fifteen.

In 1915 he joined the Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery, telling them he was eighteen. When he slipped away to join a unit bound for France, he was court-martialed and given thirty days in a military prison. One evening there he picked up a Bible, read Psalm 51, and confessed his sin to God.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness.

Psalm 51:1, the psalm he read in the military prison

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapters 2 and 3.

1916–1919

Two Years at the Front

Cyril crossed to France with a battery of six-inch howitzers. He was a signaler, running and repairing the telephone lines between the guns and headquarters.

During two years of combat I never once fired any kind of gun.

Cyril H. Brooks, Grace Triumphant, chapter 4

He was at Vimy Ridge on Easter Sunday 1917, the day his friend Frank Maynard was killed. That summer a shell struck the cookhouse and killed seven men, among them a chum who had taken Cyril’s place. In September his companion Martin was killed beside him. He went on to Ypres and Passchendaele and the last advance of 1918, and he was in a village in Belgium when the guns stopped on 11 November 1918.

He came home to Victoria in May 1919. Looking back, he said it was only because of “super-abounding grace” that he came back at all.

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapter 4.

1919–1921

Spared for the Mission Field

Back in Victoria, Cyril gave up tobacco and began to read his Bible every day. In 1919, at meetings in Victoria Hall, the preacher C. A. Swan prayed, “Lord, show them what they have been spared for!” Cyril heard the answer as plainly as the preacher’s voice.

I have spared you to go to the mission field!

Grace Triumphant, chapter 5

He argued that he had only just come home, and that his widowed mother needed him. The answer came again: “You left home for king and country, are you not willing to leave home for Me? Don’t you believe I can take care of your mother?”

In January 1920 he went into hospital with pneumonia and pleurisy. The doctor said, “He won’t live through the night!” The Oaklands Chapel prayed, and he lived, though he spent most of that year in hospitals.

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), the Introduction and chapter 5.

1921–1922

Anna Carson

In 1921 the Oaklands elders commended Cyril to the Missionary Training School in Brooklyn, New York. One of his classmates was Anna Carson, born in Belfast in 1898 and raised in Buffalo, New York, the middle child of nine in a carpenter’s family. On 3 December 1921 he told her he loved her.

That same month, at morning prayer, the word came: “Go to the Philippines!” A letter from George Wightman in Manila, printed in Voices from the Vineyard, confirmed it on New Year’s Day 1922.

We must be willing to do God’s will before we know what His will is.

Grace Triumphant, chapter 6

Anna studied midwifery while Cyril preached in northern Ontario. They were married in the Carson home in Buffalo on 20 September 1922, with a one-day honeymoon at Niagara Falls, and on 30 November they sailed from Victoria on the Empress of Asia.

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapters 6 and 7.

1922–1928

Funds Low, Promises Great

The Brookses reached Manila on Wednesday 20 December 1922. On New Year’s Eve Cyril preached his first sermon, at the Gospel Hall in the Walled City. He had asked God for one soul to confirm His call. That night a young man named Joaquin dela Cruz believed, and asked to be baptized that same day. He was baptized that night in Manila Bay.

Money was short. For a while they could buy bread but only a few cents’ worth of guava jelly to put on it.

Funds low—promises great.

Cyril’s diary, 9 January 1923

They studied Tagalog in Daet and Indang, Camarines Norte, selling Bibles from house to house. Their sons were born at Mary Johnston Hospital in Manila: Leonard, and then Kenneth in 1926. Their daughter Rose followed on 19 November 1931.

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapters 8, 9 and 11.

1929–1941

Mr. Joy, Joy in San Juan

In November 1929 the Brookses rented the ground floor of a house on J. Basa Street in San Juan, beside the market. About thirty believers led by Timotea “Tea” Carreon joined them. Cyril held children’s classes in the barrios each week, and from their favorite chorus, “Joy, joy, joy, with joy my heart is ringing,” the children named him “Mr. Joy, joy.”

Tea saved from her small income to buy roofing and hardwood posts. In 1933 she put up the frame of a chapel on H. Lozada Street, and on 4 July the believers held a bayanihan, a working bee, to raise the walls.

That little assembly became San Juan Gospel Hall. Twenty years later Ken Engle and Mary Lou Leonard were married there, with Cyril Brooks to give the bride away (“Two Verses and Two Rings,” Volume Two).

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapter 11.

1935–1941

The Gospel Messengers

Cyril first spoke on the radio on 24 February 1935, nervous and hoarse. In March 1936 he took over the Sunday evening program The Gospel Messengers on station KZRM, Manila. A visitor from Guam said a thousand people there waited for it every week.

In 1940 a lonely sailor on a submarine in Manila Bay heard the program and wrote in. Soon the Brooks home was open to servicemen every Saturday. One of them, Jesse Miller, later founded Overseas Christian Servicemen’s Centers.

On Sunday evening, 7 December 1941, the program had one minute left. Cyril picked up a card of seven “Fear not” verses and read them. Japanese planes were already on their way to Pearl Harbor and the Philippines.

Fear not, I have redeemed thee. Fear not, I am with thee.

read on the last broadcast, 7 December 1941

From Cyril H. Brooks, “Early Days of Gospel Broadcasting in the Philippines”, in Part Three.

1942–1945

Los Baños

After Pearl Harbor the Japanese held the missionaries as “house prisoners” in their own homes. For two and a half years the Brookses lived on gifts from Filipino believers, the sale of their car and piano, and loans from Chinese friends. In July 1944 they were taken to the internment camp at Los Baños, Laguna.

Food dwindled to about seven hundred calories a day. Cyril’s weight fell to 105 pounds and Anna’s to 85. Hebrews 13:5 troubled him, “Be content with such things as ye have,” until he saw what it meant.

God wasn’t asking me to be content with things, with circumstances, but with Himself.

Grace Triumphant, chapter 15

At dawn on 23 February 1945, paratroopers, Filipino guerrillas and amphibious tanks crossing Laguna de Bay set the internees free. Roll call had been put off that morning. “After our rescue we heard that the Japanese had plans to turn machine guns on us when we lined up for roll call.”

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapters 13 to 16.

1945–1950

Home, and Back Again

On 9 April 1945 the family sailed on the troopship Admiral Eberle and landed at Long Beach on 2 May, Anna’s birthday. For four years they lived in Buffalo and spent summers at the Guelph Bible Camp in Ontario. Len and Ken studied at Emmaus Bible School in Toronto, and both married.

In August 1949 Cyril and Anna were back in Manila. On 17 April 1950 the Bible School of the Air went on the air over the Far East Broadcasting Company, using the Emmaus course What the Bible Teaches. In its first year 2,657 enrolled. By April 1967 the total passed one million.

Had we known all that would be involved, we probably would not have had the faith to start. The Lord knew and He led us on step-by-step.

Grace Triumphant, chapter 23

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapters 17, 18 and 23, and the Bible School of the Air News, May 1967.

1949–1951

A Young Man at Moody

This is how Dad Brooks told it in his own book.

Just before our return to the Philippines in 1949, we learned of a young man studying at Moody Bible Institute who was interested in the work in the Philippines. During World War II he had been flying over the Philippines in a B-24 “Liberator,” and he would like to return there on a more peaceful mission. After correspondence, Kenneth Engle joined us in Manila in 1951.

Cyril H. Brooks, Grace Triumphant, chapter 22

Ken’s side of the story is in Volume Two: “The Prayer Meeting at Moody”, where the letter came the morning after a night of prayer, and “An Open Door”, where Brooks wrote in May 1950, “There is definitely a place for you to help around San Juan if the Lord calls you to work with us.”

Thirty-five years later Ken still remembered the first lessons. “Remember the reading assignments you gave me in 1950?” he wrote to Dad and Mom Brooks in 1985.

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapter 22; Ken Engle to the Brookses, 16 September 1985.

1951–1953

Very Much Like a Son

Early on Saturday 17 March 1951, Cyril and Anna Brooks were waiting at Manila Bay to bring Ken ashore (“Maganda,” Volume Two). That Monday Ken opened letters for the Bible School of the Air, and that night Cyril interviewed him on DZAS. He lived in the Brooks home in San Juan until he married.

He stayed with us until he was married and was very much like a son to us. Strangely, many people mistakenly supposed he was our son-in-law!

Cyril H. Brooks, Grace Triumphant, chapter 23

On 26 April 1953, at San Juan Gospel Hall, Cyril Brooks gave the bride away when Ken married Mary Lou Leonard. Ken Brooks was best man, and little Dale Brooks carried the rings. The reception was at the Brooks home.

They took me into their home when I arrived on the field in 1951 and treated me like their own son.

Ken Engle, 28 March 1980

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapter 23; Ken Engle’s letters of 20 May 1953 and 28 March 1980.

The Bible School of the Air

Five Hundred Dollars at Breakfast

The Bible School of the Air lived by faith. One morning Dad Brooks worked out that about five hundred dollars was needed for printing and postage, and he laid it before the Lord.

As we sat down to breakfast after my devotions, Ken Engle stopped by. For some reason he had to be out early that morning and stopped by the post office to pick up our mail. To our delight (and amazement, I must confess) one letter contained a check for $500.

Cyril H. Brooks, Grace Triumphant, chapter 23

He told the story again in 1981, in “His Word Runs Swiftly,” and added a line about the rising cost of postage and printing: “God has not failed—He cannot fail.”

Ken and Mary Lou learned the same way of living from the Brookses. They told their needs to God alone (“Manila and the Bible School of the Air,” Volume Two).

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapter 23; “His Word Runs Swiftly,” Missions, November 1981.

1951–1979

Brigade Boys and Baguio

In the early 1950s Ken Engle and Ken Brooks, with help from American servicemen, started the Christian Service Brigade in San Juan. One of the first boys was Rudy Ponce de Leon, the first Herald of Christ outside the United States. The book dates the Brigade “in the 1959’s”; Ken corrected his copy to “the early 1950s.”

In 1967 the Engles moved to Baguio. Dad Brooks wrote of Mary Lou and Evelyn Balanag, and of the four people Ken baptized early in 1970: “that was the beginning of the assembly there.” When the Engles went home on furlough that year, Cyril and Anna, both past seventy, moved up the mountain for two years.

There were young Christians who needed to be nurtured.

Grace Triumphant, chapter 25

When the Engles left the field, Dad Brooks carried on the Bibles for the graduating cadets of the Philippine Military Academy. In 1978 he gave Bibles to 139 graduates (“Bibles for the Cadets”).

From Grace Triumphant (© 1985 Walterick Publishers), chapters 20, 22 and 25; Ken Engle’s notes on his copy, 9 November 1985.

The letters, 1972–1985

Mom and Dad

The letters kept coming after the Engles moved home to Kansas in 1975. Ken kept a log of every letter, parcel and photograph he sent. Dad Brooks wrote back on thin airmail paper from P.O. Box 652, Greenhills, with news of San Juan, the Bible School of the Air, the Camp, and the Baguio church.

We were blessed to go overseas and have adopted parents like you.

Ken Engle to Dad and Mom Brooks, 12 October 1982

On their sixtieth anniversary in September 1982, more than two hundred friends gathered in Manila. Dad Brooks wrote: “It has been a record of God’s wonderful grace all the way.”

We know many call you “Mom and Dad” but we feel that beyond your own children we have probably profited most from you. THANK YOU.

Ken Engle to Dad and Mom Brooks, 16 September 1985

From the Brooks letters in Ken and Mary Lou Engle’s file, 1972–1986.

1984–1985

Grace Abounding, Grace Triumphant

In 1984 John D. Williams of Walterick Publishers in Kansas City offered to publish Dad Brooks’s life story. He accepted, but he would take no royalty: “I would not want to make money on it.” He asked that Ken and Mary Lou be thanked for their help. The working title was Grace Abounding. It became Grace Triumphant.

Ken chose twenty-six photographs, from Cyril as a boy of ten in England to Cyril and Anna in Baguio, and he typed the captions. He sent them to Walterick on 27 March 1985.

I gave quite a bit of attention to the Bible School of the Air, then San Juan and the provincial work. All of this was near to his heart.

Ken Engle to John D. Williams, 27 March 1985

Ten copies reached Abilene on 24 October 1985. The whole book is in this series: Grace Triumphant.

From the letters in Ken and Mary Lou Engle’s file, 1984–1985.

1985–1986

Take Root Downward

On 28 August 1985 the International Baptist Theological College gave Dad Brooks an honorary Doctor of Divinity “in recognition of our many years of service here.” Late that year he finished writing radio scripts for all the Emmaus courses.

Four days before he went into hospital, early in 1986, he gave his last message, to the women of the San Juan assembly. His daughter Rose remembered it.

He challenged us to “take root downward and bear fruit upward.”

Rose Brooks, 12 March 1986 (Isaiah 37:31)

He went home to the Lord at 11:45 on Monday morning, 3 March 1986, with Rose at his bedside. The funeral was held at San Juan Gospel Chapel. Mom Brooks followed him on Wednesday, 21 May 1986.

I trust that word got to you about Dad’s home going, as you were really like family to Dad.

Rose Brooks to Ken and Mary Lou, 12 March 1986

From the letters and Ken Engle’s notes in his Brooks file, 1985–1986.

By Cyril H. Brooks

His Word Runs Swiftly

From Missions magazine, November 1981: “The Story of The Bible School of the Air, Manila.” The original pages: PDF.

Cyril and Anna Brooks have been serving the Lord in the Philippines since 1922, with few interruptions---a total of 59 years! Their three children, Len, Ken, and Rose, are all in full-time work. September’s article on Emmaus Bible School’s outreach, “These Forty Years,” mentioned the use of Emmaus correspondence courses by The Bible School of the Air. This article is a fitting sequel.

Some missionary-minded parents watched their little son, perched atop a wooden sawhorse, lustily singing, “Speed away, speed away with the life-giving Word.” They had dedicated their youngest son to the Lord for God’s service and named him “Cyril” after a missionary who had died in Central Africa. None of them realized how prophetic were the words sung in innocence.

When the Psalmist wrote “His Word runs swiftly” Psalm 147:15 (N.I.V.) he was thinking of the rapidity of God’s commands throughout His creation. In this modern age we may apply those words to the swift spread of the Gospel by means of radio and literature. Here are a few dates significant to us as having a personal part in the dissemination of God’s Word.

February 12, 1922 in Hackensack, N.J. For the first listened to a sermon on the radio but never dreamed that radio would play a large part in our ministry in the Philippines for which we were then preparing. Incidentally, the sermon wasn’t very good, being more about Abraham Lincoln than about Jesus Christ!

February 24, 1935 in Manila. Spoke for the first time on the radio as a guest of The Gospel Messengers program. The message, “True Satisfaction” was later printed in the September issue of The Philippine Evangelist.

March 15, 1936. Took over as the regular speaker of The Gospel Hour on KZRM, a commercial radio station in Manila. Apart from furlough time, 1937-1938, continued this ministry with many interesting and fruitful contacts. Heard of a large group in Guam

who listened regularly. Received many testimonies of souls being saved. Twenty years later we met a lady who had been saved through that program.

December 7, 1941. Spoke on Four Freedoms with a spiritual application, unaware that Japanese bombers were already on the way toward Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. Thus was terminated that phase of radio ministry, during the years of Japanese occupation and rehabilitation at home until our return to the Philippines.

April 17, 1950. The first program of the Bible School of the Air over the facilities of the Christian radio station of the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) in Manila.

The Bible School Of The Air

As we prayed about the type of radio program to offer and whether we should use FEBC or a commercial station, we received in early 1950 a copy of a new course published by Emmaus Bible School. The Lord’s guidance became clear as we read through What The Bible Teaches. A program of Bible Study based on a correspondence course which would be offered free to listeners. The guidance was confirmed by the cooperative response of Mr. Robert Bowman of FEBC. The station had been in operation then for nine months. With his help we came up with the name Bible School of the Air because the significance of “Emmaus” would be lost on prospective listeners.

1950 was not the most auspicious time to launch this new project. Tension was high throughout the Far East. The Korean War was soon to start. Insurgency was rife in the Philippines. The U.S. Embassy had warned U.S. citizens not to travel at night outside of the city. Gunshots were often heard as we drove out to FEBC to air our programs on Monday evenings. But the Lord was leading, of that we were sure, though we little realized where He was leading. Had we known we would not have had the faith to start! This work has developed in two directions: radio programs and correspondence courses.

The Radio Ministry

This has consisted mainly of a half-hour program once a week. At the beginning my wife had a part in reading letters and questions. In 1951 there was the welcome arrival of Kenneth Engle with his radio experience at WMBI as a student at Moody in Chicago. The next year our son Kenneth also arrived to help in this work. All of the programs (1600 plus to date) have been based on Emmaus courses with varying formats. Part of the time there was a forum type when three or four would spend a few minutes discussing questions on the lesson. In recent years it has been thought advisable to have just one speaker so listeners would identify a voice with the program. For some years we also had a fifteen-minute program three times a week in addition to the half-hour program.

The advent of tape recorders was a great boom. Programs could be prepared ahead of time at our convenience. The recordings could be preserved for use at some future time. Whole on furlough I could record programs wherever it was possible to get the use of good quality equipment. It also made it possible to air the programs over some commercial stations in other parts of the Philippines. This was being done prior to the time of the institution of martial law in September 1972. Then all stations were temporarily off the air. FEBC was one of the first to resume operations after a few days. However as commercial stations resumed broadcasting they raised their rates considerably. Since the response had been rather meager

it was thought inadvisable to negotiate new contracts.

For some time the feasibility of a Tagalog program was considered. In March 1978, it was commenced with one of the national workers, Brother Rey Cervantes, as speaker. Naturally this is more limited in its outreach than English but the Lord has richly blessed these Tagalog programs. They have been well received and in fact have drawn more letter response than the English programs during the last three years!

It was time for a change in the English program, for a younger voice and preferably a Filipino voice. Recording sessions were proving rather tiring at my age. Our fellow missionaries were already so busy they were reluctant to take on this work. One of the national workers, Mr. Rudy Ponce de Leon returned last year from three years of study in Bible college in New Zealand. With extensive radio experience and spiritual qualifications he was well fitted. However he became deeply involved in other aspects of the work and didn’t feel free to devote time to preparation. (I find it takes at least a day to prepare a 16-minute radio message.) Rudy suggested he could read a script if someone else prepared it. This arrangement has been working well for some months now. I prepare the script of the message. Rudy reads it and his nephew, Pete Barotilla, puts the whole program together.

The Correspondence Course Ministry

At the beginning, the only way of advertising the courses was through the radio program. How thrilled we were with the initial response---before long 500 requests and soon it was up to 1000. Students were soon asking for the course for their friends. We printed a form where they could list names of others. Christian workers would send lists of church members and interested friends. Though direct response from the radio program decreased, total requests rose. It was not uncommon to get over 3000 in a week. Advertisements placed in weekly magazines brought a good response though this was rather expensive.

What The Bible Teaches was soon translated into Tagalog. A curious mistranslation was caught before it went into print. The word “deliver” as in deliverance from sin, was translated with a word meaning to deliver a package! Later on this course was also translated into Cebuano, Ilocano and Hiligaynon (Ilonggo). These four are the principal Philippine languages. Courses are also offered in Chinese.

After seventeen years a million requests had been received. A rally was held and Bibles were given to five Manila students enrolled in that week. Rallies held on other occasions were not very encouraging. They were attended mostly by interested friends but not by correspondence students. In March 1975 the total responses passed the one-and-one-half million mark. Since then growth numerically has been slow because of a change in our methods. Now enrollments average between five to six hundred a month. However the percentage of completions is higher.

The earlier method was an evangelistic outreach. So even if students did not return their test papers, they still received a booklet with a clear gospel message. After using various booklets, such as The Reason Why, and Here’s How, we wrote a booklet specially suited to local conditions and problems. Many have written to testify of salvation through this booklet. Now a shorter course, Men Who Met The Master, is being used as the introductory free course in the place of What The Bible Teaches.

The introductory courses and also the Philippine language courses are all printed locally. The advanced courses are purchased from Emmaus Bible School. Some of these advanced courses have been translated into Tagalog. We are trying to encourage Christians to use these in their own personal Bible study. Some local churches are also using them for home Bible study groups, and Sunday Schools.

The Spiritual Results

Only in eternity will we learn the true spiritual results of all the

effort and expense that has gone into the Bible School of the Air. Yet the Lord allows us to see some of the fruit now. The Gospel has gone forth to all parts of the Philippines with its 45 million population and also to many other countries. No count has been kept but hundreds, possibly thousands of letters have testified of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many Christian workers in different groups have testified of the help received from the courses, either in their salvation or in the enriching of their spiritual lives.

On a large sugar estate in Tarlac, Central Luzon, a few men were saved through courses. Seven or eight certificates adorned the wall of one home. We contacted them after they had been meeting for Bible study. What a hunger they had for the Word! On a Saturday evening, a couple of us met with them from seven till midnight. The meeting stopped then because we had a three-hour drive home and a busy Sunday ahead. Now there are two assemblies in that area with an outreach to other places.

In the Candaba swamps, a rich rice-growing area north of Manila, there was little gospel witness, if any. Insurgency was rampant and night travel was risky. Now there are five assemblies there; a result of a young woman being saved as she studied What The Bible Teaches. The first meeting in her home in Bahay-pare in 1963 is unforgettable! Twenty to thirty neighbors were invited in. it wasn’t a formal meeting just a friendly talk. For an hour I explained our mission and the way of salvation. When I invited questions, one man said, “We have seen a change in Tessie and we want to know what it’s all about.” It was three hours before they finally left to get their evening meals.

In the central part of the archipelago, in Guimbal, Iloilo, a man was saved and began witnessing to others. From their studies they learned about the local church and built a chapel in which to meet. Their only outside help has been from occasional visits of national workers. Reports of other such groups have been received and they have linked up with other groups of evangelicals. God’s Word runs swiftly and does not return to Him empty.

Another spiritual result has been to see God’s faithfulness in supplying the needs. One morning in my quiet time I was praying about the immediate need of about $500.00. Later while eating breakfast, Ken Engle brought in the mail which contained a gift for just that amount. Like everywhere else, costs have been rising. Bills for printing have increased; postage has risen from two centavos to forty on each piece of mail. In 1980 operational costs were somewhat over $22,000.00 but God has not failed---He cannot fail.

The actual operation of the Bible School of the Air is now in the hands of Filipino staff. The office manager is Mr. Elino Aragon who is an elder of the assembly in Binangonan and actively engaged in other phases of the Lord’s work. Working with him are Miss Luz Lazaro who has been with us in this work since August 1950 and two sisters, Misses Letty and Nelly Licera who have also been with us for several years. These devoted workers are serving not only for the salary they receive but also as a service for the Lord. An advisory committee meets periodically to oversee the work in general and to set policies.

Pray for the Bible School of the Air in its radio outreach and use of correspondence courses. Praise God that its voice “has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” “Thy Word runs swiftly.” Psalm 147:15 (N.I.V.)

By Cyril H. Brooks

Early Days of Gospel Broadcasting

From Signal, November–December 1973, pages 11–14: “Early Days of Gospel Broadcasting in the Philippines.” The original pages: PDF.

The time: evening of December 7th, 1941. The place: radio studio in downtown Manila. The half-hour program of the “Gospel Messengers” was just about to go off the air but the clock showed they still had another minute. The broadcaster picked up a card, handed to him earlier that day, — “A perfect Convoy of Dreadnaughts”. On this card were printed seven verses, each with “Fear not”. In that remaining minute the broadcaster read: “Fear not, I have redeemed thee.” “Fear not, I am with thee.” “Fear not, I am thy shield.” “Fear not, the Lord thy God will not fail thee.” War was raging in Europe and rumours of war abounded in the Far East. With those words of assurance the “Gospel Messengers” went off the air — for good, stopped by outbreak of war in the Pacific and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Unknown to those in the radio studio, at that very moment, convoys of carriers and planes were already on their way to bomb Pearl Harbor and points in the Philippines.

The recent 25th anniversary (1948–1973) of Gospel broadcasting from Manila by the Far East Broadcasting Company reminded the writer of those Gospel programs before World War II. Since not so many are around to recall those days, it may be of value to recall and record the beginnings of Gospel broadcasting here in the Philippines.

My memory has been refreshed by going through copies of “The Philippine Evangelist”, a monthly magazine published in Manila from 1932 to 1941. Possibly this article may stimulate further research into the early days of missionary radio broadcasting. In that connection, may I digress for a moment to an island far removed and very different to the Philippine Islands.

Radio, or wireless (as it was often known then) was in its infancy in 1923 when Mr. Arthur Gook, a Brethren missionary in Iceland, had a vision of using it in his work, where it was very difficult to visit outlying churches. With a wireless transmitting outfit in either Reykjavik or Akureyri, and receivers in other chapels, Gospel services could be held simultaneously all over the island. “A very satisfactory licence” was granted by the Icelandic government in 1927, and after a number of delays, broadcasting began in December, 1927. While the primary purpose was to reach listeners in Iceland, the transmitter proved to be very efficient and reception was reported from as far away as England, New York, and even California, 4300 miles away. Broadcasting continued in spite of problems with electrical power until 1929. In that year the licence was revoked because of the opposition of an unfriendly government official.

In an article in “Echoes of Service” March 1959 (from which these facts are culled) it is stated, “We believe the pioneering efforts of Mr. Gook and his helpers were one of the things which encouraged the erection of HCJB in Quito, Ecuador which went on the air in 1935.”

In January 1934, Dr. Paul G. Culley, then a missionary with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, commenced a fifteen-minute, Sunday evening program over KZRM, Manila. So far as we know this was the first live Gospel program here in the Philippines. Some programs from the United States, such as Old-fashioned Revival Hour and Lutheran Hour were released but these were, I believe, a few years later. The managers of the radio station were apprehensive of adverse reaction from listeners or from Roman Catholic hierarchy. So at first there was to be no preaching. However each hymn was introduced by a brief comment and possibly those sermonettes were more effective than a sermon would have been at that point.

A note in “The Philippine Evangelist” April, 1934 indicates the response: “Many expressions of appreciation have been received for

the program of the Gospel Singers, broadcast from Radio Manila. Not only from all parts of the Philippines but also from other lands, letters have been pouring in. One card from the Colonial Secretariat, Hong-Kong, the writer ‘regrets that the time allotted is not longer.’” After a break during the hot season, the program was resumed as a half-hour program in June, 1934. In August a lady wrote from Australia, telling of excellent reception — “as clear as Bendigo, a hundred miles away!”

The following year the Culleys left for furlough and the program was taken over by Dr. Russell Bradley Jones, then pastor of the First Baptist Church, Manila. Since Dr. Jones was a gifted speaker but not a singer like Paul Culley, he insisted there would have to be preaching. By that time the program was popular and there had not been the unfavorable reaction, so this was approved. Some of Dr. Jones’ early messages were published in “The Philippine Evangelist.” The issue of September, 1935 has a message by this writer, delivered over station KZRM on February 24th, 1935. I recall that Dr. Jones had asked me to give the message that evening. My nervousness at facing a microphone for the first time was aggravated by a sore throat and husky voice but Dr. Jones wouldn’t let me beg off! It wasn’t a very auspicious start to radio broadcasting and little did I then foresee the future share I would have in radio ministry.

At the Manila Carnival in February 1936 we had a Bible booth. One of the visitors there was an American visiting from Guam. He reported that a large number, about a thousand people, there wait for the Sunday evening broadcast of the Gospel Messengers from Radio Manila. Dr. Jones left for furlough in March, 1936 and turned over the responsibility for the program to me. This was continued until that Sunday in December, 1941, except for a little over a year of furlough, 1937–1938, during which time other friends carried on the program.

Only the Lord knows the real results of these broadcasts in the lives of men and women. The files of correspondence from those

days were lost or destroyed during the war. However two instances of encouragement still linger in the memory. One was a letter from a young wife who had become very despondent because of many problems and was about to take her life. Then she heard the “Gospel Messengers” quartet singing, “All this I have borne for thee, what hast thou borne for Me?” It was the voice of God to her and she found peace and joy trusting in Christ. Shortly before the war, contact was made with another young lady. When we visited her we tried to lead her to Christ as the One who could help her in her problems. It was all too new for her to come to a decision then. After prayer with her, we saw the tears flowing as she exclaimed, “Never in my life have I heard a prayer like that!” I was a bit ashamed that it sounded so ordinary to us but she was accustomed to formal, memorized prayers. Contact was lost because of the war but twenty years later, after a Gospel service a lady approached me. Her face seemed familiar but I could not place her until she told me of that visit and also that now she is a believer in Christ.

A note in “The Philippine Evangelist” in November 1938 shows there had been no charge for radio time until then when the station began charging religious programs. It was a work of faith and the Lord always supplied the needs, whether of finances or personnel. For a time three nationalities were represented in the mixed quartet. That was before the days of tape-recorders so all programs went on the air live. One evening the station advanced our program time by fifteen minutes at short notice. It had not been possible to notify all the participants. As a result the pianist and some of the singers sauntered in quite casually just before we were given the mike. I thought we would have to change the format and start with the message!

One Sunday evening in 1940 an American sailor on a submarine in Manila Bay tuned into the Gospel Messengers. He was a discouraged Christian because he hadn’t found Christian fellowship on shore nor a Gospel program on his radio. The spiritual uplift from our program that evening caused him to write to us. That

contact later led into another area of Christian service for the Brooks family as their home became a servicemen’s home. One who was helped spiritually at that time was a young Air Force man, named Jesse Miller. After World War II, Jesse and his wife were led into work among U.S. servicemen overseas. This developed into the forming of Overseas Christian Servicemen’s Centers Inc., with centers in different countries in Asia and Europe.

During 1941 there was usually a contingent of servicemen in the studio when “Gospel Messengers” went on the air. Their interest, prayers and fellowship were a great encouragement. So that evening of Dec. 7th, 1941 we did not realize how much we were all soon going to need the assurance of those “Fear not” verses. The fellows left the studio to go back to their ships and stations. For some of us, civilians, there was to be Japanese occupation and internment camp. For some of them, the three years of war in the Pacific; for others, the horrors of Bataan, the Death March and Japanese prison camps; and for others, death or missing in action. Whatever happened, the promise was true — “Fear not; I am with thee.”

One closing footnote — the Japanese took control of the radio stations that had been built again under their direction after being silenced before they entered Manila. Some Filipino pastors were invited to preach on Sundays and of course they were expected to conform to the Japanese propaganda. An old friend and a former student in my classes, the late Dr. Santiago Cruspero had taken a most courageous stand for Christ. He was ready to preach the Word but not to give out propaganda. Once he was invited to give a radio message and the first he submitted was disapproved by the Japanese. Unknown to them he then came to me for advice. I thought it rather ironical that I, an “enemy alien”, should help him in that situation. Without compromising the truth of the Word, we succeeded in preparing a message which was approved for broadcast.

Printed beside the article in Signal: “Think It Not Strange,” by J. G. Deck.

Think it not strange then, pilgrim, neither faint,
much less indulge in murmuring and complaint,
if what you meet with in your heavenly road
is hard to bear; since all is planned by God
His child to train in wisdom’s holy ways,
and form a chosen vessel for His praise.
Now we are slow those ways to understand;
but let us bow beneath His mighty Hand,
sure that His wisdom over all presides,
His power controls and love unerring guides.

By Cyril H. Brooks

Progress of Missions in the Philippines

An address by Dad Brooks at a Faith Academy gathering, about 1977, from his typescript in Ken Engle’s file, with his own handwritten corrections.

This evening I have been asked to speak on the topic "Thanks be to God for the achievements of missions here in the Philippines." I thought the best way to do this would be to give a short review of the early history of missions here. There is little need to say much about recent developments since many of you have been involved in those. Since old folks are apt to meander off in the by-paths of anecdotes and reminiscences, I decided I better write down what I wanted to say.

You are all aware that there was no Protestant missionary work here until the end of the last century. Up till 80 years ago people were living under conditions similar to pre-reformation times in Europe. During the 19th century some Spanish Scriptures were imported or smuggled in. In one case, it is said, by disguising them with different bindings.

A Dominican friar in Pangasinan by the name of Lallave obtained one of these Bibles and through reading it was evidently converted. Charged with heresy, he was removed from the priesthood and sent back to Spain. Concerned about his Filipino friends in Pangasinan, he began to translate the New Testament into the language of that area. With the exception of Revelation, this was completed in 1877. This may well have been the first translation of the Scriptures into any of the Philippine languages. However it has often been asserted that in Spanish times the Roman Catholics never translated any part of the Bible into the vernacular. This is not really correct. Certainly they did very little but the Gospels and Acts were published in Tagalog in the 1890's. On two occasions I saw copies of this but was not able to secure one for myself. Reportedly too, some Gospels were translated into other languages.

In Barcelona, Spain, a young man, named Castells, was saved through Dr. Eric Lund, who later came to the Philippines as a missionary. Castells and Lallave came to Manila in 1888 with boxes of Pangasinan New Testaments and Spanish Scriptures. The boxes were held in customs while they went to a hotel in the Walled City. Both of them became very ill and poisoning is suspected. Lallave, who was then an old man, died. Burial was refused until the British Consul intervened so that permission was granted to bury him in the Protestant Cemetery in Makati. Castells recovered, was arrested and deported, along with the boxes of Bibles. For ten years they gathered dust in the British and Foreign Bible Society depot in Singapore.

It was about that same time that some Filipinos were banished to Spain for revolutionary activities. The Bible Society agent there contacted them to begin some translation of the Bible into Tagalog, Ilocano, Bicol and Hiligaynon.

In September, 1898, three weeks after American forces entered Manila, the Singapore agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society arrived here with supplies. For the first time Scriptures were sold openly in this country. When he went north to sell the Pangasinan Testaments, the people were so eager that the agent had to take refuge in a house and sell through the barred windows.

The American Bible Society established an agency here in November 1899, and the two Societies divided the task of translation into the leading languages. This was a tremendous task. They did not have the modern theories about translation and linguistics, so those early versions were often too literal. Yet it was also a dangerous task. A teacher assisting in the Hiligaynon translation was warned to break off relations with this new religion. Because he refused he was one day brutally murdered. In the Visayas two colporteurs started to hike across an island through the mountainous interior. Nothing more was ever heard of them.

In 1919 the British Society transferred their work here to the American Society, while the latter reciprocated in Korea, thus

avoiding overlapping. Up to 1923 most printing of Bibles in Philippine languages was done on a Christian press in Yokohama. In the great earthquake that year, that press and the plates were destroyed. They said there was molten lead six inches thick on the floor of the vault. Though there were some duplicate plates or mats, this was a serious set-back to Bible distribution. A badly-needed revision was immediately begun in most of the languages.

While still on this phase of missions, let me say a little about distribution. Around Lake Lanao there used to be a number of American veterans of the Spanish-American war. Married to Filipinas, they lived on their pensions, most of them dissolute, hard-drinkers. One such was Mr. Ghent. One evening in a drunken stupor, he sent for Mr. Woodward, a Congregational missionary, who had the joy of leading him to Christ. As a result of the wonderful change in his life, Mr. Ghent became one of the most aggressive Bible sellers this country has known. He travelled from town to town with a van. He used his persuasive salesmanship on the parish priest first, for, as he told me once, once the "pare" bought a Bible it was easy to sell to the townspeople.

Another agent, Mr. McLaughlin used a projector with either slides or movies. He would rent a local cine or pitch a tent for his show. The price of admission was a purchase of a portion of Scripture. In our first term, I often spent my mornings going from house to house selling Gospels and Testaments and thus covered most of Manila south of the Pasig. Of course, it wasn't as densely populated then, but still there were 14,000 living in Intramuros alone. Had a basin of water spilled over me from an upper window once, but I think it was an accident. Deliberate or not, it was still wet!

In Bohol, Dr. Graham, a Presbyterian doctor, did an excellent medical and spiritual work. Patients in the hospital received a Testament to take home. A man brought his daughter for treatment from a mountain barrio and returned home with a Testament. Nothing more was heard for six years. Then an agent of the Bible

Society had difficulty selling in a barrio. The people didn't want a book, which they said, makes people do crazy things - like closing the cock-pit, stop drinking "tuba", even going to the poblacion to pay taxes! The agent learned there was such "insanity" in a neighboring barrio and decided to investigate. He found a congregation of 250 people using one very much-worn Testament."

When God opened the door for the preaching of the Gospel there were many Filipinos receptive to this new message, but mostly among the poorer class. Many were opposed to the oppression of the priests and their abusive ways in Spanish times. The writings of Jose Rizal depict the conditions that prevailed. It was not essentially a turning away from the church of Rome. It was not the church that was at fault, they felt, only some who misrepresented it. At that time too came the movement of Gregorio Aglipay, demanding the appointment of Filipinos as bishops. Some of the early missionaries here met with Aglipay but were not able to persuade him to relinquish some of the Roman practices nor the Unitarian tendencies then becoming evident.

In July 1898 some mission boards met in New York to discuss entering this new mission field but no official action was taken. On August 13th, the Sunday after American occupation of Manila, the first Protestant service was conducted by army Y.M.C.A. secretaries. About that time a Methodist lay preacher came here on business. He began services for U.S. servicemen and after a few weeks for Filipinos. Early in 1899, Bishop Thoburn, Methodist Bishop in India, visited here and appointed Mr. Prautch as lay preacher. He was still known as "Deacon Prautch" when I met him some years later.

Dr. James B. Rodgers, a Presbyterian, arrived here in April 1899 as the first resident missionary. He found himself in the midst of a thrilling work before he could get unpacked. Others soon followed and moved out in different parts of the Archipelago. A Ministerial Alliance was formed in 1900 and a year later this developed into the Evangelical Union of the Philippine Islands. Until 1920 this Union

included only American missionaries but that year Filipino pastors and delegates joined. A Sunday School Union was organized in 1911. Several missions established student dormitories in Manila to help young people from provincial churches and to shield them from temptations in the big city.

Medical work and hospitals were also established. I have already referred to Dr. Graham in Bohol, but I also think of Dr. Hall in Tacloban, Dr Thomas and others in Iloilo and Dr. Rebecca Parish at Mary Johnson Hospital. When our children were born there the hospital was right on the waterfront with fishermen drying their nets on the front wall. Reclaimed land now forms the North Harbor and Tondo foreshore between the hospital and the Bay.

Through the Evangelical Union a comity arrangement was worked out: Methodists in Central Luzon; United Brethren and Disciples in Northern Luzon; Presbyterians in southern Luzon and eastern Visayas; Baptists in western Visayas; Congregationals and Christian and Missionary Alliance in Mindanao. It was only natural that in those early years much of the missionary work was carried on in the more accessible areas. There were so many open doors and so much need that remote places and tribal areas were left for later on.

Another feature of the progress of the Gospel in the Philippines has been the formation and spread of many independent Filipino churches. One of the first was started by Nicolas Zamora in 1909, the "Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en las Islas Filipinas", generally known as IEMELIF. This has been followed by a great many more. Most denominations have experienced such break-aways or hive-offs. In some cases there was a factor of nationalism and that is not necessarily bad. In others a forceful leader attracted a group of followers to himself. Others arose because of some doctrinal difference.

According to the 1918 census there were 7¾ [?] million Roman Catholics, 1½ million Aglipayans, 1 million Moslems and pagans, and 124,575 Protestants. The progress in 20 years seems to have

been slow. Then there was more opposition from the dominant religion. A Filipino pastor in Samar was brutally beaten and almost died. In the 20's we lived in Indan (now Vinzons), Camarines Norte for a time. There were no believers there and we were told we would have been run out of town if we had not been Americanos. There were cases where local priests refused burial to Protestants in some towns where there were no municipal cemeteries. Often the believers lacked social prestige and their churches were unimpressive. Many of them from the poorer class and also first-generation Christians.

As the influence of liberal theology was being felt, some missionaries were unwilling to follow the comity plan of the Evangelical Union, specially in the decade prior to World War II. A growing work among the Chinese community was largely indigenous and foreign missionaries had only a minimal part. Filipinos, Chinese and American worked together in a camp for young people, known then as Philippine Keswick Camp. For some years it was held between Christmas and New Year in the Montalban Gorge and for two or three years on a ranch, where the Valley Golf Club is now. In 1932 a monthly magazine, The Philippine Evangelist, was published as a joint effort until the outbreak of war. For seven years it was my privilege to write the S.S. lesson notes for that publication.

In 1934 Dr. Paul G. Culley of ABWE commenced a radio program. The program manager was at first fearful of adverse reaction by the hierarchy to any preaching. Dr. Culley got around that by brief introductions of each Gospel hymn. This changed when Dr. Russell Bradley Jones took over the program. He was an excellent preacher but not a singer like Dr. Culley. When he went on furlough in 1936 I was asked to take over. This program "The Gospel Messengers" continued until Sunday, December 7th when the Japanese were already on their way to Pearl Harbor. At least two well-known U.S. programs, the Old-fashioned Revival Hour and the Lutheran hour were also being released over Manila stations. In the

late 1930's ABWE had a Gospel ship operating in waters around Palawan and Sulu. It also made one or two voyages to New Guinea which was largely unevangelized then.

With the outbreak of war in the Pacific some missionaries evacuated to Baguio. Others were directed to go to Pagsanjan as an evacuation point. However the Japanese invasion was so rapid that it proved just as safe to stay in Manila which was entered by the Japanese on Jan. 2, 1942. A few missionaries, mostly transients caught in Manila by the war, were repatriated in 1943. For most there was no opportunity to leave after war broke out.

All civilian aliens were ordered to report to internment camps. In Manila this was at Sto Tomas University. On January 15th, 1942, religious workers in Manila area were released to live in their homes under surveillance. This permitted some of us to continue our work in the churches in a limited way. Great discretion was needed as weekly reports of activities had to be submitted, and we never knew who might be spies. Most Filipinos were very friendly but they also had to be careful. Some missionaries were confined to Fort Santiago for not cooperating in the propaganda drive of the Japanese. Others escaped this because they were not so closely supervised. In 1944 three lady missionaries, Mrs Stagg, Dr. Darby and Miss Wilks were executed, along with two nuns, because of contacts with the guerillas. A group of Baptist missionaries hid out in the hills of Panay but in 1943 were betrayed by collaborators and killed by the Japanese. Others hid out in Mindanao and Palawan and some were evacuated to Australia by submarine in 1944. Others died from sickness and malnutrition in the internment camps.

The Japanese tried to gain control of the churches for propaganda purposes by forcing all denominations into a church union. Some resisted this pressure but other national church leaders collaborated. Possibly they saw an opportunity to get high positions in their organizations. Services were permitted in the churches but outside activities were banned. Of course, one advantage was that nationals were assuming more responsibility in their churches.

During the fighting attendant upon liberation, many church buildings were destroyed or damaged and many of the members scattered. In many cases they lost their homes and possessions and sometimes their lives. There were a number of Christians among the U.S. Armed Forces pouring into the Islands. In many places they found fellowship with Filipino Christians and helped them in rebuilding their churches and homes.

As we thank God for the achievements of missions here we recognize that the greatest advance has been made since World War II. I will not burden you with particulars about this growth in the past 30 years for many of you have had a part in it. Instead let me point out some factors which have contributed to this growth.

First, let's not overlook the factor of population growth. Do you realize that there are now five times as many people here as when Protestant missionary work began? That the population has more than doubled since World War II? Growth in population ought to be accompanied by growth in missionary effort but often the latter lags behind. This challenge is constantly before us. Let us be thankful for the new outreach into tribal areas by such groups as Summer Institute of Linguistics, New Tribes Mission, Overseas Missionary Fellowship and others.

Second, the expansion of missions is related to what I mentioned a few moments ago - the influence of Christian G.I.s. It worked in two ways. An impression was made on many Filipinos who were not Protestants. Americans who were not ashamed to fellowship with Filipinos in a little bamboo chapel, in spite of language barriers. As they worked and helped in a practical demonstration of Christian faith, a little more prestige was gained by small evangelical congregations. Then too there was the effect upon the G.I.s. They found they could communicate more than was possible in the south Pacific and were received with traditional Filipino hospitality. They saw more of the results of missionary work and also had a vision, a challenge as to future possibilities. God was working in many lives. The most marked example of this is Far Eastern Gospel Crusade,

born in a servicemen's center in Manila in September 1945. About the time that Faith Academy came into existence, I would guess that at least half of the male missionaries here then had previously been here as chaplains or G.I.s.

A third factor has been the modern methods of evangelism developed in recent years. Radio came into a much wider use as the impact of Far East Broadcasting Company was increasingly felt throughout the Islands. The seed was being sown and others were reaping a harvest. Back to The Bible Broadcast and others were using commercial stations and later television has been used. There has also been an increased use of various forms of literature, Gospel recordings and correspondence courses. Since 1950 the Bible School of the Air has had over 1½ million requests for courses through the country.

A fourth factor has been the large increase in number of missions working here since 1945. This has been partly due to the closing of doors to missionaries in China and South-east Asia. Forced out of those fields by the advance of Communism, they looked for adjacent fields of service. Here in the Philippines they found freedom of religion, a measure of political stability and an open door. Along with this, mention should also be made of another cause for thanksgiving - that is, that increasingly Filipinos are going as missionaries to other countries.

A fifth factor contributing to the progress of missions in this country has been the change within the Roman Catholic Church. In March 1937 Testaments and Gospel literature were publicly burned in Zamboanga. On Billy Graham's first visit here 20 years ago, for one public service, the Archbishop forbad Roman Catholics to attend. In this recent Crusade, I am told that 60% of the inquirers were from that church. Since Vatican Council II Protestants have been elevated from heretics to separated brethren. Conflicts have arisen within what was supposedly a monolithic church. Questions arose as to papal authority. Roman Catholics participated in ecumenical movements and in Bible translation. The Bible became

available to the laity. All of these things had made for an openness to the Gospel that was unthought of a few years ago.

Thank God for the progress in Missions, a progress that is going on. "The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad." (Psalm 126:3). But past progress presents a challenge! The fields are ripe for harvest! The time is short! So our gratitude to God is no occasion for self-congratulation.

May I just add that I think Faith Academy has also made its contribution even though the primary aim is not evangelizing nationals. It has brought together many workers of different missions so that we have a greater appreciation of one another. We do have our doctrinal differences. We don't all agree on methods and church practices. We are, I suppose, not prepared to sacrifice or compromise truths that we value just for the sake of organizational union. But we have learned to recognize one another as brothers and sisters in Christ in spite of our differences. On occasions like this we can fellowship together. We have united together so we can provide a better education for our children (and may I say, grandchildren). This too is something for which to praise the Lord in the achievements of missions.

By Cyril H. Brooks

Call to Missions

A Bible study on Acts 13 by Cyril H. Brooks. Where it was first printed is not recorded in the family file.

The book of Acts has rightly been called the “Missionary Manual of the Church.” There are two things to remember in studying this fifth book in the New Testament. First, here are Scriptural and spiritual principles for us to follow in our missionary work. Second, while these principles will not change, yet the strategic methods of carrying out these principles will vary. Before studying Missions in the book of Acts, there are a few characteristics of this book that deserve our attention. (a) There was complete dependence upon God the Holy Spirit, so that this book is often called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” (b) There was a simple and natural development of the work, for God’s work is frequently depicted as a growth. (c) Following evangelism, there was an emphasis upon establishing local churches so that believers could meet together for worship, fellowship and instruction. (d) There was an absence of organization, board, or councils exercising authority over local churches. (e) Three is little mention about financial support of workers and no record of the number of converts (except in round figures in two cases –2:41, 4:4).

In this study we will consider the Call to Missions. We are all familiar with the Great Commission given by Christ to His disciples. Its importance may be gauged by the fact that it is found in different words in each of the four Gospels and in the first chapter of Acts. His final words, His parting blessing before He ascended contained this: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” At that time, as indeed through all the history of the Church, there seems to have been hesitancy in fulfilling that last phrase. It was not until there was persecution in Jerusalem that they went further afield (8:1, 11:19). Then some “traveled as far as . . . Antioch” and this led to the establishing of a

church in Antioch which became the base for missionary expansion. No doubt God had a purpose in using Antioch as such a base rather than Jerusalem. This church was composed very largely of Gentile believers and the choice of Antioch would dispel any idea that Jerusalem was the “parent” or head church with authority over others.

Let us study this call from three aspects: (a) The Call of the Holy Spirit; (b) The Consent of the Local Church; (c) The Consecration of the Missionaries.

In connection with the Call of the Spirit we note that it was His prerogative to call and it was by His power the workers were sent forth. While there are many different gifts or abilities given to the members of the body of Christ, yet in apportioning these gifts, the Holy Spirit is sovereign. He divides to every man “as He will” (I Cor. 12:11). Believers should earnestly desire the best gifts but the designation of these rests with the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit who said: “Separate Me Barnabas and Saul.” There were not simply following their own inclinations, nor were they stirred by the emotional appeal of some other worker. It was not the church, nor the elders and teachers in that church who called them, but the Holy Spirit. We are not told just how the Spirit spoke to them. Did they hear a voice? Or see a vision? Or was it simply an inward conviction in their hearts concerning the will of the Spirit? The details are not revealed lest we should think it would have to be that particular way. The Spirit of God has different ways of making His will known. It is also important to note the words of verse 4: “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed . . .” As the Spirit of God had called them, so also He sent them forth on their mission. They were not sent by any organization; not even by the church in Antioch. A different word is used at the end of verse three to indicate the action of the church in letting them go. In the case the Tagalog Bible has a better translation than the English King James version.

The church at Antioch which thus gave its consent was in many

ways rather a model church. They had been taught well by Barnabas and Saul (11:26) and had a variety of teachers (13:1). It was an active church as they ministered or served the Lord. Their fasting indicated their concern and exercise of heart so that they readily recognized the call for the Spirit. We wonder if they were fasting because they were burdened about the needs of those who had not hear the gospel! When they heard the call of the Spirit, they fasted and prayed, for it was not easy to give up their best men. For some time they had been edified by the teaching ministry of Barnabas and Saul. Their leaving would mean added responsibility for those left in Antioch. Yet even as they prayed, they could hardly have realized how important a move this was in the history of the Church, nor how far-reaching its outcome would be. When they laid hands on Barnabas and Saul, this was not in the sense of conferring on them any ability or authority. These two had already displayed their ability and authority as teachers in Antioch. The laying on of hands was an act of identification. Just as the Israelite of old identified himself with the animal sacrifice, sot he church in Antioch through their leaders indicated that the missionaries were going forth on their behalf to carry out a task which was common to all. So they commended them to the grace of God for the work of the Lord (14:26). It is worth noticing that this was done altogether apart from the apostles and church in Jerusalem.

Now let us briefly notice the consecration of the missionaries. This was not something official on the part of the church but rather the personal dedication of these workers. These men were promptly obedient to the Spirit’s call and devoted themselves completely to the work to which they had been called. They were men who had already proved their ability and thus were shown to be fit and ready for the call to a wider sphere of service for the Lord. No doubt it was not easy for them to give up the work they had been doing in Antioch nor to leave the happy fellowship with the brethren. However, the authority of the Holy Spirit was supreme, the call of God was unmistakably clear, so they set forth. Like Abraham of old—“By faith Abraham, when he was called . . . obeyed: and he went

out, not knowing whither he went.”

How important to be sure of God’s call when setting for the in missionary work. Barnabas and Saul took a companion with them, the young man John Mark. It was not long before this young man returned home. Various reasons for this have been advanced. Was it because he was not fortified by the conviction that he had been called of God? A brother from the Southern states encountered a worker of whose call he had some doubts. Finally one day, in exasperation he said: “Brudder, was you sent or did you just went?” Barnabas and Saul were called by the Spirit but it looks as if Mark “just went.”

By Cyril H. Brooks

Daily Church Growth

A Bible study on Acts 16:5 by Cyril H. Brooks, probably the Missions article on church growth that Ken praised in his letter of 4 January 1983.

Considerable attention has been given in recent years to Church Growth and Church Planting. This is most commendable because it is also scriptural. However, sometimes the proponents of Church Growth sound as if they had just discovered some new approach and some new objective in missionary work. It is not new to those who have studied missions in the light of the New Testament.

On their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas evidently encouraged the new believers to gather together in local church fellowships. This must have been new truth to those believers, yet we find that on the return part of their journey, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each church (Acts 14:23).

Later on, Paul, along with Silas, started on a second journey and one of their objectives was to visit many of those young churches. At Lystra there was a young man, Timothy, who had probably been saved on their first visit there. With the commendation of the brethren at Lystra and Iconium, Paul took Timothy as his companion and fellow worker. Then we read, “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers” (Acts 16:5 NIV).

Many of the commentaries seem to pass over this verse as self-explanatory but it does merit some consideration. In fact it is quite a remarkable statement! We have no idea what period of time is covered here, whether days, weeks or months. We can only surmise what a great amount of missionary energy and effort was expended. No doubt there were many hours of faithful teaching of the Word of God. On another occasion Paul wrote, “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20 NIV). Paul and Silas had been obedient to the Great Commission – “teaching

them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt.26:20 NIV).

What is impressive in Acts 16:5 is the word “daily.” As in the first days of the church souls were being saved regularly and daily, “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). What a challenge this presents! Is this happening anywhere today? Here was church growth on a daily basis. No doubt, as the churches grew in numbers, there would be hive-offs with new churches established. Yet church growth is not simply a matter of statistics. Reports of churches with thousands of members may be largely meaningless in terms o spiritual growth. Possibly man in such churches are merely church joiners or pew warmers – people lost in the crowd without any active participation in the work of the Lord.

There can be no real church growth without spiritual growth in the lives of individual believers. Driving past a church building I saw this on the bulletin board -- “What does C-H-R-C-H spell without U?” Are you involved in the growth of your local church? Is there even weekly or monthly growth in your assembly? Sad to say, some seem to have no growth at al. An elder from an assembly in the Philippines recently visited the United States. On his return he wondered, whimsically, if we shouldn’t be sending missionaries there! The key to church growth is the personal, spiritual growth of each member, growth that will result in serving the Lord in witnessing and winning souls for Christ.

Such spiritual growth is suggested in the first part of this verse, “So the churches were strengthened in the faith.” A strong church will be a growing church. There can be little growth where there is weakness. This is often seen in the physical realm. Children who are weak through malnutrition do not grow and develop as they should. Spiritual malnutrition is far too common among God’s children. They are not being strengthened in the faith and so the church is not strong and is not growing. Systematic Bible teaching is needed, along with application of the truth to the daily life.

Sometimes spiritual malnutrition is due to lack of appetite for

the Word. An interesting illustration of this is found in 2 Samuel 13. Amnon, one of David’s sons, was asked by his friend Jonadab, “why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning?” It was evident that Amnon was not eating much, even though, as the king’s son, ample food was available. The effect of this was obvious in his appearance! Then the truth came out! He was in love with his half-sister, a forbidden relationship. So some Christians, the King’s sons, are weak and haggard spiritually. Is it not because of lack of appetite for the bountiful provision for them in the Word of God? That lack of appetite is often due to an illicit love, a desire for something which is not according to God’s will.

Cause and effect! When believers are feeding on God’s Word they will be “strengthened” or “made firm” in the faith. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 NIV). Thus the churches will be strengthened in the faith and the effect of this will be church growth. Is there any reason why there should not be daily growth, as in Paul’s day, if each one does his part?

By Cyril H. Brooks

Bible School of the Air News, May 1967

The newsletter Cyril H. Brooks sent out as Acting-Director, P.O. Box 2380, Manila, in May 1967, the month the millionth student enrolled. It is one page; the original is shown in Part Four, “One Million Students.”

1,000,000 Enrollees in Seventeen Years!

The Bible School of the Air began radio programs in April 1950, offering the Emmaus course - "What The Bible Teaches" in English. With this course also in Tagalog, the total enrollments the first year were 2657. Other languages followed: Chinese in 1952; Ilocano in 1955; Cebuano in 1956; Hiligaynon in 1959 and Indonesian in 1964. In June 1961 total enrollments passed half a million and in April 1967 the million total was reached. The highest monthly enrollment was 13,590 in December 1961.

In this picture Cyril & Anna Brooks with two of the Filipina secretaries, Letty Licera and Beth Ocampo are looking at an enrollment form sent in by a student the week the millionth one was enrolled. A pile of incoming mail before them.

THE LORD hath done great things for us. Only in eternity will the real results be known. Yet even down here there have been enough visible results to cheer our hearts - thousands of letters of testimony from students; personal contacts with many who have been saved; two local churches formed as a result of such contacts. Join with us in praising the Lord for what HE has done in changed lives and in supplying all the needs for this work. His promises have been claimed and HE is faithful that promised.

In the past two years many enrollments have come through distribution by the Literature Crusade team. On May 13th at their monthly rally special recognition was made of the 17th anniversary of B.S.A. and of a million students enrolled. Ken Engle reported on the history and Ken Brooks showed slides of this work. Bibles were presented to four people enrolled the week the million was reached.

About 1500 map tacks show where students are located from Batanes in the north to Tawi-Tawi in the far south of the Philippines.

Pray about personnel movements:

Kenneth Brooks & family left for furlough on May 17th, going by way of Great Britain.

Leonard Brooks & Family return to Manila on July 12th after furlough. Praise God for answered prayer in regard to their visas.

Lela Dean and children due in Manila on June 1st to rejoin Glynn who came earlier for language study.

Pictures and Papers

Pray for Us

Pictures and Papers

From Cyril Brooks

Pictures and Papers

One Million Students

Pictures and Papers

Forty Years Together

Pictures and Papers

Christian Missions in the Philippines, Inc.

Pictures and Papers

Sixty Years Together

Pictures and Papers

Ken’s Photographs for the Book

Pictures and Papers

Ken’s Photographs, continued

Pictures and Papers

The Original Pages, 1981

Pictures and Papers

The Original Pages, 1973

Sources

This volume draws on Cyril H. Brooks’s autobiography Grace Triumphant (Walterick Publishers, Kansas City, © 1985); his articles “His Word Runs Swiftly” (Missions, November 1981), “Early Days of Gospel Broadcasting in the Philippines” (Signal, November–December 1973), “Progress of Missions in the Philippines” (typescript, about 1977), “Call to Missions” and “Daily Church Growth”; the Bible School of the Air News of May 1967; and Ken and Mary Lou Engle’s file on the Brookses: letters from 1959 to 1986, Ken’s log, his photo list for the book, the sixtieth-anniversary folder, and Rose Brooks’s letter of 12 March 1986. The stories of Ken’s side are in Volume Two and In His Joy.

Every link in this volume is also listed on the Links page.