HOW IT ALL BEGAN
- Monica deRegt
- May 19
- 2 min read
It all began in 1998, when two young men were both working for the ministry of The Bible League in opposite corners of the world. Marcel deRegt worked as the Youth Ministry Director for The Bible League Canada, motivating Canadian youth to support the work of Bible placement and Church Planting around the globe, and Pastor BJ Fermin served as a Ministry Director for The Bible League Philippines, facilitating the ministry of reaching the Filipino people with the Word of God.
Marcel and BJ met for the first time during a Youth Ministry Trip to the Philippines in September 1998, co-leading a group of Canadian young adults, introducing them to the work of The Bible League in the churches and barrios (neighborhoods) and garbage dumps of Manila. A shared passion to spread the gospel message, along with an uncannily similar sense of humor, solidified a decades-long friendship that included two more life-changing trips to the Philippines for Marcel and BJ to continue this work.
In 2020, their friendship became a partnership as BJ embarked on a new mission to introduce unreached Filipino tribal people to the power of God's Word through his new organization -- Love Beyond Borders. BJ shared this exciting ministry and its needs with Marcel, who was working as a youth pastor in British Columbia, and soon another trip was planned!
Although the global pandemic delayed the trip, Marcel and his colleague Jayden Tuin led a group of 15 young adults from Canada to the Philippines in 2023 to partner with BJ and Love Beyond Borders to bring the joy and light and truth of the gospel to the Mangyan tribes in the remote areas of the island of Mindoro, along with much needed food and other supplies.
In 2024 Marcel and Jayden organized another group of youth and adults to go back to the Philippines. Grade 11 student Celina Vaandrager joined the team and was inspired to help Love Beyond Borders through a specialized independent project at her high school, Abbotsford Christian School in British Columbia. Celina, Marcel, Jayden, and BJ, working together with funding and support from ACS staff and Love Beyond Borders volunteers, developed a curriculum for training rural tribal indigenous leaders in Biblical instruction and church planting. And that's how TRIBE was born! (Training Rural Indigenous Bible Educators).
In May of 2025 the first class of TRIBE church leaders was launched. With a humble heart for sharing the saving message of salvation in Jesus Christ to their own people, these leaders have responded to God's call and are now equipped to teach and bring the transforming power of God's love to the remote tribal communities of Mindoro.
Isaiah 55 God says "...my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." God's word. Our obedience. Transforming lives and hearts in the Philippines.
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