Greenhills Christian Fellowship (GCF)
Greenhills Christian Fellowship, also known as GCF, is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, English-speaking megachurch whose main congregation is located at the corner of Ruby and Garnet Roads, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines. It considers itself one church in different locations: South Metro in Las Pinas, East Taytay, Rizal, North in Diliman, Quezon City, Batangas City, Batangas, Cebu City, San Fernando, Pampanga, Naga, Camarines Norte, Malolos, Bulacan, Marikina Valley, Lagaspi City, Albay, Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Northwest, CAMANAVA, Paranaque City and Toronto, Canada. The total constituency of the church now numbers in the thousands.
Church life
GCF congregational life includes, but not limited to, multiple worship services, thriving missions and discipleship-oriented ministries for all ages, and emphasis on dynamic Biblical preaching. Aside from church-based activities, GCF also has a network of growing Bible study groups and one-on-one discipleship in homes, high school and university campuses, multi-national and local company offices, government and military agencies, and many other venues.
The church is known for its contributions to Evangelicalism in the Philippines in the area of Biblical preaching, worship innovations, and Christian education curriculum development. It also sponsors PETRA (The Philippine Evangelical Theological Research Association), a theological research society for Filipino evangelical churches. Another area of ministry is training new pastors through GIFTS (Greenhills Institute for Foundational Theological Studies) in partnership with local and international seminaries. GCF International Christian School, a co-ed day school from Nursery to High School is an agency of the church since 1995 and with an enrolment of 500 students for academic year 2007-2008.
While remaining true to its Filipino culture, GCF plays the role of being one of the surrogate churches for foreign missionaries and other expatriates while living in the country. GCF partners with other like-minded churches, missions and para-church organizations like those belonging to the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Wycliffe International, Campus Crusade for Christ, among others for evangelizing and discipling nations.
History
Greenhills Christian Fellowship was a founded by the Rev. David and Patty Jo Yount of the Conservative Baptist Mission, aimed at reaching the emerging, self-reliant Filipinos who are mostly unreached by Evangelical Protestantism. It began on the February 14, 1978 when 67 people met at the Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan for a Valentine's Fellowship Dinner. From that handful of people, a church was organized and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as Greenhills Christian Fellowship, taking its name from its original location of founding. GCF grew and transferred to Greenhills Sound Production, and settled at Medecor Building along Ortigas Avenue on October 22, 1978. Medecor Building became GCF's home for the next 11 years of its existence. However, the church leadership knew that the church would then soon need a semi-permanent place of worship. After 2 years, the church was able to acquire a strategic corner lot in Ortigas Center, Pasig. In June 1990, GCF moved into its own building at the corner of Garnet and Ruby Roads in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. The move would have required a change in the church's name, but for legal and popular reasons, the church chose to remain called "Greenhills Christian Fellowship" even though the congregation and the base is no longer in the Greenhills area.
The Senior Pastor since 1993 is Dr. Luis L. Pantoja, Jr. after 22 years of extensive academic and pastoral ministries in North America, he continues to lead the church to pursue its vision to reach influencers for the Lord Jesus Christ, to support missions-oriented efforts here and abroad, and be agents of change in the Philippine society and the world.
From its one location, GCF has expanded into a multiple-venue church reaching thousands for the Lord Jesus Christ. On August 6, 2006, GCF inaugurated its expanded ministry center, a 10-story building and a combined seating capacity of 3000. GCF is an ACTIVE and supporting church of the Conservative Baptist Association. On the 50th anniversary of Conservative Baptist Mission work in the Philippines, GCF was recognized as the largest Conservative Baptist community in the world.
February 2008 will mark GCF's 30th Anniversary.
External links
Ministries
- Greenhills Christian Fellowship website
- GCF South Metro
- GCF East
- GCF Youth LIVE (Living in View of Eternity)
- GCF Crossover Ministry (Young Adults and Singles)
Schools
- Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
- The Criswell College Dallas
- Dallas Seminary
- Alliance Graduate School
Denominational/Interdenominational