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BOGO CITY, Cebu — Three regular listeners of a nightly radio ministry were among 15 individuals baptized Saturday, marking the culmination of two consecutive evangelistic crusades in the city’s Anonang Sur and Anonang Norte districts.

The baptism followed two weeks of evangelistic meetings sponsored and facilitated by the Caduawan Seventh-day Adventist Church in the municipality of Tabogon. 

Pastor Ildefonso Baquilabat, field secretary and stewardship director of the East Central Philippine Union Conference, conducted the crusade in Anonang Sur from Oct. 3 to 9, while gospel worker Nieljun Bercero of the Caduawan church led the efforts in Anonang Norte a week before.

Among those baptized was Willie (full name withheld), an avid follower of the "Jesus is Our Hope" radio program broadcast nightly on DYCM. After years of listening, Willie overcame his hesitation, visited the Bogo Seventh-day Adventist Church, and requested baptism.

“Nagsugod kog paminaw sa radyo niadto pang 2019, apan ako nang gibantayan ang sugo gikan sa pagkaon ug uban pa niadtong 2020,” Willie told Levi Clavis, one of the program's co-hosts.

(I started listening to the radio program back in 2019, and by 2020 I began observing biblical health principles regarding diet and other teachings.)

Willie said his decision to join the church stemmed from a deep understanding of scripture cultivated through years of tuning in to the broadcast.

“Ug dili pa tungod nimo, Bro. Levi ug Bro. Jun, nga nagpasiugda niining programa sa radyo, dili unta nako masayran ang kamatuoran,” Willie said. “Daku gyud akong pagpasalamat niinging programaha.

(”If it were not for you, Brother Levi and Brother Jun, initiating this radio program, I would never have known the truth. I am deeply grateful for this program.”)

A married couple, who also regularly followed the broadcasts from a different area, joined Willie in getting baptized on Saturday.

"They do not know each other, nor are they neighbors," Clavis said, then shared how he met the couple. “These two are from Guadalupe and are also followers of the radio program. The wife is a retired teacher, and the husband is a government employee who works at Bogo City Hall.”

He added that the couple also visited the church in Guadalupe and asked to be baptized. After confirming their decisions on Thursday—two days before the baptism date—the couple joined Willie and 12 others who accepted Jesus through baptism. In total, 15 of them stepped into the shores of Nailon to be baptized.

“The teachings we heard from Brother Levi and Brother Jun were so clearly explained and well-supported by the Scriptures that we have long believed they represent the church instituted by God," one of the couple said.

Dejito explained that after every episode, they announce the locations of nearby Adventist congregations—such as those on Pelaez Street in the heart of the city, as well as the Upper Nailon and Lower Nailon churches—to help listeners connect with local fellowships.

"This is how every Adventist media program should be, as emphasized by the OneVoice27 initiative," a church leader said. "We should not focus only on the programs we create, but on connecting viewers and listeners to the local church."

He also shared that the ministry has lost count of how many listeners have visited local churches seeking baptism over the years. "There was even an entire church before. It’s because their pastor was the first one who was convicted," Dejito said.

Baquilabat emphasized the expanding reach of media ministries on the Sabbath morning he presented Willie to the church in Bogo. "The gospel indeed reaches people through radio evangelism, as proven by these precious souls who came from different places but arrived together at one church," he said.

The "Jesus is Our Hope" program airs daily on DYCM from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. The broadcast originally launched in 2002 under the theme "Kini ang Maayong Balita" before transitioning to its current title in 2007. 

In addition to the nightly DYCM broadcasts, Dejito hosts a similar radio program every Sunday on DYKC in Mandaue City.

"It has always been my earnest prayer that God will continue providing the means for these radio ministries to continue. Ever since these ministries began, He has always reminded us that He uses these programs every time listeners walk into churches’ doors asking to be baptized," he stated.

Pastor Eliezer "Joer" Barlizo Jr., first ECPUC president, highlighted the vital role of modern media in church growth. "This experience proves that digital evangelism reaches people that traditional methods cannot," Barlizo said. "It only strengthens the authenticity of the OneVoice27 initiative."