A Brief History of the Reformed and Presbyterian Church in the Philippines

The story of the Protestant church in the Philippines begins at the close of the nineteenth century, in the wake of the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the arrival of American missionaries under the new colonial government. On April 21, 1899, Rev. James B. Rodgers, the first Presbyterian missionary, arrived in Manila and organized a congregation that would later become Ellinwood Malate Church. To prevent overlap, the major Protestant missions signed the Evangelical Union’s comity agreement in 1901, dividing the islands geographically among their denominations. Though imperfect, this arrangement helped shape the early spread of Protestantism in the archipelago.

Presbyterians played a significant role in building institutions of learning and leadership. In 1901, they founded Silliman Institute in Dumaguete (later Silliman University), the first Protestant school in the country. They also helped establish Union Theological Seminary in 1907 to train Filipino pastors for ministry. These institutions not only nurtured Protestant congregations but also produced civic leaders who influenced national life, laying a strong foundation for Protestant witness in the Philippines.

By the 1920s, calls for visible unity among Protestants grew stronger. These efforts culminated after World War II in the creation of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in 1948, which merged Presbyterians, Congregationalists, United Brethren, Disciples of Christ, and others into one body. While this union was a landmark ecumenical achievement, it came at the cost of diluting the distinctives of confessional Presbyterianism and Reformed theology, which were absorbed into a broader denominational identity.

Thus, the early decades of Protestantism revealed both gains and growing pains. On the one hand, the comity plan enabled church planting and rapid growth. On the other hand, migration and social change blurred denominational lines, and theological diversity widened. Filipino leadership developed steadily, but so too did the need for greater confessional clarity and fidelity to the Reformed faith.

A fresh Reformed witness emerged in the 1960s with the arrival of missionaries from the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA). In 1962, Vince and Lucy Apostol began work in Negros, which led to the formation of the Christian Reformed Church in the Philippines (CRCP). Rooted in the Three Forms of Unity, the CRCP established Bible schools, diaconal ministries, and congregations. By the 1980s and 1990s, it had organized its own classes and synod, marking the growth of a distinctly Dutch Reformed presence in the country.

Around the same period, Korean Presbyterian missionaries, particularly from the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong), expanded the Presbyterian witness. They planted churches, trained leaders, and founded the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1983. The Presbyterian Church of the Philippines (PCP) soon followed, organizing its first presbytery in 1987 and its first General Assembly in 1996. This was a significant milestone for confessional Presbyterianism, bringing the Westminster Standards into wider use in Philippine church life and theological education.

These gains, however, came with difficulties. Reformed and Presbyterian churches strengthened biblical preaching, catechesis, and elder-led polity while engaging in diaconal and educational ministries. Yet they faced persistent challenges: limited resources, occasional leadership disputes, theological drift, and the rise of prosperity preaching. The collapse of earlier comity arrangements, along with new divisions, revealed the fragility of Protestant cooperation and underscored the need for confessional steadfastness.

Out of these struggles, a more confessional Reformed witness took shape in the 2000s. In 2005, congregations from the Christian Reformed tradition organized the United Covenant Reformed Church in the Philippines (UCRCP), later renamed the Pearl of the Orient Covenant Reformed Church (POCRC). With support from the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS), POCRC sought to uphold the Word of God and the historic Reformed confessions while pursuing church planting and partnerships with like-minded bodies abroad. Meanwhile, small confessional Reformed and Presbyterian congregations also began to take root in Metro Manila and across Luzon, as well as in the Visayas and the island of Mindanao.

In the south, the Davao Covenant Reformed Church (DCRC) became a vital center of ministry. Started in January 2000 through the initiative of Nollie Malabuyo, then working with Wycliffe Bible Translators, together with three other men including Vic Bernales, DCRC initially came under the oversight of Trinity United Reformed Church (TURC) in California. When Mr. Bernales completed his studies at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, DCRC was able to establish closer ties with POCRC. Since then, under the oversight of faithful pastors and elders, the church has labored in pastoral care, theological training, and mission work. In a context of religious pluralism and cultural pressures, DCRC has stood as an example of steady commitment to the ordinary means of grace and the vitality of confessional Reformed churches in the Philippines.

Looking back, the history of the Reformed and Presbyterian churches in the Philippines offers both encouragement and warning. God has been faithful in raising up institutions, leaders, and churches that proclaim Christ and uphold His Word. Yet the church must remain vigilant against compromise, disunity, and doctrinal drift. As Abraham Kuyper famously declared, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” The way forward is clear: to be faithful to Scripture, rooted and united in the Reformed confessions, patient in training ministers and planting congregations, and bold in declaring Christ’s lordship over all. Only then will the Reformed tradition in the Philippines continue to grow and shine as a light to the glory of God and the good of His people.