METHODISM SINCE 1948

The work of the Church has moved steadily forward since the rebuilding, in the period immediately following 1948, as the following figures demonstrate:¹⁴²

	1949	1952	1956	1960
Total Membership	87,657	113,312	*98,883	117,232
Total Church School Membership	31,018	34,710	55,594	71,717

From 1948 until the present, The Methodist Church has been under the leadership of Bishop Jose Valencia, whose popularity is indicated by the fact that at the Central Conferences of 1952, 1956, and 1960 he was re-elected to the highest office of Methodism on the first ballot. His pastoral ability has long been recognized. This was demonstrated in the war years, when he gave himself so selflessly to ministering to the Church in the North. An indication of the direction the Church has taken under his leadership can be seen in his Central Conference addresses since 1948, which manifest an overriding concern for evangelism and stewardship, as the Church has sought to expand both in outreach and in dedication. Indicative of the expansion of the Church in these years is -the fact that by 1960 Methodism was found from northern Luzon, south to Mindanao, with four annual conferences (Philippines, Northern Philippines, Northwest Philippines and Middle Philippines), as well as the Mindanao Provisional Annual Conference, and with work opening in Bicol, Palawan, Masbate, Mindoro and among some of the tribal groups. The stewardship of the Church in one area can be seen from these figures taken from the Episcopal Addresses:

	1949	1952	1956	1960
Totals Paid to Pastors' Salaries	P96,780.43	P113,288.36	P154,048.28	P512,130.23

A significant aspect of the growth of the Church during these years has been its emphasis upon the frontiers challenging the Church in the rural areas, where most Filipinos live today. The health and strength of this predominantly agricultural nation will depend to a large extent upon what is happening among its rural inhabitants. Realizing this, The Methodist Church has built two rural centers, one in San Mateo, Isabela, and the other in Kidapawan, Cotabato. These centers serve by teaching better methods of farming and of raising livestock and poultry. Health and sanitation, home and family life, and community-life improvement are taught, and lay workers are trained for serving the church and the nation. The work of these rural centers has gone hand-in-hand with the National Council of Churches' Department of Social Welfare and Social Education, under the vigorous and inspired leadership of Methodist Cornelio Ferrer, alert pastor, writer and sociologist.

The need for this rural emphasis was dramatically seen in the Hukbalahap revolt of the post-war years. Be- ginning as a movement for much needed rural reform during the war years, it gained a great following, as it valiantly fought the occupying Japanese forces. It was especially strong in the central plains of Luzon, which have been acute areas of agrarian unrest over the years. The "Huk" movement, however, was discovered to be Communist-inspired and finally was defeated through a combination of military and agrarian reform measures of the Government. The governmental reforms have not been enough, however, to quell all the sources of unrest. The Church, therefore, still has a crucial role to play in working for genuine agrarian reform and improvement which could serve as an example for the rest of the nation. With these facts in mind, it is not hard to see why rural centers are so important.
An example of what the Church can do in this regard is to be found in the Philippines Annual Conference Journal of 1956, under the report of the Pampanga District Superintendent; Fidel Galang. Dr. Galang, one of the leaders of Methodism, well understands this whole problem because he served with the Huks until they were discovered to be Communist-led. After the war, Pastor Galang became a Crusade Scholar and received his doctorate from Boston University; his dissertation centered on the work of the Church in rural uplift in the Philippines. The way this knowledge was put into practice is seen in his report of 1956:

A concrete example of this was the (community evangelistic services) we held at San Luis, Pampanga. We have a small church in the barrio of Santo Rosario. Our team of 25 pastors, missionary, deaconess and lay helpers became incarnated into farm peasants and lived among them for a week. We taught their children and young people; we drained the muddy water around their two artesian wells; we cleaned their streets; we invited a medical doctor to lecture on health and sanitation and to attend to their sick, and a veterinarian to advise them on better poultry and hog-raising, and an agriculturist to help them know how to raise better crops; and in the evenings we held evangelistic services which were crowned with 27 decisions for Christ and a great revival among our church members But the greatest thing that happened in that community was the transformation of attitude ex- pressed so fittingly in these words: "So this is Protestantism, we never knew it so good!"¹⁴³

If Methodism is to measure up to its social responsibilities in the years ahead, her rural emphasis must continue and expand. But this should be matched by an equally enlightened urban emphasis. While the Philippines is still largely rural, its cities are growing rapidly and will have an increasingly predominant role in the life of this nation. This is especially true of Manila, where most of the trade and wealth are concentrated. As Egbert de Vries so aptly put it in his book Man in Rapid Social Change:

All the prime movers in our age, technical as well as spiritual, social and political, are at present based in the capitals of the world. Here, rather than ill the villages, contemporary history is written. Here also, with the human race, the churches are put to the test.¹⁴⁴

Overcrowding, slums, mushrooming industry, juvenile delinquency, and the like – these problems of the cities cry out for radical solution and the Church must address herself to them, for she is heir to a gospel that has concern for the whole of life. Wherever human nature is stifled or hurt, there the Church has a redemptive role to play.

Methodism has made a beginning here, but, as yet, she has only scratched the surface. Mention has al- ready been made of the Methodist Social Center in downtown Manila, Mary Johnston Hospital in the slums of Tondo, and Children's Garden in Taytay, Rizal. Since 1960, Methodism has begun establishing Annual Conference Boards of Christian Social Concerns and local church Commissions of Christian Social Concerns, designed to channel the social concern of the Church into alert and responsible action on national and local fronts. In addition she works in concert with the other churches of the National Council of Churches in such areas as Church World Service, religious liberty, and rapid social change.

It must be admitted, however, that much of our social witness has been of the nature of "first aid"-that is, picking up the bodies hurt by the social order, without challenging the entrenched evils that make the first aid necessary. A doctor who gives first and without also trying to cure the cause of infection or illness has done only a minor part of his total job. For the Church to concentrate on first aid – such as feeding the hungry and clothing the naked – and yet accept an evil economic and social system reminds one of an example Walter Rauschenbusch gave, of a "test applied by the head of an insane asylum to distinguish the sane from the insane. He put a bucket under a running faucet and asked them to dip out the water. The insane merely dipped and dipped. The sane turned off the faucet and dipped out the rest."¹⁴⁵

To "turn off the faucet" the Church must address herself to such evils as those caused by the gross exploitation of natural resources, the control of much of the land by a few landowners, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a small minority and chronic unemployment. We cannot excuse ourselves from responsibility in challenging such evils by saying "What can a tiny minority like The Methodist Church do, anyway?" In the first place, those forces that influence society dynamically are very often "only" tiny minorities, whether they influence society for good (as did twelve disciples in the Roman Empire) or whether they influence society for evil (as have a few Communist Party members in Russia). The "faithful remnant" can be far more influential than the indifferent masses. In the second place, we should not think of working only as Methodists. We should think in terms of working side by side with other Christian groups in challenging the social evils of our day. The uniting of activity in this field, for example by The Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ in the Philippines could make the social witness of these two churches far more significant than it has been thus far. Nor should we forget the social awareness evident in the other churches in the Philippines. In the future, perhaps, we shall even be able to work with the Roman Catholic Church in certain areas of social concern, for that Church is being stirred out of is lethargy by the revolutionary impact of the times in which we are living.

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* Decrease due in part to 1952 General Conference action specifying that inactive and preparatory members should not be included ill total membership statistics.

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