From Rebel to Redeemed

From Rebel to Redeemed: Multiplying Leaders for Christ

Click here or on the video above for a video message.

Dear David,

Good day to you! We trust that you are growing in your relationship with Christ and abounding in the work of the Lord.

Thirty-nine (39) years ago, Mindy and I moved to the Philippines. While studying the culture and the Cebuano language, the Lord led us to a vision of equipping nationals in a relational context within the local church to serve in ministry. We started two churches with other missionaries and entrusted those churches to the pastors we had trained. This led us to start Crossing Cultures International (CCI) in 2006.

We equip local church leaders who evangelize the lost, and we empower faithful men to oversee the training in their area.

The ministry in the Philippines started small, but with God's blessing, the ministry has grown under capable leadership and a local board of trustees to almost 3,000 students in 38 provinces. There are 80 provinces in the Philippines, and our vision is to reach people in all 80 provinces. Pastor Henry Ventura (pictured below on the left) leads our team of 30 coordinators in equipping these choice servants of the Lord. Here is the story of one of our trainees, who is now passionately evangelizing others.

Pastor Rey Rentillosa (center) is one of our graduates from CCI Philippines.

Rey's Story...

Rey Rentillosa grew up in a nominally Roman Catholic family in Cebu City, the sixth of seven children. Resembling his mother, he was teased by his brothers, who claimed he wasn’t legitimate. Feeling unloved by his father, he developed a rebellious heart. While his siblings lived in the city, he stayed with his grandmother, deepening his sense of rejection.

In college, he was involved in activism and in protesting against the government. Rey said, "I stopped concentrating on studying and started concentrating on the organizations I served. I felt hurt by my family, and I had no more interest in going to school."

Eventually, from 1974 to 1977, he joined rebel operations in the mountains of Cebu and Samar, just before martial law under President Ferdinand Marcos.

From 1977 to 1979, Rey fought as a guerrilla soldier in the Communist New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. The U.S. and Philippine governments classify the NPA as a foreign terrorist organization that funds itself by taxing businesses in its territories.

From 1979 to 1982, Rey was promoted to trainer and trained guerrilla soldiers in Bohol, Leyte, Samar, and Cebu. Captured in 1986, he secured release by bribing an official. In 1989, he was injured in combat, met his future wife (also an NPA soldier), and witnessed internal divisions within the movement.

Facing health issues, Rey sought to leave the NPA in 1989, a dangerous move as others had been killed for attempting to exit. He hid for months before a governor helped clear his record under a government amnesty program. He returned to college, completed his studies, and worked as the governor's spokesman until 1995.

During his time in the NPA, Rey believed in Karl Marx's tenet that Christianity is the opiate of the people – just a drug to make people feel better. To him, Christ was nothing more than a myth found in books and on the radio—just a feel-good story.

In the mid-1990s, Rey moved with his family to Iligan City, Mindanao. Working in a mayor's political think tank, he gained wealth, power, and influence. He engaged in criminal activities to protect himself and his family, including eliminating wanted criminals. With bodyguards for security, he was respected in his village.

In his search for meaning, Rey turned to drinking, cockfighting, gambling, and other vices, including women. He bred over 100 fighting cocks (roosters) and won significant money in cockfights. He controlled the area with military connections, using his bodyguards to suppress crime.

His wife, Brenda, and son, Lian, became believers in Christ through the influence of his sister-in-law and began attending Metropolitan Heritage Baptist Church (MHBC), led by Pastor Rico Marquez. Pastor Rico started a CCI training class in the church and invited Rey to attend Bible studies and other activities, but Rey refused. Rey's son attended the CCI class and began sharing the Bible with his dad.

Rey experienced much disillusionment during this time. He said, "No matter how much I would justify myself – power, money, etc., I had an emptiness. Even when I went to bars, I had no satisfaction. I would drink, but I was not satisfied. In 2007, I cannot count the times I almost died. I went through a lot of difficulties. I was really empty. The fighting cocks had no value. I wanted to find the truth. Is God really true? I had a feeling of emptiness that I could not explain. I wanted to discover if it was true."

In 2007, he attended the church's anniversary service. Seeing their joy and love, he felt only emptiness. He was hungry for truth and began searching to know if Jesus Christ was real. Slowly, his desires for gambling, smoking, and drinking faded. The Holy Spirit was working in his life.

The turning point came when he and his wife disagreed about another woman's text messages on his phone. Rey decided that it would be better if he just killed his wife and then himself.

"Nothing had value in my life. I decided that I would just kill her and myself. My wife was afraid I would do it. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law saw my anger and were afraid. This was the turning point. I had no peace in my life," said Rey.

Pastor Rico and Rey's sister-in-law visited him, but Rey warned them to leave, fearing something terrible might happen. A week later, his wife returned and assured him everything would be fine if he didn't return to his old life. His sister-in-law also visited him and said, "Young man, there is only one way to have peace—through Jesus Christ." This sparked his interest, and he sought this peace by attending Bible studies and church activities. In the past, money defined his happiness, but he saw genuine joy in the members of MHBC. He began reading the Bible and Christian books, starting with Genesis, where it all began.

His sister-in-law explained to him the gospel and encouraged him to receive Jesus Christ. She taught him how to pray, read the Bible, and know Jesus Christ. She was the first to disciple him.

Rey said, "When I was convinced that it was true, the heavy burden went away. The happiness returned to our family. My wife's anger went away. My sons respected me again. On Sunday, I would wake them up and tell them that it's time to worship."

In 2007, Rey decided to get baptized to declare his faith. However, he sometimes felt guilty because of his past involvement with the NPA. He read Romans 4:2-7, where the Lord said He would not count his sins against him.

After this, Rey started asking about the CCI training class. His son explained that it was for people wanting to become pastors. Rey decided to enroll and really sacrificed. He said, "Other courses I didn't study. By the time I finished Book 1, I wanted to teach others. I started sharing with officemates." They were surprised and wondered what had happened to him.

His classmates called him 'the theologian.' Rey decided to give it his all. He said, "When I was an NPA rebel, I gave it my all. Now that Christ has saved me, I decided to give Him everything and serve Him with my whole life."

In Book 4 (Preaching Biblical Messages and Pastoral Ministry), Rey started preaching and making sermon outlines. He said, "When I was convinced of something, I put myself totally in it without any fear. When Jesus Christ convicted me, there was no reason for me to retreat or not to do what He wanted because I was convinced." Rey began sharing the gospel with his brothers and sisters. Since his conversion, two of them have trusted Christ.

Since his conversion, Rey finished the CCI training in April 2011. He then planted a church in a village in Iligan City, Mindanao. He also served as the Mindanao Baptist North Men's Ministry director and is now an associate pastor in Cebu City.

In the top photo, Rey is pictured with his wife, Brenda, and his son, Lian, in front of his church plant in Illigan City, Mindanao.

Through your prayers and giving, Crossing Cultures International is training over 10,000 pastors and church leaders in 43 countries who share the gospel and plant churches just like Rey. Through your partnership with CCI, we are making an impact and difference in the world through training local church leaders. Thank you for your partnership. Please pray for God's ongoing provision for us to reach new countries and expand in current countries like the Philippines.

Please pray for God's ongoing provision for coordinators who are overseeing the training of church planters like Rey and for the resources to expand to all 80 provinces in the Philippines.

Grace and Peace,