Joel Cabanes’ heart beats for the unreached.
His entire life was dedicated to reaching out to people for Christ.
It all started when Joel chanced upon a film about missions that deeply touched his young heart. In the film, he saw how Christians were being persecuted and tested because of their faith.
“Even back then, all I wanted to do was serve God. I even prayed that if He will give me a chance to choose my death, I’d rather die serving in the ministry,” Joel shared.
Passion burned deeply in Joel’s heart. At the age of 13, he was already reaching out to people for Jesus.
“We should not be satisfied with being saved. We should also learn to give our lives to God and His Word so other people can be saved too.”
This calling brought him from the lowlands and even to the mountainous areas of Montalban – to boldly share the gospel to strangers.
Even after building a family, he and his wife, who also has a heart for missions, planted a church right in their own home. They shared the love of God with different people – especially the youth and people they met on the streets.
His passion grew even more as time went on.
His dreams of bringing the Word of God to unreached people groups continued to burn in his heart. So, to be fully geared in fulfilling his divine calling, Joel joined Asian Center for Missions (ACM)’s missionary training program.
“ACM has the best training. The subjects we tackled are really relevant and are what missionaries exactly needed,” Joel recalled.
The training greatly equipped Joel and even his family when they were called to serve God in Vietnam.
Later on, they were also able to use it when they went back to the Philippines to train aspiring missionaries. He also partnered with ACM and other organizations in missions’ mobilization.
Despite his enormous desire to be on the frontlines, Joel followed God’s leading to equip his fellow Filipinos. As God leads, Joel surrendered to His will. To him, being a Christian missionary isn’t all about pursuing a dream, but also, fully surrendering to God’s path.
Like Joel, do you have the heart to share God’s love with the unreached?
Don’t know where to start? ACM is here to help you! Visit ACM’s website and Facebook page and begin your journey as a missionary.
