bahrain christian fellowship

Pastor Butch Estacio is an associate pastor looking after BCF-Area 7. His area includes Riffa, Awali, Askar, Sanad, Jaww, Hamad Town, Dumistan, Karzakan, Hamala, Sadad, Zallaq. He has been with BCF since 2006.  Aside from salvation, one of the greatest gifts I received from the Lord Jesus is my sense of purpose. Countless people struggle with the question of why they

are on planet earth. I don’t. I am thankful that God has made known to me why I am here. And that is to communicate His Word.This realization didn’t come quickly or easily. It is the result of struggling, searching, doubting and finally possessing.

My born-again experience was tremendous. Before I met the Lord, I was on the verge of suicide because of depression. I was totally hopeless and desperate even if I had a good job and a supportive mother and a sister. I guess the prayers of my Christian mother were starting to work for I felt how lost I was. I was aware that there was something wrong, something missing in my life, but I didn’t know what it was. All I knew was that there was an aching emptiness in me.

Then I met the Lord and everything took a U-turn. Suddenly I was bubbling with joy, and every bit of problem seemed insignificant because I had God to rely upon. The preaching of the Word was like honey that was sliding down my throat and turning to fire inside of me and energizing my whole being. Every question was answered and everything made sense. I couldn’t get enough of the worship service that I would hurry home to pray to God and cry tears of joy and thanksgiving for His grace.

In those prayers, the desire to do ‘more’ was born. I had the unshakable urge to serve God but I did not know how. So I tried to help out in the church ministries. Since I could paint a little, I did some drawings for the Sunday school, but I felt it was not for me. I wanted to join the praise and worship team, but I couldn’t sing properly because I ended up crying when I started to say the words of the song.

Now I realize that God was gently leading me. In one of my prayers I felt that I wanted to share His word; I wanted to be a teacher of the Bible. For some time I wrestled with this idea because I thought that it was just my flesh telling me this since I was already an English teacher. I thought I was taking the easy road. But I later knew it was God.

One night as I was praying, I heard a voice say, “Teach my word.” I was stunned! It was a soft gentle voice but I felt like I had been shot in my heart. I felt like I won a million dollars. For days I was on cloud nine.  But as that feeling died out, the old suspicion that it was just my subconscious started to creep in again.. Then in my Bible reading, the Holy Spirit showed me verses like Ezra 7:10; Matthew 13:52-53 and Acts 6:4. But what really settled things for me was 1 Corinthians 12:28 that said,  “And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.” Slowly I was convinced of my calling and I enrolled in a seminary.
It was not hard to decide to become a pastor as it had been the desire of my heart for a long time. The thinking in some Christian circles was that if one goes into ministry, one has to quit his job. But the Apostle Paul practiced a craft and made money out of it even if he had the right to live on the offering of the people. I follow that principle. I support myself in order to free the church of the burden of supporting me. Some say I’m serving God and money. I say I’m using money to serve God.

Deciding to enter the ministry was not hard, but preparing for it was. My seminary education, although unfinished, was very tough. Not only because of the difficulty of the subjects but because of the constant pressure to do the my best. I had to do the papers, study for the tests and prepare for the classes to the best of my ability simply because it was for my Lord. Another hard but fulfilling part is learning to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. And this is one lesson that no one can teach you but the Spirit Himself.
One of the most essential tools that God used to prepare me was my discipler. He was my pastor and one of my trusted friends but he was also my sharpest critic. He would call my attention if I was late for a meeting and he would point out the weaknesses and mistakes in my sermons. One time I was in charge of an overnight prayer meeting and when it was time for coffee, the sugar was still in the plastic bag and not in the container. He squarely put the blame on me. He taught me responsibility.

My discipler also taught me how to teach the Bible. Although I knew that I had the gift of teaching, I didn’t know how to teach Scripture, how to deliver a sermon effectively, how to relate to people. Slowly it dawned on me that spiritual gifts have to be translated into practical skills. No wonder Paul urged Timothy to “stir the gift”. By listening to my pastor and crying out to God in prayer, I learned to communicate. I had to learn that skill because as a teacher, that was where my battle was. If I was not good there, I was basically useless.

I became a part of BCF when my daughter and I arrived in Bahrain in 2006. I was and still am blessed by this church because there are lots of avenues for service. It is a busy and productive congregation. I am so thankful to be a part of it. God is using BCF to stir the gift of evangelism in me. In the Philippines, I concentrated on teaching and discipleship. In Bahrain, I have become more involved in soul-wining in our ministries in OWWA, in the labor camps and in Area 7. I think I have led more people to Christ in Bahrain than all my years as a minister in the Philippines.

I am grateful to the Lord for entrusting Area 7 to me as a pastor. With the help of the workers there and the evangelism team, we have seen dozens of people accept the Lord as their Lord and Savior. And so far we have two extension Bible studies composed of new believers.
The immediate plan for Area 7 is to cultivate more workers and teachers. The aim is make each of us more productive in the work of the Lord. This means training in skills like giving a testimony, studying the Bible and teaching Scripture. I believe that God is going to give us more souls to harvest and disciple, and we have to be ready.