| Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch) | |
| Denomination: | Pentecostal |
| Founded Date: | 1972 |
| Founder: | Arsenio Tan Ferriol |
| Location: | Marikina, Metro Manila (Main Church) |
| Country: | Philippines |
The Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), also known as PMCC (4th Watch), is a Pentecostal Christian denomination based in the Philippines. It was founded in 1972 by Arsenio T. Ferriol, who would become its executive minister, and registered on August 30, 1973.
The church claims to be the "One True Church of Christ", with its beliefs coming from the Bible as the sole basis for all its doctrines and prophecies about the "Church of Jesus Christ" established by a living modern-day Apostle in the modern era (whereas the church doctrine calls it "The 4th Watch"; Filipino; Pilipino: Ikaapat na Pagpupuyat). The denomination, whose headquarters—its largest church—is located in Marikina, has an estimated million members worldwide.
PMCC (4th Watch) was founded in 1972 by Arsenio Tan Ferriol[1] (January 14, 1936 – May 19, 2024), a native of Odiongan, Romblon,[2] who later became the church's first chief executive minister.[3] [4] It was said that Ferriol had been doing his evangelization activities since the late 1950s.
The church had separated from the Foursquare Gospel, a North American-based Pentecostal church, where Arsenio and his brother, Arturo, had been Bible students in their youth and later trained pastors,[5] [6] and later forming the People's Missionary Church (a small community church in Marikina) prior to another split and its registration. As a result, the church, being indigenous, is independent of Western Pentecostalism.[7] The church was officially registered as its current name to the Philippine government's Securities and Exchange Commission in August 1973, the event being commemorated as its establishment.[8] [9]
Another brother, Domingo (1943–2021), pioneered one of the first church buildings in Malagasang, Imus, Cavite;[10] while Arturo later led the construction of the main church in Marikina (then part of Rizal). The church expanded abroad through visits by mid-1980s, and with the first foreign church established in Hong Kong in 1989, the same year it also reached North America.[11]
PMCC, being one of the fastest growing independent denomination in the country and in Asia, eventually became one of the largest indigenous Pentecostal churches, having a nationwide presence in almost every city and province.[12] By the time of the church's 50th anniversary, PMCC has been present in 72 countries worldwide with 1,055 locale churches. Members are known for being missionaries because of their house visits and public preaching in areas (markets, buses and parks) elsewhere.[7]
PMCC publishes The Word magazine (founded in 1989), and broadcasts programs including Oras ng Katotohanan and its United States counterpart Surer Word (established in 2008 as the church's first all-English program abroad).[13] It owns Life Radio network and has its own television station, Life TV.[14]
On August 27, 2023, the church held its 50th anniversary celebration in New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Capas, Tarlac, which was attended by at least 42,000 members[15] and nearly 3,000 ministers.[16]
Arsenio's wife and six children are currently serving in high positions in the church, with his son Jonathan succeeding him as the chief executive minister after his death in 2024.
PMCC believes that the true church was founded on the day of Pentecost, as mentioned in the Book of Acts; and the spiritual gifts (as mentioned in) by the Holy Spirit in the church continues to this day, including the apostleship, which is believed the most important and to be given by Jesus Christ to Arsenio Ferriol (thus, the "apostle in the end-time;" and being the Goodman of the House, citing).
The restoration of spiritual gifts is emphasized by the PMCC, which defined Pentecostal as reverting to the early Christian Church in the Book of Acts. They prefer to be called "Biblical Pentecostalism", with the church's name indicating its general direction; the term is said restoring the Pentecostalism generally with adherence to biblical teachings needed to achieve unity, and increases the indigenization as well, maintaining its independence.
PMCC believes that the fourth watch mystery was revealed only to Ferriol. Citing Mark 13, it was stated that the New Testament times constituted four periods of time: Apostolic era (or ancient era; evening watch, referred to as 1st watch); Papacy (medieval era/Dark Ages; midnight, 2nd); Reformation (Renaissance; rooster-crowing, 3rd); end-time (New Age; morning, 4th and last). The latter is said to be the present day and that the Second Coming of Jesus is about to occur; wherein baptized members are to be saved through rapture, leaving apostates to experience the Great Tribulation. Ferriol, being the leader, claimed God commanded him through voice and light one evening in 1970 in Odiongan, giving him the revelation through Jesus to restore the original church in the modern era, hence, its name.
PMCC believes in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (all as God, but not a Trinity); the humanity of Jesus who, according to them, emptied Himself during the first incarnation, as well as the Personality of the Holy Spirit. Their teachings also involve the fulfillment of the Great Commission which includes preaching the gospel of salvation—which is through Jesus' finished work demonstrated by his suffering, death, and resurrection; and is attained only by grace—and baptism by immersion.
Also, one of their beliefs is the infallibility of the Bible, being the final authority.[17]
End-Time Mission Broadcasting Service (EMBS) is a radio and television broadcasting division of the PMCC through its Resources for Doctrinal Empowerment and Evangelistic Ministry (ReDEEM). Its corporate office is located in Marikina. EMBS owns three radio stations under the Life Radio brand, and its television network Life TV.[18] [19] [20]
PMCC's media ministry can be traced back to its flagship program, Oras ng Katotohanan (Hour of Truth), which started in the 1980s on radio (through DWXX in 1985) and later on television (through IBC-13 on October 18, 1991).
| Life TV | |
| Picture Format: | 1080i (HDTV) (downscaled to 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Country: | Philippines |
| Headquarters: | Marikina |
| Language: | English, Filipino |
| Area: | Philippines |
| Terr Serv 1: | BEAM TV (Digital terrestrial television) |
| Terr Chan 1: | Channel x.5 (DTT) |
| Online Serv 1: | Facebook Live |
| Online Serv 2: | BEAM TV |
| Online Chan 2: | Watch Live (Philippines only) |
Life TV was launched October 3, 2016, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of ONK's TV broadcast. It formerly aired 24 hours a day on SkyCable and Cignal TV. Life TV currently broadcasts in English and Filipino via BEAM TV's DTT subchannel daily from 5 am to 12 mn, and through their online livestreaming. Since 2017, Life TV became the second religious channel (next to Iglesia ni Cristo Television), known for broadcasting of the station's digital clock during the entire course of its broadcast. It is headquartered in Marikina.
Life TV's programming consists of its in-house produced shows as well as imported from various productions. Selected programs were aired on BEAM TV UHF Channel 31.
Current programming
Select church events are also being aired annually, including:
Previous programming
Broadcast in line with the church's 50th anniversary:
| Life Radio |
Life Radio is the ministry's radio service, broadcasting across the Luzon area.
| Branding | Call-Sign | Frequency | Power (kW) | Location | First air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life Radio Philippines | Listen Live | Worldwide | |||
| Life Radio Northern Luzon | DWET | 1179 kHz | 10 kW | Santiago | 2014 |
| Life Radio Southern Luzon | DZAT | 1512 kHz | 10 kW | Lucena | 2005 |
The church, while conducting prayer crusades,[21] has also been active in social work, with activities including medical, disaster response, and educational outreach.
The church's ministerial arm, Maranatha Bible School International, was established by Arturo Ferriol in 1975,[22] while its educational ministry began in 1980.
PMCC's Dalaw Kalinga Foundation held its first medical mission in 1997.[23]
The definition of Pentecostalism is emphasized on the deep personal spiritual experience and expressive worship, among others. The exact number of Pentecostals are difficult to identify for the reasons that most country censuses have no comparison among the Christianity except for Protestantism and Catholicism; and Pentecostalism, as a movement, may only exist as distinct and non-mainstream congregations. A study by Pew Research Center in 2011, although reported that there are no data on exact number of Pentecostals in the Christian-dominated Philippines, estimated it at 2.2 million. Aside from PMCC (4th Watch), another known Pentecostal group in the country is the Jesus Is Lord Church.[24]
There had been three United States-based Pentecostal movements which sent missionaries to the then US-administered Philippines. The Foursquare Gospel, the church where the PMCC separated from, was the last to do so in 1937.[25]
