Ted Wall

TED WALL — Missionary to the Philippines

YWAM Laguna · Pioneer & Base Director · Serving in the Philippines since 2005

I was born and raised in Nanaimo, BC, and first felt God calling me into full-time missions
at the age of 19 while attending a six-month Discipleship Training School with Youth With A
Mission (YWAM) in Honolulu, Hawaii. That calling eventually led me to the Philippines,
where I began serving as a missionary in January 2005.

For my first seven years in the Philippines, I served among families living in extreme poverty
in the Smokey Mountain area of Tondo, Manila. Then, in 2011, God led me to Laguna, a
province just south of Manila, where I pioneered YWAM Laguna. Over the years, I have had
the privilege of raising up a small team of Filipino missionaries who now serve alongside
me as we reach out to poor and needy communities. Today, I continue to serve as director
of YWAM Laguna.

At the heart of our ministry is a desire to see lives and communities transformed through
Jesus Christ. One of our key verses is John 10:10, where Jesus says, “I have come that they
may have life, and have it to the full.” We believe that the life Jesus brings begins with
spiritual transformation, but it doesn’t stop there. As God transforms a person’s heart, that
change begins to affect their relationships, their family and ultimately their community.
Much of our ministry takes place in communities where poverty has persisted from one
generation to the next. We see both a physical and material poverty, but also a spiritual
poverty — generations growing up without knowing the hope, purpose and abundant life
that are found in Christ. One of the strongest convictions God has placed on my heart is
that this cycle has to break somewhere, and I believe it begins with the younger
generation.

For that reason, children and youth have always been a major focus of our ministry. We
want to reach them while they are young — to introduce them to Jesus, disciple them in
their faith, help them discover their God-given value and purpose, and give them
opportunities that can change the direction of their lives. Through children’s ministries,
youth ministries, Bible studies, discipleship, education and student sponsorship, feeding
programs, leadership development and simply walking alongside young people over many
years, our desire is to see a generation grow up knowing Christ and equipped to build a
different future for themselves, their families and their communities.

One of the places where we have seen this vision taking shape is Sitio Camachile, or
“CamCam,” a large poor community in San Pedro, Laguna. When ministry began there, our
focus was simple: build relationships, share the Gospel, make disciples and demonstrate
the love of Christ in practical ways. Over time, ministries developed for children, youth,
young adults and families, with a strong emphasis on identifying and raising up leaders
from within the community.

In 2014, we planted the first Christian church in CamCam, Sitio Camachile Community
Church. Since then, it has been incredible to watch what God has done. People have come
to faith in Christ, children we began ministering to years ago have grown into young adults,
and leaders have been raised up from within the community who are now serving and
leading others. Today, much of the ministry that our missionary team once carried is being
led locally. Even more exciting, people from CamCam are now reaching beyond their own
community and sharing the Gospel and God’s love with others.

Alongside evangelism, discipleship and church planting, practical mercy ministry remains
an important part of what we do. Over the years this has included feeding programs,
student sponsorships, medical assistance, disaster relief, housing and community
improvement projects, clean water projects, medical missions and other practical
expressions of God’s love. We don’t see these things as separate from the Gospel. Jesus
cares about the whole person, and we want people not only to hear about His love, but to
experience His compassion in tangible ways.

Today, YWAM Laguna is entering an exciting new season. From the beginning, our goal has
not been to create ministries that remain dependent upon missionaries. We want to make
disciples, raise up local leaders and eventually see them carry the work forward
themselves. As that continues to happen in CamCam, our missionary team is increasingly
able to reach outward into other communities.

One of these is Maligaya, a poor community located along an old railway line. Here again,
we are investing especially in children and young people — building relationships, sharing
the Gospel, discipling them and trusting God to raise up another generation of followers
and leaders of Jesus.

After more than two decades of serving in the Philippines, my passion remains much the
same as when God first called me: to introduce people to Jesus, make disciples, invest in
the next generation, raise up Filipino leaders, and see cycles of both spiritual and physical
poverty broken as people discover the abundant life that is found in Christ.

There is still much to be done, but I am deeply grateful for what God has already done and
for the churches, families and individuals who have faithfully prayed, encouraged and
partnered with me over the years. It is a privilege to serve in the Philippines and to have a
part in what God is doing there.