Editor’s Note: Here’s an interview with Pastors Jun Escosar and Ferdie Cabiling back in July 1993 when Victory was just nine years old.

(Victory Fire, Vol.2 No. 2, July 1993)

Two men, Pastors Jun Escosar and Ferdie Cabiling, who have been with Victory since the original outreach in 1984, reminisce about what it was like in “the old days.”

What was it like during the early years of Victory?
Jun Escosar (JE): There was such a tremendous awareness of and desire for God. It was a great time for developing friendships. You felt like you had found new brothers and sisters. None of us had cars, there were not many homes to visit, so we would just go to Luneta park and have a great time. We’d eat, have fun, and celebrate everyone’s birthday. It reminds me of the early church in the book of Acts. There was the literal sharing of what we had. It was tremendous.

Ferdie Cabiling (FC): Everything was fast paced those days. As soon as you got saved, you were taught the foundations of Christianity, at the same time trained to evangelize, worship God, and counsel others. The foundations of Lordship, holiness, a passion for the lost, vision, destiny, purpose, the importance of the Word and prayer, all these were instilled in our lives. We were trained immediately to do the works of ministry. It was exciting.

(From left) Pastor Jun Escosar, now the director for Every Nation Ministries in the Philippines and Pastor Ferdie Cabiling, senior pastor of Victory Ortigas together with Pastor Winston Reyes

What are some of your most memorable moments?
JE: The most memorable moments I have are our discipleship meetings. I was part of Al Manamtam’s small group, while Steve Murrell and Tom Bouvier had their own groups. I remember that in Tom’s group, you would do push-ups if you were late. We also memorized countless verses. It was a great time. We learned to relate in a deeper way and share responsibilities in the church. I also remember the time we were launched into open-air preaching and into things we never thought we could possibly do like drama, evangelism, music, and many things. Those were really some of the most wonderful days I’ve had.

FC: My most memorable moment is the time when Tom Bouvier asked the new believers “Who wants to preach?” I was one of the first to raise my hand because I was excited to preach in the pulpit. After they prayed for the four or five of us who volunteered, I discovered that what Tom meant was open-air preaching, not over the pulpit! I almost fainted, I couldn’t talk. As we marched outside to the streets of Recto with hundreds of passers-by, my heart was racing and I was so nervous I couldn’t open my mouth. But that was the beginning of my preaching ministry. My first ever sermon—right there on the street corner. That’s my most memorable moment.

Looking back, what do you see were the keys in our growth as a church movement?
FC: The foundations that were laid for us were key to who we are today—absolute purity and holiness, commitment to Christ and the local church evangelism, and especially Lordship. Looking back over the years, we’ve really grown a lot.

JE: One of the major keys was the fact that the church was founded on the Lordship of Jesus Christ. There is no question about that. To this day, that is where we derive our power from. But another key, I strongly believe, was prayer. You see, it was the time when we established a regular weekly prayer meeting for the church that we experienced tremendous growth, maturity, and the glory of God in our meetings. God really answered our prayers.

Where is Victory headed in the next nine years?
FC: I believe that we are about to experience unprecedented growth. I see everyone being equipped to do the works of the ministry. As we do that, I believe that by the grace of God, we will really explode and multiply. I also believe that in the next nine years, we will be able to reach every major campus and city in this nation and simultaneously plant churches in the nations of Asia.

JE: With the new things that God has been speaking to us—small groups, mobilization of the laity—we are on the verge of something we have never seen before as a ministry. We will saturate Metro Manila with churches in Quezon City, Caloocan, and Alabang. We will have major churches in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Aside from the ones we already have, future ministries will be established in the former Soviet Union, Hong Kong, Dubai, Burma, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the other neighboring nations in Asia. I see people from our church getting more involved in the government and making a greater impact and influence in society. It’s going to be exciting!