An estimated 2.16 million Filipinos live abroad as migrant workers, according to 2023 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. It’s a reality which Lito Sampan with A3 and others see as both a gospel opportunity and something with risks to watch out for.

Filipino pastors
(Photo courtesy Asian Access)

“We are always reminding the churches to come alongside these Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families and help them establish their purpose, why they are working abroad, and at the same time equip them [so] that they will be responding to the Great Commission of making disciples,” Sampan says.

“Because whether you are here in the Philippines or abroad, we still have to make disciples.” 

Sampan is a volunteer partner of A3. He has also served with Global Filipino Movement to help churches support the unique needs of Filipinos working abroad. He explains why a recent report from Lausanne 4 lists the Philippines as number 4 on the top sending countries of Christian missionaries. 

“They’re counting these [Christian] Overseas Filipino Workers as part of these ‘migrant missionaries,’” he says. 

Preparation is essential

There are a few key conversations Sampan believes must be had in order for Filipinos to be wise and effective overseas.

“A lot of them do not really have the purpose why they’re going abroad, except  to earn money and then send it to the Philippines,” Sampan says. “I saw a lot of OFWs working there for 20 years, 30 years. Stopping is not included in their dictionary or in their vocabulary, because they have never really established that purpose.”

Photo of Filipino men working in Brunei courtesy of Jpquidores via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

He says A3 can train leaders on how to support OFWs through having intentional conversations about being witnesses of Christ and establishing a timeline for working overseas. 

As with most things, there’s a mix of good and challenge in these opportunities. (Read more on that here.) Filipino men and women are resilient and willing to serve, which makes them welcome employees. They also have a knack for languages. 

“To God be the glory, we have a kind of tongue that can learn the different dialects,” Sampan says. “Whether it is Southeast Asia or Asian or Middle East, whatever, it’s easy for the Filipinos to learn their language and dialect.”

Dangers abroad

But along with these open doors comes the dangers of abuse by employers, which can come in many forms, and damaged family relationships back home. This is true not only for Filipinos but also other South Asian Christians.

“We have also Indonesian working abroad, because we are meeting each other in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia. We have Nepali now. How can we help them?” Sampan says.

“Please pray for them and for the churches, that they will have a united effort in establishing why they are working abroad. Pray for their families — there will always be a vacuum or a gap the moment the member of the family [leaves to] work abroad, like the father or the mother.” 

Ask God to call and equip Christians in South Asia for wise gospel ministry wherever they live and work, and then bring them back home to their families. 

Header photo from 2016 where President Rodrigo Duterte, foreign affairs and labor department officials, and overseas Filipino workers do a fist gesture at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City on August 31 (Photo courtesy of KING RODRIGUEZ/PPD via Wikimedia Commons)