By Krista Carnet
Singing, Scripture reading and preaching are all common parts of a Sunday service at Baptist churches in Virginia. What sets the Fil-Am Christian Church in Fredericksburg apart is that all three are done in English and Tagalog.
Fil-Am Christian Church has a regular Sunday attendance of around 80. “We have probably averaged 90 percent attendance from the beginning, truly remarkable,” said Charlie Chilton, who helped start the church.
Chilton is the retired founding pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Woodbridge and was a missionary to the Philippines from 1970-77. Although he had to leave the missions field due to an illness, Chilton's work in the Philippines and his fluency in Tagalog prepared him for a new missions field in Virginia, where he has planted several Filipino-American churches, including Fil-Am Christian Church.
After Chilton retired from Grace Baptist Church and moved to Orange County, he was asked to lead a Bible study at a friend's home. Chilton had checked the census numbers for Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties and found a population of 5,000 Filipinos. “I told him I would come if he could get any Filipinos to attend,” Chilton said.
Thirteen people showed up for the Bible study, and Chilton gave each of them a Bible written in Tagalog. “We decided to do Bible study every Friday night. During that year following, each one of those 13 accepted Christ and requested believer's baptism,” Chilton said.
Sue Judy was one of those 13. “Fil-Am Christian Church is very important to me because this is where I found Jesus, who has given me a new meaning of life and my best opportunity to grow spiritually,” Judy said.
In November 2001 that small group decided to start having Sunday services, and the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Fredericksburg agreed to let them use their facility. In November 2002, they organized as Fil-Am Christian Church. Not long after the congregation affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
“We continued to grow and needed a larger space and the Friendship Baptist Church of Fredericksburg invited us to share their facility,” Chilton said. “We moved there in January 2004 and have increased on all fronts in ministry and organization.”
And in September their new pastor, Gil Diokno, arrived to lead the church toward its vision. “Our vision is to grow and grow in impact on this community and the world,” Chilton said.
Special to the Herald
Krista Carnet writes for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. More information about Fil-Am Christian Church is available at www.filamcc.com.