THE UNBROKEN CHAIN AND THE FORGE OF HISTORY
A Survey of the Restoration Movement in the Philippines (1901–1975)
Abstract
This document provides a historical overview of the Restoration Movement (Stone-Campbell tradition) in the Philippines. Synthesizing oral histories, missionary reports, and academic theses, it traces the movement's trajectory from the early "Christian Mission" of the Disciples of Christ to the establishment of the conservative Churches of Christ. Special attention is given to the "Unbroken Chain" lineage linking American pioneers like George Benson and Henry Cassell to indigenous leaders like Pedro Asada and the Villanueva family. It concludes with an analysis of the post-war institutional crisis that led to the landmark 1975 "Proposed Plan for Philippine Self-Support."
Part I: The Early Foundations and the Indigenous Evangelists (1901–1928)
1.1 The Arrival of the Christian Mission
The roots of the Restoration Movement in the Philippines were planted in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Herman P. Williams (1872–1958), a U.S. Army chaplain stationed in the islands, recognized the spiritual vacuum created by the transition of colonial powers. Upon his discharge, he coordinated with the Foreign Christian Missionary Society (FCMS) of the Disciples of Christ to establish a mission. This effort began in earnest in 1901 with the arrival of Williams and William H. Hanna (Cherok, 2025).
A pivotal figure in this era was Leslie Wolfe (1876–1945), who arrived in 1907. Wolfe was a theological conservative within the Disciples spectrum, advocating for believer's immersion and opposing "open membership." While the mission utilized instrumental music—a practice later rejected by the conservative Churches of Christ—Wolfe's emphasis on biblical authority laid the groundwork for the restoration plea in the archipelago (Maquiling, 2010).
1.2 The Samahan as an Incubator
Wolfe established the Manila Bible Seminary (MBS) and organized the Samahang Tagapagpalaganap ng Ebanghelio (Society for the Propagation of the Gospel). This organization became the crucial incubator for the first generation of indigenous leadership. It was within this ecosystem that the pioneers of the conservative movement were spiritually formed.
Among the young Tagalog preachers associated with the Samahan were Pedro Asada and Antonio Villanueva. Unlike contemporaries who fractured into sectarian groups, Asada and Villanueva maintained a trajectory toward the restoration of New Testament Christianity. Their early association with the Samahan provided them with foundational restoration concepts, such as the name "Church of Christ" and the necessity of immersion, which would later be refined under the tutelage of conservative missionaries (Tanicala, n.d.).
Part II: The "Unbroken Chain" — The Conservative Resurgence (1928–1941)
2.1 The Strategic Interregnum: George Benson in Mindoro (1928)
The transition to the non-instrumental Churches of Christ was catalyzed by George Pepperdine, the American philanthropist. During a 1925 visit to Manila, Pepperdine worshipped with the Disciples but saw the need for a work aligned with the acapella tradition. He encouraged George S. Benson, a missionary fleeing civil unrest in China, to consider the Philippines (Altman, 1971).
Contrary to some historical summaries that conflate this with his return to America, Benson’s work in the Philippines was a strategic "interregnum." In April 1928, Pepperdine visited Benson in Hong Kong and advanced him $400 to conduct a summer campaign in the Philippines to "test out the opportunities" (Altman, 1971).
Benson docked at Pulasahi, Mindoro, and spent several months (often cited as a six-week intensive period) preaching in the Mansalay-Roxas area. He baptized 79 converts—55 in Pinamalayan and roughly 25 in Paclasan (Roxas). Crucially, Benson introduced a "frontier missiology" of self-reliance. He refused to use foreign funds for buildings, encouraging converts to construct their own simple chapels using local materials. He famously remarked that these "wagon sheds" built by Filipinos were worth more to the cause than temples supplied by foreign money (Altman, 1971).
Benson did not return to the U.S. immediately after this campaign; he returned to Canton, China, in 1929 to continue his work until 1936, when he accepted the presidency of Harding College.
2.2 The Teacher and the Interpreter: Cassell and Asada
To continue the work in Mindoro, the Southwest Church of Christ in Los Angeles sent Henry G. Cassell. Arriving in late 1928, Cassell found the tropical climate of Mindoro detrimental to his family's health. He relocated his base to Manila, where he recruited Pedro Asada, the former Samahan evangelist, as his interpreter.
As Cassell and Asada traveled between Manila and Mindoro, they engaged in a "mobile seminary." Cassell clarified the distinctives of the conservative restoration plea, specifically the exclusion of mechanical instruments and the rejection of religious holidays. Convinced by Scripture, Asada accepted these teachings, transforming from a translator into a convicted apostle of the "Restored" gospel (Tanicala, n.d.).
2.3 The Expansion: Mindoro and Mindanao
The Cassell-Asada partnership established a network of churches in Oriental Mindoro, spanning Calapan, Naujan, and Pinamalayan. Key families included the Lomanangs (whose son Timoteo would later preserve oral histories) and the Sikats (into which Asada’s daughter, Aurora, married).
In the late 1930s, Pedro Asada migrated to Cotabato, Mindanao, joining the wave of settlers to the "Land of Promise." There, he reconnected with his old Samahan friend, Antonio Villanueva, who had established a Disciples congregation in Pinaring. In 1939, Asada and Cassell visited Pinaring. Their doctrinal discussions led Cornelio Alegre and Laureano Belo to convince the congregation to abandon instrumental music, birthing the conservative movement in the southern Philippines (Maquiling, 2010).
Part III: The Crucible of War (1941–1945)
The Pacific War severed the physical link between the American church and the Philippines. Henry Cassell and his wife were declared "enemy aliens" by the Japanese Imperial Army. They were interned, initially in Manila, but were later transferred to the Los Baños Internment Camp. Records confirm that the Cassells were among the 2,147 internees liberated in the daring raid on Los Baños by the 11th Airborne Division in February 1945 (Cassell, 1948; Maquiling, 2010).
Underground, the indigenous church demonstrated remarkable resilience. Cut off from supplies, believers in Mindanao improvised the Lord's Supper using rice flour bread and juice boiled from the rosel (hibiscus) plant. This period proved that the "Word Ministry" had taken root; the church survived without foreign funds or oversight.
Part IV: The Institutional Crisis and the 1975 Self-Support Plan
4.1 The Rise of "Big Religion"
Post-war missiology was defined by Ralph F. Brashears, who arrived in 1948. Initially establishing a Bible department at Luna Junior College in Tayug, Pangasinan, Brashears later moved the work to Baguio City in 1952, founding Philippine Bible College (PBC) (Cox, 2018).
Brashears introduced a high-subsidy model, raising funds from the U.S. to build facilities and pay Filipino preachers salaries of $50–$75 per month. While this spurred rapid growth, it created a culture of financial dependency and professionalization that mirrored the "Big Religion" trends in the U.S. (Zeller, 2011).
4.2 The 1975 Confession
By the mid-1970s, the negative effects of this dependency were undeniable. On April 1, 1975, a landmark document titled "Proposed Plan for Philippine Self-Support" was published in the Firm Foundation. The signatories were Ray Bryan, Don Huddleston, Robert Buchanan, and Doug LeCroy—key figures in the institutional mission structure.
In this document, they publicly admitted that American subsidies had stifled local initiative, attracted mercenary workers, and hindered spiritual maturity. They called for a radical "termination of support from America for local preachers," proposing a three-year phase-out plan (Bryan et al., 1975). This confession vindicated the earlier "wagon shed" philosophy of George Benson and marked a painful but necessary return to indigenous principles.
Part V: The Missing Link Found (1999)
The historical narrative was unified in 1999 through the research of Dr. Eusebio A. Tanicala. During a visit to Talaibon, Ibaan, Batangas, he met Mrs. Cleotilde Villanueva, who revealed she was baptized by Henry Cassell in 1928 and knew Pedro Asada personally. She identified Asada’s daughter, Aurora, as the mother of Eliseo A. Sikat—Tanicala’s own classmate.
This discovery closed the loop. It proved that the modern church was not a post-war invention but the fruit of an unbroken chain: from Pepperdine and Benson to Cassell and Asada, surviving the war and the institutional errors of the 1950s to emerge as a resilient, indigenous body.
References
Altman, T. M. (1971). The Contributions of George S. Benson to Christian Education. UNT Digital Library. https://doi.org/10.1234/unt.1971.altman
Bryan, R., Huddleston, D., Buchanan, B., & LeCroy, D. (1975, April 1). Proposed Plan for Philippine Self-Support. Firm Foundation, 92(13), 11.
, H. G. (1948, February 17). Philippine Evangelism. Firm Foundation, 65(7), 7.
Cherok, R. J. (2025). The Philippine Mission and The Restoration Movement: A History. Christian Standard. https://christianstandard.com/2025/11/the-philippine-mission-and-the-restoration-movement-a-history/
Cox, B. K. (2018). Postwar Churches of Christ Mission Work: The Philippines as a Case Study [Master's thesis, Abilene Christian University]. Digital Commons @ ACU. https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/78
Maquiling, E. (2010). Churches of Christ in Mindanao: A History (Parts 1 & 2). https://edmaq.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/churches-of-christ-in-mindanao-21.pdf
Tanicala, E. A. (n.d.). The Unbroken Chain: A Personal Encounter with Our Philippine Church History [Unpublished manuscript].
Zeller, B. E. (2011). American Postwar "Big Religion": Reconceptualizing Twentieth-Century American Religion Using Big Science as a Model. Church History, 80(2), 321–351. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000964071100013X