Frequently Asked Questions

The Lord’s Day Celebration is at 9:00 am, every Sunday, and lasts about ninety minutes. Come at about 8:45 if you would like time to find a seat. The Kids’ Ministry meets on Saturday mornings at 8:30, Youth on Friday evenings at 5:30, and the other fellowships through the month — the calendar has every meeting.

We meet in the City of Ilagan, Isabela. See the contact page for the address and a map.

If you are coming for the first time and would rather not walk in alone, send us a message during the week and somebody will meet you at the door.

Bring one if you have one. If you do not, there are Bibles to borrow, and the passage is displayed during the sermon.

Any translation is fine. The preaching is from the ESV, so following in that one is easiest, but nobody will mind which you open.

The Kids’ Ministry meets on Saturday mornings at 8:30, teaching the same Bible the adults are hearing, at their level. Every teacher is a member of this church and they serve in pairs.

During the Lord’s Day Celebration, children stay with their families and nobody minds the noise. There is a quiet space at the back if you need it, and taking a restless child out for five minutes is an ordinary thing to do here.

Whatever you own. Some wear barong or a dress; most do not. Nobody is checking, and nobody is ranking.

English and Tagalog, as the congregation naturally speaks — often in the same sentence. You will not be lost if you have only one of them.

No to both. We do not ask visitors to stand, introduce themselves, raise a hand or come to the front.

An offering is received during the service. It is the members’ own giving, not a charge on visitors — let it pass, and nobody will notice or mind.

Then you are exactly the sort of person a church service is worth visiting as. You are not required to believe anything to be in the room, to sing along, or to stay for coffee afterwards.

Come and listen for as long as you like. If you want to talk it through with somebody, ask one of the pastors — and if you would rather not, nobody will make you.

A Reformed church. We hold to the historic Christian faith that the Reformers drew from Scripture, and we’ve written down what we teach so you don’t have to piece it together from sermons. Our elders use the Westminster Confession and its catechisms as a summary, but the Bible is our authority.

You can read all of it on What we teach.

At its simplest: that salvation is God’s work from beginning to end, and that we contribute nothing to it but the sin it rescues us from. Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, on the authority of Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone.

In practice it also shapes how a Sunday feels. Scripture is read at length and preached through book by book rather than topic by topic; the two sacraments are taken seriously as means God uses rather than as symbols we perform; and the church is governed by men accountable to the congregation and to the Word rather than by one personality.

We are a Protestant church, so not Roman Catholic. We share a great deal with the churches in this country that call themselves Evangelical or Born Again — the authority of Scripture, salvation by grace through faith, the need for personal trust in Christ — and we would gladly recognise many of them as brothers and sisters.

We differ from many of them in a few places. We baptize the children of believing parents as well as new believers, and we expect the gospel to keep spreading and winning the nations before Christ returns. We’re glad to talk through either one.

Yes — the children of believing parents, alongside anyone who comes to profess faith in Christ.

The reason is the shape of God’s covenant. He has always dealt with believers and their households together; the children of believers were marked as belonging to God’s people under the old covenant, and the New Testament nowhere withdraws that promise. The sign does not save the child and it is no guarantee. It’s a sign of what God has promised. On the day of Pentecost Peter said, “The promise is for you and for your children” (Acts 2:39).

If you were baptised as an infant, we do not baptise you again. If this is new to you, or you disagree, come and talk to one of the pastors — it is a conversation we have often and gladly.

No. What we teach is where this church stands, and you don’t have to agree with it to worship with us. Come and listen for as long as you like.

Agreement matters when you want to become a member, because membership is a promise made in both directions and neither side should make it vaguely.

Because it stops the preacher choosing. Working through a book passage by passage means the congregation hears what is actually there, in the order it is there, including the parts nobody would have picked — and the preacher has to deal with them too.

It also means you can follow along at home and know where we will be next week.

Come regularly for a while and get to know people, then speak to one of the pastors. There is no hurry and nobody will press you.

There is a short membership class covering what we believe and what we are promising each other, followed by a conversation with the pastors. The class is also on the courses page, so you can read it through before deciding whether to start.

Not at all. Come as long as you like — there is no point at which anyone will ask you to decide.

Membership matters when you want to commit to this congregation, serve in a ministry, take the Lord’s Supper here, or have your children baptised.

Yes. Let the pastors know which church you are coming from so they can speak with its leaders, which is a courtesy between congregations rather than an obstacle.

If you left that church unhappily, say so plainly. It is better talked about at the start than discovered later, and it will not be held against you.

In short: to be here on the Lord’s Day, to sit under the preaching of the Word, to give as you are able, to care for the others practically, and to accept the loving correction of the church.

And the church promises the same back — to teach you, to pray for you, to know you by name, and to look after you when you are in need. It is a commitment, not a mailing list, which is why it is made out loud and not on a form.

Speak to one of the pastors. Baptism follows a conversation about your faith, not a form.

If you are bringing a child for baptism, the conversation is about the promises you are making as parents, and the congregation makes promises too on the day.

Baptised Christians who are trusting Christ and are members in good standing of a church that preaches the gospel.

If you are unsure whether that means you, please ask one of the pastors beforehand rather than worry about it during the service. And if it does not, letting the bread and cup pass is the right thing to do, not an embarrassment — nobody is counting.

The bread and the cup do not become the body and blood of Christ, and this is not a fresh sacrifice — Christ was offered once, and once was enough.

But it is not a bare memorial either. By faith we truly receive Christ and all His benefits, and are made one body with one another. Paul calls the cup “a participation in the blood of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16).

In person during the service, or by bank transfer or GCash. Details are on the giving page, which also says why Christians give at all and how much — the short answer being that we do not set a figure and never will.

If you are visiting, please do not feel any obligation.

Look through the ministries and contact the head of the one you are drawn to. Most ministries ask that you are a member first, because serving is part of the commitment rather than a way into it.

If you are not sure where you would fit, speak to one of the pastors — they will know where the need is.

Yes, and you do not have to be a member. Send a prayer request — it goes only to the pastors, and you do not have to explain yourself.

Please speak to one of the pastors. There is a fund for exactly this, and asking is not a favour you are begging for — it is the arrangement working as intended.

It is handled quietly. The treasurer reports to the board of trustees; your name does not go to the congregation.

Then give time. A congregation runs on more than its offering — teaching children, carrying chairs, running the sound desk, visiting someone who cannot get to church, driving, cooking, repairing.

Speak to a ministry head or to one of the pastors. Nobody at this church is ranked by what they put in the plate.

A private section for members holding the church directory, serving schedules, course lessons and group journals. You choose what other members can see about you, and none of it is ever public.

Only signed-in members, and only the fields you allow. Emergency contacts and children’s details are visible to church leaders alone, and your answers in a group journal are private to you and the church administrators. See the privacy policy.

Use the “Lost your password?” link on the sign-in page, or ask the church office to reset it for you.

The ICC Church Assistant is a chat box that answers questions about this church and what it believes, using this website’s own pages and the church’s confession.

It is a machine, not a pastor. It will tell you what time the service starts and what the church teaches on a doctrine; it will not counsel you, and on anything that matters it will point you to a person. Nothing you type into it is stored as a conversation, and if you are not signed in it only knows what is already on the public site.