The Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), also known as PMCC (4th Watch), is a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

based in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It was founded in 1972 by Arsenio T. Ferriol, who would become its executive minister, and registered on August 30, 1973. The church claims to be the "One True Church of Christ", with its beliefs coming from the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

as the sole basis for all its

doctrines Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolo ...

and

prophecies In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divi ...

about the "Church of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

" established by a living modern-day

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

in the

modern era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

(whereas the church doctrine calls it "The 4th Watch"; ). The denomination, whose

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

—its largest church—is located in

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4 ...

, has an estimated million members worldwide.

History

PMCC (4th Watch) was founded in 1972 by Arsenio Tan Ferriol (January 14, 1936 – May 19, 2024), a native of Odiongan, Romblon, who later became the church's first chief executive minister. It was said that Ferriol had been doing his

evangelization Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

activities since the late 1950s. The church had separated from the

Foursquare Gospel The Foursquare Church is an international Pentecostal Christianity, Christian denomination founded in 1923 by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. It lies within the evangelical tradition. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California, Unit ...

, a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n–based

church, where Arsenio and his brother, Arturo, had been

students in their youth and later trained

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

s,Post
from official

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page of the PMCC (4th Watch), August 12, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.Post
from official

page of the PMCC (4th Watch), August 11, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023. and later forming the ''People's Missionary Church'' (a small

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

church in

) prior to another split and its registration. As a result, the church, being indigenous, is independent of Western Pentecostalism. The church was officially registered as its current name to the

Philippine government The government of the Philippines () has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional repub ...

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

in August 1973, the event being commemorated as its establishment.Sect Database:
Another brother, Domingo (1943–2021), pioneered one of the first church buildings in Malagasang,

Imus, Cavite Imus (), officially the City of Imus (), is a component city and ''de jure'' capital of the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 496,794 people. It is the ''de jure'' capital of the province ...

;Post
from official

page of the PMCC (4th Watch), August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023. while Arturo later led the construction of the main church in

(then part of

Rizal Rizal most commonly refers to: * Rizal (province), a province of the Philippines * José Rizal, Filipino national hero whom the province is named after Rizal may also refer to: People * Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, Malaysian footballer * Atep Ri ...

). The church expanded abroad through visits by mid-1980s, and with the first foreign church established in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 1989, the same year it also reached North America. PMCC, being one of the fastest growing independent denomination in the country and in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, eventually became one of the largest indigenous Pentecostal churches, having a nationwide presence in almost every city and province. By the time of the church's 50th anniversary, PMCC has been present in 72 countries worldwide with 1,055 locale churches. Members are known for being

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

because of their house visits and public preaching in areas ( markets,

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

and

parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

) elsewhere. PMCC publishes ''The Word'' magazine (founded in 1989), and broadcasts programs including ''Oras ng Katotohanan'' () and its

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

counterpart ''Surer Word'' (established in 2008 as the church's first all- English program abroad). It owns Life Radio network and has its own television station, Life TV. On August 27, 2023, the church held its 50th anniversary celebration in

New Clark City Athletics Stadium The New Clark City Athletics Stadium, also referred to as the New Clark Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, Philippines. It is the primary venue of the New Clark City Sports Hub, which is part of ...

Capas, Tarlac Capas, officially the Municipality of Capas (; ), is a municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines, and one of the richest towns in the province. The town also consists of numerous subdivisions and exclusive villages. Capas is knon a ...

, which was attended by at least 42,000 members and nearly 3,000 ministers. Arsenio's wife and six children are currently serving in high positions in the church, with his son Jonathan succeeding him as the chief executive minister after his death in 2024.

Beliefs

PMCC believes that the true church was founded on the day of Pentecost, as mentioned in the

Book of Acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

; and the

spiritual gift In Christianity, a spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A ...

s (as mentioned in Ephesians 4:11) by the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

in the church continues to this day, including the

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

ship, which is believed the most important and to be given by

to Arsenio Ferriol (thus, the "apostle in the end-time;" and being the ''Goodman of the House'', citing Matthew 24:43). The restoration of spiritual gifts is emphasized by the PMCC, which defined ''Pentecostal'' as reverting to the early

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

in the Book of Acts. They prefer to be called "Biblical Pentecostalism", with the church's name indicating its general direction; the term is said restoring the

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

generally with adherence to biblical teachings needed to achieve unity, and increases the indigenization as well, maintaining its independence. PMCC believes that the ''fourth watch'' mystery was revealed only to Ferriol. Citing

Mark 13 Mark 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains the "Markan Apocalypse": Jesus' predictions of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and disaster for Judea, as well as Mark's v ...

, it was stated that the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

times constituted four periods of time:

Apostolic era Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity ...

(or ancient era; evening watch, referred to as 1st watch);

Papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

(

medieval era In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

/ Dark Ages; midnight, 2nd);

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

(

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

; rooster-crowing, 3rd); end-time (

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

; morning, 4th and last). The latter is said to be the present day and that the

Second Coming of Jesus The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The ...

is about to occur; wherein

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

members are to be saved through

rapture The Rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Chr ...

, leaving

apostate Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...

s to experience the

Great Tribulation In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation () is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. At , "the Great Tribulation" () is used to indicate the period spoken of by Jesus. us ...

. Ferriol, being the leader, claimed

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

commanded him through voice and light one evening in 1970 in Odiongan, giving him the revelation through Jesus to restore the original church in the

, hence, its name. PMCC believes in the Father, the Son and the

(all as

, but not a

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

); the humanity of Jesus who, according to them, emptied Himself during the first incarnation, as well as the Personality of the Holy Spirit. Their teachings also involve the fulfillment of the

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciple (Christianity), disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission i ...

which includes preaching

the gospel The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefi ...

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

—which is through Jesus' finished work demonstrated by his

suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence (psyc ...

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, and

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

; and is attained only by grace—and

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

by immersion. Also, one of their beliefs is the infallibility of the

, being the final authority.

Outreach

Media

End-Time Mission Broadcasting Service (EMBS) is a

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcasting division of the PMCC through its Resources for Doctrinal Empowerment and Evangelistic Ministry (ReDEEM). Its corporate office is located in Marikina. EMBS owns three radio stations under the Life Radio brand, and its television network Life TV. PMCC's media ministry can be traced back to its flagship program, ''Oras ng Katotohanan'' (''Hour of Truth''), which started in the 1980s on radio (through DWXX in 1985) and later on television (through IBC on October 18, 1991 and later on SBN in 2004 and PTV on August 11, 2013).

Life TV

Life TV was launched on October 3, 2016, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of ONK's TV broadcast. It formerly aired 24 hours a day on

SkyCable Sky Cable (stylized as SKYcable) is a cable television service of Sky Cable Corporation in the Philippines. It covers areas across the country with both digital and analog cable services, and it has 700,000 subscribers, controlling 45% of th ...

and

Cignal TV Cignal TV, Inc. (formerly known as GV Broadcasting System), also known by its legal trading name Mediascape Inc., is a Filipino media and telecommunications firm in the Philippines. A wholly owned subsidiary of the media company MediaQuest Ho ...

. Life TV currently broadcasts in English and Filipino via BEAM TV's DTT subchannel daily from 5 am to 12 mn, and through their online livestreaming. Since 2017, Life TV became the second religious channel (next to Iglesia ni Cristo Television), known for broadcasting of the station's digital clock during the entire course of its broadcast. It is headquartered in Marikina. Life TV ceased its operations on June 1, 2025 as their broadcast shifts to digital and social media platforms through ''4th Watch Media'' and the return of ''Oras ng Katotohanan'' on free-to-air television starting August 17 on TV5.

=Programming

= Life TV's programming consisted of its in-house produced shows as well as imported from various productions. Selected programs were aired on BEAM TV UHF Channel 31. ''Final programming'' * ''Oras ng Katotohanan'' * ''Surer Word '' * ''The Truth'' * ''Bible Connection'' * ''The Word Today'' * ''Gospel of Salvation'' * ''The Living Word'' * ''Home Free Radio'' * ''Chords of Mercy'' * ''Chords of Mercy UNLTD.'' * ''Tuklasin Natin'' * ''Prayer Power'' * ''Moments with God'' * ''Pag-ibig nga Naman'' * ''Music of the Heart'' * ''Life at Home'' * ''Kalinga On-Air'' * ''Pray-A-Thon'' * ''May Plano ang Dios'' * ''The Lord's Day'' * ''Church Update'' * ''Psalms, Verses & Inspirations'' * ''Worship Sessions'' * ''Grave. Grace. Glory.'' * ''

SciShow ''SciShow'' is a collection of YouTube channels that focuses on science news. The program is hosted by Hank Green along with a rotating cast of co-hosts. ''SciShow'' was launched as an YouTube Original Channel Initiative, original channel. The ...

'' * ''SciShow Space'' * ''SciShow Kids'' * '' The Bible Project'' * ''Alla's Yummy Food'' * ''Awesome Eats'' * ''The Traveler's Guide'' Select church events are also being aired annually, including: * ''Meditations for Christmas'' * ''International Missionary Day'' * Opening ceremony of the ''International Convention'' * ''Home Free Global Crusades'' ''Previous programming'' * ''

Panahon.TV ''Panahon.TV'' is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by People's Television Network, PTV, DZRH News Television, Pilipinas HD, Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), Life TV and O ...

'' * ''Daily Watch'' * ''Church at Home'' * ''Kaban ng Patotoo'' * ''Hubblecast'' * ''Wow HD Technology'' * TBN Asia Block * ''Morning Devotion'' * ''Family Devotion'' * ''Midweek Service'' * ''Sunday School'' * ''Evangelistic Service'' Broadcast in line with the church's 50th anniversary: * ''PMCC (4th Watch) at 50: Golden Anniversary News Program'' * Golden Anniversary Celebration

Life Radio

Life Radio is the ministry's radio service, broadcasting across the

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

area.

=Life Radio stations

Others

The church, while conducting prayer crusades, has also been active in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

, with activities including medical, disaster response, and educational outreach. The church's ministerial arm, Maranatha Bible School International, was established by Arturo Ferriol in 1975, while its educational ministry began in 1980. PMCC's Dalaw Kalinga Foundation held its first medical mission in 1997.

Pentecostalism in the Philippines

The definition of

is emphasized on the deep personal spiritual experience and expressive worship, among others. The exact number of Pentecostals are difficult to identify for the reasons that most country censuses have no comparison among the

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

except for

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

; and Pentecostalism, as a movement, may only exist as distinct and non-mainstream congregations. A study by

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...

in 2011, although reported that there are no data on exact number of Pentecostals in the Christian-dominated Philippines, estimated it at 2.2 million. Aside from PMCC (4th Watch), another known Pentecostal group in the country is the Jesus Is Lord Church. There had been three

–based Pentecostal movements which sent missionaries to the then US-administered Philippines. The Foursquare Gospel, the church where the PMCC separated from, was the last to do so in 1937.

Mateo 25:30

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch) Christian organizations established in 1974 Christian denominations in Asia Pentecostal denominations Churches in Metro Manila Philippine radio networks 1972 establishments in the Philippines