Meet the Watkins
Pauline and Joe
Contact
Phone Postal |
+1-317-783-0300 PO Box 127 |
Brief Bio
Joe and Pauline joined TCM in 1957 when Joe became the secretary of the board. After Joe graduated from Milwaukee Bible College, they were accepted as missionaries and arrived in the Philippines in October 1958. They were in charge of setting up a center to train pastors and Bible women. First priority was to build a Bible institute. The International Grace Bible Institute began its ministry in 1959 with Joe as the first director. Pauline gave typing lessons, kept records, taught English and managed the school kitchen.
After ten years the Bible Institute was turned over to Filipino leaders. The Watkins family moved to Cebu City to minister with the churches and pastors in central Philippines. There he set up a print shop to print tracts and Bible Lessons, planted a church and also traveled throughout the Philippines. They spent 28 years as missionaries in the Philippines.
In 1986 the Watkins returned to the USA to become the treasurer and director of development of TCM. Three years later he became director when the office was moved to Indianapolis. Along with this ministry Joe has traveled to South Africa, Indonesia, Brazil, Kenya, Malaysia and has made several trips back to the Philippines. In 2005 Joe stepped down as director to become associate director of TCM.
Dates
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Joe Pauline Anniversary |
December 11 September 29 July 2, 1955 |
Joe & Pauline Watkins
Indianapolis, United States
Serving our Lord
Pauline and I are not retired. We are still very active in the ministry of Things to Come Mission. Joe is now associate director, assisting the present director. There are many things to be done in the TCM office. As associate director we have more time to reach out and develop new areas.
This new position allows Joe to travel to the fields where TCM has ministries. He has made several trips to the Philippines. These trips allow Joe to minister to the national leaders. He will continue to travel to different fields of ministry as long as his health remains good. The nationals need Grace literature. We are helping by sending literature to the fields of TCM.
Joe is also on the faculty of two Bible Schools here in the USA: Berean Bible Institute in Slinger, WI and St. Louis Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He has already taught Missions for two semesters in the Berean Bible Institute. Being on these faculties allows him the opportunity to challenge young men for missions.
Pauline is always busy in the office, handling the address files, bookkeeping and secretarial work.
Newsletter - February 2006
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Dear Co-Laborer,
Charles Galloway wrote in his book, Christianity and the American Commonwealth, in 1849, “A nation ashamed of its ancestry will be despised by its posterity. Whatever use or misuse we may make of our inheritance, it is well to be reminded from whence it came. We ought to know the genesis of our institutions. With the growth of a subtle materialistic spirit which invades every department of life, we are threatened with an undervaluing or ignoring of the great moral and spiritual forces that constructed the massive framework of this mighty nation.”
As I was planning my trip to the Philippines, I prayed the Lord would give me a message that would challenge and encourage the students to prepare well for the ministry ahead of them. The thought kept coming to mind – emphasize the ancestry, or the roots of Things to Come Mission in the Philippines. In the Old Testament, Moses’ challenge to Israel just before they were to go into the Promised land [in Deuteronomy] was to remind them of what God had done for them in the past. In the New Testament, Paul commanded the saints to follow him as he followed Christ.
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As I stood before the students, I emphasized the genesis of the Philippine ministry. The one verse I used was Philippians 4:9, “What ye see in me, do.” This command given to us by Paul was what the Philippine ministry was built upon – the roots of the TCM Philippine ministry. The three points of the message were: (1) Learn the message given to Paul (2) Receive it, make it part of your lifestyle (3) Do as Paul did in ministry. In 1958 the Vernon Anderson family, Pauline and I began planting the seeds of this verse when the foundation was laid for TCM’s ministry in the Philippines.
In 1959 we opened the doors of the International Grace Bible Institute. We determined to follow another command of Paul – to train faithful men. Today, 48 years later, we now have 5 IGBI’s with 120 students presently learning the message given to the Gentiles through the apostle Paul.
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In 1958 we began the ministry of planting churches. The book of Acts records Pauls method of ministry. It was very simple – evangelize and plant churches. Today there are around 500 Grace churches. There are 72 new pioneering areas and over 300 pastors and teachers actively working under various departments. These departments include: Fieldwork, Radio, Youth Ministry, Christian Education, Bible Schools, and Literature. All of these departments are directed by Filipinos. Throughout the Philippines groups have been formed for men, women, young professionals, youth and children. A quarterly magazine is distributed to pastors and churches to keep them informed which includes Bible studies. A 10-year goal has been set to double the number of churches. I had several pastors tell me of their church-planting efforts. One pastor told me six new churches have been recently planted in one area. The message I learned from this trip to the Philippines is that the roots are strong and growing deeper in the Truth of God’s Word rightly divided. The foundation is strong, we must continue building upon that foundation – continue following the apostle Paul as he followed Christ.
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My three companions, John LaVier, Jr., Kevin Sadler, Dean Reinheimer and I arrived in the Philippines after a long flight. Three of us left Chicago flying direct to Hong Kong and then to Manila. Dean took a different flight, going through Japan, arriving in Manila about an hour after the rest of us. Our first meeting was a church dedication in Baguio. The next day we returned to Manila for meetings in churches there. Then, Monday, we went to Bataan to teach two days in the Bible School, returning to Manila in time to catch the early morning flight Wednesday to Cebu City where we had a joint meeting of four churches, with over 60 from the area attending—both pastors, and delegates. Then we took an overnight boat ride to Ozamis City Friday night, arriving there at 4am Saturday morning. Sunday we split up, each preaching in a different church. Monday began our two-day seminar at IGBI Lupagan (just outside of Ozamis). Some pastors from the area also attended. Then Wednesday we traveled by land (12 hours) from Ozamis to Tagum, Davao and the next 2 days we taught in IGBI Tagum. Saturday we flew back to Manila. Sunday morning we had services in one of our churches in Manila in the morning and then went to the airport to catch our 3pm flight to the US.
We praise the Lord for YOU, our co-laborers, who have faithfully prayed and given so this ministry could reach out to the regions beyond as it is doing now. Pauline and I want to thank you for your faithfulness to the ministry and your support to us. Your prayers and gifts are needed as we continue to follow the directions given to us by Paul, our commitment to the truth grows stronger as we see God blessing. We also believe as He was faithful in the past He will continue to lead as we move forward, according to Phil. 4:9.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Joe and Pauline