A Mission of Growth—Planting Churches Across the Globe

“When God saved my life from a serious car accident I was confident that he still had big plans for my life,” says Pastor Narry Santos. With a passion for planting new churches, Narry, along with his wife Hazel and two daughters, trekked the globe sharing Christ’s love. But two years after the crash, God lead the Santoses in an unexpected direction.

Narry grew up in Manila and answered God’s call to serve in ministry after graduating from the University of the Philippines. He envisioned himself as a seminary professor, but God had a different plan. “I would never have imagined that I would be a pastor,” Narry reveals. “But God changed my heart and gave me his love for the local church.”

That was the beginning of a career in ministry that included church planting and leadership. Eleven years ago, Narry was pastoring a church he started in Manila, when something in his heart told him he needed a change. He read The Purpose Driven Life and knew this was exactly what he, his family, and church needed. Narry implemented Purpose Driven practices in every area of his life and began to see his world transform. While leading his church through a “40 Days of Purpose” study, the congregation grew from 500 to 800, more than 160 new small groups were created, and 75 people were baptized.

Narry continued to passionately pastor his growing church. At the same time, God tugged Narry and Hazel’s hearts to plant more churches and reach more people. Soon after, God called the Santoses to Toronto, Canada, where they planted six new Purpose Driven churches in just seven years.

Last year, the Santoses felt God pointing them in yet another new direction. The vision of a Saddleback Church campus in the Philippines would not leave their minds. They dreamed about how this church would reach thousands of people and transform the community. Although unsettled about another cross-world move, they trusted God’s plan and said “yes” to leading the new church.

Saddleback South Manila will officially launch on July 19 in a rapidly growing family community. The campus has held a number of successful pre-launch events over the past few months, bringing people from as far as 90 miles away and inspiring the support of more than 100 new volunteers. Through this new church, Narry and Hazel look forward to seeing God’s work transform lives throughout the Philippines.