Richard Conte graduated from CFNI in 1982 with a missionary calling and a vision to

reach Asia for Christ.  He immediately joined Youth with a Mission's Far East Evangelism Team. It was during an evangelistic tour to the Philippines that he first sensed God's  long term call to that nation. The burden for the Philippines grew intensely in his

heart.   With only his airfare and just thirty dollars a month support

from a single Texas sunday school class, he went "by faith" to the Philippines.

 

Having been influenced by Hudson Taylor’s biography Richard lived with the Pilipino people, ate what they ate, learned their language and customs and later met and married his wife Ning, a Philippine national.  The Conte’s now reside in Manila with their three children, Joseph, Miracle, and Christine Joy.

 

Their oldest daughter Miracle leads praise and worship at Victory Church Fairview and has just completed two years of Bible School training in the Philippines.  Miracle intends to spend the next two years at a Music School in the Philippines before enrolling in CFNI’s music program in 2010.  The Conte’s youngest daughter Christine Joy has just graduated from High School in the Philippines & will be enrolling in college this fall.  Returning from a two year work/study trip to the U.S. their son Joseph is continuing his college education in the Philippines.  ( by the time this published he’ll be enrolled)

 

 

Once Richard started planting churches in remote villages he knew that this was what God had called him to do!  During the first 10 years of his ministry he helped to plant four rural churches with a local group named Shekinah Christian Church. Then in 1993 him & his wife planted an additional five churches. From the very beginning of his ministry Richard has been involved in literature production and missions mobilization. Richard’s ministry has recently been responsible for distributing 50,000 gospel tracts in a single day. This year during the Easter holidays an additional 70,000 gospel tracts and 40,000 fliers were distributed in a single day!

 

Richard feels strongly that the Philippine church has a unique "call" to

send hundreds if not thousands of missionaries to the un-reached  regions of Asia. It is for this reason that he continues to evangelize, plant churches and mobilize Filipino Christians toward fulfilling the great commission.

 

 

Five years ago Richard formed “Victory Churches of Asia” in the Philippines. Victory Churches of Asia exists for the sole purpose of evangelism, church planting and the training & sending of Filipino missionaries to other needy Asian nations.  In just four and one half years their five churches have now grown to nineteen churches in the Philippines!  Last year they sent their first long term Filipino church planting team to the nation of Thailand to plant a church there!

 

In September of 2003 he planted a church in the metro Manila area where him & his wife are currently the senior pastors.  This church has grown to over twelve hundred members in just 4 years. Two years later their church planted another church 45 minutes away with nearly three hundred in attendance.

 

In 2007 the church launched a Senior Citizens ministry that have seen over 200

decisions for Christ.  The following month the ministry held a mass wedding service for

unwed couples.  In a recent two day crusade with over 400 in attendance, there

were many decisions for Christ and at their Children’s camp many children were

baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Victory Church Fairview also offers many classes.  In their

Healing Classes last year 3 goiters were healed, a heart

enlargement was healed, a man with a tube in his throat was healed, and one lady who

couldn’t walk was healed, three asthmatics were healed, two with ankle sprains, one ear

infection healed, five emotionally disturbed healed, and fluid in the lungs were healed.

 

In January of 2007, the Conte’s opened their first Bible School. 38 students enrolled in the first semester. 56 enrolled in the second & 52 have enrolled in the third.

Periodically they conduct leadership training sessions and recently there were 118

delegates (or leaders) in attendance from all over the Philippines.  In October 2007 the

Victory Church Fairiview ministry celebrated their fourth year anniversary with all five services filled to capacity nearly 1600 in attendance. They also conducted their first women’s annual conference with five hundred in attendance.  Last year working with a team from Youth with a Mission that they had invited the church organized twelve large school outreaches which saw over 8,500 decisions for Christ.  A separate crusade put on by just their church’s youth saw seven hundred attendees with 550 decisions for Christ.

 

Victory Church Fairview’s Youth Ministry has grown from 70 to three hundred in just the past two years with over two hundred decisions for Christ.  Their cell groups have grown from 63 to 172 this past year. And Sunday attendance has grown to nearly 1300 attendees. They have 52 home bibles studies that have seen over 200 decisions for Christ.  Three new churches have been planted in Villa Rosenda, Sabuyon Romblon and Bustos Bulacan.  The entire ministry has grown in added staff and volunteer workers; with the addition of five worship teams, classes for prayer, membership, campus ministry, young couples interpretative dance, choir and media ministries.

 

Richard & Ning Conte’s vision is to plant hundreds of churches throughout the Philippines and to send scores of Filipino missionaries throughout Asia as church planters.