More than 13,000 young people gathered across two Manila-area venues on Philippine Independence Day on June 12 for The Send Philippines, a Christian youth mobilization event that organizers describe as the beginning of a sustained, multi-church initiative rather than a one-time gathering.
The event ran simultaneously at the CCF Center in Pasig City and the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay, with speakers rotating between the two venues. Organizers estimated participation from at least 50 and 100 churches and organizations, though the actual number may be higher.
A Global Movement Comes to Southeast Asia
The Send is a Christian mobilization movement founded in the United States around 2017 by leaders from Youth With A Mission (YWAM), Circuit Riders, Christ For All Nations, and related organizations, including Andy Byrd, Francis Chan, and Lou Engle. Its stated model measures success not by attendance but by the number of participants who commit to specific missional activity.
Since its inaugural gathering at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, The Send has held events in Kansas City, Brazil, and Norway. According to the organization's website, those gatherings have generated more than 51,000 commitments to reach unreached nations, more than 22,000 commitments to engage university campuses, more than 20,500 commitments to reach high schools, and nearly 18,000 commitments related to foster care and adoption.
The Philippines event marks the movement's first major gathering in Southeast Asia.
A Pandemic-Era Conversation
The initiative in the Philippines traces to a video call during the COVID-19 pandemic. Marty Ocaya, chairman of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) Youth Movement and a lead organizer of The Send Philippines, told Christian Daily International in an interview onsite that contact with YWAM Philippines colleagues and eventually with Andy Byrd led to the idea of staging a similar event in the country.
"Maybe this is something that God wants us to do here to hopefully unite the body of Christ," Ocaya said. "My prayer is that we will not just get to know each other, but just once in a while — maybe once in three years, once in five years — we gather as many young people as possible just to show to the Filipino people that, hey, the Christian youth, they're united. They want to make a difference."
Three Commitment Tracks, Partner Follow-Up
The Send Philippines organized participant commitments around three areas: campus discipleship (reaching high school and university students), missions (including Filipinos relocating abroad), and engagement with vulnerable children, including orphans and those in the foster care system.
Partner organizations aligned with each track were present at the event and are expected to follow up with participants in the weeks ahead, connecting them with training programs and ongoing support within their respective churches.
"What I like about The Send is their heart for outcomes," Ocaya said. "If these young people say yes — even if they're from another church — we're willing to train them, and then they go back to their church and do campus ministry. We have partners also that are discipling orphans, reaching out to vulnerable children, helping them find a family in the future."
Ocaya noted that the model is deliberately cross-denominational: participants return to their home churches rather than affiliating with any single ministry.
Focus on Vulnerable Children
The engagement of vulnerable children — orphans, children in poverty, and those in the foster and adoption system — is a formal pillar of The Send's global framework and featured prominently in the Philippines gathering.
Globally, The Send has recorded nearly 18,000 commitments related to foster care and adoption across its previous events. In the Philippines, partner organizations working in child welfare and family-based care, such as Philippines Without Orphans, were on-site at both venues to receive commitments and connect participants with concrete next steps.
Youth Openness and the Relational Approach
Ocaya cited recent Barna Group research, which he said included the Philippines, as evidence that young Filipinos are broadly open to spiritual engagement. He emphasized, however, that the approach needs to be relational rather than programmatic.
"It's easy to talk to them about spiritual stuff, about God, about Jesus, but it should be more relational — not like preaching and 'Hey, do this, do that,'" he said. "Once you have the relationship, then… the openness is really huge."
The OFW Dimension
Organizers also framed The Send Philippines within the context of the country's large overseas worker population. With an estimated 10 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) dispersed across the globe, the event's leadership sees an opportunity to prepare Filipino Christians to function as missionaries in the countries where they settle.
"We believe the Philippines is becoming a sending nation," Ocaya said. "Maybe 20% or maybe 50% when they graduate are going to move outside of their country. We want to prepare them: if you're there and you're a Christian, you can plant a church, you can make disciples, you can reach the world."
Organizers say follow-up with participants who made commitments on June 12 will begin in the coming weeks.
