The First Baptist Church of Manila, also known as FBCM or FirstBap, is a church established by the pioneering of the United States missionaries in the early 1900s. The church had, at first, U.S. missionaries for its pastor, but consequently, with the independence of the Philippines on July 4, 1946, the church had its first Filipino pastor, Pastor Antonio Ormeo. FBCM's current senior pastor, who took Pastor Ormeo's place, is Pastor Ebenezer T. Nacita. History Dr. Raphael Thomas founded FBCM in 1928. He was also the founder of two schools, Doane Evangelistic Institute (DEI) and Manila Evangelistic Institute (MEI). Jointly with MEI, the church rented the facilities owned by Christian Missions until 1937 when MEI erected a building in Ermita on property bought by ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) on the corner of Pennsylvania (now Leon Guinto Sr.) and Oregon (now Padre Faura) streets. For the use of the building and utilities, the church was paying twenty pesos a month. In the early 1930s Dr. Thomas transferred leadership in the FBCM to Dr. Paul Culley. The building was destroyed by the Japanese in World War II. A new church building was built on the same site in 1951. AFBCP The Fundamental Baptist churches which were the fruits of ABWE, BBSI and DBBI ministries formed the Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches in the Philippines (AFBCP) with 7 regional associations some of which were organized even earlier: Association of Baptist Churches in Northern Luzon Association of Baptist Churches in Central Luzon Association of Baptist Churches in Southern Tagalog Palawan Association of Baptist Churches Visayan Fellowship of Fundamental Baptist Churches Bukidnon Association of Baptist Churches Davao Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches Providentially, the AFBCP became a member of the International Council of Christian Churches and was frequently represented by Pastor Antonio Ormeo and Pastor Epifanio de la Pena in the early days of their involvement with the AFBCP and the ABWE. As the AFBCP was the National Association representing the ICCC in the Philippines, so was the National Council of Churches in the Philippines for the World Council of Churches (WCC). This sparked the already seething controversy between Biblical Christianity and the "Laodicean" version of Christianity in the country. FECCC In 1951, the Far Eastern Council of Christian Churches (FECCC) was formed at the First Baptist Church of Manila with Pastor Ormeo as president, Dr. Timothy Tow as vice president, Rev.