Corrupt Police Turn to Christ

Corrupt Police Turn to Christ

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Soldiers of the Philippine National Police are referred to disdainfully as "crocodiles of the streets," Ron Wilson of Cadence International, a U.S.-based ministry to military personnel, told Religion Today. The 130,000-member force has maintained a grip on power since it began enforcing government policies during the reign of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Wilson said.

The police and the army are responsible for more than half of the violent crime in the country, according to a 1996 study, the ministry reported. Christian ministries have tried to approach men on the force, but fear and the soldiers' unpredictable schedules kept relationships from being formed, according to Cadence.

The few Christians on the National Police took the initiative to change things, meeting with Christian colonels and majors in 1992, said Wilson, Cadence's Asia Pacific field director. "They were very evangelistic and didn't need much encouragement to talk to others. I just tried to give them some vision and direction."

When then-President Fidel Ramos signed a proclamation requiring values training in the armed services, the Christian group founded the Philippine National Police Values Formation Council Inc. to teach Christian morality and ethics at seminars, Wilson said. He developed a curriculum and thousands of pastors were trained to help teach.

As many as 10,000 police have become Christians through the daylong evangelistic seminars, Wilson said. More than 1,000 pastors are befriending the converts, and groups have formed among Christian police and army members to evangelize and disciple their peers. Dozens of new leaders have emerged to bring the gospel to soldiers in their areas, according to Cadence.

Converts at first were treated harshly by their peers for refusing to take part in corruption, Wilson said. Christians who took a stand were transferred from unit to unit and sometimes their records and pay were "lost" in the system, he said.

But that is changing. Christians no longer are persecuted and are making an impact, Wilson said. When a new commander took over the force and introduced rules to deal with corruption, "there were enough Christians around saying, 'Let's do this' to make it stick," he said.

Citizens have formed a better impression of the National Police, according to a public opinion poll, Wilson said. "That's not all because of Christians, but they have helped." Newspapers and television stations have done stories about the "new" police who carry Bibles and fight corruption.

Colorado Springs-based Cadence International began in the Philippines. Jesse Miller, a World War II veteran who survived the Bataan Death March and three years in a Japanese prison camp, founded the ministry to reach lonely soldiers away from home. He and his wife opened the first Christian Servicemen's Home for U.S. soldiers in Manila in 1951.

Cadence is active in 11 countries , ministering in hospitality houses and servicemen's centers that give Christian men and women a place to feel at home. It offers Bible studies, home-cooked meals, and off-duty activities in a family environment. Cadence also ministers to children of U.S. military personnel and has special "Generation X" outreaches.

Cadence is helping start ministries in the armed forces of several former Soviet republics. It is providing chaplains for military units through a partnership with the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, the largest evangelical denomination in the region. The UECB and Cadence work together to identify and train prospective chaplains and support them on their mission fields.

The ministry supports 41 chaplains in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. The chaplains are civilians who visit military bases to hold evangelistic services, Bible studies, and worship services. Several churches have been started as a result, according to Cadence.

Corrupt Police Turn to Christ