[AJPS 8:2 (2005), pp. 255-269] THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD IN NORTHERN LUZON (1947-1953): A HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL OVERVIEW Doreen Alcoran Benavidez PART I: HISTORY 1. The Groundwork of Early Pioneers In 1918, Jennie Brinson Rushim and her husband, Church of God (COG) Missionaries to China, came to the Philippines for several months. It was their impression that there was no Pentecostal missions at that time, and certainly no ministry of any noticeable size. Although they did some missionary work in Manila and won a few converts to the Pentecostal persuasion, their visit was too short to achieve lasting results. They soon returned to China, the land of their burden. 1 Then, in 1936, another COG Missionary, J. H. Ingram in his trip around the world, spent about a week in the Philippines and was deeply moved by the spiritual needs of the country. Unlike Rushim, who reported in 1918 that there was no apparent Pentecostal ministry present in the islands, Ingram reported in 1936 that several small Pentecostal churches were active in the interior. 2 The Japanese took the Philippines during World War II in 1941 and 1942. The islands were liberated in 1944, and on July 4, 1946, the 1 Charles Conn, Where the Saints Have Trod: A History of the Church of God Missions, (Cleveland, TN: Pathway, 1959), pp. 19-20. 2 On February 18, 1936 he sailed from Los Angeles harbor bound to cross the Pacific and the Orient; he termed it “Golden Jubilee Tour” because the COG was fifty years old that year. His intention was to contact independent missionaries around the world who were interested in affiliating with the COG. The tour carried him to thirty-one countries including the Philippines. Charles Conn, Where the Saints Have Trod, p. 29