N4C History

Fernando Calaguas arrived in Jacksonville Florida in the summer of 1999 to marry his fiancée, Belinda.  But he felt in his heart that he was not going to stay long in Florida.  Indeed, a former member of the Charismatic Ecumenical Ministries International (CEMI) church in Angeles, Philippines was requesting for a pastor to come to Utah.  Lita Obcemea had started a bible study group with some friends and coworkers.  The meetings were going really well, and as the group started to get bigger, she felt in her heart that God is calling her to start a Church.  She finally asked for help from the CEMI church in Jacksonville.  Pastor Jess Candelaria, head of the church in Jacksonville, then chose Fernando and Belinda to minister to the people in Utah.  They arrived in Utah during the winter where they conducted bible studies at different houses each week.  By the end of January 2000, they registered and formally established their own church under the name Filipino-American Christian Church.

The first year of the ministry was very difficult and full of challenges.  They did their Sunday services at a small Hispanic church on Gentile St. in Layton.  But after three months, the pastor of that church decided to increase their rent.  So they decided to move because they felt that God wanted to bring them closer to the next level of their ministry.   They found an old run-down trailer behind a church.  The trailer itself had some challenges of its own, “It was full of dust. And when we would play the drums, the dust would actually cloud the room.” – Belinda Calaguas.  They only stayed there for a month because the property was on sale and when it finally got sold they were told to find a new place.  They were desperate for help and so they prayed.  Finally, someone approached them and told them to talk to the Pastor at Clearfield Community Church (CCC) to see if that church could accommodate them.  Pastor Fernan visited the pastor and retells the story for us, “He showed us the building and he seemed very nice.  But I didn’t ask the price (for the rent) because I knew that we could not afford that big church.  I went home and I prayed…  I called him again the next day and asked him how much for the rent, and he said ‘No, it’s free.’  …I cried and I was overwhelmed.”  It truly was a very big blessing.  CCC sheltered them and showed the love of God towards them.  They were allowed to use all the facilities in the church.  And although everything was free, the church still gave something back to CCC every month because of their support and hospitality.

The church flourished in their ministries as they continued to stay in CCC.  But Pastors Fernan and Belinda were still searching for something greater.  They knew that they had to reach out to the lost and communicate the gospel to everyone.  They were doing all these things and yet they felt that something was still missing.  Pastor Fernan asked the whole church to pray and fast because he believed that God is once again calling them to the next level of the ministry.  By Easter of 2005 a new vision was born within the church and that was how Nations For Christ came to be.  By October of that same year, they were able to purchase their own property.

Their goal is to invest in people and to help them grow into what God created them to be.