Our Story

Church History

Christ Stewards Fellowship was founded in 2005 by Pastor Celso C. Namuco, a visionary who is always seeking opportunities to serve as a steward of God.

Our first ministry began with teaching children. We discovered these little ones playing under the bridge in Pallocan West, Batangas City, and seized the opportunity to gather them.  In partnership with the Child Evangelism Fellowship, we organized a Five-Day Club.  We started creating more gatherings in this location to connect with the community.  Programs such as film shows, karate demonstrations, and classes are creative ways to invite people. Although utilizing this venue under the bridge may seem unique, our primary reason is that we can use this space for free!

Our congregation may not be huge, but through our efforts, we have hosted seminars and conferences to build up the body of Christ. We desire to train and equip church leaders to establish new churches. This has led us to run a Bible school to provide proper education for pastors and church workers, preparing them for the work of the ministry.

 

After connecting with the community, some families began opening their homes for Bible studies.  They were baptized and became devoted followers of Christ.  The Lord called Pastor Eric Cedo and Pastor Zander Quitain to assist Pastor Namuco, as they both graduated from the Bible school Pastor Namuco established in Batangas in 2006.

Christ Stewards Fellowship continues to hold its worship service at God's Grace Bldg., Libjo Central, Batangas City. It is a rented building owned by Pastor Namuco’s in-laws. They look forward to purchasing a lot and building for CSF.

 

Since Christ Stewards Fellowship (CSF) is an independent Reformed Church, it aligns with and is distinctive within the Reformed tradition. In 2016, a divinely appointed time occurred when five pastors gathered to discuss the possibility of forming a mission that shares a unified stance on Reformed Soteriology, aiming to pursue true historic reformation so that their churches can establish a Reformed presence in the Philippines. The PREACh (Philippine Reformed Evangelical Association of Churches) was founded in 2017. Currently, Christ Stewards Fellowship has joined Gift From Heaven Community Church, Spirit-Filled Community Church, God’s Abundant Church, and Grace Covenantal Church to create the PREACh association. 

Christ Stewards Fellowship (CSF) affirms the necessity for all Christians to be under God-ordained authority. As a Reformed church that aims to solidify its distinction, we seek and apply for membership in the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) in the United States. The Church of the King in Sacramento, California, pastored by Paul Liberati, served as our sponsoring church to join Anselm Presbytery.  CSF was received into membership by Moderator John Stoos on October 4, 2024, at Lynnwood Redeemer Church in Seattle, Washington, USA.

OUR ELDERS

Pastor Celso C. Namuco - Founding and Senior Pastor of CSF

He heard the call of the Lord to full-time service after being elected as a youth leader in his village. He wanted to give all the glory to God for the task He had given to this young man. He looked for a Christian church and remembered the Baptist church that taught him about Christ as a child. He attended their cabin prayer meeting, which was just on the other side of the street from his cousins' house. After the meeting, the pastor spoke to him personally and encouraged him to attend church. The young Celso accepted the pastor’s invitation. That night, he can still remember confessing his sins, believing in Christ as his Savior, promising to live for Him, and giving up everything for the cause of Christ. He resigned as a youth leader after a couple of years of serving the young people in his hometown. He pursued his studies at the seminary connected to his local church to equip himself for service. This is the same church he pastored for several years.

Our Pastor completed his bachelor’s degree in theology (BTh) at the International Baptist Theological College and the Manila Theological College, both located in Metro Manila. He continued the demanding pursuit of education by obtaining a master’s degree in theology (ThM) from the Manila Theological College and another master’s degree in ministry (MAM) from the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Dasmarinas, Cavite. He established a Bible School in Batangas because he could not find any Bible School in the province to which he could send workers for training. He served as the Dean of Baptist Bible College Asia, now known as Global Surge, in Batangas City, Philippines. This institution excels in training men and women for ministry. Our Senior Pastor is currently pursuing his doctorate in ministry (DMin) at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.

Before Pastor Celso Namuco planted Christ Stewards Fellowship, the Lord first called him to pastor a small church in the uptown area of Batangas for seven years. He then served as a pulpit minister in another church in Metro Manila for a couple of years. Both churches belong to the same denomination, where he became a baptized member and a minister. After finishing his degree at Manila Theological College, founded by a foreign missionary from South Korea, he met Pastor Leo Ordiales and his wife, Elma, in 2003, as they were all college graduates of this institution. Since Pastor Ordiales was a church planting coordinator for White Fields, Pastor Namuco shared his vision of planting a church in his home province of Batangas, which is one of the least evangelized provinces in the Philippines. Without delay, Pastor Namuco received support from this church planting mission to establish CSF Batangas in 2004. 

Pastor Celso Namuco is happily married to Hanny, a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology graduate from Lyceum of the Philippines University. In addition to taking care of their children and managing the household, his wife owns and runs a bakeshop. The couple has four children: JC, Eu-La, SJ, and EJ.

Pastor Eric B. Cedo

He was born in Libon, Albay, Bicol, and was raised in a family with a devoted Catholic faith.  Growing up, he felt a calling to serve in the Catholic Church as a priest.  That’s why he joined a group of children who participated every year during Holy Week and was also an active member who prayed the rosary every night at the church.  But God always has a way for His elect to know Him.  He had a grandmother from Manila who visited his mother every time she spent her vacation in Bicol and shared the Word of God without hesitation. After sharing the Word, she also prayed for his family.  For almost ten years, she did this without fail, and as he recalls, she always said, "God is so good and He loves us so much”.

His grandmother's church started a church planting initiative in their town. His mother also began attending this church. During a workers’ convention, the church planter told young Eric that he had to go with his mom to participate. In short, he went with her and stayed for four days at the convention location.  During a pastor's sermon on the second night, God touched his heart and spoke to him personally.  That night was memorable and significant for him because he decided to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  After that night, he experienced a turning point in living a new life with Christ.

 He began his Christian journey in the Pentecostal denomination. His wife was a pastor of their church, while he served as one of the leaders. In 2010, he decided to enter the seminary. One of his professors adhered to the Reformed tradition and introduced him to Reformed theology, marking the beginning of his studies in this new field. Before graduating, he embraced Reformed theology and shared it with his wife. Along the way, she understood the biblical principle that no woman pastor should exist.

In 2014, Pastor Eric and his family joined Christ Stewards Fellowship. Pastor Eric became part of the pastoral staff of this congregation, working side by side with Pastor Celso. He was ordained on October 27, 2018.

He is married to Eva Cedo, who graduated with a Bachelor of Christian Ministries in Christian Education from Bethel Bible College. They have two daughters. The eldest is Shammah, who graduated from Batangas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, majoring in Social Studies. The youngest is Jochebed, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Lyceum of the Philippines University, St. Cabrini School of Health Sciences.

Pastor Zander B. Quitain

Pastor Zander grew up in the religion into which most Filipinos are born. Around 2005, a group of missionaries led by Pastor Celso Namuco and the Toughguys came to his area. They held a teaching session and a karate demonstration, and in the end, they shared the Gospel. As a child, he focused primarily on the karate aspect, so he signed up for their summer training. Little did he know that this would be one of the ways God would use to reveal Himself to him, leading him to believe in Him. That’s how he became a member of Christ Steward's Fellowship.

After a few months, Pastor Celso visited his family and hosted a Bible study. He was very active during the first two years. However, when he reached high school, he was swayed by friends and worldly distractions, leading him to drift away from the church. He left the fellowship and compromised his faith to worldly pursuits. He even neglected his studies to such an extent that he spent seven years in the second year of high school due to his addiction to computer games and being in a band, where he met his soon-to-be wife.

But God is good. In 2014, a youth camp was held, and Zander and his girlfriend Aily were invited to attend. The Lord used this opportunity to bring him back into the believers' fellowship and start serving Him. He became active in the church again and took on the role of youth leader. A few years later, he entered Bible school (BBCA). During his second year of studies, Pastor Eric, who leads our daughter church in San Pascual, Batangas, had a heart attack; thus, the responsibility of preaching and teaching was handed to Pastor Zander. Pastor Eric became a key person in shaping his faith and preaching.

In 2017, Pastor Zander and Aily got married. God blessed their union with two children. Daniel Skye, their firstborn, was born in 2019. The following year, on March 16, 2020, the COVID-19 lockdown began, leading to the closure of the daughter church as many members returned to their provinces. As a result, God redirected them to serve the mother church (CSF) in Batangas City. They gathered and grew in God's Word even during the pandemic. Their second child, Daniela Psalmerstar, was born on November 2, 2021. In 2022, Pastor Zander was installed as the pulpit and youth pastor and later became one of the elders of this congregation after being ordained in March 2025.

His wife, Aileen Marie Castillo (Aily), studied Hotel and Restaurant Administration at the Lyceum of the Philippines in Batangas. She later completed a Bachelor’s degree in Science in Business Administration with a major in Human Resource Management at the same institution. Currently, she works as a Project Development Officer in the Department of Education in Batangas City.

Pastor Zander is in awe of God’s goodness in his life. He expressed how he had never imagined that God would bring him to this level of service. From being a child and a student without direction, he has become a servant of God, all because of His grace. This is why he will continually preach Christ, His death, and resurrection, and thank Him for what He has done in his life.  His dedication to serving God drives him to learn more, as he is currently pursuing his Master’s degree at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Dasmarinas, Cavite, through the facilitation of Training Leaders International (TLI).

View this 'Church History' videos.

7th Anniversary AVP | March 2012:
16th Anniversary AVP | June 2021:
17th Anniversary AVP | June 2022:

Our humble beginnings…….