EARLY CHILDHOOD

Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy was born to Jose Quiboloy and Maria Carreon, on April 25, 1950, in a small village at the foothills of Mt. Apo in Tamayong, Calinan, Davao City, the youngest in a brood of 9. Both natives of Lubao, Pampanga, in Luzon, Philippines, the couple had migrated to Davao City in the 1940's, just after the war, to find a better life.
 
At the time of his birth, his mother Maria saw a vision of the face of God smiling down at her from the sky seemingly saying to her, "That is my son..." Maria gave birth at midnight but it had suddenly become morning. His elder sister saw a big eagle land on their home the moment he was born. There were many unusual occurrences in his life while he was growing up, but these he only understood when he grew up.
 
When he was 14, Pastor Apollo dreamt of a horrifying scene from The Great Tribulation. Flames were coming down from heaven, destroying all the inhabitants of the earth. There was a great pandemonium. Even the seas were engulfed by flames. No one was spared. This dream was repeated and by the second time, a caption written in heaven that say it, "...and the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the notable day of the Lord come." He didn't know that this was a verse in the Bible, which can be found in Acts 2:20.
 
Pastor Apollo learned the value of hard work even at a young age. His parents and later an older sister whom he stayed with during his high school years imposed strict discipline upon him. From them he learned the lessons of accountability, honesty, nobility and dedication. Every single second of his life was never wasted. All of these experiences shaped him and led him to become a man of character.

THE BEGINING OF HIS MINISTRY

"By visions, divine manifestations and audible voice, God has revealed Himself to me..."
-- Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy

Many times, Pastor Apollo heard the voice of God and he often had dreams. It always took him a while to recover from emotional impact of these dreams. When he'd come back to his senses, he would realize that he was being called for a certain mission.
 
After high school, Pastor Apollo went to Bible College, something which was not part of his plans. He was still in his teens when he began traveling around the Philippines, preaching as much as seven times a day. He was well-loved by people wherever he went.
 
Because he had the gift of preaching, people called him a "preaching machine." When asked about this, he would say that words would come rushing from him like a well of water; he had to say the words otherwise he would burst.
 
During that time, his denomination had great plans for him. He became the National Youth President. In 1974 he went to Korea to attend the World Conference of the International Youth Corps. On the last night of the conference, he heard the voice of God repeatedly telling him during the altar call, "Gamiton Ta Ka (I will Use You)" three times.
 
This puzzled him. He knew it was the voice of the Father and also he thought that the Father was already using him. He heard that voice again while waiting at the airport for a flight to Palawan .

KITBOG: the righteous seed is implanted

Circumstances led him to a remote area called Kitbog, in Malalag, Cogon, South Cotabato, Philippines. For a year, Pastor Apollo lived with the B'laan people. There he received all kinds of miracles, visions and revelations from the Father. The Bilaans were witness to many of these miraculous occurrences. These miracles and visions were designed by the Father to convince Pastor Apollo that it was He who was calling him. Kitbog was significant in the life of Pastor Apollo because it was here that the Father offered him the spiritual component of salvation. With his freedom of choice intact, he surrendered the spirit of obedience against the will of the Father, the serpent seed, which was implanted in Adam and Eve, by making a promise that from now on Father, not my will but your will be done. As a result of this, the righteous seed, the Spirit of Obedience to the will of the Father, was implanted in his life.

TAMAYONG: the furnace of affliction

When Pastor Apollo made the decision to follow the Father, he was led to another mountain, Tamayong. Tamayong was a mountain district at the foothills of Mt. Apo, the country' s tallest peak. It was also Pastor Apollo's birthplace.

In Tamayong, Pastor Apollo was asked to remain within the perimeter of a one-hectare lot for five years. He describes this period in his life as his training in the University of the Spirit. All the demons of hell were unleashed to try the righteous seed that growing inside of him. He was persecuted, maligned, accused and scoffed at. He was tried in the flesh, in money, in power.
 
Those who severely persecuted and maligned him were people who knew him – family, friends, people who he grew up with. Among the varied tests he had to undergo was having nothing else to eat except bananas. This was his manna for five years.
 
He describes those years as his furnace of affliction. The Father's intention was to mold him according to what the Father wanted. Corinthians 3:10-13 was fulfilled in his life. It says, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth there upon.

For other foundation can no man lay that that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold silver, precious stones, wood hay and stubble;

Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

The Tamayong experience was necessary in order to prove if he really was a true child of God, as said in Hebrews 5:8 “Though he were a Son, he learned obedience by the things that he suffered.” All these, he says were designed to perfect his obedience to the Almighty Father, to realize that whatever happened to him there was the Father's will.
 
The Father did not force him to do His will. He had to use his own freedom of choice. He said to the Father, “ Father, it doesn't matter if I live or die. If I die, I die here. My heart is fixed, my mind is made up.”