Who would have thought that a once notorious gangster from the streets of Tondo would become a preacher in the pulpit?

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Herbie “PH” Castillo, a certified addict and lost, is now, by the grace of God, pastoring a church and serving God and His people. He was a certified drug addict, troublemaker, alcoholic, and underground musician in his younger years. He embraced the wickedness of the world during that time. During his high school days up to college, he was involved in and pioneered various gangs and fraternity groups, and he found it really exciting and challenging. He believed that he was a warrior, which is why he loved frat wars.

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In 1997, he was drunk in the street, and his uncle found him and invited him to their church service. He followed and went there, but the service was almost done, and he just heard, “Amen! "He kept attending the service because he was enjoying the band. He asked the pastor, Philip de Guzman, to let him join the music team. Pastor Philip agreed, even if he is not yet technically prepared and is still under the influence of vices. There was a song from the Lord that hit his heart. It was sung by a beautiful woman, a pastor’s daughter, and now his wife. From then on, God started talking to him through different people. He started the ministry as a church worker, maintenance worker, musician, and kid’s church teacher. In 1999, he became the youth president and eventually the youth pastor at Christ for the World Church in 2005.

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After more than 20 years in the ministry, he is now the lead pastor of New Life Tondo since 2011, a growing church with more than 2,000 members and the chairman of 250 pastors from the City of Manila. He takes the lead in various programs and projects uniquely designed to reach out to the poorest of the poor communities in Tondo, such as feeding 1000 children every week, granting scholarships to hundreds of students, and blessing 800 families with rice as the Gospel of Grace is being preached.

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His vision now for the ministry is to reach out to more people for Jesus by having a 5,000-seating capacity and expanding its territory to the City of Manila. Pastor Herbie Castillo will continue to seek God more and go to the unreachable and poorest of the poorest places to make Jesus known in Tondo, the Philippines, and the world.

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He is happily married to Cherlita Castillo, a registered social worker, and a father to Paul Lemuel and Shekinah Grace.

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- Herbie "PH" Castillo