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Who We Are
Our Story
The History of Light of the World Christian Center
Pastor Eli had been pastor of Christian Fellowship Center in Santa Cruz, CA for five years when the Lord impressed upon his heart the burden to reach out to people in the Bay Area. He spent countless hours in prayer as he envisioned a new community of faith in the City of San Jose; this was his God-ordained call to a new ministry path. At the same time, God was conveying a shared vision to fellow pastors Jun Aguilar and Lorenzo Lazaro.
With hearts attuned to the Holy Spirit, Pastor Eli, Pastor Jun and Pastor Lorenzo made plans to plant a church together. They prayed for God to guide them every step of the way and to gather the right people through whom He would accomplish His purpose. After six months, they felt the Lord’s leading to move in faith.
A Bible study fellowship began at the Aguilar residence with eight people in attendance. These eight were: Abe and Lita Santos, Johnny and Femy Resonable, Al and Edna Bona, Lita Lazaro, and Pat Pineda. After three months, another fellowship began meeting in the home of Florence Aldaba. Within one year, forty people were regularly attending the services at the Aguilar and Aldaba/Rosete residences.
In 1990, Pastor Eli Manglicmot – in collaboration with faithful and committed followers of Jesus – established the church known as Light of the World Christian Center (LWCC).
During this time, the Assemblies of God launched the Decade of the Harvest Project that coincided with the new church plant.
As a minister ordained with the Assemblies of God, Pastor Eli coordinated with district leadership in the Bay Area for the church to become affiliated with the Pentecostal denomination. Soon, he received official confirmation from the Assemblies of God Northern California and Nevada District Council for LWCC to be established as a home missions church.
LWCC inaugurated its first Sunday worship service on November 24, 1991 at El Rancho Verde apartment complex. One family after another (Candare, Cabeliza, David, Hidalgo, Benaso, Ramilo, Alcacid, Armamaneto, Bernal, Sham, Santos, Fulinara, and Nunez) willingly opened their homes as venues for church services. As numbers increased to a hundred, the search for a communal worship space became a continuing challenge. LWCC experienced many moves – from a community hall, to a park, to renting rooms in other churches.
In 1991, LWCC moved to an office building on Las Plumas Avenue.
The Lord blessed us with more souls as newly arrived immigrants from the Philippines joined our congregation. ​
We welcomed our new friends by providing warm blankets, kitchen tools, furniture, and other basic necessities. We also prayed and assisted in their search for gainful employment. Every Sunday, volunteers from the men’s ministry picked up brethren from their homes and drove them to church (and back). Duly persuaded that prayer is the dynamic that holds the church together, we also met every Wednesday night to pray together. Sunday worship attendance doubled from 100 to 200 in the next two decades.
Our congregation has been enriched beyond measure through the lives and testimony of pastoral and lay leaders who crossed our path. We are grateful to pastors Romy Fortes, Greg Lazaro II, Jun Manglicmot, Irving de Mesa, Joseph Modesto, Juanito Sanchez, Gervacio Tuvera, Joseph Estrada, Eli Javier, Rolando Pante, Eddie Mesa, and Ray Ann Fuentes. Pura Nazaire conducted a choir of thirty voices that sang every first Sunday. But Pastor Eli was still restless. With a heart that constantly beats for the spiritually lost and armed with his favorite rallying cry: "Come and grow with us,” LWCC planted churches in other communities in California and the Philippines as part of our Kingdom goals.
This led to the formation of daughter churches Prince of Peace Christian Center in Belmont, Light of the World Assembly of God in Newark (formerly in Fremont), and Light Church Assembly of God in Tracy (formerly in Lathrop). We also partnered with existing and startup churches in the Philippines, such as missional initiatives in Angeles City, Antipolo City, Batac City, Bonifacio and Lopez Jaena in Misamis Occidental, Capas in Tarlac, Cabugao in Ilocos Sur, Labo in Camarines Sur, Meycauayan City, Tabaco City, Olongapo City, Urdaneta City and Valenzuela City.
In 2013, four adjacent office spaces at the Las Plumas facility were linked.
The construction formed a main sanctuary, a fellowship hall, a resource center/library, and a nursery. This was to be our spiritual home for the next decade, with the Lord blessing us with a Sunday attendance of 250 in the morning and evening services.
In 2019, Pastor Eli spearheaded a paradigm shift aimed towards active engagement through small groups.
Pastor Emil Benedicto joined the pastoral leadership and initiated the School of Discipleship (SOD) program. SOD graduates became the nucleus of volunteer facilitators for our small group ministry called Light Group (formerly Life Group). To date, nine Light Groups gather in person and online on a weekly basis for prayer, study and fellowship.
In September 2023, LWCC merged with Calvary Assembly in Milpitas.
After prayerful deliberation, church leadership decided to terminate the partnership agreement after three months. In January 2024, we began holding church services at Mayfair Community Center as we searched for a more permanent venue.
In 2025, the Lord blessed us with a new sanctuary located at
2296-A Quimby Road in San Jose, CA.
The year of 2025 was marked by significant milestones as we continue to pray, discern and act upon God’s direction for us.
We addressed a felt need to cultivate a Spirit-empowered Biblical competency among our congregation as foundation for faith and life. In January 2025, we began implementing the Bible Engagement Project curriculum for our Light Groups. We also introduced Discipleship Matters, a five-year training initiative to mentor and revitalize lay leaders in our various ministries.
What is our portrait of a faithful and committed church?
LWCC is a community of people who passionately obey the mandate to “go, give and pray” (Matthew 28:19-20): we engage in mission initiatives in California and the Philippines, cultivate intimacy with God through fervent prayer and worship, nurture family relationships through trust, respect and caring, and mentor emerging leaders for the next generation.​​​
We dare to dream of an amazing future for this church that the Lord has entrusted to us. By God’s grace, together we will shine for His glory.
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
(Matthew 5:14)
What We Value
Jesus is our light.
The light of Christ is the brightness of God’s character permeating our lives and transforming us from glory to glory. (John 8:12)
Scripture is our guide.
The Bible is our authoritative guide for faith and life. (James 5:16)
The Holy Spirit is our help.
The Holy Spirit empowers us to be effective instruments in fulfilling the Great Commission. Acts 1:8)
Prayer is our dynamic.
We take hold of God’s supernatural strength, wisdom and guidance through fervent prayer. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Character is our pursuit.
We are committed to a discipleship journey that leads to maturity in Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)
Worship is our lifestyle.
True worship embraces all of life; it is a daily encounter with the living God. (Colossians 3:16-17)​
Evangelism is our charge.
As followers of Jesus, we are commanded to share the good news and make disciples of others. (Matthew 28:19)​
Generosity is our blessing.
Faithful stewardship challenges us to plant churches and support global missions. (Philippians 3:14-15)​
Serving is our privilege.
The love of Jesus compels us to serve our church, our community and our world. (Romans 1:16)​
Family is our identity.
We nurture relationships with trust, respect and love. (Ephesians 5, 6)
What We Believe
We believe that statements of core beliefs are the non-negotiable markers along the discipleship pathway for followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. At Light of the World, questions are welcomed and dialogue is embraced as together we discover Biblical answers in the spirit of respect and humility.​
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We believe there is one true God.
God revealed Himself as a single being (Deuteronomy 6:4) in three persons: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). This teaching of one God in three persons is called the Trinity.
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We believe the Bible is the Word of God.
The thoughts as well as the words of the Bible expressed God's message as the 40 original writers were guided by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). We believe that the Scriptures are without error and are the believers' authoritative guide for faith and life.
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We believe that salvation is freely given to everyone who believes in Jesus.
Jesus Christ who is the eternal Son of God (1 John 1:2) became a human being (John 1:14); died on the cross for the sins of every person (Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21); rose from the dead and is alive forevermore (Revelation 1:18).
We can receive salvation by trusting Him as Savior and Lord (Revelation 3:20).
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We believe God is working out His purpose in our lives through the Holy Spirit and as we belong to the Church.​
Every Christian is a member of the Church, the body of Christ. We are called to disciple believers (Matthew 28: 19-20); to share the good news (Acts 1:8); to worship God (1 Corinthians 12:13); and to grow into maturity (Ephesians 4:12).
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Light of the World Christian Center is a congregation affiliated with the Assemblies of God. The abovementioned teachings are a partial summary of our core doctrines. For more information about the 16 Fundamental Truths, please visit the Assemblies of God website down below.
Meet The Board
Our Board Members and Deacons are spiritual leaders who serve with humility, integrity, and wisdom. They provide guidance, support, and accountability for the church’s mission and ministries. With a heart to serve God and His people, they help care for the spiritual and practical needs of the congregation, uphold biblical standards, and assist the pastoral team in advancing the vision of the church.
Arnel Rabara
Ces Batoon
Doddie Kahoday
Gerry Mina
