Ed Lapiz never planned to become a pastor. In fact, he tried to resign from the role multiple times. Yet what began as a simple Bible study with two people inside a Saudi Arabian compound eventually grew into one of the Philippines’ most dynamic Christian movements—Day by Day Jesus Ministries. His journey weaves together courage, improvisation, and a relentless pursuit of relevance in faith.
“I never wanted to be a pastor,” Lapiz said. “Three times I wanted to resign. I only did that Bible study with two people. What can I do? What will I do? But the group grew and grew and grew. I had no blueprint, no plan—just the need to respond to people.”
Early Years and Calling
Lapiz grew up in Los Baños, Laguna, and studied in the University of the Philippines Los Baños before transferring to Diliman to study mass communication. It was during his college years that he encountered campus ministries and had what he describes as a life-changing spiritual experience.
“When I was in college, I started attending some campus ministries and then I had a spiritual experience—this Bible-based experience that I pursued up to a point,” he recalled. “I wanted to dedicate at least a big portion of my life to spreading the words of Jesus, especially his teachings that liberate, that set people free, that teach them to embrace their lives in practical terms—not only think of the other world, but of this world also.”
Lapiz dropped out of UP to join Youth for Christ, where he worked full-time for five years. But ministry wasn’t his only path. A surprising turn led him overseas.
Saudi Arabia: Where It All Began
A cousin’s connection opened doors in Saudi Arabia, where Lapiz first worked as a travel consultant and later as editor-in-chief of a publication at King Khaled Specialist Hospital, then considered one of the most advanced eye hospitals in the world. But it was outside office hours that his true calling emerged.
“I had no plan, there’s no blueprint,” he said. “I just did that Bible study with two people inside the compound. And that group grew and grew and grew. In two months we were more than 70 people. Every week people were bringing friends. Every week there were new people.”
Operating under strict religious restrictions, Lapiz and his group faced constant risks. “Saudi Arabia is different, right? Bawal a meeting of more than 10 people. We were operating with the belief, pseudo knowledge, that we would be beheaded if caught. That was the unsaid,” he said.
Yet the gatherings flourished. He developed systems to cope with the influx—rotating salvation classes, training new teachers, even organizing church history sessions to help participants navigate Catholic traditions.
“To make a long story short, I opened classes,” Lapiz said. “We would rent an entire villa and there would be rooms for classrooms. I was very, very academic in approach—classrooms, quizzes, exams. The honor graduates of a course would teach it next time. What I taught you, you have to teach to others who can teach others as well. So dumami ang teachers.”
Within two years, they were running seven churches in Saudi Arabia, each with pastors, leaders, and choirs.
The Birth of Day by Day
As cassette tapes of his preaching circulated among overseas workers, families back in the Philippines began gathering to listen. What started abroad slowly took root at home.
“Whenever I would preach, everybody had a cassette recorder there. They were sending it to their wives. So the wives here were getting a spiritual experience. Families started gathering, listening to the tapes. That became the foundation of Day by Day here,” Lapiz explained.
By the time he returned home permanently, Day by Day had grown beyond a Saudi church. It was now a movement stretching across borders.
Innovating Worship Spaces
Back in Manila, Lapiz faced the challenge of finding venues. His solution: rent unconventional spaces.
“I was going to all these nightclubs in Timog and all these agogo clubs because I wanted a place,” he said. “To rent for a Sunday morning. Because it’s Sunday morning. And why not? The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. Why should I not use it?”
From there, they moved to bigger stages—Metropolitan Theater, Greenbelt Cinemas, Makati Cinema Square, Shangri-La theaters.
“We pioneered in renting Greenbelt Cinema. You know, the Greenbelt Cinemas were huge, cavernous—1,000 each theater, three services. And then Shangri-La Cinemas, sabay-sabay connected by wires,” Lapiz said.
Renting cinemas had practical advantages. “You don’t have to buy a property, you just rent the cinema. And that’s the best places with parking. Wherever you go, you have to be a blessing. The malls liked it because you bring a lot of crowds who stay forever, eat, and shop.”
Eventually, they settled in Makati Cinema Square, renovating two cinemas into a 24/7 worship space they called Worship City.
Back to School at 39
By then, Day by Day was thriving. Yet Lapiz still felt something missing. At 39, he returned to the University of the Philippines—not as a beginner, but as a sophomore.
“I was 39 and I went back to college as a sophomore. For a while I thought I’d be a UP dropout forever,” he said. “I did bachelor’s, then I thought, why don’t I do MA? So I did master’s in Philippine Studies. Then PhD in Philippine Studies. History, arts, culture, social issues, politics.”
His reason for returning to school was deeply personal. “I didn’t go to school to make a degree. It just happened that I made a degree. I had a personal need to be in the same room with people who think. I needed to be among academicians who problematize society and culture and find solutions. I don’t get that in the religious community. So I had to be in the university.”
A Reluctant Pastor, A Relentless Teacher
Despite leading one of the Philippines’ largest congregations, Lapiz has always described himself as reluctant in his pastoral role.
“I never wanted to be a pastor. I don’t like the word pastor. But it led to that,” he admitted. “I never thought of becoming a teacher in a religious setting because you cannot be very creative. You have to toe the line. But I was pushed into it. People kept coming. What could I do?”
His unconventional background became his strength. “I think my strength is that I never went to any religious school. I intentionally did not because I did not want to be strongly influenced by any sectarian thinking. That’s why I could approach scripture from a fresh perspective. I never really got into the box to begin with.”
Legacy and Impact
Today, Day by Day Jesus Ministries has around 70 to 80 daughter churches across the Philippines and abroad, each with dozens to hundreds of members. The central congregation alone draws thousands on Sundays. Yet Lapiz still avoids counting numbers.
“I don’t know because I never really paid attention,” he said. “But I think we have 70 or 80 daughter churches scattered in the Philippines and abroad. And each of those would have anywhere from 50 to 200. Aside from the main church that I lead myself, which is like on Sundays, probably 6,000. But there are numberless, uncounted people listening, joining online, considering themselves part of this church.”
From two people in a Saudi villa to tens of thousands worldwide, the story of Ed Lapiz is less about grand plans and more about faith responding to opportunity.
“There is no blueprint,” he said. “I only responded to needs as they come, and then tried to solve problems or go several steps ahead of possible problems. That’s how Day by Day grew. Not because I wanted it, but because it had to happen.”
