Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has urged Christians to set specific targets for evangelism, as he shared his testimony at a faith conference in the Philippines.
The now-retired athlete told more than 4,000 attendees at the Arise Asia Congress in Manila about the urgency of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), as reported by Christian Daily.
Pacquiao spoke on Monday of how “God changed my heart and gave me conviction” after struggling with drunkenness and gambling. He has now been appointed as an international evangelist by the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches.
Speaking about human mortality, he described life as “like a morning fog that we appear and disappear”, asking: “how many souls you bring to the kingdom of God in your lifetime in this earth?”
“We should set a goal in our day-to-day life, how many souls that you can target in one year to bring to the kingdom of God," he said.
"My target this year is to bring two souls to the kingdom of God. Just two. And then next year, maybe I can make five souls. So that's my goal in life. I encourage you to do the same.”
Pacquiao urged attendees to memorise scripture as a spiritual discipline, to resist temptation and in preparation to stand strong.
He prayed that they received “wisdom, knowledge [and] understanding to preach your word boldly without fear”.