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Manny Pacquiao, the Philippine boxing legend turned evangelist, told thousands of Christian leaders in Manila that life is brief and the task of sharing the gospel cannot wait — urging delegates at the Arise Asia 2026 Congress to set specific, annual goals for bringing others to faith
Pacquiao delivered his message on the congress’s opening evening on July 27. Speaking before some 4,000 participants from more than 50 countries, he drew from his own journey — from a life of what he described as drunkenness and gambling to one centered on Scripture and evangelism — and pressed delegates to measure their Christian lives by how many souls they are actively trying to reach
“With the time I accept Jesus Christ in my life — but before that, people know my old life,” he said. “A lot of vices in life, drunkenness, gambling, everything like that. I had that. But when God changed my heart and gave me conviction and I surrendered my life to Jesus and accepted him as my Lord and Savior, then I obeyed.”
The Arise Asia 2026 Congress runs through July 31 under the theme “For the Joy,” drawn from Hebrews 12:2. Pacquiao, a former eight-division boxing world champion who has also served as a Philippine congressman and senator, was recently installed by the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches as an international evangelist
Much of Pacquiao’s address turned on the question of intentionality. He cited the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 and called on believers to translate the mandate into concrete personal commitments rather than leaving it abstract
“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. He suggested a modest starting point: “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.”
He framed the urgency in terms of human mortality. Life, he said, is “like a morning fog that we appear and disappear.” Against that brevity, he asked: “How many souls you bring to the kingdom of God in your lifetime in this earth? That’s the question, being a Christian.”
On pride and compromise
Pacquiao reserved his sharpest remarks for what he called the greatest spiritual obstacle many believers face: the assumption that one is already good enough
“The greatest hindrance for a person to be saved is to assume that you are good enough to go to heaven,” he said. He connected that pride to a failure to read Scripture and pray consistently, which he argued leaves believers unable to resist temptation or remain faithful. “There are so many Christians right now in the world that we call it backsliding, turning and compromising their faith,” he said. “They’re not reading the <a href="https://christiancorner.us/2026/07/28/the-soft-gap-theory-evolution-and-the-bible-reconciled/” title=”The Soft Gap Theory: Evolution and the Bible Reconciled?”>Bible day and night. They’re not praying continually. That’s the most important. That’s the problem for all of us.”
He urged delegates to make Scripture memory a discipline: “I encourage you to read the Bible day and night, memorizing the Scriptures — that’s how to make you strong. Because when the day of trial comes in our lives, we cannot stand using our physical body.”
Faith shown in conduct
Pacquiao also pushed back against a version of Christianity measured by knowledge rather than character. When learning about God increases pride rather than humility, he said, something has gone wrong
“When your knowledge increase about God, then pride will come. And that’s the greatest hindrance,” he said. The alternative, he argued, is a faith visible in how believers treat the people around them. “The life I’m talking about is the way you treat others, the way you show up to others, the way you help others. That’s the most important thing, being a Christian — inspiration admirable to others, especially our attitude, the way we treat others, the way we communicate, the way we humble ourselves for others.”
He closed with prayer for delegates, asking that they receive “wisdom, knowledge, understanding to preach your word boldly without fear.”
The Arise Asia Congress continues through July 31 in Manila
