Serving the Philippines as the Director of Bicol Center for Christian Leadership

From 2001 until her death this past October, Mayette Ativo-Bueno partnered with the NAB in the ministry of the Bicol Center for Christian Leadership (BCCL). It was a long and fruitful collaboration that saw hundreds of Christian workers receive pastoral and theological training they would not otherwise have been able to. As BCCL’s cofounder and the Center’s only director, Mayette was BCCL’s one constant throughout its history; she was the face of – and the driving force behind – the ministry. It is hard to imagine BCCL without her, but with characteristic foresight, Mayette did. For the last fifteen years, she mentored her successor, Claire Azul-Marker.

Claire is from Legazpi City and is a 2006 graduate of BCCL and a 2011 graduate of the Cebu Graduate School of Theology with an MDiv in Christian Leadership (cum laude). The Cebu Graduate School of Theology is the seminary associated with our partners in the Baptist Conference of the Philippines. Through a providential turn of events, Claire met and has now married Timothy Marker, a member of First Baptist Church of Lodi, California, and a graduate of Western Seminary. Claire and Tim have a heart for missions, serving as mission mentors with OMF International and teaching at BCCL as often as possible. With Mayette’s passing, Claire is prepared to lead BCCL into its next era of ministry.

With Claire at the helm of BCCL, the ministry is in very good hands. She is intelligent, capable, trained, and tested, and like Mayette, she has impeccable integrity. Claire has been involved in all aspects of BCCL for over a decade and knows the ministry better than anyone else. She is based in Lodi but anticipates being in the Philippines a couple times a year and for a couple months at a time. When she is not on site at BCCL, she can be in daily contact with those who are via the wonders of the internet. Because Claire is based in Lodi, not only is she close to the NAB International Office, she is also better able to visit supporting churches as needed.