Kankanaeys are one of the indigenous people group residing in the mountainous area of Benguet, Mountain Province and eastern section of La Union and Ilocos Sur. There are at present about 180,000 Kankanaeys. Like other cultural communities, the Kankanaeys have their own distinct language, beliefs, values and way of life. They are one of the most industrious tribes in the Philippines with agriculture as their main livelihood.

Kankanaey culture revolves around the beliefs in the spirits, or animism. They believe in and worship gods and goddesses. These spirits can inflict sicknesses, and even cause death. But they also bring wealth, long life and good health. Like other Igorots, they have a feast called “kanyaw” to appease these spirits.

In 1975, New Tribes missionaries Wes and Lori Petro surveyed the place in Sagpat, Kibungan, Benguet, while Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) translators, Mr. Larry and Jan Allen, went to Poblacion, Kibungan to start translation work on the Kankanaey Bible. During this time, no evangelical churches were established yet in the said places. Filipino missionaries came to help in planting of the gospel seed. After hearing the good news through home Bible studies, two local churches were established in the municipality of Kibungan—one in Poblacion and the other one in Saddle, Sagpat. With the coming of other missionaries, many more churches were planted not only in Benguet but even in its neighboring provinces of Mountain Province and La Union.

Through God’s grace and faithfulness, the churches in Benguet, La Union and Mt. Province continue to grow. An association of Kankanaey churches was formed known as the Kankanaey Community of Christian Churches, Inc. (KCCCI) with a membership of 8 churches. One of the KCCCI churches, the La Trinidad Community of Believers (LTCB), was established out of a need to minister to the students and young professionals who moved from the remote barrios of Benguet to La Trinidad and Baguio City. It is one of the fastest growing churches of KCCCI.

Coming from far flung areas of the three provinces, the KCCCI believers meet every Holy Week for a general conference. Because of the increasing burden of expenses, especially in these hard times where prices and everything is soaring high, participants find it hard and many were not able to join the conferences. Thus, the idea of putting up a center most accessible to all was envisioned by the present KCCCI Board. This center will accommodate all the KCCCI activities such as: the general conferences, women, men, and youth fellowships and seminars. A 5000 sq. meter lot in Shilan, La Trinidad, Benguet worth 10 Million is being prayed for as the site of the future KCCCI Center.

At present, NTMPI missionaries, Cesar and Elsa Ferrer, Dominga Agayo and Joyce Guingaban are concentrating their efforts to equip and train leaders among the KCCCI churches.