From Bill and Daphne Sidney
By Arlano S. Aquino
QUEZON CITY, Philippines - Two events have placed the Philippines before the international community.
One is the dumpsite tragedy near Manila. The other is tension between the government and a rebel group in the southern part of the archipelago. Both events dragged down what is already a bad economy. Though there is little trust in the current government, most of the poor still hope that the president will carry on with his promises for them.
The country's worsening economy and other social problems are affecting everyone, including the WCG in the Philippines. It has presented tough challenges to our church leaders and members alike. We thank God for our people's faithfulness and their sacrificial, positive response. We thank him also for how he has used his people's humble efforts to bless others.
In September last year the church moved to another office. This new office, once a residence, now belongs to the church. The move and sale of the church property cushioned the effect of the plummeting economy.
Income, however, was down for the opening months of the year. Several pastors retired from full-time ministry. We have had to dig deep. In the areas affected, pastoral teams were installed. Our men and women who have full-time jobs volunteered to help take care of the churches with no resident pastor.
Meanwhile, area coordinators were set up in the field ministry structure late last year to coordinate our full-time and bi-vocational pastors serving 60 churches and 23 outlying Bible studies. Five ministry areas were identified. Area coordinators are responsible for providing administrative leadership, encouragement and mentoring to ministers in the church.
Low income also affected the media work of the church. New Life--Asia, the church's flagship magazine, which started in January 1997, came out with its last issue in June. Until finances allow us to print the magazine again, NLA articles shall be posted on the Internet. Once the WCG Philippines website gets activated, we hope to post not just NLA articles but a Bible study correspondence course as well.
Regional director William Sidney summarized the church's present thrust with these words: Build up the local congregations and equip the brethren. Already many of our local churches are involved in various outreach programs. To sustain the efforts of the members, the local church, which serves as a base, needs to be strengthened and built up. To help increase their effectiveness in evangelism and witness, they need to be equipped even further.
The training arm of the church, the Leadership Development Institute, is currently running a Servant-Leaders Development Program. The program is open to all members and is given through local churches.
It is composed of 18 eight-hour modules composed of such topics as Gospels, family life, counseling, church administration and WCG Statement of Beliefs. The modules are grouped into four categories: Bible, spiritual formation, relationships and servant-leaders skills.
Every Wednesday night since May, we have conducted the Foundations for Christian Leadership (FCL) seminar at the regional office. Fifty of our servant-leaders throughout the Metro Manila area attend this weekly class. FCL, a non-formal training program for pastors, was designed by the International School of Theology in Asia, the seminary established by Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ. Graduates and faculty of the seminary teach the program to our people.
The church continues to equip members with the Condensed World Mission Course. Three hundred of our members nationwide have completed the eight-day course.
We have at present five missionary families serving in several communities. One woman now serves as a teacher-missionary in China. A worshiping community has grown up in one cultural minority group in Bicol, an area in the southern tip of Luzon.
Mission work is a priority of the church. As God provides the means, we continue to reach out to people groups who have not yet heard of the gospel.
Incidentally, another kind of equipping was extended to the larger Christian community in the Philippines in July. Through the Leadership Development Institute, the church partnered with Food for the Hungry Philippines to conduct an event called Vision Conference: Biblical Vision and Skills for Wholistic Ministry.
The conference brought together church leaders and workers from two branches of Christianity in the Philippines: the evangelical and mainline Protestant denominations. Vision conferences were conducted in three key cities around the country: Davao, Cebu and Manila. A number of our pastors and members helped organized the seminars.
As of this writing, God has added to the church about 270 new people this year. This was made possible by the greater involvement of our brethren in personal and group evangelism. Our people are reaching out through Evangelism Explosion, the Four Spiritual Laws, and the Daily Vacation Bible Study program.
Many started with the Jesus film and followed it through with Bible study sessions. Others responded to the needs around them, providing relief goods or medical services. Some of our churches for instance pooled resources together to help those who lost homes and family in the country's Payatas dumpsite tragedy.
Another area where our brethren have made a difference is in childhood education. Two of our churches in Mindanao, the southern part of the country, have day care programs for the children in the community. The day care centers are now in their third year.
The church has also made its mark in helping people earn a living through the Federation of Share Cooperatives or FESCO. FESCO's livelihood program (through paper card-making and decoration) continues to help more and more people. One of our missionaries who serves in the Visayas, the middle part of the Philippines, has introduced the card program to the communities in his area. His work led the local government to tap him for its livelihood and moral recovery initiatives.
For the WCG in the Philippines, it is a time of rebuilding for the future. The transition of the last few years is now behind us. A growing peace now exists among our people. Local churches are settling down. People are coming back. New faces are coming in. We thank the Lord for his grace.
And by his grace, we will not rest yet. Much still needs to be done. We need to know more and live out better what it means to have Christ as the center and goal of our lives. We are learning what it means to be a praying, giving, worshiping and witnessing community. God is still teaching us how to walk and work together with brethren in other fellowships. Our skill in providing a wholistic ministry needs sharpening.
Furthermore, we need to reclaim our children and our youths. We need to regroup our singles and seniors. And we are learning what it means to live as a church family once again. One family--diverse yet one. With one soul and purpose. One God, one Lord, one Spirit.
NEW MEMBERS--27 new members were baptized Feb. 27
in La Union. [Photo courtesy of Jerry Ortiguero]
NEW PHILIPPINES REGIONAL OFFICE
[Photo by Edwin Orogo]
SAN RAFAEL--Bicol and San Rafael
brethren after the inauguration of the
San Rafael church Jan. 23.
[Photo courtesy of Abelardo Balisnomo]
ZAMBOANGA CITY--Graduates of the Little
Friends Day Care Center.
[Photo courtesy of Nilo Belarmino]
CARD DECORATING--Gloria Ortiguero, wife of
Pastor Jerry Ortiguero, conducts training on card decorating.
[Photo by Sheila dela Pena]
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2000