First Ministry Update SY 2009-10
Dear IVCF Family,
Greetings in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Our God is faithful. He who started the good work in us and in IVCF continues to carry it out towards its completion. We started the new school year full of hope to be able to improve on last school years progress. However, many interruptions came: typhoons after typhoons, sicknesses and deaths of IVCF people, sudden staff movements, many unmet needs, and new challenges in our movement. In spite of all these happenings, God moves in and through us. So let us choose to rejoice in God. For He is still with us, guiding us, and sustaining our people and our programs.
In this ministry update I present to you good news about our 5 Flagship Programs. We are still doing our work and getting good results. I invite you to read this short report for a few minutes and think about the lives of students that God is transforming through our work in IVCF. Students are hearing the gospel, responding in faith, growing in discipleship, prepared to be missionaries, learning to be leaders, and nurturing our movement. Our IVCF graduates continue to contribute to the movement in many ways. Give praise to God for His mighty acts in our midst.
I. Evangelism Program
PNU Freshmen Treat (WVRU)
Rejoice with us that 2,445 students heard the gospel through our Evangelism Program during the First Quarter of the school year 2009-2010. We recorded 507 of those students became Christians.
We shared the gospel through Evangelistic Bible Study or Discussion Groups. During the first quarter we had 96 EBS groups with 810 students who studied the gospel to discover Jesus Christ.
Because we want our IVCF students to be active in sharing the gospel we had 14 Evangelistic Training Events attended by 257 participants. Our Regional Directors reported that we have recruited 808 new IVCF student members.
“Praise the Lord for the success of the joint Freshmen Treat and 5th Anniversary of the IVCF-ASSCAT Campus Beacons chapter last June 30, 2009. The total attendance is 129. There were 64 freshmen students and 17 of them became Christians that night.”
By Edcyl Lopez, CARGA Regional Unit staff
II. Discipleship Program
Cell Group GTKY (BRU)
We have 4 discipleship activities: Cell Group (CG) Meetings, Large Group Meetings (LGM), Prayer Meetings (PM) and Discipleship Training Events. There were 169 Cogs formed during the first quarter. 1,009 students attended it.
We also had 53 LGMs in our campus chapters, attended by 1,544 students. For the first 3 months of the school year we had 50 prayer meetings in the campus, attended by 160 students. And we had 22 Discipleship Training Events, attended by 273 students.
III. Missions
Friday Bible Study (NLRU)
We had 5 missions events, attended by 83 students. There is one IVCF group reaching out to International Students and 3 groups reaching out to M students, both are in Southern Mindanao.
In CARAGA, we are reaching out to tribal students from the Manobo, Banwaon, and Higaonon. In Northern Luzon, we had an Inter-Campus Missions Awareness event and a Night of Prayer where students prayed for Unreached People Groups.
Our Missions Team, composed of 9 members who are young graduates and students, now led by Yvette Romero, had 3 major events for the first quarter of the school year.
“What we want to see Missions awareness and mobilization in every chapter and church through the formation of Prayer, Mobilizing, Welcomers, Senders, and Goers Groups, Churches receive first-hand experience of cross-cultural missions work, Increased number of students and graduates involved in world Christian discipleship, and Students and graduates ushered to specific roles in world missions.”
By IVCF Missions Team
IV. Leadership
Leadership Summit (MMRU)
This school year we have 399 student leaders, 333 of those are IVCF-trained. We had 36 Leadership Training Events, attended by 180 students during the first quarter of this school year.
In Metro Manila, we had a Leadership Summit dubbed ‘Special Force: Gear Up!’ last June 12, participated by 19 student-leaders from 12 campus chapters. Seven (7) Graduate Team (GT) volunteers also joined this summit.
The participants of the Leadership Summit had a time of creative engagement through a structured learning activity, planning, interaction, retreat, and prayer. They were also challenged to put their dependence on God, our commander in chief. It was such a blessed sight to see the members of God’s special army in the student world crying out to Him in prayer.
By Mutya Febre,
Metro Manila Regional Unit staff
V. Nurturing the Movement
Graduate Team Meeting (CRU)
Our Regional Directors initially reported that during the first quarter of this school year we have a total of 41 Advisers, 20 ISCF Counselors, 79 Graduate Team volunteers, and 19 church partners.
Because IVCF places great importance in strengthening our movement and the people who faithfully supports our ministries, we have appointed Ms. Elsie Calalang as our Graduates Ministry Resources staff. Ate Elsie is assigned to take care of our Graduates Ministry, by providing pastoral care and training to our graduates. She had started to do this important task by since July 1 by being available as teacher, trainor and mentor to graduates in Metro Manila and in Mindanao.
“It is very encouraging and inspiring to know that our labor in the student ministry is not in vain. In my recent trip to Southern Mindanao, I met one of our former students in Iligan when I served as a GT in Northern Mindanao in the late 70’s. Belen Econan Bautista is now serving as house parent with her husband Pastor Larry at the orphanage in Mount Moriah, Malaybalay, Bukidnon. And the person who donated the piece of land where the orphanage is built was donated by one of our former students in Iligan also, Mrs. Grace Javier Ayala. In fact she and her husband built the Mt. Moriah Campsite, which IVCFers in Mindanao are now using for free.”
By Elsie Calalang, Graduates Ministry Resources staff
There are still other reports to share with you. But this will be all for now. In a few days I will share more stories to encourage you, such as our recent leadership and discipleship camps during the semestral break. To end this ministry update, let us give glory to God.
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10
In Christ,
Erickson M. Velardo
National Director
IVCF Philippines
Download: First Ministry Update [First Ministry Update- School Year 2009-2010]
