Join Us In Prayer For The Asia-Pacific Region
In June 2016, a huge fire broke out in a barangay (smallest administrative division) outside of the capital city of Manila. It destroyed more than 50 homes, affecting at least 93 families. Three children were reported to have lost their lives.
It has been a truly challenging time for the community as they have struggled with the loss and worked to get back on their feet. But thanks to individuals and groups who immediately responded to their need, the affected families felt God's compassionate embrace...
Responding to Local Disasters With the Love of Jesus!
Cainta, Philippines: On June 3, 2016, a huge fire broke out in a Barangay (smallest administrative division) outside of the capital city of Manila.Bagong Silang, Barangay San Juan, Cainta Rizal, is home to more than 4,000. The fire destroyed more than 50 homes and affected at least 93 families, three children were reported to have lost their lives.
The church was quick to take action, through the initiatives of River of Life Community Fellowship of Rowenas in Taytay and Cainta Church of the Nazarene, with the assistance of Nazarene Disaster Response (NDR) of the Philippine- Micronesia Field Office (PMFO).
Mary Joy Gulles, a volunteer at River of Life, made the initial assessment, reporting that nearly 70% of those affected by the fire were housed in the Camden Share Church, a Methodist church near the community, which served as an evacuation center.
On June 6, NDR skilled trainer Jennylyn Olitin, along with Michelle Albacaro of Operation Safe (OpSAFE), a trauma debriefing program with tools for children, in conjunction with 10 other trained volunteers, conducted a trauma debriefing. Thirty-five children were able to take advantage of this training, along with some of their parents.The following day, recognizing the needs at the evacuation center, NDR workers brought and distributed Crisis Care Kits (CCK) to the affected families. The Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD) of Cainta was very appreciative of the assistance the Church of the Nazarene provided.
“The CCK is badly needed. We have many donors for food but not the hygiene kit and the work for trauma debriefing,” stated Maryann, the officer-in-charge at the evacuation center. “No one is doing this except the Church of the Nazarene, We are so thankful for this work.”
NDR also distributed 82 school packs for the children as they were scheduled to start school just days after the fire. With so many homes affected, many of the children’s school materials were lost in the fire. These school packs provided hope and light during a very challenging time.
Cainta is located on the eastern part of Manila, 2 kilometers west of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary. Photo credits: WikipediaThe government has provided considerable support for the families to rebuild, and the community is in the process of putting their lives and homes back together. River of Life Church of Rowenas Community, Cainta Church (headed by Pastor Elmo Dialing) and NDR (led by Pastor Jackson Natividad) are now working with the families affected by the fire through various ongoing ministries including outreach programs for the children and youth.
God has truly blessed the community in Cainta through the people who helped them get back on their feet. Although some time has passed since the unfortunate incident, we continue to pray for guidance for the affected families, and seek ways to minister to them in an ongoing fashion.[Report submitted by: Jackson T. Natividad]
Member Care
member/
noun: a person ... belonging to a particular group.
ker/
verb: feel concern or interest; attach importance to something.
What is it?
We are members... of the Asia-Pacific Church of the Nazarene Team... we are ministry leaders, pastors, district superintendents, teachers, missionaries.... We are in this together!
And... we care - we feel concern and interest for each other!
Pretty simple, huh?
That's the heart of Member Care on this Region.
Your regional member care team is made up of representatives from each field and here's our vision:
Vision Statement: A Christ-like Community Holistically Developing and Nurturing One Another
This vision statement reflects our values of Christ-likeness, Holistic Health, and Genuine Growth, demonstrated within the context of Body and Community. We believe that we, as Christ's hands and feet, hold out to one another the source of effective, healthy living as we recognize, support, and build one another up in Christ... and that THIS will result in increased fruitfulness in ministry, and deep fulfillment as we follow God's call on our life!... Whew! Can you tell I'm passionate about this?
Read more about this great community that is working together specifically to support and encourage each other!
Breathing Deep…..Member Care
Member Care
ˈmembər/noun: a person … belonging to a particular group.
ker/
verb: feel concern or interest; attach importance to something.
What is it?
We are members… of the Asia Pacific Church of the Nazarene Team… we are ministry leaders, pastors, district superintendents, teachers, missionaries…. We are in this together!
And… we care – we feel concern or interest for each other!
Pretty simple, huh?
That’s the heart of Member Care on this region.
Your regional member care team is made up of representatives from each field and here’s our vision:
Vision Statement: A Christ-like Community Holistically Developing and Nurturing One Another
This vision statement reflects our values of Christ-likeness, Holistic Health, and Genuine Growth, demonstrated within the context of Body and Community. We believe that we, as Christ’s hands and feet, hold out to one another the source of effective, healthy living as we recognize, support, and build one another up in Christ… and that THIS will result in increased fruitfulness in ministry, and deep fulfillment as we follow God’s call on our life!… whew! Can you tell I’m passionate about this?
Why does it matter?
We’ve identified these 5 reasons why Member Care matters:
- It matters so we can respond to Trauma – Our desire is that we are all walking close enough to be aware of traumatic or crisis events within the lives of our team members. Sometimes we respond by seeking medical or mental health professionals to get the help that might be needed. Sometimes it means coming along side, sharing grief, and just sitting through the pain together. Bottom line, we notice when one of us is hurting, and we respond.
- It matters so we can build Resilience – We will seek to prevent crisis and increase sustainability by building resilience to the challenges we face so we can remain strong. This looks like learning to manage stress, increasing our conflict competency, learning to listen, setting boundaries, getting the physical and mental rest we need, raising awareness and developing a culture of holistic health.
- It matters so we can facilitate Fulfillment – Fulfillment means we enjoy the blessing of being called as we demonstrate transformation to a world desperately looking for it! We will encourage spiritual formation and personal development; we will facilitate coaching opportunities, increase understanding how to working within our strengths, and cultivate team development.
- It matters so we can encourage Engagement – What is ‘engagement’? It’s motivation. It’s the degree to which I feel the church community – cares about me and therefore I am motivated to live out my calling on this ministry team. We will explore ways to help our leaders – our FSC’s, our District Superintendents, our Ministry Coordinators, our Pastors, our missionaries, our Lay Ministers – know they are cared for. This means genuinely seeing each other as holistic people, loved by God… and never limit that to seeing what we can get out of each other to meet the demands or expectations of an organization, even when that organization is the Church. This means paying attention to work related demands that could get in the way of our values or ability to stay healthy in ministry so we can stay effective and not burn out. We will seek to increase Trust and facilitate improved communication between all levels of leadership and team members, increasing team engagement across the region.
- It matters so we can love our Families – we will intentionally notice each person in every family. This means we will really see the unique needs of children, teens, single adults, and married couples…. at every stage of life. We will reach beyond the scope of our personal experience; we will listen to each other and respond with authentic care.
Lots! We can be on this adventure together!
Introducing the Asia Pacific Member Care theme for this year:
“Grow Deep; Reach Wide … together in 2017”
In the words of Rachel Thompson, Melanesia South Pacific Field Member Care Coordinator, here’s what it sounds like:
Reaching wide is the mission. It’s why we’re here. It’s the calling we’ve received…to reach the lost and broken, to encourage our neighbors, to come along side, to shine the light of Jesus!! “Reaching wide” is pouring out, giving, sharing, teaching, and witnessing. We’re here because we want to REACH WIDE.
BUT…if reaching wide is all we’re doing, when the first storm comes along, we’ll fail. We have to be rooted in something.
Growing deep is our relationship with Christ and the Church. This is where we are nourished, fed, and kept healthy. There is no effective reaching wide without growing deep. And, since God gives us the privilege to live in community, “growing deep” is where we can come along side each other as a body of believers, constructing authentic relationships, building trust, praying for each other’s needs, encouraging each other…to sum it up…member care!
In a “Grow Deep, Reach Wide” ministry, we also live out an example to the people we serve. If we’re only ministering with endless reaching and not also demonstrating rooted growing, we’re not holistically representing what it means to be a Christian. We have the opportunity to demonstrate, not only how to reach wide to a lost and broken world, but also how to grow deep in our relationship with Christ and our fellow Christians.
So, we invite you to join us; watch for articles here as we deepen our exploration of what it means to Grow Deep; Reach Wide… together in 2017![Submitted by: Cindy Schmelzenbach – Member Care Coordinator, Asia Pacific Region]
A new phishing attack is fooling even the most tech-savvy and careful of Gmail users!
The scam aims to steal usernames and passwords and it starts off with a simple and innocent email - from someone you know, with an attachment that seems... reasonable!
This is just one of those moments when technology can become a nightmare. Learn more about the impact of this scam and how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim!
Gmail Phishing Scam Attack- BEWARE!!!Feature: In recent times, people have been feeling the comforts and horrors that technology is bringing in their lives. And today’s article is a perfect example of the latter.
A new phishing attack is fooling even the most tech-savvy and careful of Gmail users!
What You Need To Know
This scam aims to steal usernames and passwords, which innocently starts with a simple email. What’s worse, the email would come from someone you know, so that already puts your security antenna down a few notches.
The email would contain something that looks like an attachment. When you open it, instead of getting a preview, you will be directed to the Gmail sign in page again.Once you sign in, the attackers will now have full access to your account. And it’s not just Gmail- it targets other services too. The attackers can now explore the compromised account, look for past emails and attachments, create decoy image versions and compose a whole new email with believable subject lines that will target the person’s contacts.
And this vicious cycle of fraud continues.
How to Protect Yourself
Constant vigilance!
Always pay close attention to your browser’s location bar when signing in. If the location bar reads “https://accounts.google.com…,” then you’re good to go. However, please consider this a major red flag if this is what you see on your browser:
Note that in the phishing attack, the address starts with “data:text/html,” followed by the usual “https://accounts.google.com…” It’s easy to miss so be on the lookout always!
Aside from checking the browser location, make it a habit to verify the protocol and hostname.
There shouldn’t be any out-of-place characters preceding the hostname (accounts.google.com,) aside from the ‘https://’ and the GREEN lock symbol (with great emphasis on the color. )
It would also help to change your password and check your login activity regularly. You can never be too sure, so it’s best to be on guard at all times!
Spread the word
Make others be aware of this new scheme! Share this story to everyone you know to tip them off and alert them as to how they can avoid falling victim to having their accounts compromised.
* Photo credits and information sources:
- https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2017/01/gmail-phishing-data-uri/
- http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/01/18/dont-fall-for-this-sophisticated-gmail-phishing-scam.html
- https://www.onlinethreatalerts.com/
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/
- Spread the word! Click here for the full story!
Global Ministry Center: The Church of the Nazarene's denominational website,nazarene.org is now available in Spanish!
This initiative is an ongoing, collaborative effort by the members of the Global Ministry Center's information technology and communications teams. Almost all pages are already translated and will continue to be updated as more resources are added to the site.
Check out more information on this amazing development and what you can expect from the Church of the Nazarene's efforts to resource its diverse members!
Here on the Asia-Pacific Region, there are many opportunities to travel to amazing places, learn new cultures, meet new friends and most importantly minister and spread God's Word and love through Work and Witness!
Today, we feature a project located in the Kingdom of Tonga.
Mango Tree Respite Center ministers to the handicapped and disabled children and their families in the south pacific island nation of Tonga. Through this project, teams are given the chance to build relationships where members work inside or around a family's home.
Get to know more details about the project and how you can participate! Continue to help the Mango Tree Facility with its ongoing financial need, while also reaching out to help the community!
More and more families deal with the issue of one heart divided between two homes. How do we as leaders provide support and encouragement for these parents? How do we understand the emotional and developmental concerns of children of divorce?
Discipleship Place is hosting a free webinar entitled: "One Heart, Two Homes: Speaking to the Unique Needs of Parents and Children in Post-Divorce Families."
This webinar, led by Jay & Tammy Daughtery, MMFT, will discuss topics including how to:
* Create a culture of love and acceptance amid the stigma of failure and judgement.
* Understand the dynamics of post-divorce families.
* Provide support for single parents and remarried parents.
* Understand the emotional and developmental concerns of children of divorce and how to raise them into healthy, thriving young adults.
- Click here for more information about the facilitators and how to sign up for the free webinar!
- Latest WMC News Video - January 13th Edition
be sure to share!
Links You Might Like! (More coming weekly)
Articles
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- $1M COMPASS Initiative to Address Financial Economic Health of Pastors
- Didache Faithful Teaching: Volume 16 Number 3
- Out of Africa - January 2017
- Nazarenes in the News
- Preacher's magazine - Avoiding Plagiarism When Using a Primary Source for Preaching
- Articles of Faith
- Engage Magazine
- General Assembly 2017
- Holiness Today
- Manual
- Mission Corps - Global Volunteer Mission Opportunities
- Nazarene.org (Official Global Site)
- Nazarene Essentials
- Nazarene Compassionate Ministries
- Nazarene Safe
- Nazarene Missions International
- Nazarene Youth International
- Preacher's Magazine
- Sunday School Discipleship Ministries
- Work and Witness
- Visit us at our Asia-Pacific Regional Website!
STAY CONNECTED:
Asia-Pacific Regional Communications
Ortigas Av Ext
Kaytikling, Taytay, Rizal, Manila 1920 Philippines
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