Evangelization is the bringing of the good news of Jesus Christ to people. It is proclaiming that Jesus came into the world in order to bring salvation to men, through His death and resurrection. Evangelization is at the core of our life in Couples for Christ. It is our call, our duty and our privilege.

Evangelization is the practical living out of the two greatest commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. Thus, to evangelize is not an option but a necessity for a follower of Christ. Every Christian is to be an evangelizer. The whole Church, the body of Christ, exists for mission. In Jesus' Great Commission, His final marching order is a call to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15).

Highly evangelistic, CFC’s membership includes Asians, Africans, North and South Americans, Australians, Europeans, Pacific Islanders, Mediterraneans, etc. To date, Couples For Christ is present in over 160 countries, and continues to grow in number.

Integral to the call of evangelization is the need for each CFC member to grow in personal renewal and holiness. As the work grows bigger, in a faster pace and larger territories are covered, the workers in God's vineyard need to be cared for and nourished through:

• Pastoral Formation
• Counselling Services
• Church Relations
• Administration and Finance

This pillar ensures that the spiritual needs of our members are addressed. To grow in the Spirit, each CFC member is nurtured through prayers, scripture, sacraments, service and fellowship. To put good order into our work of evangelization and mission, a good administrative and financial support system has also been put in place.

For the first 12 years of the life of CFC, the single focus was on evangelizing and renewing married couples. Even though many non-couples were asking about how they could also be a part of the CFC community, the mandate of the Lord extended only to the work with couples. It has since become clear that the Lord simply wanted to assure a solid foundation, one based on the renewal of Christian couples and their families, for the large work that was to come.

The family being the central unit of society requires continuity and support in its life. The CFC Family Ministries offer and foster the atmosphere of FAITH, FRIENDSHIP, FREEDOM and FUN that is crucial in each stage of an individual.

• CFC Kids For Christ
• CFC Youth For Christ
• CFC Singles For Christ
• CFC Handmaids of the Lord
• CFC Servants of the Lord

What all the above has given us in CFC a "womb-to-tomb" ministry. When a child is born into a CFC family, its first two years are spent being nurtured and learning to walk and talk. At age 6 or so, the child can join CFC Youth for Christ. At age 12 or so, the budding teenager can join CFC Youth for Christ. After school, at about age 21, he or she can join CFC Single for Christ. Once they get married, they move on to Couples for Christ. When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse can transfer to CFC Handmaids or the Lord (for widows) of CFC Servant of the Lord (for widowers).

There is a continuity in spiritual formation and support which is not found in most other groups. There is an assurance of a familiar environment and community culture for the full length of one's earthly life. One can continue to grow in the Lord through the years in the same Christian community, able to deepen personal friendships and relationships which endure. A single person can find a spouse and be assured of solid formation and a compatible spirituality. There can be a focus on the one mission in which the whole CFC family is involved.

A CFC child starts life in the womb of godly CFC mother supported by a godly CFC father, is born into a godly CFC home where he or she is nurtured and loved, and then starts a lifelong journey of involvement in the larger family of CFC. In addition to parental formation and support, he or she is supported by a vibrant, loving community through the years of childhood, adolescence, single life, marriage, and later the death of one's spouse. In CFC, with is "womb-to-tomb" ministry, one can literally invest a whole lifetime.

This is God's gift to all of us in the community that is CFC. It is our assurance of the Lord's blessings from birth to death. It is God's provision for us to enable us after our earthly sojourn to enter into our eternal reward in heaven.

Gawad Kalinga (GK) translated in English means to “to give care”, and it is an alternative solution to the blatant problem of poverty not just in the Philippines but in the world.

Since its inception in 1995, GK has evolved into not just a work with the poor but also a work of nation building, from a simple but daring CFC intiative to a growing multi-sectoral partnership by the same spirit and vision. GK hosts people-empowering activities moving towards building integrated, holistic and sustainable communities focusing first and foremost on depressed areas throughout the Philippines.

The work of GK has extended to other poor communities in Indonesia, Cambodia, India, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea.

Together with its partners, Gawad Kalinga is now in the process of transforming poverty stricken areas with the goal of building 700,000 homes in 7,000 in 7 years (2003-2010). To date Gawad Kalinga is in over 900 communities all over the Philippines and in other developing countries (establish link to GK ABROAD, write-ups on GK Communities outside the Philippines)

GAWAD KALINGA Programs

• Shelter And Site Development
• Child & Youth Development And Education
• Health
• Productivity And Livelihood
• Values Formation/Community Empowerment
• Environment
• Tourism (Mabuhay)

ANCOP, an abbreviation for “Answering the Cry of the Poor”, is a vast network of international organizations thatsupports the work of Gawad Kalinga in the Philippines and other Third World countries. ANCOP offices have been set up in 20 donor areas abroad as the official international representatives of Gawad Kalinga.

Our approach is comprehensive, integrated, and sustainable. Anyone can do great works of charity. The challenge is sustaining the work. We work with the help of anyone and everyone with big, willing hearts. Volunteer architects, engineers and carpenters, doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, teachers, writers, people from all religious, social, and academic backgrounds, government and private sectors — come together with one purpose: answer the cry of the poor.

ANCOP International (Canada) Inc. is a registered non-profit charitable organization.

Visit GAWAD KALINGA for more information on becoming a sponsor.

From its very inception, Couples for Christ has been and staunchly remains pro-God, pro-family, pro-poor and pro-life. A strong pro-life stance is very much in line with CFC’s way of life as well as its work for total human liberation.

In response to the encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II, Humane Vitae (The Gospel of Life), CFC established Pro-Life as a major ministry in order to raise consciousness among its members, as well as others, on the sacredness of life as a basic value rooted in the dignity of man. This is due to the imminent defeat of the “culture of life” by the “culture of death” as a consequence of the worldwide legalization of abortion, capital punishment and euthanasia as well as other anti-life practices.

CFC’s pro-life stance is enveloped in its life and culture through the promotion of natural family planning, fertility awareness and human sexuality, chastity education (100% PURE Program), advocacy and lobbying for pro-life legislation, among others.

From its initial thrust of spiritual renewal, the community’s mission has evolved and CFC has taken on the challenge of social renewal as a natural response to its Christian responsibility and Jesus’ mission to bring glad tidings to the poor.

In 1995, CFC established its Social Ministries. The CFC Social Ministries comprise our work of building the Church of the Poor. They look to the social dimension of our life in the Lord. They focus on external service. They are designed to help us grow in stewardship and servanthood:

• FLAME Ministries
• TEKTON Guild
• CFC Coops For Christ
• CFC Educational Foundation, Inc.
• Give Kare Health Foundation, Inc. (GKARE, formerly Medical Mission)
• The Sword of Gideon
• Isaiah 61:1 (Prison Ministry)
• TEODORA (Empowerment of Women)
• St. Thomas More and Associates (STMA)
• OIKOS Society

These ministries cover all the areas of the life of a people. They are designed to make a difference in the social, political, economic, cultural and environmental life of a country. They are meant to confront structures of sin in society. They are intended to work to make this world a better place to live in, reflective much more of the kingdom of God that is already in our midst.

The CFC Special Ministries comprise our work of building the Church of the Future. We collaborate with those who share the vision of Couples for Christ, and who would like to become more involved in our work:

• Missionary Society of St. Francis and St. Paul
• Priest for Family and Life
• Nuns for Christ
• Jacob's Well

While these ministries have not yet significantly grown, they are part of the life and mission of Couples for Christ.