SFC Canada: A New Face, A New Hope
Seneca College, Toronto. 3 days. 140 delegates from across Canada. All here to witness the new face of SFC.
The 3 main goals of the summit were to fully unify SFC Canada, to empower leaders to own the vision, and to spark a missionary spirit among the leaders.
FRIDAY. To help ease the tiredness of the weary travellers especially from Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary & Vancouver, the lounge night incorporated both acoustic worship, led by Dean Mary from Winnipeg, and a slew of live performances from the different delegations. Despite their tiredness, they still found time to get to know each other better over coffee, hot chocolate, and a bit of foosball & pool, courtesy of the venue. SFC Toronto, in particular showed their welcome by baking goodies for Friday night. The delegates were not roomed with their areas in the dorms. At first, this caused some discomfort, but it was really a great grace: SFC was reaching out amongst themselves, helping anyone in need especially those who needed rides to & from the venue. Plus, their summit kits were held off till Saturday morning to help "force" them to get to know each other. After hours of music, mingling & mobilizing rides, SFC retired to prepare for what would be a weekend to remember forever.
SATURDAY. After a vibrant worship led by JR Alibin from Winnipeg, Jun Reyes, CFC Canada Family Ministries Head engaged the crowd with an excerpt from an Easter Sunday’s homily: “’the future looks bright for the Church’…and for SFC shown by the numerous leaders present for the summit”. He also announced here that the NLS will now be conducted every 2 years. John Acosta, an SFC household leader and a fulltime pastoral worker for YFC, conducted the first session, "United In Christ". After a video highlighting C4's launch in Ottawa & various accomplishments of SFC after 2004, he exhorted the crowd on the need for unity, commitment & perseverance. He showcased the goals of C4 & NW7*, as well as introduced the 4 SFC Congresses & their goals. The congresses were designed to allow SFC leaders a direct hand, share inputs on shaping the ministry, and brainstorm action plans to achieve C4. Each congress attendee was preselected, and tasked to present final plans on Sunday. Here, he introduced the SFC Core Group: all leaders gathered to move SFC to the next 25 years. He then asked them to look at and greet each other as comrades-in-arms to conquer Canada. He spoke on how harnessing one united effort as a country rather than pockets of individual contributions can change the world. If SFC does not see, SFC needs to pray to see. If SFC does not believe, SFC needs to pray to believe. If SFC is afraid, SFC needs to pray for courage. John closed the session by leading the delegates to pray for unity within their respective areas, and finally as one SFC Canada while the music ministry invoked the Holy Spirit's "fire to fall down".
A video was again the medium to help focus SFC on the Lord's messages. "Do They See Jesus In Me" summed up how SFC can miss the mark if they cannot proclaim Christ in the way they live, and in the way they believe. This second session was led by Debbie Resurreccion, SFC Canada fulltime pastoral worker. Here, she spoke about an "Identity Crisis" present in CFC-Singles for Christ: God's children enclosed in a bubble of comfort zones (Rev 3:16). She focused in on hope, accountability & a recommitment to the covenant. Throughout the session, she highlighted various attitudes that have tainted SFC: selfishness, mediocrity, lack of initiative, "by-the-book", and hiding behind the Filipino culture. More importantly the message of Lamentions was very clear in that SFC will BE the HOPE of the world once the "bubble" is burst. She led them to reflect on the SFC covenant. Some even pulled out their covenant cards to recall God's promises & what SFC's urgent response must be. Debbie then closed the session with a simple activity of repentance: one must stand & own up to one's failings in living out the covenant (laziness and/or refusal to serve, likes to gossip, addicted to vices, lustful/masturbation, engaged in premarital sex, etc.) She exhorted them to look around and see that imperfect people do reside in SFC (Lamentations 3:19). She further encouraged them to see that SFC is the body of Christ, and that each is to be accountable to each other (Luke 8:16-18).
After lunch, the delegates gathered again in their pre-assigned congresses: Area Governance (Unit Heads & up only), Gawad Kalinga, 100% Pure, National & International Missions. Each congress conducted its own worship & session dynamics. the congresses ran for 5 hours, with few breaks in between, and were documented in type. SFC Canada then regrouped for a Lord's Day Celebration, led by Ken & Myla Lim, Toronto West Chapter Heads, and a sumptuous dinner. During this time of eating together, SFC delegates sat amongst one other comfortably as if they knew each other from a long time ago. Many barriers were being broken, and new friendships secured. This was a critical time indeed for the body of Christ in SFC to begin their shift to better days.
Session Three, "I am SFC" was conducted by Efren Baria, SFC Canada fulltime pastoral worker. Here he paints the picture: imagine the world if SFC is at its fullest potential again. Here, he recalled how SFC is the HOPE for the world if only SFC sees the bigger picture. He moved on to highlight the misconceptions or incomplete notions of SFC. SFC is NOT a hook-up ministry. SFC is NOT stale or boring. SFC is not So Filipino. He mentioned that SFC's "Filipino-ness" is a gift and must be proudly used for God's glory and to bring others to Christ. He notes the prophecy that Filipinos have been sent out to be a light to the world. He then recalls the covenant, and that this is SFC's identity: SFC is Faithful, SFC is a Witness, SFC is Committed, SFC is Mission-Ready, and SFC is Hungry for God. to have these qualities is to be Missionary: SFC is a Missionary Ministry. He then challenged them to be the new face of SFC Canada. Each leader/delegate was now poised to making this vision of "renewing the face of the earth" a reality in their families, in their workplaces, and in society. Efren then called in Ryan Mina who shared on how he has a personal stake in this ministry since he first joined. and now as a family man, he looks to the future and asks SFC to ensure a safe place for his unborn son. Efren then closed the session with a small reflection: think about what you want for that one person you want to evangelize, what you want for SFC, and what you want for Canada. He then exhorted them to worship not to feel good or be blessed. This worship was to ask God to come down and help SFC surrender their all. The room was filled with raised hands & raised voices. People knelt, people cried, people prayed, in a different way, in a renewed way.
SUNDAY. Holy Mass began at 7:30am. With our sleepy eyes, Fr. Paul Anthony from St. Bernard’s Parish in Etobicoke exclaimed that we all woke up to celebrate God anyway. He spoke at the homily on Jesus' entering our hearts, instilling us with the eyes of faith. And with peace & faith we are able to proclaim God, just like the apostles did after hiding for so long in the Upper Room. To close, the priest honored the band for "rocking the heavens" and expressed his thanks for SFC's presence that morning. SFC continued to rock the heavens with a heartfelt & Spirit-led worship led by Arnon Llanes from Vancouver.
The last session, "Point Of Difference" was conducted by Jun Salceda, SFC Canada Western Region Head. Here, he defined that SFC must find its place in the greater work of God. He pointed out that application of what was learned is critical and shared on how his family was his driving force to keep serving. Here also, the congress summaries were presented. To close the session he called in Arnold Rodriguez, a fulltime pastoral worker for YFC, to lead the Praisefest, and exhorted them into a recommitment to God's covenant. A mix of new & old songs brought a nostalgic feeling and a outpouring of new energy, "new wineskins".
Afterwards, while everyone had been preparing to leave, most still stayed behind to help clean up, and talk with some of us who were being called to fulltime and mission volunteer work. Some shared their visions with us, and witnessed to God's great commission. Many of the delegates were still reaching out, and planning out what to do next. It was more than inspiring!
Here is the new face of SFC Canada. Here are the new believers. Here is the new generation of leaders & martyrs.
*C4 (Conquer Canada in 4 Years) is SFC Canada’s call to conquer Canada through evangelization, leaders formation, GK and social advocacy. NW7 (New World in 7 Years) is the Americas (North, South & Central America) commission to conquer the Western Hemisphere by the end of 2011.
