Youthful Vision Conference in the Philippines

Young conference attendees huddle to discuss a seed project

Twenty-two people participated in a Vision Conference in the northern Philippines, May 31- June 5. Pastors, youths, adults, and children attended, as reported by Kosh Raj Dahal.

Kosh and his wife serve among “orphans, widows and needy people [who] are vanishing without food and Christ.” They have seen God use Vision Conferences to open the eyes of “church members, leaders, [and] pastors to see their community as harvest field and they will be encouraged and equipped to serve them practically in order to bring them into Christ.”

The sessions were led by an engineering professor and an elder of an evangelical church at Baguio. The teachers also facilitated discussion by participants as they met in “Discipline of Love” (DOL) groups. These groups gave attendees opportunity to practice sharing the gospel. Kosh reports that the “participants are now confident to share gospel without any fear.”

The DOL concept builds on the Bible’s emphasis of demonstrating the gospel through loving service.

“Tomato juice comes out when you squeeze tomato; apple juice comes out when you squeeze an apple, which is good for energy and thrust; but ‘Love’ comes out when you squeeze the Bible, which provides everything … that a community needs. Therefore, in order to demonstrate Christ love in the community, committed DOL groups are the demands of the world.”

Children demonstrate worldview

Of particular interest to Kosh was seeing 8-10 year-old children participating “extensively the entire Vision Conference.” The children made a powerful impact in their worldview demonstration. “Instead of three adult participants, four children participants came in front to demonstrate the [worldview] eyeglasses. They performed better than adults did!” The creative way in which these kids engaged in a mock argument, each one claiming to see the world correctly through his or her set of glasses, effectively pictured the effects of a person’s worldview.

Vision conference "grads"

At the end of the conference, some of the participants used a skit to demonstrate that people have  different worldviews.

“They wanted to influence the society with their own worldviews,” wrote Kosh. “Some were politicians, some representatives of different beliefs. Some were bagging money for food and some youths were as drug addicts. They showed the corrupted community that needs to be served. At that time, one evangelist shares gospel to all of them, being humble and served to them. As a result, God transformed their lives through his service and evangelizing.”

Cynthia teaches on ministry to Muslims

Another important feature of this Vision Conference came from a woman named Cynthia who works among Muslim children in a high-risk area of Baguio. Her teaching about Islam was very helpful in equipping those participants who have Muslim friends but were unsure of how minister the gospel to them. “Now, the participants have known some of the ways to minister Muslim friends,” Kosh reflected.

Kosh hopes to see fruit from the conference, but in the meantime he’s not waiting around in the shade. His plans include a second-level training conference in September in Manchester for 20-30 adults and the same number of children.

He also plans to follow up a medical mission held in February that reached 3,000 people with the help of Korean doctors who joined local believers for the effort. In September, the same Korean medical team will return, this time to serve with even more local participation. “We are going to use 30-40 disciples from Manchester fellowship to accomplish the mission as well as some local churches.” Kosh hopes to reach 5,000 people, including 100 Muslims, with this ministry.

“Please pray that God will empower Korean team, team of disciples, Church team, IGSL team and other concerning persons, as well as for me as I lead the mission as mission coordinator.”

DNA Philippines’ Influence Ripples Throughout Asia

In April, DNA co-founder Darrow Miller was invited by DNA Philippines to speak at churches and Christian training centers in Sebu and Manila. He returned truly impressed and excited about the significant influence DNA Philippines is having, not only on churches in the Philippines, but on Christian leaders throughout Asia.

Dr. Reynaldo (Rey) Tanijura and Debbie Toribio are co-Directors of DNA Philippines. Debbie also serves as Philippines Country Director with Food for the Hungry. (Here’s the DNA Philippines brochure.)

Rey Tanijura, Co-Director, DNA Philippines

A strategic relationship has formed between DNA Philippines and the International Graduate School of Leadership in Quezon City, founded by Campus Crusade for Christ. Rey serves as adjunct professor, as does Frank Pardue, a career missionary to the Philippines. Rey and Frank helped introduce DNA materials into the school’s curriculum. Graduates of the school are leading churches in more than 16 Asian nations.

Darrow spoke at the school to approximately 60 students. Half were from the Philippines and half were young Christian leaders from other Asian nations, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Uzbekistan. According to Darrow, “the students were deeply touched by the talk on Nurturing Nations and the maternal heart of God. It brought tears to the eyes of many in the class.”

Darrow also spoke to a group of 130 church, ministry, and NGO leaders at a Manila event hosted by Campus Crusade for Christ and DNA Philippines. The head of Crusade in the Philippines attended the event, and afterward told Darrow, “I attended a Vision Conference in Davo City you spoke at 10 years ago. It was a turning point for my life.”

Rey Tanijura has done some excellent strategic thinking on how DNA materials can be organized into a comprehensive strategy for impacting churches. You can view Rey’s powerpoint Pathways to Discipling Nations here.

Please keep Rey, Debbie and the DNA Philippine team in your prayers as they continue their strategic influence throughout Asia.