Dev't Practitioners Observe CCT 5Ws

A community partner reads a Bible verse during the Word  portion of a CCT
fellowship meeting. Looking on is Maribel Bernal, covenant community builder. 

Development practitioners, many of them executive directors and managers of faith-based organizations, observed how the 5Ws  format is used in meetings of CCT community partners, during a visit to a community in Silang, Cavite. They also got a chance to  talk with recipients of micro finance loans and see how the loans have had an impact on their lives and micro enterprises. The exposure trip was part of a two-week modular course titled Spirituality and Culture in Transformational Development recently run by the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture and CCT.

The 5Ws is the standard pattern followed in weekly fellowship meetings of micro finance recipients, referred to as community partners at CCT.

The 5Ws are:

• Welcome (10 minutes). The covenant community builder (CCB, often called  loan officer in other micro finance institutions) or the fellowship coordinator calls the roll, greets those celebrating a birthday, and leads the singing of the National Anthem and the reciting of the CCT Partners’ pledge.
• Worship (10 minutes). Here the group prays and sings songs of praise and worship.
• Word (30 minutes). The CCB leads devotions using a study guide specifically written with needs of CCT communities in mind. Community partners may share testimonies at this time.
• Work (30 minutes). Here loan payments are made and records are updated. Savings build up withdrawals are also made during this period.
• Wrap-up (10 minutes). The CCB does a recap of important points made during the Word portion, gives a quick summary of the collection status, and leads a closing song and prayer.

 The ISACC training was held from July 29 - August 11, 2013. 

The fellowship secretary collects and records loan payments during the WORK portion of the meeting. 

The gold-colored booklets at left are passbooks where  loan releases and payments and
savings deposits and withdrawals of community partners are recorded.
Book on the right is a collection of Bible study guides for use in
weekly fellowship meetings.  Because devotion to one's country is given emphasis at CCT
 the book also carries 12 lessons,each one focusing on a line from the Philippine national anthem. 

Brian Shiel, missionary with World Venture / Conservative Baptist Mission chats with a micro entrepreneur...

...as do Marilyn Lalunio, program director for scholarship of Real Life Foundation; Edwin delos Santos,
CCT partnership development officer; and Grace and Bill Dyrness, ISACC co-founders. 

Photos courtesy of the Institute of Studies in Asian Church and Culture.