Int'l Development Workers Trained on Discipleship, Governance

"I appreciate learning what a truly Christ-centered organization looks like from the top to the bottom," said a satisfied participant in the recently-concluded third Transformative Economic Empowerment (TEE) training conference, an annual gathering organized by the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) and the CCT Ka-Partner Network (CCT KN). "I learned that discipleship is about relationship and needs to be a core part of organizational culture," said another.

This year's TEE had the theme "Thy Kingdom Come" from the Lord's Prayer and brought together microfinance workers and volunteers from 12 countries. In her welcome message, Ruth Callanta, president and founder of CCT said, "I praise the Lord for the opportunity to share stories, experiences, and lessons CCT and its people have learned over the years of ministering among the poorest of the poor. It is my prayer that our week together will truly equip and encourage everyone so that when we go from here we will shine as exceedingly bright lights in the dark corners of the world where God appointed us to minister." Attendees were from Burundi, Cameroon, India, Korea, Malawi, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and Zambia.

Participants spent about half of the week-long conference on exposure trips and half attending courses on either discipleship or organizational governance.  The exposure trips, meant to give attendees an understanding and appreciation of the scope of CCT work and what God has done in establishing these ministries, involved visits to a microfinance branch, three community centers, a residential school, a feeding activity, a savings group, and a factory.

The plenary sessions, break out group sessions and panel discussions on discipleship and organizational governance involved the following speakers and facilitators:

• Matthew Rohrs, Hope International director of spiritual integration 
• Todd Engelsen, PEER Servants president 
• Jesse Ratichek, Hope International technical assistance manager 
• Malu Garcia, Hope International savings circle program specialist 
• Larry Roadman, endPoverty.org chairman 
• Tammy Wang, endPoverty.org chief operating officer 
• James Tioco, Sowers of the Word Ministries executive director 
• Elizabeth Venegas, CCT Training and Development Institute executive director 
• Bertram Lim, CCT Inc. board chairman 
• Ronald Chua, CCT Credit Cooperative board chairman 
• Ruth Callanta, CCT Group of Ministries founder and president 
• Joey Bonifacio, Victory Fort Bonifacio pastor 
• Carson Tan, CCT Life and Business Mentoring Program volunteer mentor 

The discipleship course covered the Biblical basis for discipleship, encouraging examples of how CCT has integrated discipleship into its daily activities, and case studies of organizations that have excelled in discipling. The organizational governance course covered governance principles, practices and policies that guided CCT as it evolved from a single entity to a group of ministries, and issues and challenges that confronted CCT and its response to such.

The Ka-partner Network is a consortium of North American-based Christian microfinance organizations that partner with CCT – currently including endPoverty.org, Five Talents, Hope International and PEER Servants.

Other organizations represented in the conference were Christian Empowerment Microfinance (Zambia), Christian Service Society (India), Christian Action for Empowering Church and Community (Uganda), Action for Children (Uganda), Ikussasa Empowerment Trust (South Africa), and Women’s Initiative for Health, Education and Economic Development (Cameroon).

The conference was held on November 10-15, 2014 at the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center, Cavite, Philippines.

Children cared for at the residential school for girls
in Puypuy, Bay, Laguna welcome TEE participants
with gifts of shell necklaces.

 TEE participants join a friendly football match with young men
 who used to live on the street and who are now cared for
 at the Visions of Hope Christian School in Magdalena, Laguna.  

While observing a once-a-week fellowship meeting of 
microfinance recipients, TEE attendees
 learn an action song led by a
covenant community builder, front-liner in
CCT's microfinance program.  

Brothers and sisters in the Lord -- development workers 
from around the world,
microfinance recipients, and CCT staff. 

Joey Bonifacio, CCT corporate member, discusses discipleship
and the Lego Principle.

Delegates from 12 countries learn a bit of Philippine
history with a visit to a monument honoring
patriot and martyr Jose Rizal.

CCT Staff Learn Biblical Night Sky Watching

Nearly 50 staff from various areas of CCT ministry recently attended a three-day course called Astronomical Observation from a Biblical View (AOBV). The course  showed pastors and community center staff  how to use night sky watching as a tool for evangelism, showed Visions of Hope Christian School teachers how to teach children in poor communities the wonders of God's creation, and trained Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center staff  on how to offer stargazing activities as an optional activity for guests in the future.  The instructors were Roland and Linda Beard, authors of the AOBV curriculum.

The course included lessons on practical observation of the heavens from a Biblical view, how to assemble and use a telescope,  how to record observations by sketching objects in the night sky, and a review of  Scripture references that point observers toward the Creator and owner of the heavens.
Such Bible references are Job 41:11b ("Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine") and Acts 17:24 ("The God who made the world and everything in it,being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man")

"We are passionate about astronomical observation  because it can point anyone to God," says Mr. Beard.  He and Linda are the  founders of Christworks Ministries, a Christian, all-volunteer, non-profit organization based in Crozet, Virginia,USA.

The training course was held at the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center on September 6 - 8, 2012.

Pastor Dave Campanero, chaplain of the  CCT Training and Development Institute-Magdalena
Campus, takes his turn at looking through a telescope.  

Ruth Callanta's 2011 Year-end Report

How did God work in and through the CCT Group of Ministries in 2011?  Ruth Callanta, president and founder, describes 2011 as a year when "several clear glimpses of the CCT vision were seen."  Read highlights of a year of fulfilling ministry  here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/88658034/CCTNews-2011-yearender

Glory to God!

CCT Partners Level Up!

Praise God for the success of CCT's 1^st Partners’ Day, a one-day showcase of products from Luzon partners. Some 126 micro entrepreneurs from six CCT Luzon areas exhibited their products and learned from mini-lectures  at the CCT Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center on November 26, 2011. 

Products on display included: handicrafts, buko juice,  native cakes, t-shirts, curtains and bed sheets, relleno (stuffed milkfish), boneless milkfish, gold and silver jewelry,  accessories, processed meats,  peanut butter, straw bags and hats, coin purses made of drinking straws, shoes,   accessories, house decor made of drinking straws, bags made of recycled newspaper, charcoal stoves, pastries, perfumes,  pizza, blinds, ready to wear clothes and much more!

Kerwin Tan (left) owner of Jimini Pizza and  program coordinator
 for CCT's Business Mentoring Ministry,
and Alice Pineda (right), head of the Business Development team,
 with a partners' day awardee.  During the morning session
  Kerwin shared the story of how his business
grew from one brand ten years ago
to six brands and 136 branches today,
and from two persons  (himself and a 
quality control person)
to 250 employees today. "We leveled up after
we dedicated our business to the Lord," he said.

Jinggoy Buensuceso, artist, speaking on
market trends and product design. Other
seminar topics were on food marketing,
 product branding, kape't buhay (coffee and
life), and helps from the packaging center
of DOST and from the design center
of DTI.

Several participants received awards at the end of the day. These were:  

• Kool Kalan - Level-up award - product with the most potential of  leveling -up 

• NCR South Taguig - Branch level-up award -  the  CCT branch where the level- up partner is involved

• Central Luzon Pangasinan - best food  product display – surpasses other products in terms of presentation attractiveness, creativity

•  Espasol with moringa (malunggay) - Best food product concept:    product is unique or creative, original,  flavorful and marketable

• Recycled Bag, NCR - Best non-food product concept:  product is unique or creative, original, and marketable

• Dishwashing liquid, Cavite - Best packaging  (non-food category): – for microentrepreneur  whose packaging of her product is a cut above the rest: attractive , creative, suitable to the product

• Cavite - Best area booth design – CCT area whose showcase of products is creative, well arranged, original, and culturally oriented 

• Laguna and Batangas - Best participating area – CCT area staff who are well organized and who gathered the most products and qualified partners for the event

Micro entrepreneurs with product displays were from the following CCT areas:

• NCR South – Pasay, Cabrera, San Andres, Tondo, Taguig, Paranaque

• NCR North – Bagong Silangan, Payatas, Araneta, Batasan, Novaliches, Munoz, Commonwealth, Tandang Sora 

• Cavite  - General Mariano Alvarez, Tanza, Tagaytay

• Laguna – Calamba, Cabuyao, San Pedro, Sta. Rosa, Binan

• Batangas

• Rizal  - Antipolo, San Mateo, Cainta, Taytay, Montalban, Pasig

• Bulacan and Central Luzon – Malolos, Pulilan, Magalang, Dagupan, Urdaneta

• Camanava – Malabon, Caloocan

Photos by Ciara Tan