VISION- MISSION OF THE AREA

“For the glory of God and in response to the mandate of the Lord Jesus Christ ‘to go and make disciples of all nations’, we envision The United Methodist Church in the Manila Episcopal Area that is empowered by God’s Spirit and Word, dynamic, socially responsive and relevant, ecumenical, self-reliant and autonomous, through sustained evangelism, works of compassion and justice, prophetic ministry, responsible stewardship and other relevant ministries.”

SPECIFICALLY, OUR MISSION GOALS IN THE AREA ARE THE FOLLOWING:

A. Nurture
1. Develop, produce and distribute adequate and appropriate Christian Education Materials to all members (Bible study and Sunday school materials).
2. Produce and use literatures of Wesleyan/Methodist heritage.
3. Establish schools of evangelism (Local Churches, Districts, Annual Conferences)
4. Produce and use indigenous Book of Worship and Hymnals.
5. Provide or hold theological and ministerial education for both lay and clergy people.
6. Recruit and train potential church leaders in various ministries.
7. Make prayer, faith sharing and discipleship as a way of life. Organize small groups for prayer, evangelism and study.
8. For each annual conference, district and local church in the area to formulate programs in this direction and train lay and clergy people for implementation.

B. Outreach
1. Develop programs to enable farmers, fisher folks and tribal people.
2. Develop and sustain programs to alleviate poverty and reach the marginalized (street children, out of school youth, battered women, sick, imprisoned)
3. Cooperative formation initiative (tap leaders of existing cooperatives to help).
4. Do ministries to Overseas Filipino Workers (sea and land base) and their families.
5. Employment program for church people.
6. Support, sustain and make full use of the service of church related institutions e.g. management seminars for church workers and lay leaders by KKFI, medical and dental services of MJH, outreach programs of schools to poor communities.
7. Organize professional groups for community service (medical, dental and legal).
8. Strengthen ecumenical relation.
9. Campus/student ministry and religious education to students.
10. Launch programs for the care of creation.
11. Vigilance in the pursuit of justice, people’s rights and wholeness.

C. Witness
1. To increase membership by 40% within the quadrennium through:
a. Personal evangelism (recruit and train members to do this).
b. Bible studies to homes of members and non-members (recruit and train people to do these.)
c. Organize cell group meetinga (recruit and train people to lead.)
d. Develop materials for personal evangelism, home Bible studies and cell group meetings.
e. Make evangelism as a way of life.
f. Outreach programs to become opportunities for evangelism.
g. To proclaim the Gospel through multimedia ministry (radio, television, I.T.) start radio and TV broadcast ministry by creating a committee to study, source funds and implement program.

D. Leadership Formation and Support Services
1. In-service training and quarterly sharing time of District superintendents
2. Directory of
a. Local churches
b. Members
c. Professional groups
d. Church budgets (tithes, support to church workers and programs)
e. Properties (status, value and proposed development)
3. MEA website.
4. A computer and telephone in each district office.
5. Organize UMC school in MEA.
6. Develop schools to train lay and clergy leaders (schools of evangelism, discipleship, mission, stewardship, justice advocacy, worship, etc…)
7. Build a publishing house and literature center in cooperation with BCEC.
8. Church workers’ equitable salaries.
9. Church workers’ health insurance.
10. Build a workers’ retirement village.
11. Recruit, encourage and fund scholars (lay and clergy) who are potential church leaders (individual, conference and GBGM scholarships).
12. Organize and sustain cooperatives.
13. Create a committee to make a development plan of all properties in the area.