Antipolo Class Meeting

 
Antipolo United Methodist Church, Pastor Cajiuat

Antipolo United Methodist Church, led by the Rev. Toribio Cajiuat, a gifted and energetic pastor, is located in a city on the outskirts of the Manila area. It is the first Filipino congregation to encourage all its members to participate in Covenant Discipleship.

This year, 2002, is the forty-firstyear of the church's history. Covenant Discipleship was introduced to the congregation in August 2001. After attending an introductory Covenant Discipleship workshop at Harris Memorial College, Pastor Cajiuat taught the congregation the basics. Their emphasis for the next four years became "Uniting the Body, Evangelizing the City, Through Covenant Discipleship."

The congregation is divided into nine geographic Cluster groups that meet weekly for two hours for Christian nurture, support, and accountability for discipleship. The Cluster group meetings, very similar to the early Methodist Class Meetings, help church members learn the basics of Christian discipleship and the benefits of Christian community.

Each Cluster is led by a Cluster Coordinator. The pastor and Cluster Coordinators serve as the Cluster Council that administers the ministry. They developed the following agenda for a Cluster group meeting:

1. Fifteen minutes — Hymn singing and opening prayers led by the Cluster leader.
2. Forty-five minutes — Biblical reflection on the Lectionary texts for the week. The pastor prepares the outline for weekly Lectionary study among the groups. There is sharing and discussion. Everyone brings a Bible.
3. Thirty minutes — Covenant Discipleship sharing of acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion. Everyone in the Cluster group has an opportunity to share an act of discipleship that he or she has done or experienced during the week. Acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion have become habits among most of the people. There is no group covenant; rather, the General Rule of Discipleship serves as the covenant for all the Cluster groups.
4. Ten minutes — Church concerns. Everyone is informed and reminded of upcoming events in the life and ministry of the congregation. Everyone is encouraged to participate through attendance, service, and financial support. An offering is received.
5. Twenty minutes — Intercessory prayer circle. Prayer concerns are shared and prayers are offered by the group. Thanksgivings, family concerns, individual needs, sickness, and other concerns are lifted in prayer. Each person prays 'round the circle. The leader concludes with prayer.

Pastor Cajiuat assured me that the Cluster group meetings are "very spiritually uplifting and faith-enriching for the church members. Those members who do not attend are indeed missing a big part of their lives."

On the Sunday I visited Antipolo United Methodist Church, I heard reports from the Cluster groups and Cluster Coordinators. Each of the nine Coordinators gave a brief report on what was happening in his or her group. Following each report, the Cluster group members sang a favorite hymn. Here is a sampling of their reports:

• Group 1 shared food and medicine with others in need and visited a widow to help her correct an injustice in her apartment building.
• Group 2 members found "really good relatives" in the group. In other words, the group has become like an extended family for those members who live alone. This group is a blessing.
• Group 3 is the largest of the Cluster groups. It meets on Thursdays, from 7:00-9:00 p.m.
• Group 4 particularly values the Lectionary Bible study time during its Tuesday evening meetings.
• Group 6 has difficulty doing acts of justice. Everyone in the group says, "I want to be like Jesus."
• Groups 7 and 8 have difficulty meeting because of the distances between homes. The pastor occasionally meets with members individually in their homes.

It is very common for the Cluster group meetings to include a light meal together. One thing I learned during my visit to the Philippines was that whenever people gathered, food had to be part of the meeting. The joy on the faces of the group members told me that the Cluster groups had indeed become a means of grace for these people and for this congregation. They have recovered the essence of the early Methodist class meeting. They have experienced new life and vitality for mission and ministry. Thanks be to God.

Cluster Group 3

Greetings of love and joy in the name of Jesus Christ our God and Savior.

I am the Cluster 3 Coordinator. My areas are Lores, Pines City, Prirse Subdivision, Meralco Village, and Grand Valley Subdivision. We are eighteen families in all, and we are the biggest among the Clusters.

Last September 6, 2001, we started our Covenant Discipleship headed by our pastor. Our Cluster Covenant meeting is held every Thursday, 7:00-9:00 p.m., in different homes within the area. We start our Bible study with opening prayer by anyone in the group. I check attendance while the group sings inspirational songs from our songbook. Our Cluster has our own songbook that we use at every meeting. We sing three to four songs, then each person recites a Bible verse. It is agreed that if anyone cannot recite a Bible verse at that time, he or she will recite two the next time. Then we read the Scripture text for the week. Our pastor discusses the background of the Scripture, the story behind it, and how the Scripture applies to our present times.

Everyone shares his or her experiences; that makes the discussion lively and, most of the time, full of laughter. I am very blessed with my members; they are very active, even if they are quite old and sickly. After the Bible study, each member shares his or her acts of compassion, devotion, worship, and justice. Here are some they have shared:

• Acts of Compassion — Giving food to the needy, providing medicine for a sick person, counseling a person who is depressed with a family problem.
• Acts of Devotion — Personal prayer every night or morning, family prayer time.
• Acts of Worship — Attend worship early every Sunday, join the choir, sing with the praise and worship team.
• Acts of Justice — Learn what to do about drug abuse, report drug users and dealers in our community.

Everyone is growing spiritually. We also give our love offerings. Then we give our prayer requests for ourselves, our families, and others. Then everyone says a 1-3 sentence prayer. In this way, the members learn to pray. The pastor ends with the closing prayer; then a snack is served.

Steven W. Manskar (smanskar@gbod.org) is Director of Accountable Discipleship, United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, Nashville, Tennessee.