Keeping Your Household Members Beside You

Making members remain in a group or organization without monetary consideration is a big challenge.  This is true with Couples for Christ though am not singling it out.  A lot of organizations go through this phase.  

There are a lot of reasons why members lie low but foremost of all is that they have lost interest in the organization because it has failed to address the reason why they joined in the first place.  I will be listing down tips on how to hold on to your members.  Let me warn you though that these tips are purely my own culled from more than ten years of being a CFC and don't represent anyone's or CFC's stand.

1.  Have a trusting and sincere relationship with your member.  Trust is the core of any lasting relationship.  This is true for all kinds of relationship whether with one's spouse, friend, child or client.  If a person trusts you enough, you will know what makes him tick.  Selling something to a prospect will be a breeze as you know what to offer him.

More so in the case of the household member, he expects nothing less.  You, as household leader, will have his loyalty, love, support and this started with trust.  Isn't it that he started to divulge something of himself during the one on one session after Talk 4 of the Christian Life Program?  Though different members react differently during the one on one session, it nevertheless is a good start.  Some have a difficult time opening up.  Once the member has opened up, it is the duty of the household leader to keep everything confidential.

2.  Have a caring and nurturing attitude towards your member.  A household member attends the weekly household prayer meetings because he feels cared for by his colleagues in the household.  He feels like he is at home in the household.  Everyone accepts him for what he is and nobody judges him.  It is a place where he can be himself.  When he needs support, the household members led by the household head are there to give support and understanding.

3.  Have  fun once in a while.  I won't deny that I look forward to these gatherings.  The activity will depend on how much budget there is.  Going out of town for a day or two is the preferred activity of the majority.  Though going out of town costs more money and consumes more time, that picnic-style element of this sortie never ceases to appeal to everyone.  Still wondering why there is a higher percentage of attendees to the weekend conferences when done in Baguio than the one held at Manila?

If time and budget do not warrant an out of town getaway, there are numerous fastfoods, eateries and karaoke bars in Metro Manila you can choose from.  My personal preference is going to karaoke bars.  You just have to scour the different promos being offered by these karaoke bars to minimize on expenses.

4.  Be yourself.  Members can see through you if you are wearing a mask.

What's Cooking in the Household?

One of the joys in being a member of Couples for Christ is belonging to a household.  In My First Household Meeting, I went into details on what a household is.  It is in the household that one draws support, strength, love, spiritual nourishment so it is not surprising that lasting friendships are forged among the members.

Since the household meetings are held weekly with the members taking turns in being hosts, it has become an avenue to showcase the cooking prowess of the hostess.  If there is no cooking prowess to speak of (joke only) or the hosts weren't able to prepare, restaurants nearby make a killing from their orders.

It is in the household that you can eat bopis, dinuguan, pinakbet, callos, laing, Bicol express, caldereta, papaitan and other Filipino specialties that you can taste during fiestas and gatherings.  Of course, cooking laureat-style is not the norm for Couples for Christ.  Couples for Christ encourages its members to be simple, so it has to be one solid and one liquid.  But the hosts can not be faulted if they prepared something more than what is expected.  This is borne out of love for their co-members, generosity, plain Filipino hospitality and a celebration for a recent blessing.

Food galore at the Figueras' residence

Christmas Party of the Lopez' household, 2009.

When it is our turn to host the household meeting, I usually cater to what our co-members love to eat like spicy Bicol express, laing or ginataang santol.  There are times that I serve new additions to my menu, new learned recipes from friends, cookbooks or the internet, that I am confident enough to have them try.  It flatters my heart no end when I see them enjoying what I have served and having a good time just being together.

The Chapter

Non-CFC members might be confused by now by the different terminologies that I have been using from older posts.  I am correcting that by writing about the servant leaders of a chapter.  I chose the chapter because it is the basic pastoral subdivision within Couples for Christ, according to CFCpedia.  It is independent and autonomous, a microcosm of Couples for Christ.  Though it has its own leadership, evangelization program and formation, it is subject to the direction of the overall leadership.

A chapter is headed by a Chapter Head. It is composed of four to seven units.  When the chapter grows by the addition of more units, it is split to form another chapter.  The units in turn are made up of four to five households, the basic cell grouping.  The Unit Head is the head of the unit.  The household is where new graduates from the Christian Life Program are grouped together under the Household Head.  

Aside from these groupings, a chapter has also chapter coordinators for the Youth for Christ and Kids for Christ family ministries.

"Most Liked Household/Barkada Group Picture Photo Contest"

I didn't realize that six months have already passed since I created this blog and I averaged one article a week.  I could have done more but have to attend to a million things at the same time.  To mark this occasion, help me celebrate, dear readers, by joining this contest entitled "Most Liked Household/Barkada Group Picture Photo Contest".  I will be giving away a brand new Epson Inkjet Printer. This contest is open to members and non-members alike of Couples for Christ and its ministries.  Hereunder are the mechanics on how to join:

1.  Go to the My Life as a CFC  Facebook Fan Page.  Click "Like" if you are not yet a fan.  Upload your household or barkada group picture to the page.

2.  Ask your friends to vote for your photo entry by "liking" it.  The first entry with the most number of likes by Sept. 30, 2011 11:59 PM will win the Epson printer.

3.  Only one entry is allowed per person.  Only one vote is allowed per fan.  

4.  Contest runs from April 13 to September 30, 2011 and is open to Philippine residents only.  

5.  Winner will be announced in the My Life as a CFC Facebook Fan Page on October 1, 2011.  I will be sending the printer to the winner through courier service starting October 1 up to 15, 2011. 

So what else are you waiting for?  Go over your old photos or pose with your friends for a group picture.  Send your entry now.  The earlier the better, you have more time to ask your friends to vote for your entry.

Tip:  To get more friends liking your entry, share this article to the walls of your Facebook friends and Twitter followers.

Good luck and God bless.

My Household Christmas Party

If families hold reunion during Noche Buena, company employees and members of any organization, be it civic or religious, look forward to a Christmas party.  Christmas parties bring out the best in everyone.  The sisters bring their signature specialty viands, others showcase their talent in hosting the program while some are very able gamemasters.  Our household  under Bro. Junel and Sis. Cecille Ama held our Christmas party at the attic of the residence of the Amas.  Each couple brought food that was assigned to them in an earlier household meeting. 

Star of the Christmas table

Everybody busy getting food

Aside from food, we also brought gifts for the exchange gift and white elephant.  I got Cecille's gift while Nympha Padolina got mine.  For the white elephant, I brought a microwave, a remnant of my food cart business.  Nympha got the microwave but sadly I didn't get any gift from this game.  

Games

No party is complete without the karaoke.  Everyone had his turn in belting out his favorite song.  For karaoke regulars, one song is not enough though.  They could sing (or shout at times) a whole repertoire.

Rainier and Rodel belting their hearts out.

Before heading off home,  we had our group pictures taken.  These would be the official "family pictures" of our household .... well until the next reorganization.  Lol.

  

Have Fun With Us, Attend the CLP

In Couples for Christ we believe on the saying "The more, the merrier."  We look forward to holding a Christian Life Program or CLP as this will give us new members.  New members mean new friends.  In our twelve years with Couples for Christ, Jun & I started with a handful of friends then as the years passed, we knew almost everybody in the cluster where we belong.  It is totally inevitable because of the never-ending reorganizations caused by changes in service or grouping.

To be one of us is very easy.  All one has to do is to attend a Christian Life Program.  What is the CLP?  The CLP is the entry point of all members to Couples for Christ. It runs for 13 separate weekly sessions that lead the participants into a "renewed understanding of God's call as Christian couples".  It consists of a teaching, a group discussion and fellowship with each session lasting two and half hours.  It aims to eventually bring couples closer to God. The best part of the CLP is that it is free. 

After finishing the CLP, the couples are put into a household, a cell group of four to five couples under a head couple called the Household Leaders.  It is in the household that lasting friendships are formed and the journey to spiritual renewal starts.

Be one of us and have a fun-filled life.  Join the Christian Life Program.  Email me at cfc.westc@gmail.com for more details.

http://www.couplesforchristglobal.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=14

My First Household Meeting

After finishing the Christian Life Program (CLP), the participants of the CLP are invited to join Couples for Christ (CFC).  They are put into a cell group of between five to seven couples called a household.  The household meets weekly in the houses of the members on a rotation basis.  At the household meeting, the members pray, share experiences on the night's or day's relevant topic and have fellowship after.  It usually takes two and a half hours.  The household is headed by the Household Head.

Our first household meeting was held a week or two after the CLP at the house of our household leaders, Jun and Rose Ricamonte.  Ours was a small household as there were only four couples in our group and that includes our household leaders.  The first meeting was spent mostly on "getting to know you".  Bro. Jun and Sis. Rose were complete strangers to us as they were not our facilitators in the CLP.  The meeting went on smoothly except for one thing, there was no guitar accompaniment.  Our worship sounded empty.  Nobody in the group could play a guitar except for my husband, Jun.  At that time, Jun hasn't played the guitar for fifteen years and had actually given away his guitar.  After that acapella worship, Jun toyed on the idea of relearning how to play the guitar but wait, where's the guitar?