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The Basis of Our Faith 1. The unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the Godhead.
2. The sovereignty of God in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgment.
3. The divine inspiration and the entire trustworthiness of the Holy Scriptures, as originally given, and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
4. The universal sinfulness and guilt of all men since the fall, rendering them subject to God's wrath and condemnation.
5. Redemption from the guilt, penalty, dominion and pollution of sin, solely through the sacrificial death (as our Representative and Substitute) of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God.
6. The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and His ascension to the right hand of God the Father.
7. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the work of regeneration.
8. The justification of the sinner by the grace of God through faith alone.
9. The indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in the believer.
10. The one Holy Universal Church which is the Body of Christ and to which all true believers belong.
11. The expectation of the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Legal Basis Constitution Article I. Name
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be Sower Campus Club, the affiliated group of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of the Philippines, hereafter called the Fellowship.
Article II. Purposes
Section 1. The purposes of this organization are:
a. To witness to Jesus Christ as God Incarnate, and seek to lead others to a personal faith in Him as Savior and Lord;
b. To deepen and strengthen the spiritual life of members by Bible study and prayer;
c. To encourage the development of the whole personality, and of a Christian view of the problems and issues of the day; and
d. To help members discover and prepare for God's vocation for each of them, in service to God, country, and the world.
Article III. Basis of Faith
Section 1. The bases of this organization are the basic doctrines of the Christian faith including the following:
1. The unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the Godhead.
2. The sovereignty of God in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgement.
3. The divine inspiration and the entire trustworthiness of the Holy Scriptures, as originally given, and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
4. The universal sinfulness and guilt of all men since the fall, rendering them subject to God's wrath and condemnation.
5. Redemption from the guilt, penalty, dominion and pollution of sin, solely through the sacrificial death (as our Representative and Substitute) of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God.
6. The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and His ascension to the right hand of God the Father.
7. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the work of regeneration.
8. The justification of the sinner by the grace of God through faith alone.
9. The indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in the believer.
10. The one Holy Universal Church which is the Body of Christ and to which all true believers belong.
11. The expectation of the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Section 2. All members of this corporation, general secretary, staff members, speakers, officers of student chapters and graduate fellowships must subscribe without reservation of the Basis of Faith.
Article IV. Membership
Section 1. Membership in the fellowship shall be open to all students, faculty members and non-academic personnel who are interested in its purposes and desire to take part in its program, regardless of sect or denomination.
Section 2. There shall be two kinds of membership
a. Regular membership for students, with the right to vote and hold office.
b. Honorary membership for faculty members and non-academic personnel of the University with the right to discuss but with no right to vote or hold office.
Article V. Officers and Duties
Section 1. The elected officers of the Fellowship shall be a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and a Public Relation Officer. They shall be responsible to the University Administration for the proper and efficient management of the Fellowship during their term of office, which will be for one year.
Section 2. There shall be an adviser or advisers who are full-time members of the faculty, chosen by the Executive Committee. The adviser/s shall be in agreement to the aims and purposes of the Fellowship.
Section 3. The duties of the officers are those which normally fall under each category, the President to exercise the leadership of the Fellowship, the Vice-President to assist him, and to substitute for him, the Secretary to be responsible for records, the Treasurer to handle financial matters and the PRO to be responsible to the faculty and shall be available for consultation when necessary.
Article VI. The Executive Committee
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the officers, and such others as the committee may add from time to time.
Section 2. The responsibilities of the Committee are:
a. To carry out the purpose, general policies, and programs of the Fellowship as efficiently as possible;
b. To call the annual Executive Committee meeting for consideration of new officers, and for submitting of reports on the various activities of the year; and
c. To be responsible for the continuance of the Fellowship from year to year.
Article VII. Meetings
Section 1. Meetings for carrying out the purpose of the Fellowship shall be scheduled by the Executive Committee.
Section 2. Meetings for the transaction of business shall be called by the Executive Committee or upon the request of five members.
Section 3. The annual business meeting shall be held one month before the end of the academic year of the university.
Article VIII. Constitutions and Amendments
Section 1. This Constitution shall be adopted upon receiving two-thirds vote of the membership.
Section 2. Amendments to this constitution shall not be valid unless a copy has been placed in the Office of Student Affairs, UM Tagum College, and in the Office of the General Secretary, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of the Philippines.
By-laws Article I Membership
Section 1. Membership shall be both by invitation and application.
Section 2. There shall be a Membership Committee, responsible for extending the invitation to potential members, as well as for accepting and evaluating applicants for membership.
Section 3. The Chairman, as well as the members of the Membership Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.
Article II Officers and Duties
Section 1. The duties of the President are as follows:
a. Chairs the Executive Committee and presides over its meetings;
b. Oversees the entire Fellowship, coordinates its activities, and provides over its annual business meeting; and
c. Represents the Fellowship in dealing with the Administration and with the other groups.
Section 2. The duties of the Vice-President are as follows:
a. Presides over meetings in the absence of the President; and
b. Executes other duties designated to him/her by the Executive Committee
Section 3. The duties of the Secretary are as follows:
a. Keeps minutes of meetings, list of members, a copy of the chapter constitution, and such other records as are necessary for efficient function of the Fellowship; and
b. Responsible for correspondence.
Section 4. The duties of the Treasurer are as follows:
a. Keeps account on income and expenditure of the Fellowship; and
b. Prepares the annual financial report.
Section 5. The duties of the Public Relation Officer are as follows:
a. Responsible for the publicity of the activities of the Fellowship; and
b. May act as the President's representative in dealing with other groups when the latter authorizes him/her to do so.
Article III Nomination and Elections
Section 1. The executive committee shall meet regularly for evaluation of the affairs of the fellowship at least once a month.
Section 2. When meeting for business transactions, a simple majority of the members of the committee who are present shall constitute a quorum.
Section 3. The Executive Committee shall appoint a chairman for the different subcommittees, as one for Bible Study, another for Prayer, one for the Literature and another for Missions.
IFES and IVCF's Brief History The Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship is a movement of the Holy Spirit of God among the undergraduate and graduates of the world.
During the 18th Century, at the time when his spiritual life was very low, Charles Simeon, a fellow at King's College of Cambridge, England was converted. For 50 years thereafter, he ministered both in Holy Trinity Church and among the students. In 1848, the Cambridge Union for Private Prayer was formed, and 1862, twenty undergraduates met in a room behind a bookshop for prayer. This daily prayer meeting has gone on almost unabated until today! It led to special evangelistic meetings and the formation of the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (CICCU) in 1877. In 1882, D.L. Moody was invited from America by Kynaton Studd, captain of the Cricket Club, for a university mission. In 1884, England to become missionaries to China. Moody later invited Studd to America and after the famous Haystack Prayer Meeting, the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM) grew rapidly. Through its influence, many were led to overseas missionary service. A CICCU man later sat down with John R. Mott in Trinity College to write a memorial for the bishop on "The Evangelization of this World in This Generation".
At about this time, Norman Grubb had the vision of the "Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship", which would link evangelical movements in different universities. By 1930, under the leadership of Douglas Johnson, groups were established in almost all the British universities. In 1928, Dr. Howard Guinness was sent to Canada in answer to an urgent request for a similar movement among students there. Later on, he went to Australia and New Zealand and started the work in these countries also. In 1939, Mr. C. Stacey Woods, then General Secretary of IVCF-Canada, was invited to start the work in the USA. In Asia, evangelical student witness began in India. Professor Enoch, active for many years with SCM, became dissatisfied with the inroads of liberal theology and formed and evangelical witness. Thus, the Union of Evangelical Students in India (UESI) began. Also, as a result of student revival in Chinese universities, the IVCF of China was formed in 1945-1946 and grew rapidly until the Communist took over the country. In 1947, delegates from many countries met in Boston to forge a constitution for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) which now has more than 130 member movements all over the world.
The IVCF of the Philippines started in 1953 with the arrival in Manila of IFES staffworker Gwen Wong. The concept of a student-led movement was then new in the country. Student Initiative and leadership were not easy to develop considering the relative youth of the Filipino student and his background of authoritarian parents, church and school. At first, there were only about 15 students who really showed interest in witnessing to fellow students. The work began with early Morning Prayer meetings. Later, Saturday afternoons were devoted to prayer and discussion and occasional evangelistic meetings. A small core of students formed the "Timothy club" that regularly met for prayer and Bible study and engaged in personal witnessing.
By 1954, student had started meetings ran by themselves in their own campuses. The first campus meeting were in the University of the Philippines - Diliman and University of the East followed by those in the National University, Far Eastern University and M.L. Quezon University. Some met in restaurants, other in classrooms, and some on campus grounds. Meanwhile, Peter Kemary, an alumnus of the British IVCF and executive and an executive of Shell Oil Philippines started work among Christian graduates. This group, started in 1953, was the start of the Graduated Christian Fellowship. It provided strong prayer support and encouragement for the infant student movement and held its first national conference in Kawayan Camp in 1959.
The first week-long conference in the country was held in 1956 and was attended by students from different colleges and universities in Manila. Tomasa Francisco was appointed as the first Filipino staffworker. She began work with high school students, and laid the foundation for the Inter-School Christian Fellowship. Mary Beaton, another IFES staffworker, arrived to help in the development of the work. Workshops were held on Saturday afternoons, an effective method of Bible study (OIA) was taught, and student initiative was encourage. In 1959, IVCF was no longer dependent upon outside Bible teachers, and there finally emerged a true student movement. By 1957, some of the members of the IVCF groups had graduated from their universities. They returned to their provinces and encourages undergraduates to form their own groups So the work started in Cebu and Davao. During this period, contacts were made to start work in Iloilo.
As the leadership of the on-campus groups shifted to students, the need for training conferences grew. A 24-hectare mountaintop forest land in Negros was donated by a Christian family for a campsite. IVCF alumni, friends, other member movements of IFES and IFES itself gave sacrificially to prepare this site for the holding of training conferences. Sheldon Whitney, a young agriculture graduate from the USA, spent one whole year at what was to e known as Kawayan Campus, putting up the cabins and preparing the place. The first month-long conference was held there in April 1958. To accommodate the growing number of students who needed leadership training every year, KC was split into two in 1972: one in Luzon, the other in the original campus.
On June 19, 1959 IVCF-Philippines became truly indigenous. The leadership and financial responsibility was turned over to the nationals. Gwen Wong and Mary Beaton said their farewell, their task in the Philippines have been finished. Ephraim Orteza, appointed staffworker in 1957, became the first Filipino General Secretary. Tomasa Francisco, Emmanuel Pizana, and Leticia Abakan served with him as staffworkers. The new Board of Directors, chaired by Ruben Orteza, launched out in faith by approving a P500.00 monthly budget.
When the worker was nationalized in 1959, many predicted that it would fold up in a couple of years. But through 40 years of student ministry, IVCF has reached thousands of Filipino students with the gospel of Jesus Christ and nurtured them in the Christian life. It has evolved into a student and graduate movement as students of yesterday became IVCF graduate movers of today. As late s 1990, IVCF chapters exist in 78 universities and colleges and 65 high school nationwide. Nurses and graduate groups are also growing.
Increasingly, the Filipino students realize that IVCF is their own movement and that they are expected to take full responsibility. IVCF has always been a movement of the Holy Spirit among students. It started as a result movement --- a prayer meeting, a student mission, a missionary outreach --- and will remain a student movement. By God's Grace, it has spread to the four corners of the globe, making disciples of all nations as a member of the church of Christ.
Moving onward in its desire to equip servant-leaders for Christ, IVCF-Philippines is now a full-fledged national movement. But Inter-Varsity is not only the men and women in the office; It is not only the staffworkers; It is not the Board of Directors, Inter-Varsity is God calling children to proclaim the gospel to the student world and to all men. Inter-Varsity is you! Sower Campus Club-IVCF's Brief History Last 1997, the Sower Campus Club was informally organized through the joint effort of the officers and advisers of the UCCP's (United Church of Christ in he Philippines) NEDDA (North Eastern Davao District Assembly; now dissolved and has returned to the mother conference, NDDC or North Davao District Conference). There has been many campus outreaches, namely: Saint Mary's College, UM Tagum College, Davao National High School and Tagum National High School. It also reached the two subdivisions, Maximo Village and Erlynville Subdivision. The main activity was the Bible Study fellowship that later known to be as what 'Cell Grouping' did. The group was then verbally affiliated to Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. Later, the group was hurtfully disorganized but continually endured its basic mission, that is, to sow the seeds of salvation. Informal gatherings and fellowships of few members, officers and advisers were then the best strategy and the last recourse.
On October 1999, few months after the recovery from spiritual bankrupcy, Darby Aspacio, together with other church-mates (including Trichel Divine Estanilla), have participated the CYLC (Church Youth Leadership Camp) of IVCF-Southern Mindanao at Camp Mariano, Barrio 8, Koronadal, South Cotabato. He, then, reclaimed the eagerness to serve the Lord and decided to work with the IVCF. Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship was so familiar to him for it was repeatedly introduced by his two church Ate's; Evie Cervantes and Hazel Eugenio, who have participated the Kawayan Camp '99.
At UM Tagum College, he, a working student, basically faced his routine activities, thus, didn't give time for what he have decided. But the God of Heavens used Grace Tropico's (CYLC Staff) letter to wake him up on the early days of February 2000. He, then realized, thus; begun to initiate such informal orientations. Then, a cell group was born on February 02, 2000 consisting of 12 students. The members decided to meet every Wednesday at high noon to 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. On the other hand Trichel Divine Estanilla, a CYLC camper, held a group on February 09, consisting of 6 students. As the activities navigate, Darby's group increased from 12 to 17 members.
Aside from the regular weekly meeting, there have been big group activities. First activity was on March 08, 2000 at Darby's residence, where the whole group viewed "The Thief in the Night". Darby Aspacio and Evie Cervantes facilitated the discussions and internalization. The second activity, "ONE-DAY AFFAIR: Just for HIM", was held on March 22, 2000 at Trichel Divine's residence where the group experienced different reactions from the films "Distant Thunder", "The Image of the Beast", and "Never Ashamed".
On the first semester of school year 2000-2001, Mrs. Guadalupe De Leon, Mrs. Rosario Abanales and Mrs. Aireen San Jose, UM Tagum College Faculty members, accepted the position of being the advisers of the movement. The club was formally recognized by the institution last August 05, 2000 as it appeared on the college school paper "Collegium".
Afterwards, Marites Mayangos, Trichel Divine Estanilla, Darby Aspacio and Jill Nervida have attended the Southern Mindanao LC-DC (Leadership Camp/ Discipleship Camp) at Southern Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary, Puan, Davao City last October 22-27, 2000. The pioneering president, Darby Aspacio, has graduated last November 13, 2000 and then, appointed Marites Mayangos to the replace the latter vacant position. Including the appointment letter were Jill Nervida replacing Ranniel Raga, who has also graduated, and Trichel Divine Estanilla replacing Maricel Villas, who stopped her studies, for the Internal VP and PIO respectively.
Months passed, it has been discovered that IVCF in UM Tagum College has existed in 1980's. Therefore, this club is called a "re-pioneering" IVCF. |
