| The United Methodist Church in the Philippines celebrated its centennial year in 1998 to commemorate the introduction of Protestant Christianity there by the American missionaries in 1898. It historically coincided with the commemoration of 100 years of Philippine Independence and founding of the Republic. Amidst this historical setting and its economic-political struggles, the Filipino Methodist faith community has grown through the years. Today, it is one of the largest Protestant denominations in the Philippines and one of the fastest growing congregations in the world-wide United Methodist Church. However, this dramatic development has not been fully documented. Hence, a pictorial chronicle of this phenomenal growth and centennial celebration of Methodism in the Philippines needs to be published.; I conceptualized the Philippine Centennial book years ago. In February 1994, the Philippine Coordinating Council approved its publication and organization of the Philippine Centennial Book Committee which I led as chairpersoneditor. After a church-wide information-campaign, extensive research and gathering of materials were undertaken. However, the book project inevitably suffered later due to lack of funds and production assistance, and dearth of research materials. Challenged by this alarming situation, I responded to a new call for leadership ministry. Through this Professional Project , I analyzed the historical-and-theological foundations and formulated some strategies for producing the book entitled---Methodism in the Philippines: A Century of Faith and Vision---the first Centennial history book published by the Philippines Central Conference.; This Professional Paper deals with STRATEGIES conducted in the Philippines and the United States including: Project Conceptualization, Organization, Awareness Campaign, Research, Coordination-Communication, Writing-Producing, the Manuscript, Consultation, Fund-Raising, Review and Evaluation. Production guidelines were outlined to set direction for the Committee and to facilitate production work. One major challenge was the tedious production work involving writing, editing, studies on book format, layout-design, and printing requirements. Another challenge was fund-raising which I initiated by writing grant proposals which led to successful funding support for book development and printing from some Methodist agencies.; With careful and faithful implementation, I found these strategies working! The Philippine Centennial book is now shaping up and soon to be published. This Professional Paper highlights my reflections on how this project enhanced my ministry and leadership skills within the United Methodist Church and the global community, particularly in the Philippines Central Conference. It also discusses the impact and significance of the project on the life-and-faith expressions of the Filipino Methodists .; To determine this project's significance, an evaluation by the Advisory Committee and representative church members, and a self-evaluation were included. Some recommendations on how to write and publish a church history-book and a new project proposal for the Philippine United Methodist Church were also presented. |
