• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In
MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission MattersNew
          • Missio Nexus
          • People First HR
          • Members Only Feed
        • Blogs
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mission Advisors
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Alliance for Benefits
    • Bible CertificateNew
    • Church Missions Coaching
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • ImproveNew
    • Mission Jobs
    • Publish
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission App
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Premier Events
          • Mission Leaders Conference
          • On Mission
        • Upcoming Events

          • Webinar: Innovating Theological Education: How BibleMesh can Prepare your Staff for Ministry
            Thu Feb 25 2021, 02:00pm EST
          • Association Leaders Gathering
            Tue Mar 2 2021, 08:30am EST
          • Innovation Labs - Session 1
            Tue Mar 2 2021, 10:00am EST
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missiographics
          • Mission Handbook
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Submit Data for Mission Handbook
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Webinar: Innovating Theological Education: How BibleMesh can Prepare your Staff for Ministry
    Thu Feb 25 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Association Leaders Gathering
    Tue Mar 2 2021, 08:30am EST
  • Innovation Labs - Session 1
    Tue Mar 2 2021, 10:00am EST
  • Webinar: God's Heart for Oneness and Diversity
    Thu Mar 4 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Women In Leadership - Special Events
    Fri Mar 5 2021

View all events »

Topics

author interview Canada CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting Coaching Conference Proceedings COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Evangelism Focus Future Globally Engaged Churches Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Personal Productivity Podcast Presenter Research Security Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached unreached people groups Weekly Roundup Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Scattered: The Filipino Global Presence

Posted on April 1, 2006 by April 1, 2006

by Luis Pantoja, Jr., Sadiri Joy Tira, and Enoch Wan, editors

None other than Her Excellency, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of the Philippines, introduces this extensive report on the amazing Filipino diaspora.

Lifechange Publishing Inc., Manila, Philippines, 2004, 370 pages. Contact in North America: FIN, 10115 79th St., Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6A 3G4.

—Reviewed by Arnold L. Cook, former president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, and past president of the Alliance World Fellowship of the C&MA National Churches.

None other than Her Excellency, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of the Philippines, introduces this extensive report on the amazing Filipino diaspora. In her remarks she commends her people for their valor, reminding them that “their sound spiritual relationship with God is a perfect source of strength.”
The book emerged from the papers presented at the Filipino Diaspora and Missions Consultation in April 2004 in Seoul, Korea. All but four of the twenty-two contributors are Filipinos.
Sadiri Joy Tira describes the humble origins of the Filipino International Network (FIN) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in the early 1990s when, over coffee, he and a mission-minded businessman dreamed about world evangelization through the mass dispersion of Filipinos, many into Limited Access Regions (LAR).

Recent studies indicate there are more than eight million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in 180 countries. One of the early concepts in FIN was what they call “glocal missions,” blending the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:16-20 with the mission call of Acts 1:8.
They establish churches locally and send OFWs as missionaries into a borderless world globally.

Part Two of the book grapples with the biblical theology of diasporas. Narry Santos presents a survey of biblical accounts of diasporas and comments on their significant role in the context of Christian mission in the Bible. Luis Pantoja Jr. develops a theological framework for the Filipino diaspora.

In Part Three, Chinese missiologist Enoch Wan considers the phenomenon of diaspora and reflects on the missiological implications for Christian mission. Part Four addresses global strategy.
Part Five contains moving accounts of danger, suffering and abuse sprinkled with amazing stories of conversions. It is observed that an average of two OFWs returned each day to the Philippines in coffins (21).

The text that came to mind as I read this book was 1 Corinthians 9:22-23: “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.” The book builds a credible case for God’s special preparation of the Filipino people for their unique role in world evangelization. This group lived under three hundred years of Spanish domination and many still speak some Spanish. Their country was ceded to the United States in 1898. Only in 1946 did they become independent. With their seventy-eight national dialects and prolonged exposure to English, many speak considerable English and can learn new languages on the job. It is noted that “Filipinos are generally friendly, flexible, adaptable [and] gifted with music” (174). They appear to possess the missionary gift of “copeabiliity” and function freely with a sanctified “pragmatism.”

The book is not an easy read due to the multiple writers and the haste in publication. Nevertheless, they accomplished their purpose in giving an overview of the Filipino diaspora and its effectiveness in penetrating the LAR. Tom Houston’s closing challenge and instructions apply to all diaspora groups.

——-

Copyright © 2006 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.

 

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsBook ReviewsEMQSectionVolume 42 - Issue 2

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Join
  • Directories
  • Events
  • Donate

About

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Google+

PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

© Missio Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks