By Dr. Melvin Vidar, PhD
Kaagapay Ministry is CCBC’s outreach to parolees and probationers of Quezon City Parole and Probation Office Number 2 (QC-PPO2). Initially, we wanted to extend help to a CCBCer who heads the office because of her limited number of staff. CCBC was tasked to handle the spiritual side of the therapeutic sessions which QC-PPO2 conducts monthly. The ministry started before the pandemic. Monthly sessions were conducted in CCBC’s sanctuary, and sometimes, in covered courts of different barangays in Quezon City. The volunteers and attendees (we call them clients), form what we call a therapeutic community (TC) and usually meet once a month on a Wednesday. The program usually consists of some updates or lectures about important matters that QC-PPO2 wants to disseminate to its clients. Then, a devotional follows, which is delivered by a CCBCer. Depending on the number of volunteers, a breakout session is conducted after the devotional to process the information that the clients received. Usually, the gospel is shared also to them during the breakout sessions, and if time permits, a TC session is conducted. In the course of the TC session, the clients are reminded by their probation officers to be always courteous to their officers and the CCBC volunteers. Moreover, QC-PPO2 and CCBC are hoping that the time we spent with them will somehow make them realize that though they may have committed an offense against the law, there is still hope for a new beginning, especially if they understand the gospel and believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. The CCBC volunteers always emphasize that the grace of God is a powerful force to everyone’s life, so much so that a new life is achievable, if they believe in what Christ has done on the cross (Rom. 1:16).
After more than two years, the CCBC volunteers decided to up the engagement and started forming separate monthly sessions as well as weekly learning groups for women. Webinar sessions for men, where a speaker or multiple speakers is/are invited to discuss relevant topics about life, were also conducted roughly every two months. We started initiating Bible studies for men and their family members too.
Those of us who have been involved with this ministry believe that the harvest is full. But we need more volunteers, especially men since most clients are males. Through this ministry, we have witnessed the working of the Holy Spirit, not only on the lives of the clients, but also to those of the volunteers. What started as a work of mercy to our clients, became an avenue for the Holy Spirit to work in the life of the CCBC volunteers. To God be all the glory!
Pastor Bot Abelado
Pastor Bot is an associate pastor at Capitol City Baptist Church, and is focused on leading our Witness, Missions, and Outreach Ministries.
