Church Strengthening Ministry offered three helpful webinars within the last two months of the year. The first one, Ministry Planning in the New Normal which was held on November 6, was attended by 80 participants from 36 churches. CSM trainer and seminar speaker Ms. Millie Espino, the Ministry Director of International Evangelical Church of Alabang, also a certified CSM Sunday school and VBS trainer presented 1) The Biblical Aspects of Ministry Planning; 2) Ministry Planning Amidst Crisis; 3) Identifying Essential Ministries During the Pandemic and 4) Basics of Ministry Planning in the New Normal.

The next two webinars were part of our Ministering Through Counseling series. The first part, held on November 20, was entitled Dealing with Stress, Burnout, and Loss. Both of our speakers are resident counselors at Amara Center for Training and Counseling. Pastor Archie Dela Cruz, also an on-air counselor at DWAY Care FM,  spoke about 1) Understanding Stress, Burnout and Fatigue, 2) Unfolding the Causes, Symptoms and Threats of Stress, 3) Realizing Eustress, 4)  Unifying Stress Prevention and 5) Intervention Interlacing Stress and Spirituality. The follow-up webinar on November 27 dealt withcoping with loss and grief. The speaker, Dr. Alain Dizon, an advocate of HIV AIDS awareness through WorldVision Int’l. Channels of Hope and AIDS Link International, explained 1) Grief and Its Symptoms, 2) Types of Losses and Myths, 3) Goals of Grieving, 4) Mourning Process and 5) Coping Skills. Many of the 73 participants found these topics very helpful especially in these times when losing a loved one has become a common occurrence. Here are some comments from the participants saying the topics were helpful:

Lastly, as our Christmas gift to all CSM partners, CSM offered a third webinar for free on December 11. It was about Using Music, Motion, and Game in Teaching Kids in the New Normal and was also CSM's way of helping churches plan their children's ministry as they shift back to meeting face to face. CSM certified trainer Stephen Felonia, a VBS Trainer, Professional Teacher, and Skills Building Facilitator, taught about the importance of integrating music and motion in teaching Bible lessons to kids, while Lala Tellano-Viray, Youth Ministry Head and Deaconess at The Church at Better Living, discussed the usefulness of games in teaching life and Bible lessons. Online participants also enjoyed sharing about the games they loved to play as childrenand how these games helped them grow as a person and as a Christian as well!

CSM will resume offering face-to-face seminars in 2022 (though for a limited number of participants only), beginning with the Restart your Children's Ministry workshop to help pastors, children's ministry workers, and parents reboot one of the church ministries most affected by the pandemic. Pastor Archie Dela Cruz, a trained counselor, will teach how to manage the behavior of the kids as they transition from online to face to face classes. Ms. Raquel Lomugdang will share tips on preparing your Sunday school in the New Normal and introduce different methods of creative storytelling and doing arts and crafts.

This workshopwill be on January 29, 2022 (Saturday), from 8:30a.m. to 2:30p.m. at the 3rd floor of CSM Building, Pascor Drive, Sto. Niño, Parañaque City. The early registration fee is P250 until January 14, 2022 only. The regular registration fee is P350 from January 15-26, 2022. We will only accept 80 participants, and no walk-ins allowed, so register now! Click this link: https://bit.ly/RestartYourChildrensMinistry

For more details, contact the CSM Training Department at 0908-8937016 or email us at training@csm-publishing.com.