1st KFC Parents' Assembly

Parents worship the Lord during the 1st Kids for Christ Parent’s Assembly

The very first Kids for Christ Parents’ Assembly was held last March 5 at the Lay Force Chapel inside the San Carlos Seminary compound in Guadalupe, Makati City. I was fortunate to have been one of the KFC coordinators and parent to have been part of this significant event.

I actually came in early when practically nobody was yet around. As the organizers started coming in, I had the good opportunity to talk to Kirby LLaban, KFC’s International Coordinator on a number of things about the kids and the ministry.

It was nice to know that a number of the participants who came were not KFC coordinators but simply parents of KFC kids. I think that is the best target audience for this assembly because many KFC parents remain untapped for this ministry especially in view of Kirby’s vision and plans.

There were two speakers who gave inspiring messages that night after the corporate worship. Bro. Mannix Ocampo emphasized the point that “Evangelization starts at the Church of the Home.” Parents play a vital role in the work of evangelization. He cited the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Paul VI – Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World).

While this document was released way back in December 8, 1975, its message remains relevant today in the 21st century. I did some research and the following excerpt from the exhortation laid out the role of the family in evangelization:

“The family

71. One cannot fail to stress the evangelizing action of the family in the evangelizing apostolate of the laity.
At different moments in the Church's history and also in the Second Vatican Council, the family has well deserved the beautiful name of "domestic Church." This means that there should be found in every Christian family the various aspects of the entire Church. Furthermore, the family, like the Church, ought to be a place where the Gospel is transmitted and from which the Gospel radiates.
In a family which is conscious of this mission, all the members evangelize and are evangelized. The parents not only communicate the Gospel to their children, but from their children they can themselves receive the same Gospel as deeply lived by them.
And such a family becomes the evangelizer of many other families, and of the neighborhood of which it forms part. Families resulting from a mixed marriage also have the duty of proclaiming Christ to the children in the fullness of the consequences of a common Baptism; they have moreover the difficult task of becoming builders of unity.”

Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi

Whole families - should be evangelizers. Fathers and mothers as evangelizers should be seen in how they live out our lives as parents.

How do we evangelize our own families?

Parents, particularly the head of the family has three main roles: the priestly, prophetic and kingly roles.

How does my family touch the lives of other families? Basically through the roles – each family acts as a prophet to the community, a priest or mediator between other families and the Lord; bringing them closer to God and the kingly role by being servant leaders to other families.

In the light of the current and constant attacks on the family, Bro. Mannix states that Christian families should form communities of persons, serving lives and participating and sharing in the life of the society and mission of the Church.

Sis. Nini Villaroman, on the other hand, shared her experiences with their KFC children, Sam and Dave. Through the years, she saw the fruits of their KFC experience. As the boys grew up, they maintained a strong sense of discipline despite peer pressures.

Due to this strong formation, she wasn’t afraid for her kids’ future. Moreover, through KFC, the kids developed a strong belief in the power of prayer. Prayerful children surely are not far from God and His grace and blessings.

She therefore urged parents present to bring their children to KFC that their children may experience the same formation and love. She called on all parents to be champions of the family ministries!

Bro. Kirby also gave a presentation as to his vision, mission and plans for the KFC ministry. He encouraged parents to form Parent Support Teams (PST) in their respective chapter to help KFC Coordinators and the ministry. This move was to get more parents involves and gather feedback from the same parents as a means to hold more relevant activities for the kids (i.e. recollections for kids and parents).

He also shared an acronym for parents present to remember:

D – Develop the CFC Parenting Culture

A – Advocate Christian Parenthood

D – Deepen the Bond between Parent and Child

M – Modules to help parents in bringing their kids closer to God

O – Outpour of human resources for KFC activities & advocacies for transforming
society

M – Model families sharing about their experiences


I am very hopeful that these plans will further bring more kids closer to Christ. As a parent, I pray that many more parents will be aware of their respective roles and be evangelizers of their domestic churches and society in general.