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Listening and learning from various entities on the perceived dynamics that help children thrive: Implications for practical action towards holistic mission and discipleship of children

APNTS Research Team

Resource Types

Academic (Thesis, Dissertation, Etc.)

Resource Languages

English

Institutional Repository

Description / Abstract

Background of the Study This section is adapted from Menchit Wong’s prospectus for PH CAR Forum entitled, “Moving from Risk to Thriving: On Mission To, For, and With Children-At-Risk” (Wong 2018, 1). The 2010 Third Lausanne Compress on World Evangelization produced the Cape Town Commitment (CTC) Call to Action on Children. This was truly a defining moment in Evangelical Church history. Never before has a global movement in world evangelization produced a foundational document that holds the worldwide church accountable for its actions toward holistic nurture, protection and advocacy for children-atrisk. The CTC Call to Action on Children provides the mandate for the Church worldwide to: (1) Take children seriously, through fresh biblical and theological enquiry that reflects on God’s love and purpose for them and through them, and by rediscovering the profound significance for theology and mission of Jesus’ provocative action in placing ‘a child in the midst.’ (2) Seek to train people and provide resources to meet the needs of children worldwide, wherever possible working with their families and communities, in the conviction that holistic ministry to and through each next generation of children and young people is a vital component of world mission. Finally, (3) Expose, resist and take action against all abuse of children, including violence, exploitation, slavery, trafficking, prostitution, gender and ethnic discrimination, commercial targeting, and willful neglect. Fast forward to 2014 and 2017, the Lausanne Movement convened two global forums to accelerate theological reflection, conversations on praxis, and exchange of learning all geared toward increased and effective collaboration on behalf of children-atrisk. The two forums have produced three foundational documents, namely, (1) The Call to Action on Children-at-Risk, (2) Who are Children-at-Risk: A Missional Definition, and (3)The Lausanne Occasional Paper (LOP) on Children-at-Risk. Furthermore, the 2017 Forum formally established the Lausanne Issue Network on Children-at-Risk, which is a global community of holistic ministry practitioners, global and local church leaders, theologians, and academics that have committed to global action groups and global projects to fulfill the Cape Town Commitment call to Action on Children-at-Risk. One important commitment made during that 2017 Forum is to expand this learning community and to bring the conversations and multi-disciplinary/multi-cultural collaboration to the national and local level, where action is most felt and impactful to the children we serve. Thus the decision to convene in 2018 the very first Lausanne Movement Philippines National Forum on children-at-risk. One of the major goals of this forum is to become a “community of learners,” to “listen and to learn” from various entities across cultures, across age groups, across disciplines, and across social contexts (Minutes of Meeting held at APNTS on June 20, 2017. In this light, the team composed of Menchit Wong, Josefina Gutierrez, Sofia Jingco, Dr. Dan Brewster, Dr. Catherine Stonehouse, Dr. Floyd Cunningham, and Dr. Nativity Petallar expressed that for this to happen, we need to listen to the children, theologians or persons in the academe, ministry practitioners, parents, church leaders and members, policy makers on the factors that children need so they will experience Christ’s transforming love. Thus, the respondents of the study consisted of these people from various groups of the society. The findings of the study were the basis of identifying recommendations for effective ministries in the home, church, the academe, and the community. The research team is composed of faculty and students of the Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological (APNTS). APNTS offers a PhD in Holistic Child Development so this research is part of the advocacy of the seminary. The PhD students were all from three PhD programs in APNTS, namely, PhD in Holistic Child Development (HCD), PhD in Transformational Learning (TL), and PhD in Transformational Development (TD). The researchers believe that this study would benefit those who are working to, for, and with children that includes the parents, church workers, seminary professors, NGOs, and the children themselves.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This research presents the results of the study on Listening and Learning from Various Entities on the Perceived Dynamics that Help Children Thrive. The main objective of the study was to explore, through listening and learning, the perceived dynamics that help children thrive towards greater understanding and more effective ministry to, for, and with children. Children in this particular research would refer to individuals 18 years old and below. This research has not delineated between children at risk and children in general. “Children” in this study refer to all participants below 18 years of age regardless of their psychological or socio-emotional status in life. For data gathering, children who are not Filipinos are included as respondents. The data gathered from the respondents, namely, the 1) Parents; (2) Church leaders/ workers; (3) Theologians/seminary professors; (4) Persons in the Community: NGO practitioners, government officials, government officials, private/business institutions, and (5) children who are five to 18 years of age – were used as the bases for offering recommendations towards holistic mission and discipleship of children in the Philippines. There were three major research questions posed in the research. First, what does the child need to thrive: to grow up well and be happy. Second, who are the people that can help a child thrive and how; and third, what are the factors in a child’s environment that can help a child thrive. Answers to these questions were gotten through the following methodologies: open-ended questionnaire, focus group discussion, and drawings with children. The study showed the following results: First, the respondents identified that for a child to thrive, the following are the elements that they need (in order, according to frequency count based on the open-ended questionnaires): (1) basic needs met (2) family; (3) relationships; (4) spirituality; (5) education; and (6) community. Second, the study indicated that the following are the people that can help a child thrive (in order, according to frequency count based on the open-ended questionnaires): (1) parents, (2) church, (3) family, (4) community, (5) school, and (6) friends. Finally, the study showed that the following are the factors in a child’s environment that can help a child thrive (in order, according to frequency count based on the open-ended questionnaires): (1) healthy environment, (2) normal family life, (3) holistic needs met, (4) spirituality, (5) education, (6) friends, (7) productive space, play and sports, and finally (8) government and non-government institutions. The findings of the study are illuminating in the sense that the respondents were able to identify the factors needed for child thriving. The recommendations of the study are based on these findings. The conclusions and recommendations identified in the study are not meant to be exhaustive. Other readers of this research may add to the conclusions and refine the recommendations herein. In fact, the recommendations for further studies are some of the gaps that this research has left open for future researchers to delve into. The recommendations for further studies are the following: (1) Engage in a similar study with different respondents from various settings or contexts of children: (a) children on the move; (b) children in Government institutions; (c) children in correctional facilities; (d) children with special needs; (e) children of Types A and B families, (e) children in the church; or (f) pastors or missionary kids; (2) Thorough interpretation of drawings (the drawings of the children are available upon request from the researchers); (3) Philippine-based grounded theory which would produce a theory similar to that of Urie Bronfenbrenner or present Maslow’s Hierarchy in light of children’s perception of various needs; and (4) More related literature and studies could be done in the area of child thriving and issues pertinent to the role of parents, government and non-government organizations, churches, seminaries, schools, international ministry CEOs to help children thrive. While the cornerstone of this research may have been biblical for all intents and purposes, the researchers believe that listening to various entities or sectors (children, parents, church workers, non-government organization workers, and theologians) on who and what can help children thrive is an interest that transcends socio-cultural backgrounds and religious persuasions. The biblical basis is not only related to Christian community, but covers the whole principles for the development of children and youth. Hence, many cultures had adapted its content in ways that it fits the needs of the little ones. Care for the children, protection, or nurture are indeed terms that are used by secular organizations, entities and others, but its roots can be traced in the pages of Scriptures.