Covenant Orientaton Follow-up

FIRST YEAR FORMATION

COVENANT ORIENTATION
FOLLOW-UP

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COUPLES FOR CHRIST
COVENANT ORIENTATION FOLLOW UP

Since there are 3 household meetings in a month, this 3-month phase may encompass 9 household
meetings in all. This manual is for the use of household leaders in conducting their household meetings
right after the Covenant Orientation (CO). It covers the three month period between the CO and the next
part of our formation program, the Marriage Enrichment Retreat.

OBJECTIVES

Following are the objectives of the CO Follow Up phase:

1. To impress upon the members the importance of their covenant in CFC and to encourage
them to try to live out this covenant faithfully.
2. To help the members to take on more and more the culture of CFC, i.e., its basic value
system and practices.
3. To make the members realize much more how CFC can be a bless¬ing to them.

ROLE OF THE HOUSEHOLD LEADERS

In general, the household leaders are to see to it that individual members are living out the basic
covenant more and more and that members are helping one another in this process. More specifically,
the household leaders are expected to do the follow¬ing:

1. Develop the commitment of members by:

- conducting discussions on the CO talks to clarify their understanding and questions

they may have;
- agreeing as a group to practice what is expected of them;
- agreeing as a group to support one another to grow in their commitment.

2. Develop more openness and trust among the members by encouraging members to share
more freely and openly about their growth, struggles and difficulties.
3. Encourage more participation from the members in giving suggestions and ideas on how
to grow in those areas agreed upon by the group.
4. Give admonitions when the members are deviating from their agreements and
commitments.

BEHAVIORAL CHANGES

Household leaders should have a clear understanding of what spe¬cific changes members should
begin to exhibit. As stated in the objectives, this phase intends to establish in the lives of the members
the basics of living out the CFC covenant and culture.

Household leaders should therefore be sensitive to how the members are moving on and deal with
them accordingly.

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 Covenant Orientaton Follow-up

The following are behavioral changes that members should begin to exhibit:

1. In the area of personal relationships:

- respect for each other’s views and opinions.

- being brothers and sisters in the Lord.
- giving encouragement to members who may be depressed, feeling burdened or
low.
- verbalizing their trust for one another.
- avoiding slander, gossip and negative humor.

2. As a people of faith, they:

- share about how God provides, protects and cares for their needs.
- share their experiences of God’s providence and generosity in their life, home,
office, relationships, community and CFC.
- give thanks to God for His bountiful blessings.
- praise the Lord for either success or failure experiences.

3. On prayer and Scripture, they:

- have scheduled a daily prayer and scripture reading time.

- pray regularly as scheduled.
- read scriptures regularly as scheduled.
- pray together as a family, either in the morning or in the evening.

4. In the area of life in the home:

- husband and wife are sincere and honest to each other.

- family has meals together at least once a week.
- family has recreation at least once a week.

5. In the area of their commitment to CFC, they:

- attend the weekly household meetings, monthly chapter prayer assemblies and
other CFC gatherings.
- are punctual in all meetings.
- support financially the work of CFC.
- are not critical about the life and order of the body.
- have respect for the members and leaders of CFC.

Given time, opportunities to share and encouragement within the period provided, members are expected
to exhibit the above behavior. It is expected that members will express the above in varying degrees;
some may accept the commitment without much difficulty, others may take time before they begin to
start practicing. If after several weeks, you feel that some members are not making any progress, take
it up with your Unit Head for guidance in handling.

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CONTENT OF THE MEETINGS

The following are the proposed contents for each of these meetings. The household head may opt to
have topics or content other than these, as long as the basic objectives for this phase are met.

Meeting No. 1

1. Full worship, a separate meeting, fellowship.

2. Topic: Share about the nature and content of our covenant in CFC.

* Do they realize the seriousness of having a covenant with God?

* Share about elements of the covenant that pose difficulties or challenge.

Note: It is important to stress that one will not necessarily be living out the covenant
perfectly. We are all in various stages of our new life. This is why we need to
support one another. What is important is that we understand the covenant, we
agree with it and desire it for our lives, and we will truly strive to live it out.

3. Reminder: Try to keep these meetings within 2 1/2 hours.

Meeting No. 2

1. Full worship, a separate meeting, fellowship.

2. Topic: Share about prayer life and daily Bible reading.

3. Note:
* Get the members to commit to daily prayer. Ask them for their specific time and
place for prayer.
* Ask if they have been doing the daily Bible readings according to our Bible Reading
Guide. If not, encourage them to do so.

Meeting No. 3

1. Full worship, a separate meeting, fellowship.

2. Topic: Share about family life, especially relationship with the spouse and with the children.

Meeting No. 4

Note: This meeting content is for the household meeting immediately following the teaching on Financial
Stewardship. If this teaching night was not scheduled, then move on to the next (meeting No. 5) for the
appropriate meeting content. It is more effective to introduce the teaching on Financial Stewardship
after the MER 1, where the couple has grown in deeper commitment to CFC. You may reserve this
household topic (meeting no. 4) after the MER 1 and Financial Stewardship Talk had been conducted.

1. Full worship, a separate or joint meeting, fellowship.

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 Covenant Orientaton Follow-up
2. Topic: Discuss “stewardship” and their obligation to support God’s work. Discuss the
concept of tithing. Discuss how their help is necessary to carry on the work of CFC.

3. Note:
* Encourage them to give regularly (monthly), even if they are as yet unable
to give full tithe
* Discuss the practical aspects of giving checks, giving through you, giving
during the monthly prayer assemblies, your reminders, etc.).

Meeting No. 5

1. Full worship, a separate meeting, fellowship.

2. Topic: Go over the CFC Statement of Philosophy. Discuss and ensure understanding of
our 5 foundational beliefs.

Meeting No. 6

1. Full worship, a separate meeting, fellowship.

2. Topic: Discuss and share about the ways we relate to one another in CFC as brothers and
sisters in the Lord.

* Honor and respect.

* Loyalty and commitment.

Meeting No. 7

1. Full worship, a separate meeting, fellowship.

2. Topic: Discuss the whole area of Christian speech

* Make commitments to one another as to using speech to up-build.

Meeting No. 8

1. Full worship, a separate or joint meeting, fellowship.

2. Topic: Share about how practicing the Christian “counter-culture” is affecting their work
environment.
3. Note: Your goal is to encourage them to live out their covenant even outside CFC.

Meeting No. 9

1. Full worship, a separate meeting, fellowship.

2. Topic: Share about the state of their marriage.
3. Note: Your goal is to make sure that they will be part of the Marriage Enrichment Retreat
(MER).

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NOTE:

1. Whenever there is a fifth week in the month, this can be devoted to a time of fellowship or
a purely social activity. You may choose to do a variety of activities, either in a home or
outside.

2. The next formation course after this CO Follow up is a weekend Marriage Enrichment
Retreat (MER)