Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On behalf of the NAFAUM, it is an honor and privilege to welcome you to the historic NAFAUM 17th Convocation and Young Leaders Summit at Christ UMC in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The state of Hawaii is a historical crossroad of the global Filipino diaspora and home to the second largest Filipino population in the United States. Missionally, we have vibrant and thriving Filipino congregations in Hawaii and 1993 was the last time we held the Convocation on the Hawaiian shores.
The NAFAUM 17th Convocation will be the first in-person gathering of our NAFAUM community ever since the global pandemic changed the world in March 2020. Therefore, the Convocation aims to bring back our NAFAUM community together and to reaffirm our shared life together in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We are committed in developing clergy and lay leadership, revitalizing our local congregations, planting new faith communities, and unifying our NAFAUM community in the midst of disaffiliations and fractured relationships within our denomination.
With the Convocation’s theme: “God Is On The Move…” based from the Gospel of Matthew’s story of Jesus walking on the water, God is challenging us to leave behind the shore and move towards the sea with Jesus. And we are called to be God’s people on the move through celebration (pagdiriwang), growth (paglago), unity (pagkakaisa), and moving forward (paghayo).
In the midst of the challenges of the time, the NAFAUM community is resilient, united and hopeful for the future of The United Methodist Church. Through the power of the Pentecost Spirit, we will harness the gifts and graces of the NAFAUM community to ride through the waves, big or small. And as people on the move, we shall partner with God in His mission “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
See y’all in Hawaii!
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Edgar De Jesus
President, National Association of Filipino American United Methodists