CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD

COVENANT ORIENTATION FOLLOW-UP

This manual is for the use of household heads 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 Handmaids Enrichment Retreat 1.

OBJECTIVES

Following are the objectives of the CO Follow-up phase:

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

ROLE OF THE HOUSEHOLD HEADS

In general, the household heads are to see to it that the basic covenant is being lived out more
and more by individual members and that all members are helping one another in this process.
More specifically, the household heads are expected to do the following:

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 specific 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.

CFC PFO 2015

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HOLD PFO (January 2017)
Household leaders should therefore be sensitive to how the members are moving on and deal
with them accordingly. 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 HOLD.
- 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:

- members of the family are honest with 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 HOLD, they:

- attend the weekly household meetings, monthly chapter prayer assemblies and other
CFC HOLD/community 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 in general and HOLD in particular.

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 start practicing. If after several weeks, you feel that some members are not
making progress, take it up with the Unit Head for guidance in handling.

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HOLD PFO (January 2017)
CONTENT OF THE MEETINGS

Following are the proposed contents for the household meetings in the CO Follow-up phase.
The household head may opt to have topics or content other than these, as long as the basic
objectives of this phase are met.

Meeting No. 1

1. Full worship, sharing/topical discussion, fellowship.

2. Topic: Share about the nature and content of our covenant in HOLD.
* 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, sharing/topical discussion, 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, sharing/topical discussion, fellowship

2. Topic: Share about family life, especially on relationships (e.g. spouse, children, parents,
siblings and other relatives.

Meeting No. 4

1. Full worship, sharing/topical discussion, fellowship.

2. Topic: Go over the HOLD Statement of Philosophy. Discuss and ensure understanding of
our 4 foundational beliefs.

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HOLD PFO (January 2017)
Meeting No. 5

1. Full worship, sharing/topical discussion, fellowship.

2. Topic: Discuss and share about the ways we relate to one another in HOLD as sisters in the
Lord.
* Honor and respect.
* Loyalty and commitment.

Meeting No. 6

1. Full worship, sharing/topical discussion, fellowship.

2. Topic: Discuss the whole area of Christian Speech

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

Meeting No. 7

1. Full worship, sharing/topical discussion, fellowship.

2. Topic: Share about how practicing the Christian “counter-culture” is affecting their work
environment/business dealings.

Note: Your goal is to encourage them to live out their covenant even outside CFC HOLD.

Meeting No. 8

1. Full worship, sharing/topical discussion, fellowship.

2. Topic: Share about the state of their family.

3. The next formation course after this CO Follow-up is a weekend Handmaids Enrichment
Retreat 1 (HER 1). In case this HER 1 is scheduled early, some of the topics of the above-
mentioned meetings will have to wait for another time. In case the HER 1 is late, then there
will be added household meetings where the topics will have to be decided on by the
household leaders. You have a variety of sources for topics: the CLP talks, the Ugnayan
supplement of the CBCP Monitor, CFC publications c/o Ablaze Communications, etc.

NOTE:

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.

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HOLD PFO (January 2017)