The Evangelisation Family, formerly known as Evangelisation Seminar, was founded on 30 August 1987 by Father John Isabel. Its mission is to give formation on evangelisation, the mission of the Church, and to reach out and proclaim God’s loving plan to all people and invite them to take an active role according to their specific talents, gifts and abilities. Members are encouraged to become witnesses of Christ by living and working together in fellowship through the small groups that were formed after its regular seminars.
To become a member of the group, one has to attend 12 conferences designed by its evangelisation team, followed by three follow-up seminars, where the candidates would further be taught the techniques and approaches to evangelisation. This is followed by a Life in the Spirit Seminar that explains the role of the Holy Spirit in our Christian life and the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. After the training on 16 Sundays, a commissioning ceremony takes part on the last Sunday.
Helping the needy is one mission of the group. Group members perform voluntary work in the home for the aged and the home for the physically disadvantaged. They also visit the sick in hospitals as well as those in prison.
Priscilla Tapiz, who regularly visits the physically disadvantaged, said, “I felt fulfilled after each visit because I can let them feel that they are loved and cared for and that they are important as the normal people are.”
Mitch Nocite, a volunteer of its prison visitation team, said, “I am so happy, and I know that my visit will help them to ease their loneliness because they are away from their loved ones. I let them feel that there is always hope and a brighter tomorrow awaits, and I always encourage them to pray to the Lord.”
“I am a catechist in our community. Doing this kind of mission that God entrusted to me makes me feel happy, grateful and blessed because I help the children in their spiritual journey and share the goodness of the Lord, the source of everything in this world,“ says Jolie Rose Soriano who serves the Children’s Sunday school. The team serves three parishes: St. Mary’s Church, Notre Dame Parish and St. Alfred’s Parish.
Today what small seeds planted in Hong Kong soil have grown wider and spread to different grounds in London, Toronto, and Iloilo in the Philippines, as former members who left Hong Kong to work in other countries or return to the Philippines have set up groups in where they are presently relocated.
Through the Evangelisation Family, several members realised their vocation in religious life. Some have joined the congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Angels, or Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará. SE
