Not knowing what to name the prayer group, Pilar Sanchez asked two leaders of the Renewal to pray for any inspiration they might receive. Without the two of them speaking to each other, both called Pilar to tell her the name should be, “The Light of Jesus.” It was indeed a God-given name, for it contained their primary mission to this day: to share the Light of Jesus to others as effectively and widely as possible. In 1982, thirty people from the prayer group made a deeper commitment to be a community. They met separately for more teaching, and during weekends, went out to give Life in the Spirit seminars. As the years went by, more and more people joined this budding community—and many chapters were created in different parts of Metro Manila and beyond. Today, the Community has three major tasks: Community Building; Media-Evangelization; and Mercy Ministry. Media-Evangelization has been phenomenal under SHEPHERD’S VOICE, publishing one of the widest-circulated Catholic literatures in the country. Their work, which includes KERYGMA, GABAY, DIDACHE, and COMPANION have become very familiar in Catholic households today. Their next project is to use radio and TV to bring God’s Word to many more people. The Community also has ANAWIM as one of its mercy ministries. Located in Montalban, Rizal, this five-hectare property is the home of abandoned elderly and a few orphans. A second mercy ministry is the LIGHT OF JESUS Counseling Center, which offers telephone counseling, face-to-face counseling, and training seminars. Who we are trying to reach It is true that because we used English in our larger gatherings for many years, we have attracted mostly the urban professionals. But we will continue to include more of the use of the Filipino language into our main assemblies—so that we can reach a wider audience.
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