By God’s grace, the Pastors, Administrators, and Principals’ Conference (PAPCON) 2023 was a success! This year’s PAPCON proved to be an encouragement, thanks to our speakers who shared so much of their experiences. The great spiritual insights taken from Rev. Delbert Hooge and Rev. Erich Bernard Santos, coupled with the technical wisdom from Engr. Maria Mimosa Pranza and Atty. Joseph Noel Estrada, contributed to the wealth of understanding that our school heads will benefit from. Seeing all 196 delegates, representing 105 schools, from all over the Philippines was a great joy.
Day one started off with great music provided by Mrs. Lora Hooge and Mrs. Yash Bonzo. The old-time favorite hymns being played by the organ and piano created an atmosphere of worship. It was truly a time of revival! Singing soon ensued led by our very own Field Consultant to Metro Manila, Mr. William Cordero. The opening session of PAPCON – MISSION POSSIBLE, was a great reminder of our mission vision based on position, fellowship, and responsibility as Rev. Delbert Hooge guided us through scriptures and different stories from the Bible. It was a full first session with great principles, not just in Christian Education, but also, in personal spiritual growth. The day continued with sessions on MISSION POTENTIAL: Profiling the Learning Progress of SOT®P Students During the Pandemic Season Using Standardized Test Data. We were affirmed by Engr. Pranza that there was no learning loss during the pandemic. This is a testament to the effectiveness of the A.C.E. School of Tomorrow® system even during the global health crisis. The study presented also supports the fact that technological innovation is not needed to increase the efficiency and value of the program. As the saying goes “Don’t fix something that is not broken!” Then, Rev. Erich Santos continued with his session on MISSION PROGRESSION: From Generation to Generation, an encouragement to all school heads to include succession planning in their agenda. The mission and vision of the ministry should be embraced by everyone. Day 1 ended with a planned banquet filled with music, games, interviews, and food. It was a blessing seeing everyone fellowshipping with each other. It was really a confirmation that we are back!
Day two was all about MISSION PROTECTION as Atty. Joseph Noel Estrada shared about the inner workings of policymaking in the Department of Education and what rights we can exercise as educators. We were challenged to be gracious in our dealings with the government but firm with our constitutional rights. It was an affirmation of our teachings in PATS (Pastors and Administrators’ Training Seminar) where we are reminded of being balanced in all our dealings. With this, I am reminded of a verse in Colossians 4:6 which says “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” The word SPEECH there is LOGOS in the original language which may also mean reasoning or motive. Atty. Estrada also tackled labor laws that every school head should know – from hiring to retirement. It was a very comprehensive and challenging topic for everyone. The last day of PAPCON was capped off with a reminder by Rev. Santos where he tied all the sessions together and exhorted us to continue the mission and mandate of Christian Education.
Thank you to all our participants who planned to join us in our first-ever face-to-face event after years of having it online. A big “THANK YOU” also to all of the staff involved in the success of the event. From the Executive Support Services who handled a big part of the preparation and coordination with the PRC to have our event accredited with units, and the School Services Department – Programs & Events, School Relations, and Multimedia & Promotions, for making set plans happen and ensuring all moving details functioned along with the program requirements that the ICT section of the Infrastructure Department is monitoring.
All in all, we praise God Who has favored everyone in this event. We are truly products of His grace and everything we have done and will be doing are all for His ultimate glory and our benefit! I pray that God would continue blessing our schools as they do His work in the coming months so that others see them and praise our Father in heaven.
VIEW MORE PAPCON 2023 PICTURES HERE
All glory to God alone!