A CYCLICAL, GLOCAL DIASPORA CONGREGATION:A CASE STUDY OF THE FIRST FILIPINO ALLIANCE CHURCH FROM 1984-2007

Abstract

There are two terms used in this brief story to describe the history and development of First Filipino Alliance Church (FFAC) in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) – “cyclical” and “glocal.” A “cyclical” congregation[1] starts small but over the years becomes larger (not necessarily in numbers but in ministries).  It is like the making of a “snowman.”  A snowman starts out as a fist-size snowball.  The small snowball is rolled to gain more snow and becomes larger in size.  As the ball rolls, it picks up more snow and eventually takes on the shape of a snowman.  Christ started his Church with a few disciples in Jerusalem.  It later became a regional (Asia Minor) and ultimately became a global movement.  The Church that Christ founded is cyclical. A “glocal” congregation[2] is a local church that is thinking and acting locally and globally.  The word “glocal” was originally coined to express a new interweaving of the global and local.[3]  In the article, “The Glocal Church:  Locality and Catholicity in a Globalizing World,” Charles Van Engen of Fuller Seminary proposed that the church of Jesus Christ needs to become self-conscious of what is in fact already is: “a glocal church”.[4]  The Church must be “active simultaneously in global and local mission.”[5]