SI 2024 Concept Paper
SI 2024 Concept Paper
SI 2024 Concept Paper
This is a conceptual framework designed by the National Executive Committee of the UMYFP
for the youth to have common and shared objectives for Summer Institute 2024.
Summer Institute has been one of the leading programs of the United Methodist Youth
Fellowship in the Philippines. It provides an avenue for the youth to have a fellowship as they
continue to be rooted in their Christian faith to grow and flourish. It becomes an arm and vessel
of the youth to provide activities for the youth as agents of justice, peace, hope, and love as
they continue and be productive in their faith journey. It seeks to nurture principled and equipped
Christians to participate in the church's mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the
transformation of the world.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
At the end of Summer Institute, the delegates are expected and encouraged to:
1. understand and reflect in the paglaum that comes from God;
2. put their hope in God especially in the future to come and continue to take hold of hope;
3. affirm their testimonies of hope and faith that moves them towards being ministers of
faith, hope, love, and justice; and in making Christ continually known through their hope
for the transformation of the world.
THEME: PAGLAUM
Theme Verse: Hebrews 10:23
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
The theme “paglaum” is a Visayan word which means “pag-asa” in Tagalog and “hope” in
English. It is a feeling of trust and a faith directed in the future. It is linked with "putting
confidence in" or "taking refuge in". Moreover, it’s looking with expectation and desire for a
certain thing to happen. It implies an essence of optimism and eventually brought confidence
and inspirations.
In the Bible, hope means to trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to
expect something beneficial in the future. Hope in the Bible is more than just a wishful desire; it
is a confident expectation rooted in God's character and promises. It sustains believers through
life's challenges, points them towards the future fulfillment of God's purposes, and finds its
ultimate expression in Jesus Christ. It is deeply intertwined with faith and is often depicted as an
essential component of a believer's spiritual journey. Biblical hope not only desires something
good for the future but expects it to happen. It not only expects it to happen but it is confident
that it will surely happen. Hope is the proper response to the promises of God. Believers are
encouraged to wait for God hopefully, expectantly.
Theme Verse: Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
In this verse, we are being encouraged and reminded to wait and hold in eager expectation of
our hope. Hope comes as a gift from God through grace. There is authentic hope in God and
the Scripture engenders hope. We are to continually put our hope in God no matter what
happens and in any circumstances.. God’s children are hopeful for salvation, God’s glory,
resurrection, and eternal life. We have boldness in our faith because we have this kind of hope
in God. We put our hope in God’s steadfast love, in God’s ordinances, and in God’s Word; and
we confidently stand on it every moment of our lives. It is because Godwho promised is faithful
and hope in God does not put us to shame. The hope that we have will give us trust, patience,
boldness, confidence, and endurance; and this hope leads to joy, boldness, comfort, faith, and
love.
Trusting in Jesus Christ means putting our hope in God who became flesh and dwelt among us.
God offers and gives us hope. We can have access on that hope every moment and at times
when we are losing hope in life because God is always with us. It’s through this hope that
enables us to address our suffering, knowing that it’s increasing our endurance and ultimately
strengthening the hope that we have. It’s a hope not dependent on any circumstance but a hope
that is always present and available. Hence, our hope in God helps us to keep going. It gives us
purpose and a reason to carry on life with joy. When Jesus is our source of hope, we have a
reason to carry on. We will constantly and firmly believe that our source of hope will never
disappoint us. Instead, the hope that we have fuels us to strive and thrive more in our faith and
in the missions that God has set before us, in loving and serving our neighbors.
God is our hope and our ultimate source of hope. As we have our hope in God, we are bound to
proclaim that hope into the world and to others. Let us then continue to pursue hope so we can
be like people of faith. Let us take hold of the hope set before us and may be greatly
encouraged. With all the zeal of the past — our faith, testimonies and experiences — that
brought us today and enabled us to work and love in the name of Christ — with all that zeal, let
us keep on pursuing the full assurance of hope to the end. Hope which is confident. Hope that
has moral certainty in it. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul and body, firm, and secure
— a hope that is in Christ.
Together in our journey is a hope that will not disappoint us — it’s a hope that will constantly
remind us that God loves and cares us and is always with us every step of the way. As
Christians, we will be holding onto the hope that God has given us starting from the moment we
put our trust in God. This hope gives us confidence that whatever we may be facing in life there
is God that will always be behind us, before us, beside us and ahead of us. This is a kind of
hope that give us confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in God’s
faithfulness. Therefore, let us continue to expect great things from God and continue to put out
hope in God. Let us continue to seize the hope that we have. May our hope be evident in our
lives and that our suffering will always lead us to hope in God. May our hope continue to
stimulate us to do good works, to resist injustice, and proclaim God’s promise of shalom. May
Christ continually be known through us in our hope for the transformation of the world. May the
God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we
may abound in hope. In Christ, all shall be well.