Buhangin, Davao City — A three-day training for Administrative Assistants across the Southeastern Philippine Union Mission (SePUM) was held at Panorama Summit Hotel, Buhangin, Davao City. The program aimed to strengthen effective service in church operations, particularly in records management at the local mission and church levels.
Administrative Assistants from Davao Mission, Northern Davao Mission, Southeastern Caraga Mission, South Central Mindanao Mission, and Southern Mindanao Mission, together with their Executive Secretaries, participated in the training led by SePUM Executive Secretary, Pastor Edwin Magdadaro. Through careful guidance and leadership, the sessions became fruitful and productive, equipping participants with deeper knowledge and skills in administration.
Serving as resource speaker was Ma’am Necy Tabelisma, Assistant Secretary of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD). She is in charge of records and oversees the Archives and Record Center and the Adventist Church Management Center for the 11-country jurisdiction of SSD.
She provided practical instruction on vital concerns on committee work and efficiency, preparing meeting minutes and agendas, e-voting, the importance of statistical reports, records preparation and financial audit, policy review on travel guidelines, membership audit in ACMS, and the review of the short travel insurance policy by Ma’am Anily Mae Catolico. Most of all, emphasis was placed on strengthening workplace harmony for mission, which will lead to a season of grace and growth.
Secretarial work in the church is more than clerical—it is a ministry of detail, order, and remembrance. The Scriptures themselves testify to the importance of names and records. In Nehemiah 7, the careful listing of families and individuals returning from exile shows that God values each name and each detail in His work. Revelation 20:12 speaks of the “books” opened in heaven, where every deed is recorded, reminding us that faithful record keeping mirrors the divine order.
Ellen G. White also emphasized the sacredness of this work: "The work is of such importance that the angels look down upon it with an intense interest, and walk through the rooms of the institution. They watch every worker and the work that comes forth from his hands, and the report is brought back to heaven of the manner in which it is performed and of the spirit in which it is done." Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, she further counseled that “Order is heaven’s first law” (Christian Education, p. 112), underscoring that the ministry of secretaries is a reflection of heaven’s own system of accountability and order.
In his commitment message, Pastor Magdadaro reminded participants: “Our work is not merely clerical, but a ministry of order, communication, and trust.” His words underscored the sacred responsibility of administrative service in supporting the mission of the church. The Spirit of Prophecy speaks: "Every enterprise connected with His cause should be carried forward with order, forethought, and earnest prayer."— Review and Herald, March 18, 1884.
Again, the Spirit-filled American writer reminded: "It is essential to labor with order, following an organized plan and a definite object. No one can properly instruct another unless he sees to it that the work to be done shall be taken hold of systematically and in order, so that it may be done at the proper time.” Evangelism 94.
As Colossians 3:23 declares: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” The training not only enhanced technical skills but also reaffirmed the spiritual calling behind administrative work. Faithful records, carefully kept, become instruments of mission, ensuring that the church’s witness remains clear, trustworthy, enduring and keeping in us the inspiration while we work “grounded in the Bible, focused on the mission.”
Photo Credits: Sam Anthony Bago, SePUM Media
