Nazarene Disaster Response, in coordination with the Philippine Field Office, hosted a six-day Basic Search and Rescue Training Camp at Philippine Nazarene College. NDR partnered with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Office of Civil Defense (AFP-OCD).

More than 30 Nazarenes from different churches and Nazarene colleges across the Philippines completed the training. Trainers from AFP-OCD conducted the following courses: Basic Life Support, Incident Command System, Ropemanship and Rope Rescue, and Basic Communication and Signal Corp.

The participants are the first group of Nazarenes to be trained in Basic Search and Rescue and are now a Rescue Team Unit. Their group is called “Team Genesis.” They will be mobilized to help and work alongside local churches in responding to disasters. Team Genesis is also commissioned to conduct the same basic training to their churches, districts, and Nazarene institutions in the Philippines.

The training not only discussed physical and mental preparedness, but also touched the spirits of both the trainers and participants. For three consecutive evenings, Pastor Roger Macabuhay led the group in a workshop titled Biblical and Theological Reflections of Rescue and Disaster Through the Eyes of Compassion. On the last night, Philippine Field NDR Coordinator Jackson Natividad led the group in vision casting and strategic planning.

Team Genesis will continue to undergo training this year. Topics include Water Search and Rescue, Collapsed Building (Earthquake Rescue), Fire Rescue, and Psycho-Spiritual Trauma Debriefing and Counseling.

This is the first time the Church of the Nazarene has pursued national certification and accreditation with the AFP-OCD on search and rescue. It is also the first time in the history of AFP-OCD that an Evangelical denomination partnered with them for the training of its congregation.