CENTRAL PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITY

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Centralian joins Asian Campus Ministers at AACM 2026 in Thailand

by | May 15, 2026 | The Centralian Link | 0 comments

By Karren Jay G. Asgar


Pastor Fabila (2nd from left), together with fellow attendees during the Asian Academy for Campus Ministry (AACM) 2026 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Pastor Neva Grace Fabila, Associate Pastor for Campus Ministry of the University Church, joined campus ministers from across Asia in the Asian Academy for Campus Ministry (AACM) 2026, an ongoing program of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia held at Payap University in Chiang Mai from May 3-10, 2026.

The 2026 program, themed “Mental Health, Spiritual Development, and Ministry as Calling,” emphasized experiential learning, collaboration, and innovative practices in campus ministry. Its objectives included enhancing understanding of spirituality and mental health, empowering ministry as a calling, fostering collaboration and networking, promoting personal and community growth, and driving institutional change.

“The experience was meaningful in encountering different ways of doing campus ministry. In some institutions, they have multifaith engagement due to a diversity of cultural, religious, and political backgrounds within their campus,” Pastor Fabila shared in an online interview.

The week-long gathering brought together 25 campus ministers, five facilitators and panelists who are AACM alumni, and five resource speakers who discussed ministry as a calling, multi-faith strategies for campus ministry, spiritual hunger affecting mental health, and the use of drama therapy in addressing such concerns.

“From what I have learned in AACM 2026, it is my desire to do campus ministry more as a collaborative work among relevant university units, in order for campus ministers to have a wider reach among students, faculty, and staff,” she added.

Through the program, participants gained new perspectives and approaches in campus ministry, including the integration of spiritual programs in collaboration with Guidance Services Centers through the implementation of CMO No. 05, s. 2026, aimed at strengthening and expanding campus ministry programs in universities. AACM 2026 also aimed to empower campus ministers to drive transformation in responding to student and institutional needs through learning, reflection, and action, fostering a borderless culture of care across Asia.

Pastor Fabila’s participation in AACM 2026 reflects the University’s continuing commitment to holistic campus ministry and student spiritual formation.