Servant of the Good Shepherd Foundation, Inc.

all started on April 14, 1997 when a group of nine founding members of the community—Antonio Samia, Dr. Rodolfo Frez, Santiago Alvarez, Salvador Bautista, Dra. Teresita Valdemoro, Ma. Nieves Samia, Dra. Lorna Frez, Amelia Alvarez, and Ma. Auxiliadora Bautista—started to pray together every Tuesday at the Dambana Hall of the Sacred Heart Parish of Kamuning, Q.C. Upon the advice of Fr. Arlo Yap, SVD, they were led to worship the Lord together on a weekly basis, and listen and seek the Lord for direction.

The group was then invited to conduct two Life in the Spirit Seminars (LSS) for the Mt. Carmel Shrine Parish in Quezon City. Fr. Arlo Yap, SVD presided over the Baptism in the Holy Spirit during the first LSS and Fr. Steve Tynan on the second. Through Bro. Toning Samia, they were also invited to assist at a Healing Mass in Marikina and conducted another LSS for the office staff of Executive Resources, Inc., a travel agency.

By this time, the group was already joined by some friends who would attend the weekly prayer meetings in Dambana Hall every Tuesday. From Dambana Hall, they were led to transfer their venue to the Convent of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Good Shepherd in Talayan Village, QC. In this new venue, some friends residing in Talayan Village joined in the prayer assembly now done on Thursday evenings.

With all the invitations for various church services received, the group then considered these experiences as a sign that the Lord wanted the founders to be organized and conduct their own LSS and be an instrument for the upbuilding of the kingdom. The founders then decided to go on a weekend recollection with Fr. Ed Shellito, MM, guiding them in the reflection on the book of the Acts of the Apostles.

From the fruits of the recollection, they decided to choose a name for their community. Initially, seven names emerged. The group then narrowed the choice to one: Servants of the Good Shepherd (SGS).
Then came the first LSS in September 1997. The initial target was for only 25 participants, but the Lord sent more. There were 48 graduates for batch 1. Then, the leading of the Holy Spirit was to be more aggressive in evangelization through the LSS. Thus, another LSS was organized in November 1997 with 50 graduates.

Together with the nine founders, these 98 members in their first year of ministry were the workforce that initially built SGS into a community: small but with big dreams!

The vision of the Servants of the Good Shepherd Foundation, Inc. is “a community of servants, shepherding God’s people and restoring all in Christ.”

Its mission is:
1.  To live a life of holiness, nourished by prayer and conformed to Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd;
2. To be a Spirit-filled community where everyone is welcomed, affirmed, and loved;
3. To be witnesses of God’s compassion and channels of joy and peace;
4. To nurture a grateful lifestyle and be responsible stewards of creation that no one may be in want