Brua, Christine Glenn Mercader 

Christine Glenn Mercader Brua is an International Global Mission Fellow with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, engaged in a two-year term of service.  

The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world. 

Christine is a member of First United Methodist Church in Obrero, Davao City, Philippines. The church is related to the East Mindanao Philippines Annual Conference. She teaches children’s Sunday school and serves on the technical team.  

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences from Assumption College of Davao.  

“My sisters and I have been involved in church activities since we were children,” Christine said. “My parents always wanted us to participate in children’s time, a part of every Sunday service where we recited our memory verses and sang along with other children. I also attended a Sunday school for children. I will never forget that the children’s activities were the first step in honing my spiritual growth and faith as a child.  

“I became more active and involved in activities that I knew would help me learn more about God and deepen my relationship with him as I grew older,” she added. “I also participated in children’s and youth camps, and I volunteered to do mission work in communities around me and in remote areas. Seeing people’s plight motivates me to do more volunteer work.”  

Participating in church, school and work activities helped Christine encounter and deepen her faith in God. “It also assisted me in experiencing and responding to God’s plan for me,” she said. “As a result, I was able to deal with life’s ups and downs, as well as any other difficult circumstances, by standing firm and bouncing back, and making them testimonies that I could share.” 

Christine treasures the Global Missions Fellows opportunity. “I want God to use me once more to educate people and to carry out this mission of sharing and spreading the good news,” she said. “I want God to use me and direct my actions in accordance with his plan.”  

Participating in peace talks and forums taught her that peace is a prerequisite for development. As a Global Mission Fellow, she said “I hope to be a part of a community that promotes peace and to be exposed to professionals in order to further my skills and knowledge, which I hope to one day share in my home country.”