User:Theoldpath

Members Church of God International

Members Church of God International (more popularly known in the Philippines as “The Old Path”) is one of the largest Christian religion in this 7,100-island nation today. In its general declaration and doctrines, it said it believe that the Almighty God is the Creator of the universe, and his begotten son, Jesus Christ, is a true and mighty God and the only savior of mankind and the only way to the Kingdom of God in heaven.

The Church, through its controversial radio-television program “Ang Dating Daan,” is critical of the unbiblical doctrines of various religions in the country, especially the Iglesia ni Cristo founded by Felix Manalo which believe in the absolute oneness of God and dismiss Jesus Christ’s real nature as God.

Compared with other religions, the Church believe it was a partaker of the promise of eternal life as a gentile nation through belief in Jesus Christ and the Gospel; it also believe as a gentile nation it is not authorized by God to establish its own church and is a mere member associated with the same body or Church written in the Gospel by accepting and executing the doctrines written by the Apostles.

The Church trace its root from the Church of God in Christ Jesus, pillar and ground of the truth under the leadership of late Nicolas Antiporda Perez or Ka Perez. When Ka Perez died in 1975, Brother Eliseo Fernando Soriano, who was then only less than 25 years old, was appointed as the Church Presiding Minister.

Some of the beliefs of the Members Church of God are that: God is calling His people, bringing them in His fold, teaching them righteousness after baptism for their sins to be covered by the priceless blood of Christ, for the redemption of sin, to make them qualify for life eternal in heaven (I Co. 1: 9,2; Eph. 4:1,10,14; Acts 2:38; Phil. 1:27; I Pet. 1:15-16; Eph. 2:10; I The. 1:1); All Christian believers should always attend the divine service executed by the administrator of the members of the church or of the congregation every first day of the week, wherein they should sing hymns, hear sermons, offer prayers and alms which is always voluntary according to his faith (Heb. 10:25; Acts 20:7; I Co. 14:28: Acts 1:14; I Co. 16:3; II Co. 9:7-8, 12-13); and only the church can teach the wisdom of God for the salvation of mankind (Luke 8:1-3; Eph. 3:10; II Tim 3:14-17), among others.

Among the Philippines’ well-established religions today, the Church prides its evangelization efforts that include radio, television and the World Wide Web with its three official websites: www.angdatingdaan.org, www.angdatingdaan.tv and www.kaanib.net.

Today, the Members Church of God International, although not keeping a formal count of members, is estimated to be more than 500,000 and have grown to more than 500 local churches nationwide and around 50 international local churches in North America, Europe, South Africa, Asia and Australia.

In the near future, the Church will be heard in North America and Canada through The Old Path (TOP) Channel, after sealing formal agreement with GlobeCast this year to provide satellite and direct-to-home (DTH) services.