Keeping the faith ablaze: INC marches on its 100th year
Iglesia Ni Cristo marches on to its Centennial
COMMEMORATING ITS ANNIVERSARY this month, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) not only recounts two historic beginnings—its emergence in the Philippines 99 years ago and the start of its international mission 45 years ago—it also looks ahead to another imminent milestone in its history: the INC’s Centennial Celebration one year from now.
99 years ago
Brother Felix Y. Manalo, the man whom INC members recognize as the Messenger of God in these last days, set out to perform his divine mission on a fateful day 99 years ago. He turned over his small business (a hat shop and a barber shop) to his friend in Pasay City, south of Manila, where he was residing. From there, Brother Felix Manalo and his wife, Sister Honorata, went to Punta, Sta. Ana, Manila, on the other side of the Pasig River. It was in Punta that he first preached the true Church of Christ to a small group of interested listeners, some of whom were old acquaintances in one of his former religions. The first fruits of those nightly evangelistic meetings, who were baptized in the river at Sta. Ana, constituted the INC’s first local congregation.
A few months later, Brother Felix started preaching the message to his townsfolk in his birthplace in Tipas, Taguig, Rizal, eventually establishing another congregation. Within a year, Brother Felix was already shepherding five congregations: Punta, Sta. Ana; Tipas, Taguig; Pulo and Buting in Pasig; and Pateros. Today, each of these congregations has thousands of members meeting regularly to worship God in their respective houses of worship, which have an average seating capacity of 1,000—truly a long way from those early days of the INC.
The pioneering phase of Brother Felix Manalo’s mission faced many difficulties and challenges. With nary a co-worker to share the task of ministering to the spiritual needs of the newly established congregations, he single-handedly administered the Church, organizing each congregation into a cohesive unit, training Church officers, preaching at the worship services of the brethren, establishing new congregations, engaging detractors in public debates to protect the brethren’s faith, and counseling and edifying Church members. The sheer immensity of the task would have daunted a less determined soul.
But nothing could detract from Brother Felix Manalo’s determination to fulfill the task he firmly believed was entrusted to him by God. He was confident that in carrying out this task, God would always be with him. With faith ablaze, he held on to God’s promise, written in biblical prophecy: “You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will
help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand’” (Isa. 41:9-10,
New King James Version).
For almost half a century, Brother Felix Manalo led the INC through many hindrances, trials, and persecutions. When he passed away on April 12, 1963, the Iglesia Ni Cristo was firmly established throughout the breadth and length of the Philippine archipelago. To the faithful, this clearly means that God fulfilled His promise to His Messenger in these last days. He did not let him down; rather, He blessed his labors with success. It was through Brother Felix Manalo’s preaching function that God’s prophecy concerning His calling of His sons and daughters from the Far East was fulfilled. The prophecy states in part: “From the far east will I bring your offspring...” (Isa. 43:5, Moffatt
Translation).
45 years ago
Five years after Brother Felix Manalo’s demise, the fulfillment began to unfold of the second part of the biblical prophecy, which states: “.. and from the far west I will gather you” (Isa. 43:5, Ibid.). Under the leadership of Brother Eraño G. Manalo, who succeeded Brother Felix Manalo as the Executive Minister, the evangelistic mission of the Iglesia Ni Cristo crossed the Pacific Ocean and gained initial footholds in two of the states of the USA that are in the Far West—Hawaii and California.
In 1968, a small contingent of brethren who had immigrated to Hawaii made a visit to the Church’s Central Office, then housed at the second floor of the FGR Building in Makati, Metro Manila. Because of their earnest desire to remain parts of the body of Christ, maintain their unity and fellowship with the Church Administration, and continue to render worship services to God, they requested Brother Eraño Manalo that a local congregation of the INC be established in Hawaii.
Moved not only by the great spiritual need of the brethren in America but also by the spirit of prophecy, Brother Eraño Manalo, accompanied by a few ministers, went a few months later to Hawaii. They gathered the brethren in a small house at Ewa, Honolulu, and there Brother Eraño led the very first worship service of the Iglesia Ni Cristo in the Far West.
From Hawaii, Brother Eraño went directly to San Francisco, California. He also gathered the brethren there. In the garage of the residence of a brother who later served as a head deacon, he led the first worship service in the US mainland. His itinerary also included trips to Los Angeles and New York, where he found more families of INC members and prayed for them.
Since those years of the Church’s overseas mission, the INC’s rapid expansion to different parts of the world and its establishment of numerous places of worship have been nothing short