Felix Manalo, born on May 10, 1886, in Taguig, Philippines, was baptized a Roman Catholic. In his teenage years, Manalo became dissatisfied with Roman Catholic theology. According to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the establishment of the Philippine Independent Church or the Aglipayan Church was his major turning point but Manalo remained uninterested since its doctrines were mainly Catholic. In 1904, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, entered the Methodist seminary, and became a pastor for a while.[22] He also seeks through various denominations, including the Presbyterian Church, Christian Mission, and finally Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1911. Manalo left the Adventist church in 1913, and associated himself with atheist and agnostic peers. On November 1913, Manalo secluded himself with religious literature and unused notebooks in a friend's house in Pasay, instructing everyone in the house not to disturb him. He emerged from seclusion three days later with his new-found doctrines.with his wife, went to Punta, Santa Ana, Manila on November 1913, and started preaching. He left the congregation in the care of his first ordained minister, and returned to Taguig to evangelize. In Taguig he was ridiculed and stoned in his meetings with locals. He was later able to baptize a few converts, including some of his persecutors. He later registered his new-found religion as the Iglesia ni Cristo (English: Church of Christ; Spanish: Iglesia de Cristo) on July 27, 1914 one day before the start of World War 1 at the Bureau of Commerce as a corporation sole with himself as the first executive minister.
Expansion followed as INC started building congregations in the provinces in 1916.
By 1924 the INC had about 3,000 to 5,000 adherents in 43 or 45 congregations in Manila and six nearby provinces.[23] By 1936 the INC had 85,000 members. This figure grew to 200,000 by 1954.[25] A Cebu congregation was built in 1937—the first to be established outside of Luzon, and the first in the Visayas. The first mission to Mindanao was commissioned in 1946. Meanwhile, its first concrete chapel was built in Sampaloc, Manila in 1948.[23][28] Adherents fleeing for the provinces away from Manila, where the Japanese forces were concentrated during the World War II, were used for evangelization.[23] As Manalo's health began to fail in the 1950s, Eraño Manalo started to take leadership of the church. Felix Manalo died on April 12, 1963. Within the span of 49 years of Felix Manalo's administration, the Iglesia ni Cristo had 1,250 local chapels, and 35 large concrete cathedrals. Felix Y. Manalo was a recognized and highly respected religious leader of the Philippines.
KZAS, the station began its broadcast on June 4, 1948. KZAS eventually came to be known as 702 (read "Seven-O-Two") DZAS. For six decades now, 702 DZAS has been providing the Filipino household with news, music, information, and inspiration while sharing the Word of God. It is now one of the oldest radio stations still operating today.
The first overseas INC mission was sent in 1968 on its 54th anniversary. On July 27, 1968, Executive Minister Eraño G. Manalo, officiated at the first worship service of the church outside the Philippines. This gathering held in Ewa Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii marked the establishment of the Honolulu congregation, the first overseas mission of the church. The following month, the Executive Minister was in California to establish the San Francisco congregation and lead its inaugural worship service. In 1971, the church set foot in Canada. In June 1987, the US Main Office (USMO) was set up in Daly City, California to assist the INC central administration in supervising the then 11 districts of the church in the West. The first local congregation in Latin America was established in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1990. The following year, the church reached Mexico and Aruba. From 2000 and beyond, congregations rose in the Central and South American countries. The first local congregation in Europe was established in England in 1972. The church came to Germany and Switzerland in the mid-70s. By the end of the 1980s, congregations and missions could be found in the Scandinavian countries and their neighbors. The Rome, Italy congregation was established on July 27, 1994; the Jerusalem, Israel congregation in March 1996; and the Athens, Greece congregation in May 1997. The predecessors (prayer groups) of these full-fledged congregations began two decades earlier. Meanwhile, the mission first reached Spain in 1979. The first mission in northern Africa opened in Nigeria in October 1978. After a month, the King William’s Town congregation, in South Africa was established. A congregation was organized in Guam in 1969. In Australia, congregations have been established since mid-1970s. The church first reached China by way of Hong Kong, and Japan through Tokyo also in the 1970s. Missions have also opened in Kazakhstan and Sakhalin Island in Russia. In Southeast Asia, the first congregation in Thailand was established in 1976 and missions have already been conducted in Brunei since 1979. In addition, there are also congregations in Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.
In 1965, INC launched its first resettlement and land reform program in Barrio Maligaya, Laur, Nueva Ecija. The INC started operating a radio station in 1969.[25] While its first television program aired in 1983. The Ministerial Institute of Development, currently the New Era University College of Evangelical Ministry, was founded in 1974 in Quiapo, Manila. It moved to its current location in Quezon City in 1978. As of 1995, it had 4,500 students and five extension schools in Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga and Rizal. In 1971, the INC Central Office building was built in Quezon City. Thirteen years later, the 7,000-seater Central Temple was added in the complex. The Tabernacle, a tent-like multipurpose building which can accommodate up to 4,000 persons, was finished in 1989. The complex also includes the New Era University, a higher-education institution run by the INC.
DZEM began its broadcast in February 10, 1969, and proven to be very effective in the propagation of their professed faith. Its primary objective is to give praise and glory to the Almighty God, and continues to serve the general public through its 20 hours of religious and secular programs aired Mondays through Sundays. DZEM is also known as the most widely traveled radio station in Metro Manila as it began broadcasting in Barrio Ugong del Monte, Quezon City on 1520 Kc (Kilocycles, now Kilohertz) with a power of 10,000 watts. On June 3, 1971, it moved to the basement of the Iglesia Ni Cristo Central Office in Diliman, Quezon City. Shortly afterwards, it acquired a new frequency, 1460 Kc. On May 10, 1975, DZEM once again moved at the third floor of the Iglesia ni Cristo Development Center Building at Carlos Palanca St., Quiapo, Manila. After a month, it also altered its frequency to 1360 kHz. Then on November 1978, as a result of band adjustments, DZEM had again changed its frequency to 1422 kHz. on May 9, 1985 found a new home – the third floor of Maligaya Building 2 at 887 EDSA, Quezon City. It acquired the frequency of 954 kHz on April 27, 1987. By 2013, the station is transferred from Maligaya Building 2 in EDSA, to its new home in Barn Studio Building, New Era University Campus, #9 Central Avenue, New Era, Quezon City.
On April 11, 1969, DWRV Radyo Veritas was inaugurated with Asian bishops as guests. Antonio Cardinal Samore represented Pope Paul VI. The station was owned and operated by the Philippine Radio Educational and Information Center, Inc. (PREICI).
On, November 29, 1970, Pope Paul VI, on his pastoral visit to the country, blessed Radio Veritas' studios with President Ferdinand E. Marcos in attendance.
In 1973, Eddie Villanueva (also known as Bro. Eddie or Bishop Eddie), then an Economics and Finance professor in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, began preaching the Gospel to his students and colleagues. Later, in November, after the declaration of Martial Law by then-President Ferdinand Marcos, and the takeover of Radio Veritas by his crony, Roberto Benedicto, DZRV-AM reopened as DZNN-AM, and became part of the Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation.
The Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry (acronym as JMCIM) is an Apostolic Pentecostal religious group from the Philippines which believes particularly in the promotion of miracles and faith in God for healing. JMCIM is founded by Evangelist Wilde E. Almeda in February 14, 1975.
In April 1978, 846 kHz became an owned-and-operated station of the commercial-owned Nation Broadcasting Corporation. The call letters were reverted to the original DZRV-AM.
On October 5, 1978, Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva invited his listeners for a Thanksgiving Holy Mass and Worship and Healing Prayer Rally that was held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Santa Mesa Campus on the Thursday nearest his birthday, Friday, October 6. About one thousand people attended the affair and experienced the miracle-working power of God!
Encouraged by the success of the rally, Bro. Eddie scheduled a monthly Roman Rite Holy Mass and Worship and Healing Prayer Rally at the DWRV Compound in Quezon City. Some time later, as more people came to be led back to the Lord Jesus Christ, the rally was held weekly. A monthly Catholic Life-in-the-Spirit Seminar (CLSS) and a weekly fellowship were also held at the 22nd Floor, Strata 2000 Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Avenue, Ortigas Center in Pasig City.
After a while, Bro. Eddie decided to air his program three times a week and began thinking of a new title and theme song for it. At this time, a friend gave him a magazine entitled “Jesus is Lord,” which quickly aroused his interest.
He made a study of the meaning of the term and discovered that it was one of the seven Covenant Names, by which God the Father revealed Himself to Israel.
Jesus is Lord, the motto of the World Council of Churches. The most popular and briefest was "Jesus is Lord" found in 1 Corinthians 12:3; Romans 10:9 and probably in the baptisms referred to in Acts 8:16; 19:5 and 1 Cor 6:11 since their being described as "in the name of the Lord Jesus" certainly seems to imply that "the formula 'Jesus is Lord' had a place in the rite". The phrase might be extended as "Jesus Christ is Lord" as in Philippians 2:11. Shortly, he heard the song "Jesus is Lord" over Radio DWRV 860 itself:
"Jesus
is Lord" by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
Jesus
is Lord
The cry that echoes through creation
Resplendent pow'r eternal Word our Rock
The Son of God
The King whose glory fills the heavens
Yet bids us come to taste this living bread
Jesus is Lord
Whose voice sustains the stars and planets
Yet in His wisdom laid aside His crown
Jesus the man who washed our feet
Who bore our suffering
Became a curse to bring salvation's plan
Jesus
is Lord
The tomb is gloriously empty
Not even death could crush this King of love
The price is paid the chains are loosed
And we're forgiven
And we can run into the arms of God
Jesus
is Lord,a shout of joy a cry of anguish
As He returns and every knee bows low then every eye and every heart will see
His glory the judge of all will take His children home.
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the weekly fellowship came to be called the DWRV Prayer Partners Jesus the Healer, since Radio DWRV was the broadcast medium, he and his first listeners became prayer-partners, and Jesus is Lord was the Divine Name revealed to him by God. Every week, God added thousands of new prayer-partners to this community by means of the Good News aired over the radio DWRV and the Mass and Healing Rallies held all over Metro Manila and nearby provinces. As the community grew, they voluntarily gave their tithes and miracle-seed-of-faith offerings to support the radio program "Jesus the Healer" and the Roman Rite Holy Mass and Worship and Healing Prayer Rallies. Some prayer-partners even volunteered to serve without compensation.
Inspired by the outcome of events, Bro. Eddie thought it was time to formally organize the community. Thus, the Jesus is Lord Fellowship, Inc. was established, which in due time was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was organized, primarily, as an institution where Bro. Eddie could channel his tithes and donations derived from his real estate business and other companies to support the religious activities of various Catholic charismatic groups and some projects of charitable organizations. These however were not enough to support the expenses of the newly-founded Roman Catholic charismatic community, especially the radio programs of DWRV Radio Veritas and the Roman Rite Holy Mass and Worship and Healing Prayer Rallies. And so, he had to continue shelling out funds from his own personal earnings. For him, though, it was a great enough blessing from Jesus is Lord that his radio listeners came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and was receiving answers to their prayer-requests.
From 1986 to present, other chapters were formed in Abkhazia, Afghanistan, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Åland Islands, Anguilla, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bonaire, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos Islands, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Egypt, Estonia, Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, Finland, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Gibraltar, Greenland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guernsey, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Madeira, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Maldives, Martinique, Marshall Islands, Mayotte, Mauritania, Mauritius, Melilla, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Nauru, Navassa Island, Nepal, Netherlands, North Korea, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Cyprus, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Nueva Esparta, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Réunion, Russia, Rwanda, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Andrés and Providencia, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Somaliland, South Korea, South Ossetia, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Transnistria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These were formed by Filipino and foreign prayer-partners working abroad, who were motivated by the desire to bear witness to the love and goodness of Jesus Christ our Lord. With the emergence of the chapters abroad, the corporate name registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission was amended to “Jesus is Lord Church Worldwide, Incorporated”.
Later in 1993, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) realized that the growth of the Foundation, particularly since it was affecting Catholics, could not be taken for granted any longer. Most Rev. Teodoro C. Bacani Jr., DD, then-Auxiliary Bishop of Manila and Overall Spiritual Director of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement (CCRM) in the Archdiocese of Manila, invited Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry spiritual director Pastor Wilde Almeda, El Shaddai DWXI Prayer Partners Foundation International Founder and Servant-Leader Bro. Mike Z. Velarde and Jesus is Lord Church Worldwide founder and spiritual director Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva to the CBCP Conference on January 24, 1993, to shed light on what was going on in the Foundation. On that occasion, Bishop Bacani was beside Pastor Wilde, Bro. Mike and Bro. Eddie, not to defend him, but to bear witness to what God was doing through the Foundation. The result of the meeting was satisfactory because most of the questions asked were clearly and humbly answered by Bro. Eddie.
On October 13 to 14, 1979, during its First Anniversary Celebration of Jesus is Lord Fellowship at the DWRV Compound in Pasig City one year after the founding of Jesus is Lord Fellowship on October 5, 1978, about five thousand people witnessed and experienced the miracle touch of Jesus is Lord.
Some eight thousand people gathered together on the Second Anniversary Celebration of the Jesus is Lord Fellowship at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on October 12, 1980. Even the seemingly indifferent PICC staffs were surprised because the affair lasted one whole day and it was the first time that it’s Reception and Plenary Halls were filled to capacity.
The Third Anniversary Celebration of the Jesus is Lord Fellowship was celebrated with an Overnight Roman Rite Holy Mass and Worship and Healing Prayer Rally at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Vito Cruz, Manila, from October 17 to 18, 1981. It rained heavily throughout the affair, but the estimated two hundred thousand attendees stayed until it ended in the morning.
On August 21 to 31, 1983, Radyo Veritas became a byword with its coverage of events related with the assassination of former Philippine Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.
On February 22–25, 1986, Radyo Veritas kept local and overseas audiences informed of events related to the People Power Revolution, after Archbishop of Manila Jaime Cardinal Sin called on the Filipinos to support Defence Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Philippine Constabulary Chief Lt. General Fidel V. Ramos who had defected from the Marcos government. The three-day bloodless revolution eventually removed Marcos from power and installed Corazon Aquino as the eleventh President.
On June 1988, DZRV-AM reopened under Radio Veritas, its original owner.
As early as 9:00 a.m. of October 8, 1989, members and followers of the Jesus is Lord Fellowship began trooping to the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Vito Cruz, Manila to participate in its Eleventh Anniversary. By midnight of Monday, October 9, 1989, the entire stadium was jammed with over half a million people from all over the Philippines to take part in an overnight activity of praise and worship dedicated to Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior. Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani, together with some Roman Catholic priests from the different parishes in the Archdiocese of Manila, Lipa, Cebu and Davao, led the Holy Mass.
From October 13 to 14, 1990, the Twelfth Anniversary of the Jesus is Lord Fellowship was held at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila. In attendance were thousands of its members and followers, who experienced the wonderful works of the Holy Spirit as they praised and worshipped to Jesus and listened to His Word despite a storm which flooded some parts of the venue with knee-deep water.
On May 17, 1991, Radyo Veritas begun its commercial operations as DZNN
The scenario of the Thirteenth Anniversary of the Jesus is Lord Fellowship held at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila, from October 12 to 13, 1991, was identical to that of its 12th Anniversary. Nevertheless, the almost half a million attendees braved the monsoon rains and knee-deep flood to give thanks, praise and worship to God.
On the occasion of the Fourteenth Anniversary Celebration of the Jesus is Lord Church Worldwide held at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila, from October 17 to 18, 1992, more than one-and-a-half million prayer-partners attended the affair. His Excellency, President Fidel V. Ramos, gave his greetings to the congregation.
For the first time in the history of Rizal Park and the whole of Metro Manila for that matter, about three million people joined the Fifteenth Anniversary Celebration of the Jesus is Lord Church Worldwide at the national park from October 8 to 9, 1994. The participants crowded the 61-hectare national park and adjacent areas-Roxas Boulevard, Taft Avenue, UN Avenue, T.M. Kalaw St., Port Area, and Jones Bridge. Some of them came to the venue as early as three days before the event. They came not only from Metro Manila, but also from Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, the Ilocos Region, Quezon, the Bicol Region, Sorsogon, Leyte, and other distant provinces. Also present were members from different overseas chapters of the Foundation.
His Excellency, President Fidel V. Ramos was the guest of honor during the Eighteenth Anniversary of the Foundation at the Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park, Manila on October 13, 1996. In line with the anniversary theme, which is unity, leaders from the different charismatic groups and religious groups were invited to speak in a CLSS. During the Thanksgiving Mass officiated by Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, a mass wedding took place, in which 5000 couples who had been living together as common-law spouses finally tied the knot.
Two days after the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 75 Men’s Basketball Tournament Finals between the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles versus University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers at Smart Araneta Coliseum on October 11, 2012, at least nine million participants participated in the 34th Anniversary Celebration of Jesus is Lord Church Worldwide, with no less than the President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III as guest-of-honor in the celebration, traversing a crowd from the 61-hectare Rizal Park to Port Area to the Quiapo church in a celebration that lasted twenty-four hours from 7:00 a.m. of Sunday, October 14, 2012 to 8:00 a.m. of Monday, October 15, 2012.
