Iglesia ni cristo

Church Community:Iglesia Ni Cristo

Prepared by: Elizabeth M. Naluz

The Church of Christ in Last Days

THE ACTS 20:28“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood. “

The Church of Christ in Last Days BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST

The INC began with a handful of followers on July 27, 1914 in Punta, Santa Ana, Manila; with Manalo as its head minister. Manalo propagated his message within his local area, growing the iglesia ni cristo and converting members of other religions. As membership increased, he delegated others to spread the teachings of the INC and it eventually spread throughout the Philippines and to other countries. After Felix Manalo's death in 1963, his son Erano took over duties as executive minister and Eduardo V. Manalo is the deputy executive minister.

The Church of Christ in Last Days By 1988, INC has grown to about 2,635 congregations

called locales, in which 220 of them cover sixty-seven countries outside the Philippines.

According to various sources, including the 1997 Britannica Book of the Year, INC had a worldwide population of over one million members by the early 1980s.

According the 2000 census of the Philippine National Statistics Office, 2.3 percent of the population in the Philippines are affiliated with the Iglesia ni Cristo.

CHURCH COMMUNITYMissionary Activities:INC members are instructed by their administration to invite people to Bible Studies and evangelical missions (known as Pamamahayag in Filipino), and to distribute magazines and pamphlets which are given to them by the administration. In the Philippines, radio and television programs are produced, and they are broadcast on 1062 kHz DZEC-AM radio, DZEM 954kHz, the Net 25 television station operated by Eagle Broadcasting Corporation, the broadcast division of the iglesia ni cristo and GEM TV, the sister station to NET 25, also owned by the INC and iglesia ni cristo TV broadcast on cable.



• Worldwide, the INC maintains an hour long time slot on The Filipino Channel and airs two among many of its programs including the INC Chronicles and Ang Tamang Daan.

• More recently, GEM-TV began broadcasting on DirecTV channel 2068. The official INC magazine available to INC congregations worldwide is entitled God's Message or Pasugo.

• In January 2004, the administration of the INC began to publish only one magazine both in the Philippines and abroad bearing the name God's Message. The magazine consists of letters to the editor, news from locales worldwide, religious poetry, articles relating to INC beliefs, a directory of locales outside the Philippines and would also feature a schedule of worship services until recently.


Membership and doctrinesMembership in the INC is conferred through baptism. People who wish to be baptized in the INC must first submit to a formal process taking at least six months.Once someone officially registers with their locale, the person is given the status of Doctrinal Instructee (DI), as they are called within the iglesia ni cristo, and taught the twenty-six lessons concerning fundamental doctrines of the INC.


Fundamental Beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo:1.The words of God are written only in the Bible. The Bible should be the only basis of service to God. This is the truth which will teach man salvation from punishment on Judgment Day.2.The Father who created all things is the only true God. There is no Trinity, no three persons in one God.3.The belief that all churches belong to God is false. Christ founded only one true Church - the Church of Christ (iglesia ni cristo).


4.The Church of Christ is the Church that Jesus will save (Acts 20:28 Lamsa) because he made this Church His body and heads it Himself - before God, the Church and Christ are one new man (Eph.2:15 NKJV; Col.1:18 NKJV).5.The Church built by Christ during the first century has apostatized (Acts 20:29). It was led away by false prophets which arose in the Church after the time of the Apostles (Mt.24:11 RSV), and those who remained firm in the faith were slain by ravenous wolves (Mt.7:15).6.The Church of Christ which emerged in the Philippines in these last days was established by virtue of the fulfillment of the prophecies of God (Isa.43:5 Moffatt) and of Christ (Jn.10:16;Acts 20:28 Lamsa). This is the third group (Acts 2:39) of people in the Church established by Christ. Even the spread of this Church in the Far West (Isa.43:4-6;59:19 NKJV) is a fulfillment of God's prophecy written in the Bible.

The Church of Christ in Last Days7.The Church of Christ believes that God has determined the Day of Judgment which will take place at the second coming of Christ. This is the great day when the Church of Christ will receive the reward promised by God -- the everlasting home for God's chosen people. 8.The members of the Church of Christ believe that it is God who forbids the eating of blood and prohibits marriage with those of other faiths. Elopement is an act of disrespect for parents and this is a sin in the eyes of God.9.Each member of the Church of Christ believes that constant attendance in worship services is one of his obligations. Great blessings accrue to those who constantly attend worship services while great sins are committed by those who disregard this responsibility.15.The clear distinctions of Christ from God are proofs that the true God is not Christ. Jesus possesses attributes surpassing the ordinary man, but this does not mean that he is God. God has attributes which we do not find in Christ. If Christ can do wonders such as miracles, all these are done by God, through Him as God's instrument. On his own powers alone, Christ cannot do anything. Christ Himself states, "I can of my own do nothing."


These are just some of the doctrines of Iglesia Ni Cristo. As said there are 26 doctrines which will be taught in Doctrinal Instructee (DI).

We maintain that the set of beliefs upheld by a religious organization is of vital importance in determining its genuineness and truthfulness. Certainly, any religion that preaches the doctrines of the devil could not be of God. To be of God the least one can do is uphold the doctrines of God written in the Holy Scriptures.

And here lies the uniqueness of the Iglesia ni Cristo: it upholds the pristine teachings of the Bible.


Iglesia ni cristo Central Temple in New Era, Quezon City, Philippines The INC's Central Administration is the iglesia ni cristo Central Office;(as seen in the first slide) a large, secured complex located on Commonwealth Avenue, New Era, Quezon City, Philippines.

Philippine Panorama Magazine described the complex as including: the six-story Central Office Building; the 7,000-seat Central Temple; the Tabernacle, a multi-purpose hall; the 30,000 seating-capacity Central Pavilion; the College of Evangelical Ministry; the New Era General Hospital; and the New Era University.

You don’t need religion to love your neighbor

By Ramon TulfoPhilippine Daily Inquirer

The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a local religious sect, has won for the Philippines three Guinness world records: largest dental health check for one day, the biggest number of blood pressure readings taken in eight hours and the most numerous blood glucose level tests, also within eight hours.Guinness recorded the three events during the church’s medical-dental mission in Tondo, one of Manila’s poorest sections.

That the INC would break all records in medical-dental missions is hardly surprising since it is a church that serves the welfare of its members, the majority of whom are poor.

The “love your neighbor” enjoinder is very much practiced within this religious sect.

At the New Era Hospital in Quezon City, where many of its doctors are US-trained, poor members of the INC are given medical treatment for a minimal fee, if not for free.

That’s why it’s not surprising that the entire INC membership votes as one block during elections.

IGLESIA NI CRISTO

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Iglesia ni cristo