The official name of this group is the Members Church of God International.  It is also often referred to as Ang Dating Daan (ADD), which translates as “The Old Path,” the name of its international TV broadcast.  Members are sometimes called ADD after the broadcast name.

 The MCGI developed out of an indigenous Filipino cult known as the Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Suhay ng Katotohanan (Church of God in Christ Jesus, Pillar and Support of the Truth) which was started in 1928 by Nicolas Antiporda Perez.  Perez’s church was, in turn, an offshoot of Felix Manalo’s Iglesia Ni Cristo.  Perez led his church as the first Presiding Minister until his death in 1975.  Eliseo Soriano, an ordained minister in the Perez’s church, left the group in 1976 to start his own organization—which he asserted was the true church of God.  Soriano reformed the church in 1980 as the Mga Kaanib Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus Haligi at Saligan ng Katotohanan sa Bansang Pilipinas (Members Church of God in Christ Jesus the Pillar and Ground of the Truth in the Philippines).  Under Perez the church had consisted of a single local congregation of about 100 members.  Under the leadership of Soriano, this new church has grown into an international organization.  The church has over 5000 local congregations in the Philippines, and can be found in about 100 other countries.  Some estimate that there may be as many as one million members worldwide.  The name of the group was officially changed to the Members Church of God International (MCGI) in 2004. Continue reading →