New Wisdom, Bro. Eli’s 54th Celebration of Sabbath, Stories of Faith Highlight MCGI’s 1st Quarter Thanksgiving of God’s People

New wisdom unfolded as Members Church of God International (MCGI) celebrated the Special Thanksgiving of God’s People for the first quarter, from April 6 to 8 this year in Brazil.

The three-day celebration highlighted the offering of songs and prayers of the congregation. Delegates from the Philippines, USA-Canada, Europe-Israel-Africa, Middle East, Australia, and Latin America who traveled to Florianopolis in Brazil personally witnessed Bro. Eli Soriano’s 54th celebration of Sabbath.

Elsewhere, the congregation joined in the thanksgiving and wished for the preacher’s more years of service to God.

Hymns were sung in four languages that were flashed onscreen: Filipino, English, Spanish and Portuguese. During the delivery of the topics, the brethren in Brazil had transceivers that were connected to the interpreters who provided real-time translation.

Overflowing Biblical Wisdom Served

Three topics were extensively discussed, one for each of the three days of the thanksgiving event. The topics ranged from knowing oneself better and what constitutes the word ‘man’; the taking away of God’s kingdom from Israel and what it means to every faithful; and the circumstances that support the existence of the Church of God in these days.

From these topics, Bro. Daniel Razon, Assistant to the Overall Servant of MCGI, quoted, “Learning to control ourselves is a defense against satan.” In here, he emphasized the value of knowing oneself based on the Bible’s counsel, as controlling oneself, according to Bro. Daniel, is “an exercise in faith.”

Furthermore, Bro. Daniel pointed out that there are battles within us which must be won. Knowing ourselves, our weaknesses, and the workings of the conscience will keep us aware of God’s love and intention for our salvation, when he said that “without knowing God, we will fail and perish.”

Bro. Eli Soriano reiterated something he often quipped as advice, that “nothing will happen without the will and the permission of God.” This time, he referred to the appearance and existence of the Church of God in the last days as a manifestation of God’s will and desire written in the Bible.

Bro. Eli and His 54 Years of Service

One of the features of the thanksgiving this quarter was the offering of Bro. Eli Soriano, joined by his household and the Helpers of the Ministry, to mark his 54th year in the Church of God.

Since he celebrated his 50th year in 2014, Bro. Eli had not paused on any Bible Exposition within and in the outskirts of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The international televangelist travels for miles, along with his production crew, to host Bible Expositions attended by Latinos who were seeking to consult their questions about the Scriptures.

In Brazil, Bible Expositions would stretch for hours, with Bro Eli answering people’s questions and doubts about the Bible. The preacher’s schedule includes Bible Expositions for English and Filipino audiences, as well as answering calls for debate by South American pastors.

Bro. Eli maintains airtime in several TV networks and satellite providers to broadcast O Caminho Antigo (Portuguese) and El Camino Antiguo (Spanish). These broadcasts produced converts who were baptized and are now based in 149 locales in Brazil and 259 in Spanish Latin America, to date.

At age 71, the preacher continues to minister to the needs of his brethren in MCGI, primarily their spiritual needs, as well as finding honest means to fund the propagation of the Gospel which is now fruiting in the West.

During the thanksgiving, Bro Eli thanked the congregation for the continuous support. “Thanks be to God for all of you brethren. You are all reasons enough for me to thank God. You were called by God to work with me and together with the Lord Jesus Christ a great work of goodness for the salvation of souls.”

Stories of Faith from a Nation of Faithfuls

Every Special Thanksgiving of God’s People offers heartwarming and inspiring stories of congregants from all walks of life. From day-to-day recollections of blessings to miracles, every brother or sister in MCGI has a story or two to tell why they are thankful.

One such remarkable story is that of 80-year-old Sis. Charing De Leon, native of Balasing, Bulacan in the Philippines, who traveled 36 hours by plane and bus to attend thanksgiving in Brazil. Her desire to see her son again who was assigned to Latin America and Bro. Eli most especially encouraged her to fly despite her age.

Sis. Charing’s senior citizen status entitled her certain privileges for traveling, but the length of the journey can exhaust the likes of an 80-year-old like her. She was able to get to her goal. The gracious old lady was briefly featured in @mcgidotorg for the second day of the Special Thanksgiving of God’s People.

Other stories of faith include that of Bro. Jett Magno, a member of 35 years. This Special Thanksgiving of God’s People is Bro. Jett’s fifth, and he is looking forward to fly to Brazil in all the years to follow.

For the past five years, Bro. Jett witnessed the difficulties Bro. Eli had to endure to propagate the Gospel in Brazil. Although he and Bro Eli had known each other for 35 years, he saw Bro. Eli work on the double to maintain broadcasts and Bible Expositions in South America.

According to him, Bro. Eli would not usually heed to rest even if he needs to, especially if there are brethren visiting. “He would give the best accommodation possible,” adds Bro. Jett. This inspired him and his family to fly to Brazil as often as they could, see Bro. Eli and help him with whatever they can.

Video testimonials of brethren from Central and South America were shown during thanksgiving. They shared their gratefulness for having known the Church and its teachings. Like the majority of the delegates, they have also traveled long to join the thanksgiving in Florianopolis.

MCGI Makes Rounds on Social Media, Sets Trending Discussions Online

For three days, MCGI brethren in all parts of the world joined the online conversations about the Special Thanksgiving of God’s People. Activity on Twitter was high as hashtags for each day became trending topics, especially in the Philippines where the bulk of social media posts came from.

#MCGIThankfulEastToWest reached the first spot on Philippines’ trends on April 6. For the next day, April 7, #NationOfFaithfulsMCGI climbed the fourth rank, and for the third day, April 8, #MCGIThanksgivingGoesToBrazil was seen at the top spot.

Participants of the online discussions shared their reasons for thanksgiving. These ranged from personal circumstances, family, business, careers, and the like. Most tweeted about their happiness to be joining this year’s quarterly thanksgiving, and for having been delivered safely to the places where they attended the celebration.

Photos, fansigns, stories, testimonials, quotes, Bible verses and other materials about the first quarter thanksgiving can still be viewed on MCGI’s official Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

The second quarter thanksgiving will be around late July to the first week of August, God willing.

Written by: Cecile I. Vizcaya