HISTORY
The Ang Dating Daan Convention Center (Tagalog alternate name: Pasalamatán ) is a semi-large open-type convention center built in the Philippines. Owned directly by the Members Church of God International and supervised by Daniel Razon, the convention center was constructed in the 1990s to house the gatherings of the congregation. The entire compound encompasses the main Convention Center, a dorm, two offices and houses for the Ministers of the said church group. It expanded in 2004, adding more parking spaces and more area for the church members.
It total land mass is 10.8 hectars land mass and can accommodate approximately 20,000+[2]</ref> persons The members of the Church of God International gather to offer their Pasalamat sa Dios (Thanksgiving to God) every Saturdays and the three day Pasalamat ng Katawan (International Thanksgiving to God) which the MCGI declares as a "Christian Holiday" four times a year. It is presided by Bro. Eliseo Soriano and Bro. Daniel Razon.
It also hosts other special events, sports activities, conferences, and meetings. A hospital, orphanage and a tertiary institution owned by the Members Church of God International is also located within the compound.
Bro. Eliseo Soriano is the Presiding Minister to the Members Church of God International (MCGI) and host of the very popular religious program, Ang Dating Daan(The Old Path). Since Bro. Eli was baptized in the Church of God in the Bible more than four decades ago, all he wanted was to serve God with all his strength, heart, mind, and soul. All he ever wanted was to attain everlasting life with his beloved Lord.
Bro. Eli was born on April 4, 1947 to Triunfo Soriano and Catalina Fernando in Pasay City, Metro Manila. He is the seventh of eight siblings. Dahli Aspillera, a writer from Malaya newspaper labeled Bro. Eli Soriano as a “Bible Scholar.“ On March 10, 2010, Bro. Eli was invited to a popular talk show in Rome with the topic, “Sex and Religion”. In the same year, on October 21, 2010, Bro. Eli was invited as a guest resource speaker of the one-hour “The Q and A Show” of UK-based Revelation TV at around 9 p.m. (October 22, at around 4 a.m. in the Philippines). He was again invited to the same program on October 24, 2010. Bro. Eli Soriano, with the assistance of Bro. Daniel Razon, his biological nephew and Vice Presiding Minister to the Church, has been spearheading many projects for the indigents of society. These include free medical and dental check-ups, free Bus Ride and a free Transient Homes for homeless people. Bro. Eli and Bro. Daniel created a free college scholarship program at the La Verdad Christian College in Pampanga and Metro-Manila which provides scholarships to deserving youth.
Bro. Daniel S. Razon, the Vice-Presiding Minister to the Members Church of God International, was born in Bulacan on October 11, 1967 to Bro. Dan and Sis. Beth Razon. Bro. Daniel grew up with the Bible as his guide mainly because of his uncle, Bro. Eli Soriano, who treated the Razon children as his own. When he was three, Bro. Daniel would recite poems in Thanksgiving services held by the Church. And when he was 17 years old, Bro. Daniel got baptized in the Church of God on November 28, 1983. From his youth, Bro. Daniel has always sought and heeded the advice of Bro. Eli. For instance, when he was about to enter college, Bro. Daniel dropped his dreams of becoming a medical doctor and pursued Mass Communications instead — an act inspired by Bro. Eli that would later prove significant in Ang Dating Daan or The Old Path’s broadcast history. Determined to be a hard-worker early on, Bro. Daniel worked while in college, despite the fact that his family could well support his studies. After four rough years, he reaped the fruit of his labor with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications at the Centro Escolar University in 1987. Although he was reluctant at first, and Bro. Eli didn’t even ask him to be one, Bro. Daniel soon became a worker in the Church of God. Afew years following, he became the Officer-In-Charge of the Metro Manila Division of the Church. It was during this time that Bro. Daniel conceptualized many of the Church’s existing organizations for the brethren’s benefit. He is also the brains behind the Bible Expositions of Bro. Eli that would break attendance records of the biggest closed venues in the country, including The Araneta Coliseum.
Like the Apostles and first-century Christians in Corinth and elsewhere who were called unto the Church of God in the Bible, MCGI is a congregation of the poor, yet zealous in doing good works (1 Cor. 1:1-2; Jam. 2:5; Tit. 2:14). Despite most members’ humble stature in life, the MCGI brethren support a six-continent global evangelization effort. The members also actively support the congregation’s charitable and public service initiatives. All these undertakings the servants of God faithfully partake in, so each part of the whole Church or body (Gal. 1:18) can fulfill the commandment given by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-21 – “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” MCGI hosts various humanitarian works in the Philippines and abroad from feeding programs to granting full college scholarships. The group also renders legal assistance, medical and dental missions, job fairs, and more through media network UNTV — all for free. All these humanitarian commitments are open to all, regardless of religious affiliation as written in Galatians 6:10 — “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” The servants of God are a people with a deep sense of gratitude to God. The people called by His name, from East to West, will forever be thankful for bringing them to His fold, for His tender mercies and loving-kindness, and for everything (2 Chro. 7:14; Mal. 1:11; 1 Thes. 5:18).
