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Brief History
Fifteen men and women
of different religious persuasions under the leadership of Bishop
Gaudencio J. Soriano of the Full Gospel (Evangelical Church) gathered on
July 8, 1977 to sow the seeds that have now grown into Faith Restoration
Center, Inc.
The participants
represented a truly diverse group of religious denominations (Methodist,
Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, Baptist-Pentecostal and Full
Gospel Evangelical). Divergent though they were in the way they
worship, an overriding belief in the universality of Christian
Brotherhood by each brought them together in harmony in pursuit of a
common denominator to unite all “Born Again Christians” in the universal
Christian Fellowship and Brotherhood. Three of the organizers were
foreigners, two from the US and one from Japan. Bishop Gaudencio J.
Soriano was elected by the Board of Directors as Titular Bishop and
General Superintendent, Bishop Edward E. Hawley as Vice-Titular Bishop,
Atty. Mayonito F. Martin as Corporate Secretary and Dr. Jesus Babatio as
General Treasurer.
It was on September
13, 1977 that Faith Restoration Center, Inc. was duly registered with
the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted its
judicial personality two days later with Registration Number 75873.
The first official
Board Meeting was held on October 14, 1977 in Tondo, Manila after which
an Ordination of Ministries was conducted and attended by numerous
ministers and missionaries. Among the heads of delegations were Bishop
Edward Hawley, Rev. Jonathan Clemons, Rev. Rice and Rev. Robertson of
Christ for the Philippines. The ordination was officiated by FRCI
Titular Bishop Gaudencio Soriano.
Bishop Edward Hawley
and Rev. Jonathan Clemons together with their respective families were
sponsored by FRCI for permanent residency in the Philippines and the
petition was subsequently approved by the Philippine Immigration Office
in December 1977.
On January 15-20,
1978, a General Assembly was held in Manila attended by more than one
hundred ministers from the Philippines, USA and Japan. On the same
week another General Assembly was held in San Fabian, Pangasinan.
God blessed FRCI in
1978 when Rev. Marcelina Eugenio donated to FRCI a three-hectare land
with a building in Cupang, Antipolo, Rizal which was converted by Bishop
Soriano into a church and established the International Bible Seminary
(IBS) in the said property. The IBS was to become the breeding ground
of future FRCI missionaries and evangelists.
Under the leadership
of Titular Bishop and General Superintendent Gaudencio Soriano, the FRCI
New York District and FRCI New Jersey District were organized in 1981
and 1982 respectively.
FRCI's International Headquarter was
formerly located in Foster Avenue in Brooklyn New York until the
untimely death of Bishop Michelle Berry-Mc Master in March 2007. The
International Headquarter have moved to 2323 Kennedy Blvd. Jersey City,
NJ 07304. Titular Bishop Gaudencio Soriano and Vice Titular Bishop
Sylvia M.P. Jordan were instrumental in the tremendous growth of FRCI
and the ordination of numerous Ministers and Evangelists who are now in
various part of the United States and other countries.
“Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” Mat. 28:19 |
