This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject's importance, use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance.(January 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this message )
Brother Mike is married to Avelina "Belen" del Monte[2] and they have four children:[citation needed] Franklin, Rene, Sherry, and Michael. Velarde's son Rene Velarde, represents the Buhay party-list.[3] His son, Franklin, is an investor in the Puyat-controlled Manila Bank.[4]
Brother Mike began his involvement with Charismatic Christianity together with the late Russian-Filipino actor-turned-evangelist Ronald Remy who eventually founded the Corpus Christi Community, an Evangelical congregation now known as Lord Jesus Our Redeemer (LJOR) Church. Velarde, having experienced and been exposed to the Charismatic movement, decided to remain within the Roman Catholic Church. [citation needed] In 1984, he founded the El Shaddai movement[1] which has become an eclectic expression of Philippine folk Christianity, the Charismatic movement, and Roman Catholicism.[citation needed] Velarde remains a layman within the Roman Catholic Church.
His preaching style is no different from typical prosperity gospel-driven Pentecostaltelevangelists. It promises God's financial and physical blessings to all provided that they remain faithful in attendance to gatherings, giving their tithes and offerings, and obedience. Part of Velarde's practical theology is the use of certain inanimate objects such as handkerchiefs, bankbooks, and umbrellas, which are held aloft during services.[1] Such practices are not foreign to Filipino indigenous and folk religion.[1] Thus, Velarde's brand of charismatic Catholicism is highly acceptable to a majority of Filipinos.[6][7] Initially, Brother Mike reports that only "the poorest of the poor" attended El Shaddai's services.[1]
Politics
Brother Mike, over the years, has endorsed political candidates. [1]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
