Russel Jubay Mahinay

Multiple sources indicate the passing of Pastor Wilde Estrada Almeda on October 19, 2024.

An evangelist hailing from Surigao del Sur, he was born on June 28, 1935 to a Roman Catholic family. Wilde Almeda's eventual introduction to the doctrines of Oneness Pentecostalism led to the establishment of the JESUS MIRACLE CRUSADE INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY (JMCIM) in 1975. As of 2015, the church's 40th anniversary, it claimed to have some 1.5 million members, and it had frequented Quezon City's Amoranto Sports Complex for its services. With 11 other evangelists, Almeda offered a "peace mission" to pray when the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) abducted 21 tourists from Malaysia in the year 2000. Almeda and his team claimed they were welcomed by the ASG, and after months in the rebel camp, a press release signed by ASG commanders including Ghalib Andang (Robot) and Mujib Susukan stated that "the prayer and fasting of the Jesus Miracle Crusade has pacified us. Their prayer succeeded."

Some have criticized Almeda's actions, but others commended his courage. Every October, the JMCIM commemorates the return of Almeda and his team as the victorious "Talipao Peace Mission." Meanwhile, the church also expanded through mainstream media, airing its services over television networks PTV 4 and IBC 13, among others. On the occasion of the church's 41st anniversary, then Senator Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos cited in a press release that the JMCIM outreach programs "help others here and abroad as symbols of strong faith." Marcos was also prayed over by the church's pastors in the presence of some 40,000 attendees. "We can make our nation great again in Jesus' Name," he also said.

Learn more about church history: https://history-ph.blogspot.com/2017/01/megachurch.html

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