Local chapters of the El Shaddai Group, are used to keep people connected and following the same messages even when they are far away and can’t attend the prayer rallies. The local chapters consist of aspects from different religions around the area. They merge shamanic rituals with Roman Catholicism, prosperity theology, and charismatic Christianity. Brother Mike and El Shaddai are publicly connected to Roman Catholicism, but El Shaddai is not strictly a Catholic religion. El Shaddai is the start of a whole new type of religion that draws things from several different religions and combines them all into one. The integration of different religions into one can bring people together and make them open and more understanding to trying new things
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Many people are skeptical of El Shaddai, because of the fact it was started by a business man. Brother Mike had no formal religious training, one day he started a radio broadcast and the rest is history. It had only been around 15 years and had estimated five to ten million followers. With all the followers donating nearly ten percent of their yearly income, El Shaddai brings in an insane amount of money for Brother Mike and many people wonder where that money is going. Other people like Father Bert, a Filipino Catholic priest, are against what El Shaddai stands for because he feels it runs counter to liberation theology. (Wiegele 165) Brother Mike and his congregation raise more red flags with the amount of influence they have in political campaigns. Brother Mike even considered running for president of the Philippines in 2010. This was an issue, because Brother Mike would have had to drop his duties as leader of El Shaddai. People were concerned since he was willing to leave El Shaddai so easily. Brother Mike made the choice to stay with the organization he founded instead of running for president. Eventually people found out where most of their donations went to. In 2009 Brother Mike opened the El Shaddai International House of Prayer, a 20 billion dollar worship structure. Brother Mike built it in metro Manila where he originally got his start on the radio. The new worship center has a seating capacity of 15,000 and with standing-room capacity of 25,000, and an overflow capacity of 200,000. This is one of the largest worship sites in Asia. (Wiegele
Many people are skeptical of El Shaddai, because of the fact it was started by a business man. Brother Mike had no formal religious training, one day he started a radio broadcast and the rest is history. It had only been around 15 years and had estimated five to ten million followers. With all the followers donating nearly ten percent of their yearly income, El Shaddai brings in an insane amount of money for Brother Mike and many people wonder where that money is going. Other people like Father Bert, a Filipino Catholic priest, are against what El Shaddai stands for because he feels it runs counter to liberation theology. (Wiegele 165) Brother Mike and his congregation raise more red flags with the amount of influence they have in political campaigns. Brother Mike even considered running for president of the Philippines in 2010. This was an issue, because Brother Mike would have had to drop his duties as leader of El Shaddai. People were concerned since he was willing to leave El Shaddai so easily. Brother Mike made the choice to stay with the organization he founded instead of running for president. Eventually people found out where most of their donations went to. In 2009 Brother Mike opened the El Shaddai International House of Prayer, a 20 billion dollar worship structure. Brother Mike built it in metro Manila where he originally got his start on the radio. The new worship center has a seating capacity of 15,000 and with standing-room capacity of 25,000, and an overflow capacity of 200,000. This is one of the largest worship sites in Asia. (Wiegele