Bishop David Oyedepo
In the league of those who are raking in billions in the vineyard of
God is Bishop David Oyedepo of the famous Living Faith Ministries a.k.a.
Winners Chapel. The church, touted to be the world’s biggest church
building, is situated in Ota, Ogun State.
Also inside the vast expanse Canaan Land is Covenant University of
which Oyedepo is Chancellor as well as a secondary and primary school.
The primary school, named Kingdom Heritage, is very expensive and is
not for children of the poor. It has branches in 12 other Nigerian
cities. The secondary school named Faith Academy charges N250,000 per
session. The university charges different fees in three different
colleges but the fees are from N650,000 and above.
Recent happenings show that the school may be bringing in more money
as the bishop has taken more interest in the establishment of tertiary
institutions he introduces Landmark University in his Omu-Aran, Kwara
State home town and another one is under construction in Abuja, the
Federal Capital Territory. He was also said to have announced that he
will be starting seven more universities in different parts of Africa
with South-Africa’s university already under construction.
Aside from the levies generated through the schools, it is also the
duty of members in all the branches of the church to contribute towards
the development of the institutions. Members of the church call
themselves Winners, an allusion to their perceived victory over poverty,
demons and diseases and their general overseer, who is affectionately
called Papa, is an exponent of prosperity teaching and his followers
believe that his teachings inspire them to see themselves as winners and
every Sunday, they troop to Canaanland for service.
And as they stream into the vast auditorium, they are handed
envelopes for offering, tithes and other donations. But according to a
reliable source, that style is now archaic; the instruction to all
members now is to bring their envelopes that will contain their
different donations from their respective homes. The routine is also
repeated during Shiloh, a week-long annual camp meeting which draws
members from Nigeria and abroad.
His foreign branches are also mandated to send revenue to the
headquarters, to which “Papa” has unfettered access. It was this money
that caused problems between Oyedepo and his pastor in Ghana, George
Adjeman.
It was said that the monthly revenue being remitted by the Ghana church was $60,000.
Bishop Oyedepo is also into publishing. According to Oyedepo, God
gave him a publishing mandate and told him: “Your books are supernatural
arrows for the liberation of mankind; send them forth! My presence
shall go with them and they shall subdue and devour the works of the
wicked multitudes…(Readers) will be saved, baptized in the Holy Ghost,
healed and delivered from all oppressions of the devil. Emphasize the
books and your publications; that is my task for you.”
And Oyedepo seems to have fully accomplished this task. As part of
his business empire, Oyedepo established Dominion Publishing House and
has written about 70 books covering various aspects on the Christian
faith, teaching followers how to be successful in business. The books
are bestsellers in their own right and have been translated into French.
On the church’s website, the prices range between four and eight pounds
each.
His wife, Faith, is also an author with a number of books about
marriage to her credit. In 1998, Oyedepo established the Gilead Medical
Centre at his headquarters in Lagos. Two years later, he opened its
branch in Kaduna where his ministry began.
However, the church claims that the clinic provides treatment at
heavily subsidized rates. Oyedepo’s church also sells gift items online.
Its website bears information on the use and how to buy. “Our gift
certificates are the perfect gift solution that will put an end to those
tricky moments when you just can’t seem to find the right gift, or you
need a gift in a hurry. Send as many as you want to let friends, family
or customers and colleagues select the present they really want. We have
something for everyone,” says the website.
Recently the church decided to start their own airline called
Dominion Air. This according to source is because the number of aircraft
in the possession of the man of God is increasing by the day and rather
than just allowing it all wasting away without use as he can only
travel in one at a time, he decided to commercialize it. With its long
product chain, Oyedepo’s Winners Chapel is something close to
corruption. The bishop himself lives like a business mogul and he owns a
garage that parades state-of-the-art cars as sources claim he has a
very big garage where about three Chrysler brand of cars were abandoned
and not in use as well as other cars like that.
Pastor Gbenga Oso
The
case of Laughter Foundation Church is another dimension. The church
founder, Pastor Gbenga Osho is making millions by giving children to
those who are barren.
The pastor popularly known as father of million babies is laughing to
the bank every day because he allegedly has the power to produce babies
for those who are seeking the fruit of the womb and with the way he
parades his abilities, those who are desperate are trooping to his
church to get their own share of the babies.
And in return, they end up donating different products, including
olive oil, especially the one claimed to be from Israel which people
rush to buy. Recently the news was agog that the purported man of God
shows his other ability as he pounce on his wife beating the poor woman
blue-black which first call into question his anointing and later it was
reported that his supposed miracle babies are also stage-managed just
to broaden his business empire.
Pastor Chris Oyakilome
Chris
Oyakhilome, was said to have developed his style right from when he was
still in school where his church was formed from his Believer’s World
Fellowship which was later turned to the present Christ Embassy Church.
His core preaching is hinged on “Sowing the seed”, which requires
followers to give part of their earnings to the church in offering and
tithes. And he knows his onions when it comes to raking in naira in
millions. His church boasts of hundreds of young company executives and
businessmen, and every church programme guarantees enormous revenue.
Those without money are enjoined to turn in their jewellery,
wristwatches and other personal items as offering. Followers fall over
one another to do that, expecting God to run his tap of blessings.
Others give cars, generators, musical instruments and chairs to the
church.
Some of Oyakhilome’s church members have even gone as far as stealing
just to meet the demand. An example is one Lawrence Agada, an assistant
pastor who was a cashier with the Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers. He
donated cash gifts to the church totalling N39 million alleged to be
stolen from his employers.
And in appreciation, Oyakhilome wrote him a letter: “May God, who
gives seed to the sower and bread for eating, multiply your seeds in
Jesus name.”
But rather than receive God’s blessings, Agada became a guest of the
police when his employers discovered that he had stolen from them to
give to the church. Agada’s employers also insisted that Oyakhilome
should refund the money but he refused.
Another member of his church, Gbenga Kehinde, who was then an
assistant manager with the now defunct Eko International Bank, allegedly
stole about N40 million from his employers and donated N10 million to
the church to receive blessings of God.
It is also alleged also that Oyakhilome during his numerous church
services asked the members to donate hard currencies to receive more
blessings of God and the case of “I am not with money” is a thing of the
past in his church because the automated teller machine is right inside
the premises of his church for church members’ use.
Aside from collecting money from members of his church, Pastor Chris
has income streams other than offerings, tithes and donations. He
appears to have a sharp business sense; his face and name sell huge
quantities of products which make him such a preacher of the gospel.
Some of the products he sells include books, video tapes of his
crusades and miracles, audio tapes, CDs, VCDs and DVDs of his teachings,
which are sold at the various parishes and through agents.
They can also be bought online, via the digital media store of the church website.
One of the church’s website advertises audio and visual materials of
the Christian faith. In Nigeria, a video tape costs between N300 and
N1,300 while CDs are bought for between N300 and N1,300. DVDs attract
between N600 and N3,600 and there are books which cost between N200 and
N450.
The most successful of these is Rhapsody of Realities, a bi-monthly
devotional guide. The book which is published in 25 languages and also
has children’s version, is considered a companion to the Bible. For
Oyakhilome’s followers around the world, it is an important emblem of
faith.
In Nigeria, it costs N350, abroad it is $5, while a one-year
subscription attracts $42.20. For online purchases, video tapes, CDs,
VCDs and DVDs cost between $18 and $20.
Oyakhilome’s messages are also received in pocket personal computers,
mobile phones and palmtops and with his large congregation one can
imagine how much his income would amount to, and these he makes use of
with various investments which range from hotels into publishing house.
He was said to have acquired companies both in the media and
manufacturing sectors within and outside the shores of the country. He
was said to have run into troubled waters with Senator Mike Ajeigbo,
when he tried to lay claim to his defunct television station MBI and
that according to sources was the reason the TV station was closed down.
Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo
Pastor
Matthew Ashimolowo is the founder of Kingsway International Christian
Centre KICC. His second name is fast becoming controversy. He was at the
centre of controversy over a quarter of a million pounds he was paid to
run an evangelical church which plunged him into the centre of a
financial scandal. KICC was investigated by the Charity Commission which
uncovered serious financial irregularities a few years ago and Pastor
Ashimolowo, its founder was ordered to pay $200,000 back to the
Christian Centre.
It was discovered that he used the church’s credit card to buy a
timeshare in Florida and got $120,000 to celebrate his birthday while he
was also alleged to have transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds
abroad.
The investigations also showed one of KICC’s employees (name
withheld) claiming that Pastor Ashimolowo received an annual salary of
between $250,000 to $260,000. While he was alleged to be using different
names to defraud the church, the pastor, knowing fully well that the
British authorities may close in on him, instead of investing the money
over there, he invested heavily here in Nigeria on properties.
He is alleged to have a glass skyscraper in Ikeja area of Lagos,
estimated to cost several millions of naira, while in Osun State, the
pastor is also said to be building an edifice which will later be
converted to a university, and it is called Land of Dreams.
Aside from properties, Ashimolowo is a lover of wonders-on-wheels and
he has in his garage Range Rover Vogue Sport, Bullet-proof Hummer Jeep,
Porsche Cayeen Jeep and other exotic cars, while he also loves
expensive wristwatches.
His show of wealth reached its peak some time ago when his father
in-law was celebrating his birthday and he decided to give him a Hummer
Jeep as a birthday present. It is believed that the trouble he’s been
facing in the UK was the reason he decided to broaden his business here
in Nigeria by the completion of his church university at Ode-Omu with an
amount in the region of one billion naira. The style and tricks these
pastors use differ from church to church depending on what they
capitalize on in the lives of their congregation.
Pastor Chris Okotie
His
church may not be as big as that of other pastors but the resources he
pulls out of the church has been largely responsible for the acquisition
of almost half of Oregun community in Lagos where he’s having his
church. Pastor Chris Okotie of the Household of God Church is one of the
present-day Pentecostal pastors who have made so much money for knowing
what to say to their very influential congregation.
His sojourn into church business started years back when he decided
to shelve his musical career that was not doing so well after returning
to Nigeria for the pulpit and the decision has since turned him to a
multimillionaire. Christopher is a man that knows his onions when it
comes to making speeches that will backed with his law background.
Okotie knows what to say to make his congregation go to the wire in
fulfilling his financial needs.
He made millions with the sales of his book the Last Outcast, which
was hawked by members of his church. It is also believed that he made
money playing politics and that he chose not to contest for the office
of the president under his Fresh Party in the last election because of
the new Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC) chairman’s
decision not to release money to contesting parties, an amount Okotie
has been collecting in the past to divert into personal use.
Pastor Tunde Bakare
He’s
not only the most controversial amongst Nigerian pastors but also
almost outspoken and he might have hit the nail on the head recently
when he said all Nigerian pastors including him should be jailed for
corruption. Pastor Tunde Bakare, who practised his law profession before
he became a pastor, knows that he had got some money since he became a
pastor that he is not supposed to have touched in form of offerings and
the excesses of some of his colleagues in the ministry irked him to
making such confession.
Though he looks modest, it is a fact that he rakes in millions
through many other programmes and publications. His Latter Rain Assembly
sits on a large expanse of land in the heart of the city which he said
was sold to the church very cheap, while he rakes in money through
programmes like Apostolic Training School which is an online programme
said to train pastors, The Dominion Partners Global which is group of
people who use their God-given resources to advance the ministry work by
supporting the vision and purpose of the church and Global Apostolic
Impact Network, a forum of spiritual interconnectivity of believers in
various walks of life using their various vocational, occupational and
professional abilities to impact the world and implant His glory. Church
Development Center is a forum for Kingdom-minded ministers of the Word
with a common vision where they are empowered to extend the frontiers of
the Kingdom to the world at large, while International Centre for
Reconstruction and Development is passionately committed to
re-engineering the social, economic and political landscape of Nigeria
and the nations of the earth.
All these bring money into the church one way or the other. Another
source is his book ministry which is becoming more popular, as many
would want to read the things he claimed he had predicted in the past
that has come to pass just to further make people who really need a
genuine prophetic impartation approach his church through one of the
earlier listed progammes, he’s also blessed with several
wonders-on-wheels which aids his movement from his highbrow Opebi home
to his Ogba church every service.
Bishop Mike Okonkwo
He was alleged to have left the banking industry under controversial
circumstances before starting his own church the Redeemed Evangelical
Mission (TREM) after defaulting from the church that posted him to
Lagos. Bishop Mike Okonkwo is a pastor who will rival his mates in the
church business in terms of material things; he is one of the pastors
who preach prosperity above everything and this informed his decision to
bring embarrassment upon the church when he collected gifts on behalf
of himself and the church from Emmanuel Nwude, a man prominent for his
role in the advance fee fraud and on the radar of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
It was the same love for money that pitched the head of TREM against
Bishop Lanre Obembe of the El-Shadai Bible Church, during the process of
world evangelical ministration of Reverend Benny Hinn, who visited
Lagos some years back. In the aftermath of the crusade which was
described as a flop by all that attended, Obembe declared that the
failure of the crusade was because he refused to give out of the money
Benny Hinn gave for the hosting of the crusade to Okonkwo who was then
the president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria while Obembe was
the state Chairman and Obembe’s outburst was followed by a sanction by
the Okonkwo-led national body.
Just like the trend among Nigerian pastors, Okonkwo has under his
care fleet of cars and cares less for what befall members of his church
and where or how they make their money provided it is made available for
his use in the name of the church.
Pastor Joseph Agboli
Apart from collecting tithes and offering, the senior pastor of
Victorious Army, Joseph Agboli has devised another means for his
congregation.
It is alleged that the pastor during service would tell his people
that the church is in need of certain things and he wants people to
contribute to the work of God. But to make people wake up to his call,
he would just mention a bogus amount of money in the tune of millions
depending on what mood he is.
And immediately he mentions this, the whole congregation has no option but to donate what they didn’t bargain for.
And to further display his new-found wealth in the vineyard of God,
Pastor Agboli is in the habit of asking his wife how much he bought some
of his accessories like wristwatch, shoes etc. He would call out to his
wife, “Mummy, where did I buy these shoes and for how much?” and mummy
would then reply, “I remember you bought it at Harold’s in UK for 10,
000 US dollars” and the whole congregation would then shout halleluyah.
One ex-church member told Global News that he stopped going to the
Victorious Army Church when he saw the way the man of God was forcing
money from his church members and while the pastor and his family live
big, some of those who are donating their hard-earned money are
struggling to survive.
Pastor Wole Oladiyun
He’s one of the pastors with eyes for business. Pastor Wole Oladiyun,
the founder of wave-making Christ Livingspring Apostolic Ministry
popularly known as CLAM, situated around Omole in Ikeja, was born to
Christ Apostolic Church-attending parents but in his quest to learn more
about making money through God, Pastor Oladiyun went to the Latter Rain
Bible School Lagos, after which he moved to Deeper Life Bible Church,
and later Victory Christian Church before he ended up with Faith Family
Bible Church, Ojodu, headed by Rev (Dr.) D. K. Aboderin.
He left Faith Family Church to establish his own, and since then the
church has been growing both in numbership and material gains that
accompany today’s gospel work. His unique selling point is his prophetic
ministry which has seen many move to the fold of the church. The church
it was gathered is fond of telling people that attending the church is
an assurance that the person will make heaven; this was in one of the
church website that “We have a covenant with God that whosoever passes
through this ministry or has contact with it in righteousness shall make
heaven.”
The pastor who owns a private school, J-Nissi Children School, Ogba,
is also into real estate as shown in CLAM Estate, from where the church
sells properties to everybody who is interested. The church apart from
these also owns a farm as well as an event centre to further generate
funds. The Ondo State-born pastor also has an online store where his
books and that of his wife are sold. The church in no time has grown to
become a big business venture since it was formed. The church like
others also has training school as well as an online medium through
which the church can collect offerings and tithes.
Bishop Ayodele Oristejafor
Ayodele Joseph Oristejafor the Bishop of Word of Life Bible Church
and the current president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN),
can be said to have gone a step higher than even the second richest man
in the world Mr. Warren Buffet by the acquisition of his
state-of-the-art aircraft valued at around N4 billion and as expected it
was a gift from members of his church on his Birthday.
This will have confirmed his overbearing influence of his
congregation who will stop at nothing to please their pastor who wanted
to own an aircraft like the Adeboyes, Oyedepos and Oyakhilomes of this
world, and since the sermon is always about giving to your pastors even
when you can’t afford, the church members in order to make their pastor
happy decided to give him a befitting birthday present in a N4 billion
private jet, with a promise that they will be contributing enough money
to pay for bill that the place they will be parking the aircraft will
attract as well as servicing and other maintenance that will arise as
time goes on the plane.
It will be recalled that Oristejafor deserted his former boss in
late Bishop Benson Idahosa pulling out a large chunk of the congregation
of his mentor’s church in Warri just because he knew how much they
realized after every. The CAN president is also one of the leading
offering for blessing preachers of this era and the result of his sermon
has now manifested for all to see.
Pastor Itua Ighodalo
Making money has always been the watchword of this flamboyant pastor.
His marketing strategy has seen him build his church from nowhere in
less than two years to its present state. Pastor Itua Ighodalo of the
Trinity House church has shown that he is a motivation speaker any day
and this is what has endeared him to his congregation who can go to any
length to fulfil his immediate needs.
When he decided to form his own church after he was disciplined by
the Pastor Adeboye-led Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) over his
decision to marry ex-beauty pageant and event planner Ibidun Ajayi, it
was revealed that for the duration with which his new church worshipped
at the very expensive Civic Center, the bills were paid by a friend of
the church and to the surprise of many he did not worship for more than
eight months before the church acquired land where their new church
auditorium is sited at the moment.
The pastor who has other establishments apart from the church gets
the chunk of his money from running the church and has to his credit
some monster-on-wheels with which he and his wife move around, sources
revealed that the cheapest of his automobile runs into a couple of
millions whereas there are so many members of his church who will have
to trek or join public buses to the church only to be asked to donate
from the meagre sum they earn.
Pastor Lazarus Muoka
This soft-spoken pastor has grown to become one of the richest
Nigerian pastors in no time. His business sense will compete favourably
with that of any of his business-oriented kinsmen sourcing for customers
across markets all over the world. Pastor Lazarus Muoka of the Lord’s
Chosen Charismatic Renewal Ministry has shown to all that he’s not in
the church business to join the bandwagon but to make a stand for
himself and the future of his family.
Just like other pastors in Nigeria who are general overseers, his
book ministry is not doing bad as he has been raking in millions through
this medium both online and in church bookshops. Apart from the book
ministry the pastor also owns a secondary school in Imo State named
after the church and sources have it that he has been working tirelessly
on establishing his own university just like other churches in his
league.
He also has an online medium where donations can be made into the
church’s purse for his church members who are not living around, while
he always ensures his church members are having access to all his church
programmes by making them available live on different online media. And
to generate money he makes sure there is always one programme or the
other that will keep his members busy and these programmes go with names
that are not only attractive but also touchy like ‘HOPE FOR THE NEEDY’,
‘THAT MY WONDER MIGHT BE MULTIPLIED’, ‘THE GOD THAT NEVER FAILS’ and
many more.
His unique selling point is the availability of testimonies some of
which many of his followers had come out to refute. They claim the
testimonies are all stage-managed and that the pastor who sells things
like oil and other things to rake in money is nothing but a cheat. It
is, however, very obvious that he just like every other of such pastors
have prioritized money above all things.
Written by REX
We are Creative Blogger Theme Wavers which provides user friendly, effective and easy to use themes. Each support has free and providing HD support screen casting.
0 comments:
Post a Comment