‘Why we have to preach prosperity’

You preach liberation. What kind of freedom are you talking about? My people in this region are very poor. They are so poor that they hardly have access to the good things of life. Most of my people live in abject poverty. They are mostly farmers. I experienced this during my childhood and realized that […]

You preach liberation. What kind of freedom are you talking about?

My people in this region are very poor. They are so poor that they hardly have access to the good things of life. Most of my people live in abject poverty. They are mostly farmers. I experienced this during my childhood and realized that I could not complete my secondary school education. The N90 for my school fees was not easy to come by. I had to leave school and sit for my external GCE at home. That means that there are so many of my type in the region.

Prosperity preaching has become a driving doctrine in the Pentecostal denominations and the doctrine is being criticized recently by some people. Can you please tell us how it became dogmatized in the Pentecostal churches?

When the national economy fails, the church has to rise up and propel the people by messages of faith and prosperity. To let the people understand that it is still possible to prosper. God wants his people to prosper. Now, not only that, without prosperity, the church cannot continue to propagate the gospel. We have the responsibility to evangelise the whole world and you cannot evangelise the whole world with empty hands. The people in the church who give offerings have to prosper first. If everybody in the church is poor and do not have what to offer, how can the gospel be propagated?

But is the church concerned about the means by which church members are prospering? There is high level corruption in the society, public officials dip their hands in the public treasury only to turn round and offer to God in the church. Do you question these people when they bring the money to you?

Well, the prosperity we are preaching is unrestrained prosperity.  We don’t call it prosperity when you steal from public funds and bring it to the church. You are a thief and if you are caught, you will face the music. If a woman is prostituting and bringing the money to the church and we know about it, we don’t consider that as prosperity.

The Pentecostal churches do have their excesses, no doubt about it. They preach prosperity but fail to cushion it with discipline—that look, this prosperity is not every kobo that comes around. But that does not mean that we completely abandon prosperity. Prosperity has to be within the ambit of the law, spiritually, constitutionally and humanely.

As a pastor now, what have you been able to do for these poor people in your region?

I am starting where I am now. My people love me and I love them. I came out to vie for the chairman of Lau local government in 1994 but Abacha’s coup scuttled that dream. But I went back to prepare myself and now I have come closer to them to give them political awareness and to use the resources that I have to sponsor some of the younger ones in school. I am preparing to set up a university soon. A hospital for the poor is about being completed in Bauchi and there is a functional school there too and the population of indigent students in the school is up to 70 percent. That means that we are sponsoring them free of charge.

But experience has shown that most of these missionary facilities go beyond the reach of the poor.

It is true. The cost of education is high in Nigeria because the economic environment is harsh so the missionaries cannot perform miracles. For instance, if you are operating a hospital, you have to buy drugs, provide medical equipment and pay doctors. Where do you get money to do all these things from? From offerings and your personal investment. So I will not in my own case charge people beyond what they can afford.

What we do right now in our school is that those children who are under our scholarship, we try and get them foster parents and they contribute to the children’s sponsorship. You know, we need money so we cannot carry the whole burden on our shoulders.

What is the name of your hospital and school and what is going to be the name of your university?

The hospital we have named it David Oyedepo Medical Centre because Bishop Oyedepo is my mentor. He encouraged me to help the people. He has been doing it and I want to emulate him here in the north-east.

Then why did you break away from Living Faith if you share the same ideals with the General Overseer of the church?

I didn’t break away.

But you now have your ministry, Faith Revival Chapel, is it the same with Living Faith?

I did not break away. We were called to express interest if we wanted to start up new ministries. So I had already prayed and indicated my interest so they processed it and we transited into our present status. Bishop Oyedepo then called us with our wives and prayed for us and sent us forth. We still maintain our relationship. I even visited him last September and sowed my seed to him as my spiritual father. A good father will always bear good children, that is why whatever we are today, it is because of him.

So you are an affiliate of Living Faith?

In the sense that I am spiritually linked to the head of Living Faith but in terms of him having to check our books and monitor our activities, no. We comply with his training and we do the same things he does.

Financially, how would you say your ministry is, compared to when you were under Living Faith?

We are not doing badly. When I was under the Living Faith, as it is always the case, a servant, I was working under someone and I was being paid salary. The salary was however, enough for me to take care of my family because we are not expected to do more than take care of our families. But now, I am the General Overseer of my ministry so, whatever the ministry generates, I am in charge of planning and disbursing funds to directions that I feel my vision is guiding me.

Was it the financial aspect that motivated you to start up your ministry?

That is not the motivation. When I was under the Living Faith I was privileged to rise up to the level of Assistant Overseer in the north and we were controlling things. Oyedepo gave us the leverage to control things financially. So money is not the motivation. Rather, it is to follow the vision of God and accomplish his mission and when God gives you a mission, he also gives you money to accomplish it.