A growing number of churches in Nigeria are finding new ways to address poverty within their congregations by mobilising wealthier members to support the less privileged in their ministries.
Pastors are using the pulpit not only to preach the gospel but also to address the growing economic hardship faced by their congregations.
During sermons, these pastors openly appeal to affluent congregants to contribute funds, which are then used to provide financial aid, job opportunities, and other forms of support to struggling church members.
This shift comes as religious institutions face increasing scrutiny for amassing wealth while their congregants grapple with economic hardship.
The General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, had asked his fellow clergymen to stop sucking out their members financially under the guise of sowing seeds for financial prosperity.
“The preachers of today are getting richer at the expense of the members of their church. Let somebody speak out, tell our prophets, preachers, and bishops that this ought not to be,” he said during a recent sermon which went viral online.
According to him, the ideal thing is for members of a church to receive help from their preachers by providing solutions to their needs and not getting exploited with seed sowing.
A few months ago, a video of Pastor Jimmy Odukoya of the Fountain of Life Church raising funds for members of the church during a service went viral.
In the video, Odukoya revealed that two congregants needed help completing their school fees.
No sooner than Odukoya made the announcement that donations began pouring in from church members present during the service and others who joined online.
In the end, the male congregant who needed N140,000 later got N680,000, while a female church member who needed N6.5m received N8.6m.
In another video, the General Overseer and President of Dominion City Worldwide, Pastor David Ogbueli, announced the distribution of N10m in financial aid to needy members of the church during a service.
Ogbueli asked members of the church who needed financial aid to come to the altar and ordered his aides to transfer N100,000 to each of them.
Addressing the congregation, the cleric said, “This is the kind of Christianity I want to see all over this country. We cannot be waiting for the government all the time, this is what the church is all about; why should somebody eat three times a day while some others do not have food to eat?”
The cleric also announced his intention to secure jobs for unemployed congregants.
“Giving people money will not solve all their problems; the most important thing is to get them something they can do that will add value to others; that is how they can create wealth,” he added.
In a heartwarming video that has gone viral, Father Emmanuel Bekomson of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Parish, located at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, made a remarkable gesture during a church service.
The cleric asked members of the congregation who could spare N5,000 to come forward.
To the amazement of many, numerous members eagerly approached the altar, ready to give. However, in a surprising twist, the priest asked the donors to hand over the N5,000 not to him, but directly to other members of the church who were in genuine need.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, Bekomson noted that the initiative was not about charity alone but about fostering a culture of empathy and responsibility among church members.
He added that his church was involved in other charity activities including scholarship awards and paying medical bills of patients.
“I cannot really say something informed it, usually, we do a lot of charity in our church even this Sunday we are having what we call Charity Fair where we donate things to church members whether they are privileged or less privileged. We distribute foodstuffs, clothes, housewares, and other household needs to members of the church.
“Churches are now alive and aware of their responsibilities and part of that is giving back to the people. We believe there will be more charitable actions from churches in the future”, Bekomson said.
However, this trend has sparked mixed reactions with critics describing the open display of giving in churches as ridicule and unbiblical.
The Archbishop of Lagos, Methodist Church Nigeria, Most Rev. Ayo Olawuyi, cautioned pastors against ridiculing their members with open display of help.
“I think we should be decent in assisting the less privileged; it should be done in such a way that it will not ridicule those in need of the help. We should be discrete while trying to assist members of the church so that they won’t feel degenerated and less of themselves.
“This style of giving may expose those who need the help to public ridicule. I think this new phenomenon should be cautioned or try and adopt other methods. It should be done with honour and not expose those people publicly,” Olawuyi said.
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Lagos State, Bishop Stephen Tunde Adegbite, commended churches involved in charity but criticised the open display of giving by pastors.
According to him, the open-display method of giving is not the best way of generosity for members in need of help.
