Church business is big business. we guess so The saying, ‘As poor as a church rat’ is now a misnomer because churches are no longer poor. The four richest Nigerian pastors are Bishop David Oyedepo President and Founder of the Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, aka Winners Chapel; Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Centre; Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy; and Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua of Synagogue Church of All Nation. And based on these findings these churches are far from poor….
David Oyedepo
Bishop David Oyedepo President and Founder of the Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, aka Winners Chapel
Winners Chapel is a megachurch founded by Bishop Oyedepo in 1981 with over 400 branches. The Ota, Ogun State headquartered Ministry, Faith Tabernacle is the largest worship center in the world, with a sitting capacity of 50,000 people and an outside overflow of 250,000 and holds three services every Sunday.
Other assets of the church include two aircraft (Gulfstream 1 & Gulfstream 4) and a fleet of over 400 buses that convey worshipers to and from Faith-Tabernacle, Canaanland. Plans are in the making to purchase a third aircraft for use by the vice president, Bishop David Abioye. The Church also owns Dominion Publishing House, which turns out books and other materials written by Oyedepo. An arm of the Ministry World Mission Agency(WMA) provides welfare and other health and humanitarian services to the needy in the society.
The Sunday tithes collection in the church averages 30 million Naira per week (approximately 300,000 dollars), this amount excludes offerings and other levies, franchises including literatures.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, Pastor of Believers’ LoveWorld Incorporated aka Christ Embassy Church
Chris Oyakhilome
Christ Embassy headquartered in Lagos has 30,000 members. The church owns a large business empire with invests in banking, publishing, broadcasting, entertainment and the hospitality industries. The major money spinning arms of the ministry includes LoveWorld Cyber Ministry, LoveWorld Television, Love World Christian Network, LoveWorld Multimedia Ministry and LoveWorld Publishing Ministry. Love World the first 24-hour Christian Network from Africa to the rest of the world.
Monthly financial yields of the 2 billion Naira printing press is approximately 10m Naira.
Matthew Ashimolowo
Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC)
KICC church has 12,000 members and it is one of the richest churches in the UK. The church started in 1992 and it is pastored by Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo. Pastor Ashimolowo, who earns an annual salary of £100,000.00, earns more than the Archbishop of Canterbury, the official head of the British church.
KICC’s profit in 18 months was approximately £4.9m profit. It also has assets of £22.9m, more than three times the amount held by the foundation which maintains St Paul’s Cathedral. In 2008 the church received £9.5m in offerings and tithes, dwarfing the £33,000 that the average Church of England congregation gave over the same period.
In 2005, KICC’s charity, The King’s Ministries Trust, was investigated by Charity Commission for financial irregularities and mismanagement. The report alleged that Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo acted as both a trustee and a paid employee of the charity, contrary to existing UK charity law, and was responsible for approving payments and benefits to himself and his wife, Yemisi, totaling more than £384,000. Benefits received included free accommodation for himself and family, including an £80,000 car and purchase of a Florida timeshare property for £13,000 using a charity credit card, and over half a million pounds paid out to Ashimolowo’s private companies, which were operated from church property and had unclear business relationships with the charity. New trustees were appointed.
Ashimolowo earns his salary from preaching as well as royalties from sermons published in books and on DVDs through his own company. Ashimolowo Media Ministries made a profit of close to £60,000 in 2003.
According to the accounts filed with Companies House, KICC finances were boosted also by the sale of its Waterden Road home in Hackney for £10.1m to the London Development Agency which needed the site for the 2012 Olympics. It is planning to spend between £50m and £80m on a five-year project to build a complex at a site in Rainham, Essex, with capacity for 8,000 worshippers, classrooms, a TV studio, bookstore and offices.
Prophet T. B. Joshua Synagogue Church of All Nation
TB Joshua
SCOAN, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) has over 15,000 members on Sundays. SCOAN headquartered in Ikotun, Lagos State, has been controversial due to reports of miraculous signs and wonders that occur every week from the very first service held in 1987 to the present day. Numerous videos have been produced which purport to document the healing of incurable sicknesses such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and paralysis; showing people’s conditions before, during, and after prayer from T. B. Joshua. The Synagogue has over 15,000 members at its weekly Sunday services. The church currently has branches in Ghana, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Greece. The Prophet draws his crowd with his miracle services.
Another Ministry is the humanitarian arm of SCOAN, with projects catering to the needs of widows, dwarves, the elderly, physically challenged, orphans and the destitute. The church provides scholarships to orphans and children of the less privileged, with educational support promised from primary to tertiary levels. There is also a rehabilitation program for armed robbers and prostitutes. During his 45th birthday on June 12, 2008, T. B. Joshua made a large donation to the less privileged. Joshua has also provided scholarships for numerous physically challenged students and sponsored many physically challenged athletes. He is known to help people, irrespective of faith or denomination. After the devastating Haiti Earthquake on January 12, 2010, the Emmanuel TV Haiti Earthquake Relief Team, the television station of SCOAN & broadcasts, was sent to the disaster area.
by Opeyemi Adesina, Tayo Salami and Chika Morkah for Africanloft
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June 12th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Now you have written this, and so What ? CLAP HANDS FOR YOURSELF ? Whoever wrote this, go get a Life ! Ur wacker than my five fingers Spread !
June 13th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
pack or rubbish
June 14th, 2010 at 10:40 am
this is a lovely means of updating our minds on the latest issues in town
June 14th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
so wat?
July 15th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
our nation nigeria will be great someday
July 21st, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Men of God are not to be toyed with. remember what happen to the children that mocked elisha. Be warn, so as not to invite the wroth of God upon ur life & that of ur family. God is not to be toy with………………………
August 10th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
ONLY PASTOR T B JOSHUA I RESPECT AS A MAN OF GOD AND HIS RICHES OYEDEPO NA BIG OLEDEPO..**** AND HOW CAN SOME ONE BE BUILDING A SECOND PRIVATE UNIVERSITY NOT THAT IT IS FOR THE POOR THEY ARE ENCOURAGING THE KILLING OF OUR PUBLIC INSTITUTION..RELIGION IS NOT A PATH OF TRUTH IT IS IN A PERSON AND AS FOR PASTOR CHRIS..DAT ONE NA MARKETING HIM CHURCH DEY DO..
August 14th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
I liken the terms “church” and “profit” to water and oil; they simply don’t mix.
September 1st, 2010 at 3:11 pm
when pple wake up to say the truth, some pple open their mouth and say that they are men of God .yea them be men of God but sometime i conclude that them be men of world . imagin a man of God controlling trillions of dollars both home and abroad whereas we have poor people and beggers. nation crying of hunger and schools going on strike all just becos half of them could not support privatisation of school instead they prefer to go on strike. so my their brother n sister lets call a spade a spade these pple are encouraging rituals, stealing, corruptin, etc. lets talk about oau ife the school fees is the cheapest all becos we have 70 percent of orphans and poor ones.
may GOD help us.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:54 am
Private universities are not established to kill public universities, they can both co-exist harmoniously.
September 15th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
i believe what the church have in possession belongs to the people, i think the church shud give more and more to the public dying of one need or the other, i love what TB joshua is doing on a weekly basis. its not all about acquiring wealths, but pls let the church assist the govt in the areas where the govt is lackin e.g primary schools building project, free schlorships to thousands of would be students, free books and materials from primary to tertiary to students. it is ok for Men of God to prosper but we know they are trying in their bids too, but i think they can do more n more. pls do more Pastors pls
September 15th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
please help for a boy suffering from heredity Muscular Dystrophy patient in india his family is soo poor . need help
dr.sumalatharaghavan
November 22nd, 2010 at 9:14 pm
i woder y we nigas r not wise enough 2 aprieciate dis pst.wo r investg der wealth here nd not stealg it out of nig,r dey not beta dan ur leaders
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Religion is indeed an opium of the masses, people just follow blindly without questioning their actions. While the pastors kept on getting richer through fraudulent means, the poor masses are just too blind to see the truth. Wake up brothers and sisters from your slumber. Imagine thinking of purchasing another Jet for an assistant pastor when some of his followers cannot even pay their children school fees. God will hold them accountable for using his name to defraud others.
December 3rd, 2010 at 2:43 am
While we are discussing about topics relevant to Meet The Four Richest Nigerian Pastors. – Question Mark Magazine l Celebrity Gossip And Every Other Thing News Worthy, “paying it forward.” You’ve heard of that, haven’t you? If not, do a web search for it and you’ll see what I mean.
December 3rd, 2010 at 7:25 am
Oh God please help my fellow Nigerians, that are living in slum/ squatter settlement. my God pls give the pastors the spirit of mercy, so that they could have the sensitive of helping their fellow human. God pls reveal yourself for them to knw u are God who created heaven and earth.Jesus Christ feed the poor and love the sinners. let the pastors to have some common human feeling and provide good accommodation, and food for their members and not to be using the church money for private business, because the house of God is not a den of trading. overcrowding provide poor living condition and a place for sicknesses and disease to thrive. I understand that the population is too much, but at least the members do give offerings at CHURCH. its unfair that a widower would go and beg for money for food and after that on Sunday she would give it to church and the pastors would use it for private business and the woman remains in poverty. that is not what Jesus thought us to be doing with his name.!!
eases
December 24th, 2010 at 8:54 am
u guys mjust forgot pastor E a Adeboye
December 24th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Hmmmmmmm…..Some deep thoughts going on here
January 5th, 2011 at 11:21 am
God will grant u ur heart request in Jesus name!
February 9th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Na wa ohhhh!!! God is on the throne
February 21st, 2011 at 5:40 pm
It is a shame to call all these men mentioned above pastors! they are noting but criminals using God’s name to rob poor innocent souls!
March 1st, 2011 at 1:02 pm
one thing u guz re missing the pple that attends this churches are they blind or were deceive,i will tell u no as
March 1st, 2011 at 1:28 pm
U know the problem with man is too fast to judge,fast to conclude from the outside,seeing the worst in others and always seeing the best in themselve,hv u guz aproach these members to find out why they do wat they do,y they give to church and all that,the truth is they have xperience the benefit of giving to these men of God,u give to them or not,God wil keep exalting them,were u there wen God feed elisha using a bird or did u know hw GOD kept jonah in the belly of the whale for 3days or how miraculously Jesus feed the multitudes with 2fishes and five loves of bread,this is GOD we re talking hear and nt man so we have to be very careful of wat we say and narrate certain things about men of GOD,touch not mine anointed and do my prophet no harm,not even with ur mouth or pen or watever means,even thou wen there re doing wrong is up to GOD to judge and not u and i,he that have ears let him hear i rest my case.
March 2nd, 2011 at 12:28 am
Cld u all jst shut up 4 like 2 seconds??who ever wrote dis had beta pray 4 4giveness else he’s getting a 1st class ticket 2 hell.hho r u to critisize ordained men of God??should a pastor b a pupper b4 u accept he is real?Should a pastor dat pulls in over 17,000 people each Sunday,who has more than 20 branches be broke?seriously??who said only pastors can give anyway?if ur soo into giving,why not give d moni u used 2 buy airtime 2 post dis s**t 2 d poor instead of incuring d anger of God on urself
March 6th, 2011 at 1:13 am
Ppl r so QUICK wth so mch eagernes 2 point fingers n critisize. Dey eithr plot ur downfal, wait 4 it or EAGERLY anticipate u 2 fall by all means. Ppl just HATE succes as lng as its nt dem succeedin. U write al sort of junk n crap against men of God in d name of ‘journalism’, freedm of speech n whatsoeva, forgetin thngs do nt wrk wth God lyk dat. U claim u r knowledgabl, wel-read n wiser dan God while others r ‘BRAINWASHED’. Why dnt u let God judge? N d sad part is, dis ppl who tlk dirty of othr ppl r d ones who av d dirtiest n mst dsgustin evils in deir closets n lives bt r eager wth zeal 2 bring down those in d public eye. Its sad dt we never celebr8 succes, bt take so mch pride n joy in bringin othrs down. So d fact dt these men r pastors means dey shld b broke n nt av ryt 2 b wealthy n suspicion must b raisd at der evry move? Wen ppl judgd othrs in d bibl, Jesus said “remuv d LOG in thyn own eyes b4 pointin at d tiny speck in anoda man’s” in anoda case he said “let he wthout sin cast d 1st stone” n NOBODY cld raise a hand. Dat tels u HE hmslf doz nt condemn anybody. For d sake of ur own lyf, watch ur tongue coz dt smal tongue is a litl roder dat cn set d whol body on fire. Stop diggn n creatin dirts n draggin ppl’s name in d mud! Failure is always lookn 4 company. C d good in othrs. Beware!- u pointn n laughin @ a man who hit hs head on a pole lest u urslf fal in a pit in d proces! Corect ur own lyf 1st N think wht God wl say2 U PERSONALY wen He’s judgin U eye 2 eye!!
March 19th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
we have good pastor and some bad pastor. bible say let both grow together until the harvest and in the time of harvest i will say to the reapers gather ye together first the tares, bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
May 16th, 2011 at 5:29 am
may god forgive you of your statement. i pray that the eyes of your heart been enlighten.
May 19th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
so they have all these money and poverty is killing people. most of their followers are living below poverty line. men of God indeed
June 15th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
On behalf of Prophet T.B. Joshua and The SCOAN:
We have been informed of the many recent articles on the internet stating that Prophet T.B. Joshua is one of Nigeria’s richest pastors. We have a few words to say on the issue.
First, we do not understand how those involved came to their conclusions. There are many who are wealthy in Nigeria and around the world and there is nothing at all wrong with having money. Money is a gift and the richest have that blessing. But we are not among them.
Since the inception of this ministry we have given out all we received from God’s generous hands. We have made it our daily habit to give to those in need – the widows, widowers, physically challenged, little people, fatherless and rejected in society. All of this can be seen on Emmanuel TV – a station established to change lives, change nations and change the world by examples of how to spend more on others and less on ourselves.
We therefore cannot be categorized among the wealthiest in Nigeria because what money we receive is not accumulated but rather given out to those who need it most. Apart from money, assets that classify one among the wealthiest are not in our possession. For example, houses around the world or private jets. It is true, we do not own a private jet – not that there is anything wrong with owning one. They are a blessing and can be used to further the Gospel. But we do not own one.
In the light of these truths, we ask that the articles stating us among the wealthiest pastors in Nigeria be retracted, please. We are simply not among.
There is not enough to keep for tomorrow. As it comes, we give it for the needy.
Please take your time to do your investigation on the facts we have given to you. What you publish is true, if we keep the money or save the money. The money is given to the needy.
We are definitely not among the wealthiest in Nigeria. Take note, we are not against the wealthy or the richest or having private jets, assets or houses all over the world. We are definitely not among because there is not enough to keep.
Please put your record right for posterity and for the good name of your paper.
The SCOAN
July 7th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Come on rememba d scripture ” when i send ú ye lack anything” they reply “no”. We men of God n God children al over d world wil lead d world in al goodly things includin wealth
July 24th, 2011 at 5:44 am
I love them all but pastor chris the real man of God now but likes pastor tb joushua’s sign and wonders
August 7th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
I can see through u that u dnt even think clearly. God 4give u and ask 4 his grace. Do you mean being poor means u r a true man of God?
August 11th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
is pastor e.a adeboye not among d richest pastor
September 20th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
what can i say, he that has written this article has done it by his own choice,,, to be wealthy is good,, but it shouldn’t form a basis, there are wealthy righteous people in the bible, abraham is a wealthy man, jacob and job were too, but there is no wealthy propheth, pastor, disciple nor even Jesus the one which we said we imitate, when that wealthy man ask Jesus ‘wat can i do to enter the kingdom of God, Jesus said ‘observe the law’ he said he has done all that, then Jesus sed to him ‘go and sell all ur belongings and follow me’ so if u want to be a disciple you cant gather wealth. if u will remove that log in your eyes and see that the pastors are using the church as a cover up to amass wealth, IF YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED, FORGET WEALTH AND DO GOD’S WORK, u are not to have more than two sandals when there is still someone on this earth who doesn’t have, if u know u cant do that,, when God calls u dont answere. even Jesus Christ didnt have house, so how can u be like Jesus Christ when u have mansion, God said bring your tithe to my store house so that there will be plenty food,, tell me is the food for the priest alone? tithe and offering to the church is redistribution of wealth,, collect from those who have and give to those who don,t have. don’t be deceived, not all who call themselves pastor are anoited men of God, by their fruit ye shall know them. they shall cast out in my name but at the end i shall say i dont know them. watch and pray that is what the bible said. some pray in the name of the God of oyedepo, some pray in the name of the God of baba wa enock adebayo, some prayed in other names, are those the name u see in your bible? watch and pray.
September 30th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
beloved,lets not be deceived cos God is not mocked.we all know that many pastors who perform miracles today are not real becos they do not preach about the comin of our lord jesus christ but only design miracles 4 the public. pls think about this.
October 6th, 2011 at 11:46 am
Pastor e.a Adeboye was knock out of the reachest list years ago. people don’t like
his strategy. These men in the rich list
are not very Rich when compare to rich
men for example there is no Christian in
the top 1000 rich list in the world but there
are muslem and jews and devil and money
worshipers. I love to be very rich one day if
God willing
October 6th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
wel 2 disclose d fact church is a business bt it now depend on how it is been managed…even d people dt bring gospel 2 Nigeria knw dis & dt’s why tax are being collected frm churches in england.
Bt either u’r pastor or nt,pls give charity cos 1day we will all leave here & leave all wat we’v accumulate.
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:25 am
So u pastors has this kind of money and hunger is killing me here.
January 11th, 2012 at 6:01 am
Hmm, what this world is turning to, to preach the word of God or make for theirselve….?
March 14th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Zech 1;17 – Thus saith the LORD of hosts; MY CITIES THROUGH PROSPERITY, shall yet BE SPREAD ABROAD…..
THE CHURCH IS AND WILL EVENTUALLY TAKEOVER EVERYTHING!!!!!!!…..WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE !!!!!!!!!!
April 24th, 2012 at 5:43 am
But i say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgement.mt 12vs36.. Plss friends its not in our place to question men of God, because we havent called them, God did.. It all depend on what u feel or believe but to me many of this pastors has one way or the other impacted my life through the word of God i hear them speak. Expecially my father E.A Adeboye.. The only thing we can do is to pray for Gods wisdom and grace for them in areas we think they need adjustment.. Plss from now on never critisize them so u wont incure Gods wroth.. God loves you too., u too can become rich and weathy and serve God.. And never forget that heaven should be your principal aim.. God bless you.