The saying, ‘As poor as a church
rat’ is now a misnomer because
churches are no longer poor.
According to the article by
Opeyemi Adesina, Tayo Salami
and Chika Morkah, the four
richest Nigerian pastors were
identified as: 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…read on.
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
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.
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
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 love-peddlers. 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.

They have done well for themselves. What more can we say? Shepherding willing gullibles is a very good business. Gullibles make me rich and make me shine.

u can say that again, what a lucrative business it is

Nescoemmy:

u can say that again, what a lucrative business it is

Why don't you start one and see how easy it is.

pastor t:

Why don't you start one and see how easy it is.

Best answer ever.

Worldly riches and "MOGs" their members/followers must be proud of them am sure.

Speechless

I still cannot get my head around ministers of God accumulating vast personal wealth. There are billions of people suffering in the world and I believe such wealth can be better ultilized by benefitting the needy. Their personal income should be invested in the ministry hence making it a more effective resource for the body of christ. There are a lot of people who want to volunteer their life for the ministry and what is holding them back is finance. A man of God living in mansions worth millions of dollars/Pounds? Why don't they live in a rectory or mission house built and funded by the ministry instead of living in personal mansions. The Pope of Rome lives in the Vatican home which belongs to the Catholic ministry. The Archbishop of Cantebury lives in the Church of England Rectory in Westminister.

Jesus told the rich man to sell all that he owned, donate it to the poor, pick up the cross and follow him
Peter left his boat and source of income to follow christ leaving all behind. He died a horrible death. suffered for the kingdom.
Paul too endured much suffering for the body of christ till the end

On this I rest my case - God knows best

@ poster.

Please kindly state your source!