Christ Embassy

Christ Embassy (also known as LoveWorld Incorporated or Believers' Loveworld) is a megachurch and Christian denomination founded by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome who hails from Edo State, Nigeria in 1987.

Christ Embassy
ClassificationEvangelicalism
TheologyNeo-charismatic movement
RegionWorld
HeadquartersLagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
FounderChris Oyakhilome
Origin1987
Official websitewww.christembassy.org

The Church, with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, has since become a global network of churches, with congregations in many countries. By 2019 the church had 145 branches on five continents, with 6.7 billion reach around the world.[1] The Church has ministries in Canada, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.[2][3]

History

The church started with a prayer group led by Chris Oyakhilome, at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, while he was studying architecture in 1987.[4][5] The church celebrated its 30th anniversary in November 2017.[6][7]

Several other ministries around the world participate in its programs and conferences including the International Pastors and Partners Conference (IPPC), which is held every November in Lagos, Nigeria; the International Cell Leaders' Conference (ICLC), which is held in the middle of the year; the International School of Ministry; the Healing School, etc.[8]

United Kingdom

Christ Embassy is a registered charity in the UK, established in 1996.[9] In July 2013, the Charity Commission launched an inquiry regarding the use of charitable funds; however, inspections of records did not resolve concerns about its financial management, and in August 2014, the Charity Commission appointed an interim manager to run the charity until 2016.[10][2] British tax authorities withheld £2.8 million in Gift Aid tax refunds from the charity as they were concerned not all of the charity's income was being spent for charitable purposes.[11]

Canada

There are over 50 branches of Christ Embassy churches growing in Canada.[12]

Australia

A branch of the Christ Embassy Church in Sydney was ordered to close for seven days in August 2021 after an illegal in-person service was conducted there during a COVID-19 lockdown.[13] The service was attended by 60 people. The pastor of the church had previously discouraged his followers from receiving COVID-19 vaccines.[14]

LoveWorld television stations

Christ Embassy runs seven TV channels, including LoveWorld TV, LoveWorld SAT, LoveWorld Plus, LoveWorld UK, LoveWorld Nigeria, LoveWorld India, and LoveWorld USA.[15][16] LoveWorld USA is run in partnership with Pastor Benny Hinn, who appears in many programs on the channel.[17]

His UK TV channel was sanctioned twice in the UK for sharing misinformation about COVID-19, including suggesting that Covid was planned and vaccines included manipulative nanochips.[18]

Loveworld Publications

The publishing house, Loveworld Publications, affiliated to the network of churches, published his first book in 1995, Recreating Your World.[19] Loveworld Publications has published all the books by Oyakhilome, stating that the Rhapsody of Realities daily devotional has been published in over 976 languages,[20][21][22] and in 242 countries and territories of the world. Over 22 billion copies of the devotional have been distributed since it was first published in the year 2001.[23][24]

Christ Embassy also has a book publishing firm called LoveWorld Publishing Ministry, and is a dedicated Christian Book Publishing firm reaching out to the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ with God's Word through books authored by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.

See also

References
  1. "Over 6.7 Billion People Participate in 3-Day Healing Festival with Pastor Chris". christembassy.org. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  2. Sam Burne James (12 August 2014). "Charity Commission appoints interim manager for evangelical church charity Christ Embassy". Third Sector. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  3. "The Family of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Revealed". Punch Newspapers. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  4. T. A. Falaye (March 2015). "The Ministry of Christ Embassy, Lagos. Nigeria" (PDF). European Researcher. 92 (3): 230–236. doi:10.13187/er.2015.92.230. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  5. Laurent Fourchard, André Mary, René Otayek, "Entreprises religieuses transnationales en Afrique de l'Ouest", Karthala Editions, France, 2005, page 470
  6. Krinsky, Alberto (2017-10-23). "A Special Message from Pastor Deola in Preparation for the IPPC 2017". Pastor Chris Live USA. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  7. IPPC 2017 with Pastor Chris - YOU Church is celebratint 30 years of BLW, retrieved 2019-09-27
  8. Paulinus Okodugha, theinfong.com, Revealed: Seven secrets of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, Nigeria, September 3, 2014
  9. "Christ Embassy, registered charity no. 1059247". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  10. UK Charity Commission investigation report
  11. Weakley, Kirsty (18 February 2014). "Christian charity is subject to HMRC investigation". Civil Society. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  12. Official website
  13. McPhee, Sarah (25 August 2021). "Seven-day ban on Sydney church after illegal sermon, $49,000 in fines". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  14. Reddie, Mark (25 August 2021). "Pastor who urged Sydney congregation to 'refuse every lockdown' hit with prohibition order". ABC News. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  15. Ogbu Kalu, "African Pentecostalism: An Introduction", Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, 2008, page 118
  16. Christ Embassy Online International
  17. "About LoveWorld USA". Loveworld USA. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  18. 7 News Australia website
  19. articles.onlinenigeria.com, Popular Nigerian Pastors - Christian Oyakhilome Archived 2017-05-25 at the Wayback Machine, Nigeria, May 2, 2013
  20. qNw1UHSvtX. "Let's Spread God's Love In 1000 Languages! | Christ Embassy". Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  21. qNw1UHSvtX. "Sponsor a Rhapsody Language in 2019 | Christ Embassy". Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  22. https://sponsoralanguage.rhapsodyofrealities.org/index_nigeria.php?id=d
  23. "History Made with 1.2 Billion Copies of Rhapsody of Realities Circulated in 2018". LoveWorld TV. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  24. qNw1UHSvtX. "Let's Spread God's Love In 1000 Languages! | Christ Embassy". Retrieved 2019-09-27.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.