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Christ Embassy

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

Christ Embassy (also known as LoveWorld Incorporated or Believers' Loveworld) is a megachurch and Christian denomination founded by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome in 1987. The Church, with the headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, has since become a global network of churches, with congregations in many countries and has approximately 13,000,000 followers all over the world.[1] The Church has ministries in Canada, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom.[2] The church has 145 branches, in five continents.[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]

The church has approximately 13,000,000 followers worldwide.[1] Several other ministries around the world participate in its programs and conferences like the International Pastors and Partners Conference (IPPC) which holds every November in Lagos, Nigeria; the International Cell Leaders' Conference (ICLC) which holds 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 United Kingdom, 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.[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.[10]

Canada

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

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.[11] The service was attended by 60 people. The pastor of the church had previously discouraged his followers from receiving COVID-19 vaccines.[12]

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.[13][14] LoveWorld USA is run in partnership with Pastor Benny Hinn, who appears in many programs on the channel.[15]

Loveworld Publications

The publishing house, Loveworld Publications, affiliated to the network of churches, published his first book in 1995, Recreating Your World.[16] Loveworld Publications has published all the books by Chris Oyakhilome, including Rhapsody of Realities daily devotional published in over 5500 languages[17][18][19] and in 242 countries and territories of the world.[20] Over 22 billion copies of the devotional have been distributed since it was first published in year 2001.[21][22]

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. ^ a b "Major Nigerian Evangelical leader emphasizes Christian solidarity during Israel visit - Israel News - Jerusalem Post". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ Weakley, Kirsty (18 February 2014). "Christian charity is subject to HMRC investigation". Civil Society. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Reddie, Mark (25 August 2021). "Pastor who urged Sydney congregation to 'refuse every lockdown' hit with prohibition order". ABC News. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  13. ^ Ogbu Kalu, "African Pentecostalism: An Introduction", Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, 2008, page 118
  14. ^ Christ Embassy Online International
  15. ^ "About LoveWorld USA". Loveworld USA. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  16. ^ articles.onlinenigeria.com, Popular Nigerian Pastors - Christian Oyakhilome, Nigeria, May 2, 2013
  17. ^ qNw1UHSvtX. "Let's Spread God's Love In 1000 Languages! | Christ Embassy". Retrieved 2019-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ qNw1UHSvtX. "Sponsor a Rhapsody Language in 2019 | Christ Embassy". Retrieved 2019-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ https://sponsoralanguage.rhapsodyofrealities.org/index_nigeria.php?id=d
  20. ^ "Rhapsody of Realities Daily Devotional". rhapsodyofrealities.org. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  21. ^ "History Made with 1.2 Billion Copies of Rhapsody of Realities Circulated in 2018". LoveWorld TV. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  22. ^ qNw1UHSvtX. "Let's Spread God's Love In 1000 Languages! | Christ Embassy". Retrieved 2019-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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