By Cleopatra Eki
The General Overseer, Givers Embassy Church, Dr Edward Olutoke said “in our church, there is no giving of tithes or collection of offerings.at opening ceremony of its center NUT Pavilion, Alausa, Ikeja Lagos.
He has debunked the general belief that giving tithe or offering is an injunction that, if not observed, attracts God’s wrath.
“At Givers Embassy, we believe in redefined concept of church, embracing a holistic approach that addresses the spiritual, emotional, and practical needs of our congregation.”
He has decided to change the narrative. To achieve its mission, the church has put in place an Employment Academy under what it calls “the poverty fighting squad’. The academy will identify unemployed but trainable congregants, engage them gainfully, train and support them financially to pursue their various callings. “The church will be paying them, while they go through the training,” Olutoke emphasized.
For ages, Nigerians have been made to believe that the only way to gaining God’s trust, confidence and acceptance was through offerings and tithes.Worshipers in Nigerian churches give freely while contributing to the growth and development of churches.
However, instead of taking care of the flock, church leaders live off the proceeds of the church that come in form of tithes, levies, sowing of seeds, harvest bazaars and other schemes that tend to demand and extract so much from their congregations.
The church is out to fill the spiritual needs of members, offer help to them by empowering them and avoiding the general practice of Pastors taking away from their congregation to live in affluence while majority of their members wallow in poverty.
Dr Olutoke said, “Our vision is simple yet powerful: to be a beacon of light and hope in the lives of individuals and communities.
We strive to create an atmosphere where people can experience spiritual growth, find purpose, and unlock their full potential. Our ultimate goal is to make a positive impact on society by empowering individuals to live meaningful, fulfilled lives.”
“The church’s distinctive approach to worship underscores the importance of giving back to society while relieving its members from the burden of compulsory tithes and offerings, just as he noted that the church stands on the divine tripod of three scriptures namely; Isaiah 43:21, Luke 4:18 and John 14:26.
“When one looks back, one will discover that early missionaries built schools and hospitals which the poor masses had access to but unfortunately, today, schools and hospitals owned by different churches are out of the reach of their poor members whose offerings and tithes were used to establish these facilities.”
He concluded, “Today, you’ll see a lot of Pastors buying private jets with fleets of cars in their garages while their members wallow in poverty and this is what Givers Embassy is out to correct”,
Apart from the urge to stop the reckless and sometimes insensitive exhibition.
Widows laud Givers Embassy Church for food stuff, cash welfare and employment academy.
They appreciated the Givers Embassy Church for kind gesture.
Mrs Edith Oji, a widow and beneficiary from Egbeda who lost her husband 5years ago and is faced with raising four children singlehandedly appreciated the church for the donations to 27 widows who came from all over Lagos state.
According to her, “They gave us food stuff like small bag of rice, groundnut oil, nooddles, tomatoes and pepper sachez pastes, spaghetti, and cash for transportation.
In addition, loans with free interest will be given to widows doing businesses and for start ups. We also enjoyed wonderful music from Yoruba Hymns Band
“I appreciated the church for widows welfare and Employment Academy under “the poverty fighting squad’.
The academy will help unemployed , train support , engage them “The church will be paying them, during the training”.
We appreciate Dr Olutoke, his powerful team and Prof Sola Fosudo for handling business loans of widows doing businesses and for start ups.
Another business woman and guest, Mrs Victoria Adedare appreciated the Church for other projects for the peoples through the church.
She praised the church for bettering the lives of the communities around them.
