Opinion Poll: What do you think are the factors responsible for the proliferation of Ministries and Payer houses in Nigeria?

Opinion Poll: What do you think are the factors responsible for the proliferation of Ministries and Payer houses in Nigeria?

 

It is no longer news that most Nigerian families move from one ministries or Prayer houses in search of solutions to their unending problems.

 

In this Opinion poll, a random question was asked on what they think are the factors responsible for the proliferation of ministries and prayer houses in Nigeria. Many gave their suggestions on the topic. You can take your time to read and analyze the suggestions and Vote for the best suggestion through the comment section. The person with the highest votes will be rewarded. Below are their responses.

 

 

1. Chikwendu Olivia from Imo state, Ikeduru.

 

PROLIFERATION: Means the rapid multiplication of part or the increase in number of something.

MINISTRIES: Ministry comes from the ordinary Greek word for serving and attending someone. In Christianity, ministry means an office of service that a person is called by God.

PROLIFERATION of MINISTRIES and PRAYER HOUSE means the increase in prayer house

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS: The problems of Nigeria include, poverty, unemployment and corruption in various sectors of the country’s polity, hunger and lack of strong basic institutions, healthcare, security of lives and properties, etc These problems which lie in the responsibility of the government without been attended to but they leave the people to their fate. Moreover, being a religious people, we turn to God by bombarding him with our problems in form of prayer request, then a pastor or a so called man on God will come to the picture and start using the scripture and mesmerizing our mind that our help will come from the Lord who made heaven and earth and that leads to the show -off of the magic wand then they start exploiting the gullible ones.

CULTURAL FACTORS: As an African, we believe that whatever problems we face in life ,it is the work of the evil forces and for that we start seeking help from somewhere else by going to seek for a spiritual help even to the extended of going to a native doctors, then when the problems continue we start going from one prayer house to another until we see the answer to the so called spiritual problem that then gives rise to many scammers emerging in the garb of pastors to play the gimmick on the answer seeking person’s.

SPIRITUAL FACTOR: It is arrogance, pride and unchristian ambition that are responsible for the proliferation of prayer house and ministries. According to St. Paul in 1cor 12…said that the gift of the Spirit is for the edification of the church and not for personal gains. Part of what we experience today in proliferation of churches/ministries are from people who think that they have received one gift or the other and instead of remaining in the church and use their gift for the good of the church, they break out and open their prayer house claiming that the Spirit told them to do so simply for personal gains in order to answer G.O, or mummy or daddy.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTOR: Many Christians today are in the real sense are not Christians, this explains why we have more churches with less Christians. They simply do not know what it means to be a Christian- a witness to Christ crucified. Disliking suffering, pains and hard work, but will always love to possess mansions even when we are jobless. We say powerful Amen to the man of God’s wishes that have no foundation in reality. We are gullible and mentally brainwashed into believing that we are not to suffer since Christ has suffered on our behalf, instead of following the footsteps of Christ. With this we are made to keep sowing seeds for good fortune, prosperity and breakthrough. Stupidly, we keep sowing seeds to be like the pastors, which will never come to be. Some even decided not to go their ancestral homes as in their village because the man of God said that whenever he/she sets foot on their ancestral home death will occur because of that they refuse to travel. Then the fear of death makes them start going from one prayer house to another.

PASTORAL FACTOR: It is among the satisfying ministry of the priest that he sanctifies and pray for the faithful using sacramental means the church has made available. Hence, if a priest fails to help the faithful to understand what it means to follow Christ, then the faithful is bound to go and look for where he/she would be helped to understand and follow Christ. At time the priest neglect to help the faithful when asked for help, you will see a priest telling a lay faithful that the church is not a charity home, then leading the faithful to seek for help elsewhere. When a priest refuses to take care of those put in his care that have received spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, by supervising them under the confine of the church and counselling them, then a so-called pastor will come in the picture telling them how to make use of the gift. Then you will see a member of the church or the priest saying” Catholic church no dey look for member, as them dey go, them dey come” ….it pains my heart when I hear that. However, Christians should be mindful, that it is the Spirit of Jesus that should be the underlying paradigm in our Christian missions, commitment and goals and must be felt in communal manner. He is a good shepherd that gathers rather than scatter, He bridges every gap among the people. So, our priest should try and bridge the gap in our community.
Thank you.
God bless all our priest…

 

2. Okeke Chioma Agatha from Anambra State, Ezinifite Aguata.

 

Mother Church initially don’t allow those with spiritual gifts to manifest it, some then go out to depend on themselves.
Selfish interest. Everybody wants to be address as Daddy G.O, famous and wealthy.
Some see Church as business that fetches money.

 

3. EGBEBIKE MARVELOUS CHINECHEREM from umuaku isuochi umunneochi LGA Abia state.

 

Is no longer news that we now have many ministry/churches in Nigeria apart the mother churches? And to the best of my knowledge these are the reasons for the proliferation of ministries/prayer-houses:

firstly: Excommunicated members form the mainline churches; most of the founders of some ministries/prayer-houses capitalize on little crisis and sees an opportunity to open their own business or ministries. The fear of being disciplined or suspended from the mainline churches for erring members was equally discovered as means for secession.

secondly: Socio-economic factor; It seems that possessing of the holy spirit is the major factor that brings about the proliferation of ministries in the society. And can also be seen as an open door for disunity, discrimination and twisting of scripture among the Christians. People’s excessive quest for material wealth coupled with status consciousness and value orientations that have increased in the modern living have made jobless young men seek means of economic survival through the establishment of ministries in Nigeria. There is always a relationship between proliferation of ministries and the contemporary teething economic situation in the country.

thirdly: status consciousness; It is general that in Nigeria individuals earn respect and recognition through their performance and what they are in the society

fourthly: Search for security; This a phenomenon pushing people around in the quest for healing and solutions to mysterious problems such as freedom from sinister forces that threaten life in Nigeria. THANKS

 

4. Nonye Maduka from Anambra state and Enugu.

 

Prayer houses now gives money. Many people that are opening prayer houses are not doing it because they love God but it is because of material gain and money because things are hard these days though some are genuine but you will never know the genuine ones unless you come closer, then the spirit of God will open your eyes to see the truth and that is if you are lucky.

5. Vivian Okoye from Enugu

 

Poverty and deprivation are the main factors responsible for the proliferation of ministries in Nigeria. Gross deprivation makes the average Nigerian vulnerable and ‘ministers’ explore these vulnerabilities to amass wealth eventually.

 

6. Okereke Festus from Imo State, Owerri

 

The factors include the following:
1. Unemployment and hardship in the country have them take advantage of so many people through their prosperous preaching.

2. Lack of faith among Christian’s.
3. Sickness and set back are also a factor owning to the fact they believe their pastors will cure them through Prayers there by taking the little they have to enrich themselves.

Sharp Sharp syndrome: we want the easy way out.

Also lack of care especially among Christian’s which they dwell more in caring for their members.

Youth activities: they encourage their youths more and care for them thereby promoting anything that keep them. Children activities not left out unlike the Catholic Church.

Finally, through music they draw many Catholics to themselves preaching to them that Catholics is a suffering church and don’t read Bible which the Christian’s believe

 

7. Ijeoma Ohiaeri from Enugu state

 

I think greed, love of money, bringing evil desires to life by being in a position of power like men of God, laziness of the people always wanting things to be done for them as long as they pay the man of God to pray for them, impatience, unemployment, etc.

 

8. Esther Nkwoji from Imo state.

 

What i think are the factors responsible for the proliferation of ministries and prayer house in Nigeria is,

1.Poverty,
2. Lock of sounds doctrine
3. Poor government regulations
4. Availability of gullible believers
5. Unwillingness to summit to others
6. Pride.

 

9. Obiakor claret from Orlu Imo state.

 

1.Socioeconomic factors like poverty, hunger, greed
2. Cultural factors like traditions, superstitious beliefs
3. Ignorance

 

10. Egbunu Julius Enebi from Kogi (Ankpa)

 

Proliferation of ministries and prayer houses can be ascribed to mental breakdown and psychological brain wash of the people of God. Many people are living in the fear of the unknown and any little thing that happens to them is seem as witchcraft and then tend to run to prayer houses in the name of prayer or deliverance.
Some so called men of God are using this against the people in other to respect from where they do not speak, when a ministry or prayer houses seem to the growing in an area, the person close to the man of God will want to get a share from whatever come in and at the moment jealousy will come in and he or she will want to start his or her own ministry and greed also contribute to the proliferation of ministries and prayer houses as soon many people now use it as avenue in making ends meet dues to the economic hardship in the land, Like our lord Jesus said many will rise in my name and perform all kinds of miracles but don’t you lose sight, proliferation of ministries and prayers houses is also sign of end time. THANKS.

 

11. Austin Ugoo from Imo State, Akokwa.

 

There are many factors that lead to that but some below are the trending reasons:

1: Not adhering to the tutorial/Spiritual mentorship: This cuts across the mentor and the one mentored. When the must have done his/her best to inculcate the relevant theological experience and tutorial, the mentored goes without bending and aligning himself to what have been taught.

2: Not Identifying where one belongs: My people perish because of lack of knowledge. Because one has seen where another opens his own ministry and possibly doing well in it. One wouldn’t consider where he belongs, because he wants to be famous and notorious, he opens his own to be answering Bishop, Snr. Apostle etc.

3: Love for materialism: This has eaten deep into the fabrics of most individuals. In fact, this should be the primordial factor. Until our people are reoriented, the problem will still continue.

And many other factors.

Thanks.

 

12. Chidi from Orlu

 

Many