Senior Pastor of Covenant Christian Centre, Lagos, Poju Oyemade, has said that poverty in an area would always reflect in the income of a church.
Speaking with The Guardian in an interview published on Sunday, the popular preacher said what mattered most amid the economic downturn occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic is the ability to recognise opportunities.
He said: “To a large extent, the church, with certain exceptions, will be a reflection of what is going on. So, if you are in an area where there is real poverty, then there is absolutely no way it won’t be reflective on the income that is coming in to the church.
“If there is a real economic downturn, then, of course, everybody that lives within that environment will have that kind of impact that will be felt. Because wherever you have a debit, you must always have a credit somewhere else.
“In other words, once they see withdrawal somewhere, there has to be a deposit somewhere. I think what people need to understand is the creative and innovative ideas that they can birth during this particular period in time and position themselves correctly for the future.”
Oyemade said he believed that once large gatherings are allowed again, people would flock to churches.
“I believe that once it is clear on the horizon that coming into large gatherings would not endanger the lives of people, everybody is going to rush into it. And the truth of the matter is that we might even have more people,” he said.
