PROPHET TB JOSHUA INSTRUCTS REFUND OF $100 REGISTRATION FEE
Nigerian Prophet
T.B. Joshua has released a statement via social network, ‘Facebook’,
instructing those co-ordinating the arrangement of visits to his popular church
in Lagos, Nigeria, to refund the $100 he learned they had been collecting from
people as a registration fee.
Joshua said he was concerned
upon learning from emails and online reports that those arranging groups to
visit The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) were taking $100 as a registration fee for those desirous of
visiting his famous sanctuary, stating that the organisation of such was charitable in nature and not a money-making venture. “I have received
many emails and newspaper reports on the internet complaining of registration
fees of $100. What then makes us an evangelist? When people go to concerts,
they also register with $100,” the statement, which was posted to over
500,000 fans of ‘TB Joshua Ministries’, read.
He
maintained that co-ordinating
visits to The SCOAN was evangelical and not finance-orientated, warning
those involved that collecting undue money from vulnerable people
was tantamount to partaking in their troubles. “If we are evangelists, co-ordinating for God’s sake, all our concerns,
aspirations and heart desires must be subjected to the Gospel through works of
charity by helping the sick, distressed and unsaved instead of collecting
registration fees of $100 from them before giving succour, I mean, attending to
them. This cannot be justified; it amounts to taking a portion of their
situation.”
The popular cleric insisted that
money-making should not be the focus or drive of such co-ordinators but rather care
for the sick and distressed in society. “If
we are focused on making money only, a large slice of life will pass us by. We
should spend less on ourselves and more on others,” he exhorted, reminding
them of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40-45. “Don’t forget
your promise when you were called to be co-ordinators. Your promise, if I may
remind you, was to give rest to the sick, distressed and unsaved,” he wrote.
The statement ended with Joshua’s insistence that any money collected for registration should be
immediately returned. “Those who have
already paid $100 for the registration should be refunded, for God’s sake. I am
impressed by the prompt action of the co-ordinators in Tanzania and Zimbabwe
who have been refunding the $100 paid by each person as a registration fee. I
believe all others will act likewise." Citing Matthew 10:41, he concluded, "He who honours a prophet because he is a
prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.”
The
SCOAN is known to be one
of Nigeria’s major tourist attractions, with hundreds of foreign
visitors
flocking to the cathedral on a weekly basis in search of the miraculous.
The ministry is especially popular within Africa, with scores of
visitors from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Zambia,
Tanzania, Ghana and a host of other African countries making regular
pilgrimages to The SCOAN in Lagos. T.B.
Joshua is also renowned for his philanthropy, charitable giving to the
less-privileged forming an integral part of his church services
broadcast on Emmanuel TV.
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