A church run by a controversial
multi-millionaire African preacher has been accused of ‘cynical exploitation’
after its British branch received £16.7 million in donations from followers who
were told that God would give them riches in return.
Followers are ferried in
double-decker shuttle buses to the church, handed slips inviting them to make
debit card payments, and are even told obeying the ministry’s teachings will
make them immune from illness.
Today’s Mail on Sunday revelations
about the Winners’ Chapel movement, which holds charitable status, have
prompted the Charity Commission to carry out an assessment of the church – one
of the fastest-growing in the UK.
Winners’ Chapel is part of a
worldwide empire of evangelical ministries run by Nigeria’s wealthiest preacher
David Oyedepo, who has an estimated £93 million fortune, a fleet of private
jets and a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Plenty to smile about; Preacher David Oyedepo
of the Winners Chapel movement aboard one of his private jets. He also owns a
Rolls Royce Phantom
Dubbed ‘The Pastorpreneur’, he was
accused earlier this year of slapping the face of a young woman he said was a
witch. The assault case was struck out but is being appealed.
Branches of the church have sprung
up in major UK cities in a huge recruitment drive centred on Mr Oyedepo’s
‘prosperity gospel’. This claims that congregants who make regular donations
and pay tithes – a ten per cent levy on their income – will be rewarded
financially by God.
Followers are urged to target
vulnerable people such as the lonely, the sick, the homeless and the suicidal
as potential candidates for conversion.
Last night, Labour MP Paul Flynn
said Winners’ Chapel was cynically exploiting supporters. ‘They [Winners’
Chapel] are making clearly spurious claims and it seems to be a cynical
exploitation of the gullible,’ he said.
Referring to the slapping incident,
Mr Flynn added: ‘What is also alarming is the reported violence and the lack of
respect for the status of women. It’s taking us back to a previous age of ignorance
and prejudice that we all thought the church had escaped.’
Caught on camera: Video of Mr
Oyedepo striking a young 'witch' across the face in front of a congregation
This newspaper’s investigation can
further disclose:
- Congregants are handed a payment slip requesting payments using cheque, cash or debit card when they enter London’s Winners’ Chapel.
- Donations to the ministry in England almost doubled from £2.21 million to £4.37 million between 2006 and 2010.
- Mr Oyedepo’s superchurch in Nigeria received £794,000 or 73 per cent of the charitable donations paid out by the British Winners’ Chapel between 2007 and 2010. This was despite claims in Africa that he is enriching himself at the expense of his devotees.
- The registered charity has spent £6.81 million on evangelism and ‘praise, worship and fellowship’.
- The church’s ‘Joseph Squad’ preaches in British prisons and has a weekly broadcast named ‘Liberation Hour’ on satellite and cable TV here.
In the past three years, Winners’
Chapel churches have been established in Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds and
Bradford, adding to those in London, Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow.
An undercover Mail on Sunday
reporter attended Sunday services at Winners’ Chapel’s ‘London HQ’
in Dartford, Kent, which attracts 1,000 congregants – chiefly African and
Caribbean immigrants. It is run like ‘a business conference’ by Mr Oyedepo’s
son, David Oyedepo Jnr. Packed buses deliver singing worshippers from
South-East London, Essex and Kent to the huge auditorium.
The reporter saw a payment slip
being given to every person entering the church encouraging them to donate
money by cheque or cash or to fill in a form with
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