A PROPOSAL ON EFFECT OF PROSPERITY PREACHING ON THE GROWTH OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH GWARINPA ASSEMBLY ABUJA

Abstract

This study will be on effect of prosperity preaching on the growth of the apostolic church Gwarinpa assembly Abuja. Three objectives will be raised which included; To assess the effect of prosperity preaching on members of Apostolic Church in Gwarimpa, Abuja, to examine the concept of Prosperity preaching with reference to Apostolic church in Gwarimpa, Abuja and to ascertain the effect of prosperity preaching on the growth of Apostolic church in Gwarimpa Assembly in Abuja. The method of data analysis that will be used by the researcher is the simple percentage. More so, percentage and degrees of the responses will also be used in the analysis. Here, the ratio of those whose responses were not in the affirmative will be found and conclusions will be drawn there upon. Representations of the level of responses will be made in tabular form.

Introduction

Background of the study

Christianity plays a critical role in social life in Nigeria as in many parts of Africa. In this period of economic crises in the country, many people look to the Church as a solution out of economic challenges. Upon this, some Pentecostal Churches now made a significant impact especially with the prosperity gospel. In recent decades, the African Christian landscape has witnessed the emergence of Pentecostal religious movements which have indeed taken the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa. A section of this Christian movement advocates the Gospel Prosperity. This form of Pentecostal Christianity is said to be a variant of conservative Protestantism. It proposes that “faith is the key that openness the door to prosperity.

Given the current proliferation of Pentecostal Christianity, the Prosperity Gospel is increasingly becoming a prominent feature of Christianity. Its popularity is premised mostly on the following factors: firstly, this doctrine presents itself as holding the key to the material prosperity of its members and as being an embodiment of modernity. Secondly, it promises to provide its members with the arsenal for overcoming witchcraft, demonic forces and other malignant spirit is through the power of the Holy Spirit. For that matter, Africans consider this form of Christianity as offering them an existential hope in the insecurities they encounter here and now, rather than merely the hope for the heavenly life

Prosperity Gospel is a doctrine among the Pentecostals that God wants people to be prosperous, especially financially. Adherents to the Prosperity Gospel believe that wealth is a sign of God’s blessing and is compensation for prayer and for giving beyond the minimum tithe to one’s church, televangelists, or other religious causes. The logical extension of the Prosperity Gospel sometimes explicit, sometimes not, depending on the preacher is that the poor are poor because of a lack of faith, that poverty is the fault of the poor themselves (Gifford 19). Adherents also tend to interpret the New Testament as portraying Jesus as a relatively rich figure who used his wealth to feed the masses on several occasions and to finance what they argue to have been a fairly costly itinerate ministry. As such, Prosperity adherents argue that Christians should model their lives after Jesus’ by living lavishly, in stark contrast to orthodox interpretations of the Gospels that regard poverty as a Christian ideal modeled after a poor messiah. In this sense, adherents believe God to be very interested in their financial status. Poverty, far from being a blessing, is a sign of God’s disfavor; thus, Christians have a duty to deal only with the apparent lack of faith among the poor and not their poverty itself. The prosperity teaching is common in Nigeria. Some scholars such as McCain hold that this teaching is responsible for the rapid expansion of Pentecostal denominations and that it has influenced the messages and practices of older denominations in the country (McCain, 34). This indicates that the prosperity gospel should be investigated and its impact on the Pentecostal Churches examined A recent survey shows that while many claim that the prosperity teaching is bad, they demonstrate remarkable ignorance of the meaning of the concept (Sarles, 333). This research therefore will investigate the effect of prosperity preaching on the growth of the Apostolic church in Gwarimpa, Abuja.

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