Sun investigation reveals the lavish worlds of Britain's
loaded pastors including plush mansions, a £120k birthday party and worshippers
thrust thousands of direct debit forms a week
These are the mega-rich messengers of God whose churches are
raking in millions from their worshippers in some of the poorest parts of
Britain.
Pastors Matthew Ashimolowo and Alex Omokudu live in
sprawling seven-figure mansions while their huge congregations are told to hand
over money often straight from their salaries.
Meanwhile, the preachers lead services in which it is
claimed people have been cured of life-threatening illnesses - some of them on
the spot.
The Sun found Omokudu continues to promote videos such as
one claiming a young boy has been cured of cancer while the pastor places his
hands on him. His church has been warned by authorities about potentially
exploiting people with serious illnesses.
We witnessed worshippers being told "God wants you to
give all your money to him" and warned about showing "disobedience to
God" before being handed direct debit forms.
The pastors claim to share their wealth with those who need
it but we can reveal the financial dealings which have seen them acquire lavish
lifestyles most worshippers can only dream of.
Pastor 'with healing powers from God' lives in £2m mansion
as deprived worshippers told 'give your money to Him'
Pastor Alex Omokudu claims to be "heavily anointed with
healing powers from God" and his church takes more than £1million a year
in donations from his devoted following.
Omokudu moved to the UK from Nigeria in 2002 and launched
Victorious Pentecostal Assembly (VPA) three years later.
Today, the 53-year-old - who is called Daddy by his flock -
owns a lavish £2million nine-bedroom mansion in leafy Hornchurch, Essex.
The lavish gated mansion includes five reception rooms, a
swimming pool, a sauna and a 250ft garden.
He also owns a second £600,000 property a short distance
away.
Despite his luxurious lifestyle, his website states:
"My wealth belongs to the people, whatever I have I give out. People are
suffering and need help."
Meanwhile, worshippers are effectively leaned on to empty
their pockets to 'the God of VPA'.
The main church in Barking, East London, is attended by
around 5,000 worshippers every week and lies within one of the most deprived
areas in the UK.
VPA also operates in run-down parts of Birmingham,
Manchester, Bradford and Luton.
Our reporter attended a service at VPA's Barking church and
joined thousands of people repeatedly told: "Give your money to God to get
ahead of others".
The service started with a number of testimonies of people
claiming to have experienced miracles after praying to 'the God of VPA' and
requests from those looking for help.
One teenager about to sit his A-level exams was told:
"When you enter that exam hall, God will fill your head with the
answers".
The congregation was then read a passage from 2 Kings 4 in
which a woman finds herself in debt and is told to collect empty containers
from her neighbours which God fills with oil to sell.
"Give your money to God to get ahead of others... give
your money to God to get ahead of others" repeats the pastor.
A number of similar phrases were repeated as the volume of
the music grew slowly in the converted office block.
The pastor added: "God wants you to give all your money
to Him.. give all your money to Him.
"There is no excuse not to give your money to God... he
sees any money you have coming. You cannot hide money from God.
"The church of VPA and Pastor Alex Omokudu will deliver
you prosperity."
As the music built to a crescendo, direct debit forms
emerged - and worshippers were told to come to the front and "pay your
tithes".
But while vowing to serve the congregation who hand over
£1m-a-year, Omokudu also personally takes an annual £102,000 in rent for the
church they worship in.
Our investigation found Omokudu bought the property for £1m
with the help of a loan from London-based Kenyan national called Kennedy Kulei.
The pastor - who previously described separation as a sin -
divorced from his wife of 15 years Patricia last year and three months
later married a Russian woman nearly 30 years his junior.
He explained the decision to his followers, saying in an interview:
"I have already remarried. I did not want to remarry but God said I should
get out of it and consoled me."
A rent-free £1.1m home, an army of 1,000 unpaid volunteers
and lavish spending sprees with church cash including a £120k birthday party
Matthew Ashimolwo, 65, launched Kingsway International
Christian Centre in 1992 from a rented hall.
Twenty-five years later the church also has £16.4m in assets, £500,000 in the bank and rakes in more than £8m in revenue a year.
Twenty-five years later the church also has £16.4m in assets, £500,000 in the bank and rakes in more than £8m in revenue a year.
Videos show him asking his worshippers to place their hands
on parts of their body where they are afflicted by diseases before saying
"every sickness and disease in your body I command it to leave you"
before telling them "you have no sicknesses and diseases".
KICC - which mainly operates in Walthamstow and the
recently-acquired 'Prayer City' building in Chatham, Kent - takes £6.3m a
year from tithing, where the congregation gives up 10 per cent of its salary.
The church also has an army of 1,000 volunteers who provide
it with more than 300,000 hours of free labour, worth more than £2m-a-year.
But while claiming to 'pass on his riches' Ashimolowo -
described as the church's 'founder, visionary and senior pastor' - lives rent
free in a £1.1m nine-bedroom home in Romford, Essex, owned by the church.
Documents obtained by The Sun show the property was purchased
by the charity with no mortgage.
The Nigerian-born pastor lives with wife Yemisi, 58, who is
also a senior pastor at the church and believed to earn more than
£60,000-a-year from her role.
The couple owns a second £600,000 home in Grays, Essex,
currently lived in by their son.
Ashimolowo has previously been found by the Charity
Commission to have used church funds to pay for a £120,000 birthday party for
himself at a London hotel, an £80,000 new Mercedes and a £13,000 Florida
timeshare.
He was also paid around £50,000-a-year by the church for
'pastoral services' before the 2005 probe found he had flouted charity rules by
being a trustee and paying himself a salary.
The Charity Commission found there had been 'serious
misconduct and mismanagement' of charity funds and told it to establish itself
as a new charity with new trustees - which it did.
More than £500,000 was also legally paid by the church to
his own private companies including Matthew Ashimolowo Media Ministries which
publishes books and DVDs of his teachings.
Accounts show the publishing company raked in more than £2
million - making a profit of £877,000 - between 1999 and 2005 before it started
filing less detailed financial statements under Companies House rules.
Speaking about his wealth in an interview this year,
Ashimolowo said: "Money is called currency because it flows to where it is
celebrated, to wherever it is respected and showed it is needed and can be
handled well.
"Anything God blesses me with I just use to bless
others. I don’t stack it somewhere."
But when Sun Online attended his church, a run-down
converted cinema in Walthamstow, East London, more than 10 miles from
Ashimolowo's plush home, the service felt more like a sales pitch.
The sermon, entitled 'The Power of the Tithe', listed 14
reasons why worshippers should donate 10 per cent of their income to the
church.
Ashimolowo told the congregation: "If you do not pay
the tithe, it is like you do not really trust God".
He labelled the money an "insurance against Satan"
and warned of the dire consequences of non-payment.
The millionaire - estimated to be worth around £6 million by
Forbes magazine in 2011 - says refusal to hand over hundreds of pounds a month
will be seen by God as "disobedience" and result in it making
"impossible for him to release your harvest".
0 Comments