RECESSION IN NIGERIA CUTS CHURCH OFFERINGS BY HALF

“Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!” declares the Lord GOD.” (Amos 4:4-5).

Pastor Wale Adefarasin, the General Overseer of Guiding Light Assembly, has observed that many churches are going through hard times as a result of the recession in the country. He then charged church leaders to encourage their members to be productive and work hard in order to combat the current debilitating economy.

He made this observation during the monthly meeting of the executive of the Lagos Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria on Tuesday November 29.

Adefarasin who hosted the meeting of the PFN leaders in his church said the reality of the recession is so strong in many churches. “Our incomes have reduced by 50 percent. That is the reality. We have poor people in our midst and we have to take care of them. But we also have to take care of ourselves. The implication of this is that we have to get to work and be productive.

“The way out of the recession is not clear yet but what we know is that the dollar is not there. And we have been so much dependent on foreign goods. What that means is that only those who export will make more money. There is a need for the Church to reinvent itself and begin to be really productive.”