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Chris Oyakhilome | |
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| Born | Christian Oyakhilome (1963-12-07)7 December 1963 (age 61) Edo State, Nigeria |
| Occupation(s) | Pastor,faith healing minister, television host, author, philanthropist |
| Known for | Global Evangelical Outreach |
| Notable work | Founder, LoveWorld Inc |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Christian Oyakhilome (born 7 December 1963), known asPastor Chris, is a Nigerian pastor, author,televangelist and president ofLoveWorld Incorporated, a Christian ministry based inLagos. He is the founder ofChrist Embassy, a large congregation with branches in several countries, and the author of the daily devotionalRhapsody of Realities.[1][2]
Oyakhilome also organises mass rallies and his "healing school" is held periodically every year inNigeria andSouth Africa.[3]
Chris Oyakhilome was born on 7 December 1963 to Tim and Angelina Oyakhilome inEdo State,Nigeria.[4] He is the third child of 7 children and the first of two sons. He has five sisters and all of his siblings play active roles in Loveworld andChrist Embassy.[4] They are Beayeta Akhuemokhan (née Oyakhilome), Mercy Oyakhilome, Kenneth Oyakhilome, Linda Okocha (née Oyakhilome), Kathy Woghiren (née Oyakhilome) and Lovelina Osazuwa (née Oyakhilome).[5]
He attendedEdo College, and on scholarship, gained admission intoBendel State University, which was later renamedAmbrose Ali University,Ekpoma where he studied and obtained a first degree inArchitecture.[6]
Oyakhilome's ministry began while he was a student on campus atAmbrose Alli University. As an undergraduate, he founded a youth ministry called Youth For Christ, which became the largest fellowship at Bendel State University. In one of his services, Oyakhilome gave an account of how theVice Chancellor at the time attended his service once on Campus.[7]
Upon graduation in 1987, he started a church in Benin City and relocated to Lagos in 1989, where he established Christ Embassy.[6][failed verification] As of February 2023[update], there were BLW Campus Fellowships and Christ Embassy Churches in higher institutions and major cities around the world;[8][9] Oyakhilome's ministry has spread to theUnited Kingdom, theUnited States,Ghana andSouth Africa,[10] and has "healing school" sessions in South Africa,Lagos, andCanada.[3]
Oyakhilome also founded a Christian-based television network, which broadcasts worldwide from Africa. He also held the largest single-night event in Nigeria in 2006 with claimed 3.5 million people in attendance "Good Friday Miracle Night".[11][dubious –discuss] Oyakhilome also hosts Higher Life conferences in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, the UK, the US, and Canada,[12] and organized theNight of Bliss South Africa event at theFNB Stadium inJohannesburg.[13] Oyakhilome also operates an International School of Ministry,[14] which held one of its Ministers' Network Conferences in 2016 with 5,000 ministers in attendance from 145 countries, in Johannesburg, South Africa.[15]
He runs an online prayer network using social media to send messages to Christians in several countries. He also operates a smartphone messenger called KingsChat.[16] In 2015, Oyakhilome was given an honorary doctorate from Ambrose Alli University[17] andBenson Idahosa University.[18] In 2017, Oyakhilome, in partnership withBenny Hinn, created the Christian cable channelLoveWorld USA.[19]
Oyakhilome has hosted several online programs including five editions of the Global Day of Prayer, with Benny Hinn, the first edition on 27 March 2020. Today, his ministry has a digital currency called Espee that members can use to make different transactions.[20][non-primary source needed]
Chris Oyakhilome married Anita Ebhodaghe on 2 February 1991. They met as students at the university. Anita was also a pastor in Christ Embassy and was widely known as Pastor Anita. They later had two daughters, Sharon and Charlene.[21]
The couple filed for divorce on 9 April 2014. In an official release made by Pastor Anita's legal team, Attwaters Jameson Hill, the divorce was confirmed completed on 8 February 2016, and they stated, "Anita Oyakhilome would like to confirm that she is no longer involved in or part of Christ Embassy AKA Believers loveworld Inc."[22]
On 6 October 2018, Pastor Benny Hinn officiated the wedding ceremony of Pastor Chris' first daughter, Sharon, to Phillip Frimpong; a Ghanaian, with former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo as chairman of the occasion.[23][24]
In 2011,Forbes estimated Oyakhilome's wealth as between $30 million and $50 million.[25]
Oyakhilome operates the Inner City Mission Project, which works to assist orphaned and indigent children in inner cities in several countries.[26] The organisation is under the auspices of theChris Oyakhilome Foundation International, which works to help the poor and those in the inner cities. The organisation sends relief materials to countries when disasters strike and works with government parastatals to improve social well-being.[citation needed]
The Chris Oyakhilome Foundation is one of the major sponsors of theinner city orphanage homes[27] in Africa managed by pushaboo,[28] an organisation spearheading the care of mothers and babies around the world.
Other agencies[29] supported by Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International (COFI) are the Volunteer Medical Corps,Trauma Care International Foundation, Inner City Mission for Children, Future Africa Leaders Foundation and the Bible for All Mission.[30]
In an inquiry started in 2013, theUK Charity Commission found there was "serious misconduct and/or mismanagement" in the administration of the "Christ Embassy", a charity associated with Oyakhilome and his church's activities. An interim manager was appointed to review the activities and governance of the charity, leading to a report that “the board of trustees appears to be fragmented” and “appear to have little appreciation of their roles, duties and obligations as Trustees”. The interim manager served until the appointment of a new Board of Trustees in 2016. Following the appointment of the new Board of Trustees, significant progress was made to address the governance and improve oversight and control of the charity.[31]
Honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Benson Idahosa University.[32][33]
Honorary Doctorate Doctor of Science Award, Ambrose Alli University.[34]
In December 2023, he was named the Chancellor – Head of Government and Chairman Plenipotentiary of Weldios University.[35]
Oyakhilome has garnered attention for his advocacy of faith healing as a potential solution forHIV/AIDS.[36]
Oyakhilome has been accused of preaching theprosperity gospel and using his followers for money, stating that those who donate to his ministry will be rewarded with wealth, health.[37] However he has responded to criticism by stating that "true prosperity comes from spiritual growth and adherence to God's principles, not mere material accumulation.[38]
Oyakhilome also supports YouTube-propagatedconspiracy theories, including a video he posted linking the Corona Virus with the 5G mobile network rollout and a conspiracy of the "New World Order."[39] He has preached against vaccines and has been accused of undermining efforts to eradicate serious infectious diseases.[40] He has also spoken against vaccines against malaria.[41]
Oyakhilome and his church have been accused of spreadinganti-vaccine misinformation aboutHPV,polio andmalaria vaccination[42] In 2021, the Oyakhilome-associated Loveworld Television Network was convicted of making false claims about theCOVID-19 pandemic and for the same infraction, the television network was fined £125,000 by British regulatorsOfcom.”[43][44]
Oyakhilome is the author ofRhapsody of Realities, which is distributed monthly in several countries and also shared via social media platforms.[45] Below are the books written and the year published.
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