Religion plays a big role in Nigeria, and Nigerians tend to trust religious leaders more than government officials. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has been one of the most influential ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since April, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has been hosting his popular “Your LoveWorld with Pastor Chris” prayer series from his television studio in Lagos, Nigeria, gathering millions of online viewers from all over the world.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is one of the most famous religious leaders in the deeply religious African country, where approximately 70 million of Nigeria’s roughly 240 million citizens are Christians.

A fast-growing number of Nigerians identify as Pentecostal, which is also the string of Christianity that Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s church belongs to.

He founded his Evangelical church, Christ Embassy, also known as LoveWorld Incorporated, in Lagos, Nigeria in 1987.

Since its establishment, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has grown to be one the most influential religious leaders in Nigeria, and his ministry has expanded to have more than 100 branches worldwide, including in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and South Africa.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his church have millions of followers across the globe, and he has sold out huge venues in Europe, North America and Africa, including the O2 Arena in London, the Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana and the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

In Nigeria, pastors wield an incredible amount of influence, and in megachurches, like Christ Embassy, faithful followers gather to hear the latest news from their pastors.

This is due to the fact that many Nigerians are likely to trust religious leaders as much as, if not more than, government officials, and during elections, politicians openly seek the support of the pastors.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is, therefore, a very powerful and popular man, and his name has been a household name in Nigeria since the early 2000s, when he launched his YouTube channel.

This enabled Pastor Chris Oyakhilome to reach further audiences across national borders, and today, he has built a strong network of followers on social media too.

Christ Embassy members: Pastor Chris Oyakhilome offers comfort

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s crowd of followers frequently post testimonials, praises and quotes of him, and they even launch campaigns using specific hashtags to show their support to their pastor.
That was, for instance, the case with #IStandWithPastorChris, which trended for several days on social media over the summer.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s followers have found great support and comfort in his teachings during the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than one million lives worldwide so far.

The pastor, who often touches upon technological topics such as the 5G network, has used his YouTube channel, social media accounts and tv stations as platforms on which his Christ Embassy congregation can find comfort amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the government has imposed restrictions on gatherings and lockdowns, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has moved his church into people’s living rooms through his online sermons, thereby also adhering to the recommendations of social distancing.

In a time of lots of fake news, misinformation and conspiracy theories, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has succeeded in truthfully informing his followers about current events through his internet channels.

Some Christ Embassy members even say that the pastor’s daily sermons during the pandemic has given them structure in their everyday lives while working from home.

On March 27th, 2020, the Christ Embassy President and Pastor Benny Hinn from the United States launched a Global Day of Prayer against the coronavirus.

That became the first of, so far, three of its kind, and all of them have had several million viewers online.

The second Global Day of Prayer took place in June 2020, while the third occurred in September 2020. A fourth one is slated to kick off on December 1st, 2020.

In between the global sermons, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has been hosting the “Your LoveWorld with Pastor Chris” series, which has aired more than 80 episodes so far.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome owns several tv stations, including LoveWorldTV, where all of his sermons and events are broadcasted. There, he also shows on-air miracles, such as blind or terminally ill people being cured of their ailments.

Furthermore, LoveWorld Incorporated has created various apps.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome founded Christ Embassy in 1987 in Nigeria.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome helps during coronavirus pandemic

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his church also have a university in Nigeria at their disposal, and a big LoveWorld Medical Center is under construction along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Nigeria.
With more than 250,000 vehicles using the road every day, it is the busiest interstate route in the country.

The main focus of the hospital is to treat terminally ill patients and people with trauma injuries, as traumas are among the top 10 leading causes of death in the world.

In Lagos State, an average of 12 people dies from traumatic accidents every day.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is widely known for his philanthropic work. Through the coronavirus crisis, he has distributed food relief packages to thousands of people and ministers in dire need all over the world, giving them hope to get through the catastrophe.

Many people who were already living in poverty have been further impoverished because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2015, he did another good deed, as he donated 1 billion Nigerian Naira to the construction of the Dr. Chris Oyakhilome Faculty of Engineering at Benson Idahosa University in Nigeria.

The building was inaugurated in March this year, and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome thanked the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa for building a legacy to promote education at the inauguration ceremony.

The pastor also contributes to educating people in a spiritual way through his publishing house, LoveWorld Publications, which has been running since 1995.

Through that, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has released numerous books, including his daily devotional, Rhapsody of Realities, which has been translated into more than 970 languages.

Every day, the Christ Embassy congregation reads a new daily devotional along with Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s comments, a daily prayer and suggestions to further studies.

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