By David Usman ,
Minna
Communities along Top Medical road, Minna, which host one of the new generation churches in Minna, the Niger State capital, Mountain of Grace Deliverance and Miracle Ministries: Atmosphere of Miracle, have petitioned the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) over alleged noise pollution and public disturbance by the founder of the church, Pastor Godwin, alias Elijah 1.
The communities accused the cleric of undermining the peace enjoyed in the area especially through his mode of worship which they argued was different from the conventional mode of worship by other churches.
Though the church has stipulated weekly activities, our correspondent gathered that Pastor Godwin goes against the schedules to hold services daily while some run through late hours of the night with blaring from the loudspeakers causing sleepless nights to neighbours.
Godwin is also said to always order worshippers, first timers in particular to buy raw eggs, wraps of ashes and sand sold in the church, which he uses in praying for them and afterwards the eggs are smashed with foul smell oozing from rotten eggs besides other monetary and material items like cows and goats being indiscriminately demanded from people for ‘miracles’.
A neighbour and erstwhile member narrated how she and some unsuspecting first timers were deceived with demands of ‘sow a seed’ with every kobo on them and their mobile phones until they ended up emptying their pockets and had to trek for hours before reaching their homes after such odd services that ended in the dead hours of the nights.
The source further said that the activities of the church had divided homes as female church workers were not allowed to go home to meet their husbands and children before the church activities which end up late in the night.
It was also gathered that Pastor Godwin before commencement of church service show film clips of notable men of God he claims are his role models like; Prophet TB Joshua, Dr. Paul Enenche, Prophet Jeremiah, Bishop David Oyedepo and Prophet Iginla to deceive people.
What however is worrisome to most first timers is the endless demand for seed sowing which most times is done through outright intimidation of targets, the demand for cows, goats and frequent smashing of eggs for sacrifices which to many is in sharp variation from order of service in the churches and men of God he claimed are his ‘fathers in the Lord’.
The youthful Pastor is said to have once challenged husband to one of the women serving as church worker for daring to question the rationale behind denying his wife and children the comfort of their home at nights for whatsoever reason.
But the Niger State CAN Chairman, Rev. Matthias Echioda, in his reaction confirmed the petition against the Pastor concerning their mode of worship by the host community along Top Medical road, Minna.
He expressed regrets that Pastor Godwin snubbed CAN.
Echioda said, “We got a petition against one Pastor Godwin, Alias Elijah 1 of Mountain of Grace Deliverance and Miracle Ministries sometimes in September this year for noise pollution and other activities causing breach of peace and that he refused to cooperate with his neighbours”.
The petition titled, ‘Complaint Against Mountain of Grace Church and Pasto Godwin, Alias Elijah 1’, dated 29th of September, 2018, Echioda said came barely three months after the church birthed in the well populated residential area.
Pastor Godwin, we were told, started having problems with people in the area few months after the church started, the CAN chairman said, adding, “We invited him for discussions based on the contents of the petition but he refused to come”.