The pastor of Europe’s largest evangelical church gave advice on how to revive Christianity and the Church in the United States Tuesday evening during a Q&A session based on questions submitted by American Christians.
Sunday Adelaja, founding pastor to the 30,000-member God’s Embassy Church in Kiev, Ukraine, was the featured guest of a teleconference hosted by Strang Communications, the publisher of Charisma and Ministry Today magazines.
God’s Embassy Church boasts more than two million converts and 600 church plants worldwide.
During the Q&A, Adelaja emphasized how the Church should not be pulpit-focused, but rather concentrate on how to reveal Jesus Christ to people if they want to experience growth.
The Nigerian-born Christian leader used his own church as example, saying that his church first experienced massive growth after four fruitless years when he started to go out and fed the poor and took care of the drug addicts and alcoholics in Ukraine.
He also encouraged every single church member to influence and impact the culture for God.
“Do not let your people get comfortable with sitting down in the pews,” Adelaja advised a pastor who submitted a question during the teleconference. “You have to literally push them out of the pews and strengthen them so they can go out there and invade the darkness of the world because they are the light of the world.
“You have to really keep on pushing them to believe in themselves that they can change the world for God.”
The influential European pastor said that the mayor of Kiev, the chief justice of Ukraine, and the prime minister of the country all come from his church.
Adelaja was also critical of U.S. churches, saying they were a “far cry” from real churches and that this generation of Americans have not seen the real church yet.
“The way things are now in America, the way we do church is kind of like a program,” Adelaja observed. “We are doing church as a club. We are trying to make people feel good, to entertain them, or try to keep them. So because of that concern – we don’t want them to go or to lose them – we kind of try to suit them.
“We are pleasing men instead of pleasing God,” the megachurch pastor continued. “I think we need to change our focus and our focus has to be ‘what is the heartbeat of God?’ ‘What does God desire?’ ‘Does He really want me to just make these people happy and keep them here forever until they die or I die? Or is it better for me to fire them up and encourage them to go and live their life truly for God and for kingdom?’”
Adelaja also diagnosed American Christians as egocentric and said that they need to be taught that the focus of their life is not themselves, but God. Adelaja said that as long as pastors teach that the purpose of believing in God is for them to be blessed then people will never influence their culture.
Earlier this year, Adelaja released his latest book, ChurchShift, which broke Amazon.com’s top 10 Bestsellers list. ChurchShift’s mission is to spark a revolution in American culture with the goal of reforming 10,000 U.S. churches so that they will in turn reform American society.
Adelaja grew up a poor orphan in Nigeria and was raised in a Christian home by his grandmother. He did not own a pair of shoes until he was 12 years old and had to earn a living from the age of six. Through the prayers of his Christian grandmother, Adelaja gave his life to Christ at 19 years of age. He traveled to the Soviet Union to study journalism on a scholarship and later founded Embassy of God Church after the Soviet Union was dismantled.
The Embassy of God Church is the largest church in all of Europe with some 100,000 total members, including those from all its satellite locations. Although Adelaja is African, white Europeans make up 99 percent of his church. The church has planted more than 600 churches in more than 45 countries, including 20 churches in the United States.
Comments
You cannot compare the church in the poorer Eastern/African countries and the church in the affluent west - apples and oranges. The needs of the people are very different so they relate to the Gospel message in very different ways. As long as the church remains an institutional organization run like a profit making business with emplyees to pay and members to please, it will produce the same results. Functioning like a business entity means having to rely on business models and practices for growth and expansion. This is in diametrical opposition to the Gospel message - which teaches BEING the church NOT DOING church!
Thanks Kevin82. I appreciate your info.
Peace of Christ to you!
msnchris70,
The article is saying that he is the pastor of the largest single church, not that he belongs to the largest church denomination, such as Catholic, Orthodox, or whatever Protestant.
EvanCal,
You obviously did not read the article. He is arguing against the prosperity gospel.
I also think that it is unfair to say that just because he is a mega church pastor that he is preaching prosperity. There is not one mention of prosperity in this message. He also bashes the CEO concept of the American Church Pastor, which is totally outside of the typical Prosperity Preacher. He has it right on if you ask me....
The writer got the church numbers write....if you would just read this in context. The writer said "argest EVANGELICAL church" which is of the Protestant faith. The Catholic church would not be included in this number and I am pretty sure Russian Orthodox wouldn't either.
msnchris70: I see what you mean about fact checking these stroies. But to be fair to the writer, she did write it in a way that shows the numbers and *ahem* facts are reported by the church and the pastor and have not been independently verified. although, like you, I would like to see that more clearly stated.
On an unrelated note, I find it hilarious that a pastor in the soon to be Islamic Republic of Europe is criticizing America Christian churches. Uh yeah, right.
Mega Pastors equals Mega Profits. These health and wealth Gospel preachers pervert the true Gospel of Jesus Christ who calls us to be faithful, not successful. Yes, you should use your talents but what if you live in a ghetto?
These Mega Church Pastors have more wealth than any Pope in history. How can it be that we have Protestants today in the Mega Church movement who can't see the past mistakes of a Pastor having too much wealth and power. It makes for a very bad Pastor, Pope or person. Power and Money Corrupts!
We Pastors are called to be holy men of God. We should have enough means for our families but our focus is not money it is spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its entirety. Mega Pastors preach enough gospel to get you interested and always make it seeker friendly. They use the Prosperity Gospel to pack their churches, but these people do not hear about the True Jesus who loves you even if you are poor, sick, dissabled, etc.
This is innacurate information. There are 2.5 million Ukranian Catholics and almost 4 million Orthodox, so his church denomination or whatever you want to call it is not the largest church. It may be one of the largest single churches for one location, but certainly not the largest European church.
Who gets the facts for these articles? Please site your research information. The Catholic Church has over 200 million and the orthodox have another 200 million in easter europe, so what is this article trying to compare?
I see there is no forum going yet on the latest with juanita bynum and her ex. His book is out. But it's not a shocker. More and more will be revealed about these ministers. What a shame
"Adelaja said that as long as pastors teach that the purpose of believing in God is for them to be blessed then people will never influence their culture."
Amen to that, I wish we could all get a clue about how blessed we have already been in this country and not try to (use) God for our lusts of more more more.
The greatest problem with Christians in America is that we don't know how to care for or protect our own.
Jesus spent a great deal of time teaching his disciples about being good Shephards, watching over the flock.
Yes, there are lost souls to be converted. And there are also found souls that need to be kept.
Christ referred to this at the Last Supper.
Share the gospel with someone you love and pray for today.
Hope Page: itsallaboutjesusnotme.blogspot.com