Prophet Israel Ogundipe of the Celestial Church of Christ, also known as Genesis, recently discussed how banks are offering significant loans to churches to aid in their global expansion. Speaking with Nigerian On-Air Personality Ifedayo Olarinde, popularly known as Daddy Freeze, during an Instagram Live session on August 27, 2024, Ogundipe shared his experience of receiving a loan offer from a bank to expand his ministry globally.
Ogundipe, the founder of Genesis Global Ministry in Lagos, highlighted that such financial support from banks could enable ministries to reach a wider audience and grow their congregations.
He also claimed that, to convince him, the unnamed bank showed him details of churches that have keyed into the loan scheme.
The cleric further explained that from the list he was shown, some churches whose names he refused to mention took loans ranging from 3 billion to 4 billion naira.
“A bank called me two months ago and said they wish to loan me ₦1 billion. They offered me the loan and I asked them what for. They replied that they know churches are getting it (loan) and I would be able to pay it back because they know my church is big.
“Then I asked them how they want me to be paying back, and they said when we are doing revivals, crusades, we’ll be paying back monthly.
“And they mentioned some churches who got loans from them ranging from ₦3 billion to ₦4 billion. And I asked them how they expected me to pay back such an amount and they said those that collect such loans, that’s why they would never stop doing conferences, crusades, and revivals, and from there, they would get money to pay back,” the pastor said.
It’d be recalled that, in 2020, Ogundipe was found guilty and sentenced to jail for defrauding a London-based architect and converting her property for personal use.
The cleric was arraigned on a seven-count bordering on stealing, unlawful conversion of property, forgery, and fraudulently collecting sums of ₦14m and £ 12,000 from the victim between 2002 and 2005.
This revelation has sparked discussions about the relationship between financial institutions and religious organizations, particularly in how loans could influence the dynamics of church expansion and religious outreach.
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