• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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When the gospel becomes a brand for global liberation

Deeper Life marks 50th anniversary August 13

The dissemination of the ‘good news’ (the gospel of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ) is the driver of the evangelical and missionary journey of men and women of faith from one end of the world to the other.

For these evangelists and missionaries, the gospel was simply the message of salvation to a world of sin. They were duty-bound to preach Jesus to as many as possible and also make disciples of them. Hence, it was not surprising that the first set of evangelists and missionaries saw the Church as ‘Humanitarian’.

While they spread the gospel, they also carried out humanitarian works like building of schools, hospitals, and construction of boreholes across many communities.

These accompanied the good news of Jesus being preached to these nations.

With the advent of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2022, the world was on lockdown with human movement and flight restrictions. These made many preachers and evangelists to adopt and adapt technology in delivering their messages and reaching out to several audiences over the social media space.

Adapting the gospel to the new media age no doubt came with its own challenges. But, for William F. Kumuyi, the general superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, it was time to move the Church from terrestrial into a full digital space.

Read also: Kumuyi storms Ikorodu with ‘total emancipation by the authority of Christ’

For the 82 years old evangelist, it was time to key into the social media space with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the convener of the ‘Global Crusade with Kumuyi (GCK)’, the church gave the youth some leeway to play in their space by trending #KumuyiSays to connect with their peers on Twitter and other platforms – thereby delivering the message to the youth in a way they could easily relate with.

To further deepen this trend, the church on Sunday, July 31, launched the GCK global brand in committing to reaching more nations with the gospel. This also shows that the church is looking ahead into the future to build a digital footprint on the social media space beyond constructing cathedrals.

“Based on statistics and analysis of our media streams, the GCK over the past year has reached more than 150 countries with a monthly average physical audience of between 40,000 to 150,000 and virtual audience of over 3,000,000 people globally.

“We have documented over 200,000 people across the world who have been saved and transformed during these crusades. More than 30 million people have been impacted globally in the last year through the GCK,” Kumuyi said at the formal launch of the GCK brand held at the Lagos State University of Science & Technology (LASUSTECH) formerly LASPOTECH.

Kumuyi in an address titled, ‘Reprieve for a world in turmoil,’ stated that people across the world are grappling with deep-seated emotional problems. Accordingly, he said dependence on psychotropic drugs is on the rise, with a resultant spike in suicide rates.

“We live in a crisis-ridden world. In the midst of scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements, we are witnessing increasing economic, social, cultural and ecological upheavals all of which impact negatively on the quality of life globally.

“It is this same mandate and mission that now drives me and has led to the birth of the GCK, proclaiming the gospel, and bringing reprieves and solace to a world gripped with mounting and seemingly unresolvable crises,” Kumuyi said, disclosing that the GCK team will be in Liberia late 2022, and Togo by first quarter of 2023.

According to Kumuyi, the media as the fourth estate of the realm can be the publishers of grace. This he said was based on the fact that media professionals are held in high esteem as ambassadors of goodwill on God’s behalf and for mankind.

“As the convener of the GCK, I invite you to partner with us in this admittedly demanding voyage of reaching the whole world with the saving gospel of Christ at double quick time. I sincerely urge you, Great men and women of the press and everyone who has joined us today to work with us in this endeavor so that together we can leave a mark that will endure for generations,” Kumuyi said.

Similarly, two books- ‘The Minister Shown Approved’ and ‘Voyage to Liberation’ written by Kumuyi on the crusade were also launched to deepen knowledge on the crusade and the convener.

According to the book reviewer, Nancy Mastroeni, the book is an “easy read book”. Also, the GCK Daily, a 15 minutes content produced by Iyke Okafor, will run on all social media platforms, starting from September.

Daniel Afolayan, GCK brand analyst, explained that Kumuyi has built a brand that is digitally relevant and can stand the test of time globally. According to him, the GCK convener is currently the face of the global evangelical movement, known for his expository teachings.

“He has built the GCK brand, which is the global crusade with Kumuyi. This brand’s slogan is the gospel to every creature because the global crusade was birthed out of the need to further share the good news of Christ; and the purpose of this brand is changing lives through Christ,” Afolayan said.