Cleric says 21st century Church must demonstrate practical love for greater impact

…As CGMi refute claim against PFN president’s re-election

As the Nigerian Church continues to grow across the globe creating a new paradigm shift by taking the gospel from the global South back to the North, a Lagos-based cleric says the Church will make greater impact with a united front.

“So, the problem is that the church of the 21st century, particularly Pentecostal church, there is no love in us. And let that love come; only then can we speak in one voice and do things with one mind. And the entire world will not only hear our voice; they will hear it more loudly than before,” Chidi Anthony, president, Pentecostal Ministers’ Forum (PMF) and founder, Kings in Christ Power Ministries International, told BusinessDay.

According to him, the Church in Nigeria needs to promote and express practical love more, especially among adherents of the faith. “If there is love, and I did something you don’t like; you don’t need to correct me on social media. You don’t need to tell the whole world my weak point. You have my number. You can call me.”

Anthony said further that it is very important for the Church to unite and speak with one voice. He disclosed that the Church can learn from the Biblical example of the tower of Babel to promote the vision of God in the gospel.

Read also: Wale Oke has turned PFN into a key player in national affairs

“It is very, very important that the Pentecostal body of Christ in Nigeria uphold the word of God in the book of Corinthians 12. So, we can make this nation the mind of the Almighty God,” he said.

In a similar way, the Church of God Mission International (CGMi) responded to false allegations published against its spiritual leader. “In the report published on 26 January 2025, our spiritual leader, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa, was falsely quoted as expressing disappointment in the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) President, Bishop Wale Oke’s tenure and leadership of PFN. This is categorically untrue.

“As a Church, we have always stood for unity and integrity in the body of Christ. We remain committed to the PFN and its leadership, including Bishop Wale Oke, who has made remarkable contributions to the Fellowship and the work of God,” the church said in a statement signed by Ekiyor T. H., director of administration, Church of God Mission International.

The church in response to an article entitled ‘Rumbling in PFN: Why Bishop Wale Oke May Not be Reelected’, stated that its spiritual leader was quoted wrongly on the back of an earlier conversation between Margaret Idahosa and Wale Oke.

“In speaking directly to Bishop Wale Oke during the birthday celebration of Bishop David Oyedepo last year, Archbishop Idahosa lightheartedly addressed Bishop Wale Oke for not being as present in her life as her son. The lighthearted banter had nothing to do with Bishop Wale Oke’s tenure and leadership of PFN, as insinuated in the misleading publication by Vanguard Newspaper,” the statement reads.