{"id":2836,"date":"2026-08-01T00:15:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T23:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2836"},"modified":"2026-08-01T00:15:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T23:15:50","slug":"opinion-church-a-place-for-serving-christ-or-a-means-of-making-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2836","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Church A Place For Serving Christ Or A Means Of Making Money?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Akpata Precious Avwerosuo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religion remains one of the strongest forces shaping the lives of millions of Nigerians. Every week, churches across the country are filled with worshippers seeking hope, healing, direction, and a closer relationship with God. However, as churches continue to grow in number and influence, many people are asking an important question: Is the church still focused on serving Christ, or has it become a means of making money?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church was established to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, win souls, and meet the spiritual needs of believers. According to the Bible, Jesus instructed His followers to preach the good news, love one another, and care for those in need. These principles remain the foundation of Christianity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, however, concerns have grown over the commercialization of religion. Some churches now place significant emphasis on tithes, offerings, seed sowing, and special donations. In some cases, members are encouraged to give beyond their financial capacity with the promise of instant miracles, financial breakthroughs, or divine favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend has generated debate among Christians and non-Christians alike. While many pastors genuinely dedicate their lives to serving God and supporting their communities, others have been criticised for turning the gospel into a business. Expensive programmes, luxurious lifestyles, and frequent fundraising activities have raised questions about whether financial gain is gradually replacing spiritual service in some places of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these concerns, many believers argue that money itself is not the problem. Churches require financial support to maintain their facilities, organise outreach programmes, pay staff, assist the less privileged, and spread the gospel. They believe giving should be voluntary and motivated by faith rather than pressure or fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on the issue, Precious Efe, a 100-level student of Delta State University (DELSU), said the church’s primary responsibility is to lead people to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t believe the church was created to make money. The primary assignment of the church is to lead people to Christ and help them grow spiritually. Giving is part of worship, but it should never become the main focus. When money becomes more important than the message of salvation, then something is wrong. At the same time, I understand that churches need funds to carry out God’s work. The problem is not giving; the problem is when people exploit others in the name of God,”<\/em> she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her opinion reflects the views of many young Christians who believe there should be a balance between financial support and genuine ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across Nigeria, many churches continue to provide scholarships, feed the hungry, support widows and orphans, build schools and hospitals, and offer humanitarian services without placing excessive financial demands on members. These efforts demonstrate that ministry can remain centred on Christ while responsibly managing financial resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate, therefore, is not whether churches should receive money but how those resources are managed and whether the message of Christ remains the central focus. Transparency, accountability, and integrity are qualities that many worshippers increasingly expect from religious leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the church should remain a place where people encounter Christ, grow in faith, and receive sound spiritual guidance. While financial resources are necessary for the work of the ministry, they should never overshadow the mission of preaching the gospel. The true measure of a church is not the size of its offerings or the wealth of its leaders, but the lives it transforms and the values of Christ it reflects in society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Akpata Precious Avwerosuo Religion remains one of the strongest forces shaping the lives of millions of Nigerians. Every week, churches across the country are filled with worshippers seeking hope, healing, direction, and a closer relationship with God. However, as churches continue to grow in number and influence, many people are asking an important question: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":5,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[32,282,138],"class_list":["post-2836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viewspoint","tag-church","tag-opinion","tag-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2838,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836\/revisions\/2838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}