Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations (also known as Embassy of God) is an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

megachurch A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...

, denomination, and

parachurch organization Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indivi ...

headquartered in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The senior pastor is

Sunday Adelaja Sunday Adelaja (Russian language, Russian, Belarusian language, Belarusian and Ukrainian Language, Ukrainian: Сандей Аделаджа) is the founder and senior pastor of the Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations, an Evangeli ...

History

In 1993, the church began with Pastor

and 7 people in an apartment.Afe Adogame, ''The African Christian Diaspora: New Currents and Emerging Trends in World Christianity'', A&C Black, UK, 2013, p. 186 The church was officially founded in 1994 as the "World of Faith Bible Church". In 2002, the church changed her name to "Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations". In 2008, the church opened 20 churches in Ukraine and 18 in the world. In 2013, the church claimed 25,000 members in Kyiv, 100,000 members in Ukraine, 1,000 churches in the World.

Social programs

Thousands of people are fed daily through

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

s in Kyiv. The church also has a program for helping homeless people acquiring skills, thus helping them back to a normal life and work. According to the church, 2,000 children have been helped off the street, and have been returned to their families. Furthermore, the church runs a 24-hour hot-line, named "Trust line", for people to call in need. The church also works with addicted people and has a program helping addicted people to be set free from various addictions. The main organization is called "Love Rehabilitation Center". According to the church, more than 5000 drug and alcohol addicted people have been set free from their addiction through their work.

Schools

There are many educational institutions connected to the church, and among them the following are more known: the Joshua Missionary Bible Institute in Ukraine, the Center of Restoration of Personality and Transformation of the Society in Ukraine, the History Makers Bible School in the US, the UK, Germany, France, and the Institute for National Transformation in Nigeria.

Criticisms

In December 2008, nine leaders of Ukrainian evangelical church associations signed a statement calling for repentance on Sunday Adelaja and his ministry. Ukraine Evangelicals "Dissociate" themselves from Sunday Adelaja
Religious Information Service of Ukraine. 31.12.2008The latter accuse him of promoting a

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...

, self-promotion, exaggerating his successes, teaching the

Prosperity theology Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are ...

, cursing the members of the 'church who do not agree with him. In 2009, the church's reputation also suffered after members were implicated in a financial fraud case: King's Capital, a financial group led by a former member of his congregation, promised as much as 60 percent returns on investments and drew many of its investors from the church. Later, several former church members went to the authorities claiming they were unable to recover the money they invested, which left many of them bankrupt. Police later arrested Aleksandr Bandurchenko, a church member and one of King Capital's leaders, on suspicion of fraud.Sunday Adelaja Marks 15 Years in Ministry Despite Controversy
, ''Charisma'' magazine, April 2009 In March 2016, the Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith announced in a press release that Adelaja was in recovery after confessing before a conference of pastors to adultery with women in the church. The pastor denied the affair, citing an attempt by pastors to take his place and not having been to Russia for 10 years. Vanguard
My Russia sex story, by Pastor Sunday Adelaja
vanguardngr.com, Nigeria, July 17, 2016

References

External links

*
Official website in English

BBC article

Adelaja Watch
website critical about