Christ Embassy (also known as LoveWorld Incorporated or Believers' Loveworld) is a

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 ...

and

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

founded by Pastor

Chris Oyakhilome Christian Oyakhilome (also known as "Pastor Chris") (born 7 December 1963) is the founder and president of LoveWorld Incorporated, also known as Christ Embassy, based in Lagos, Nigeria. Ministry and theology Oyakhilome's ministry holds me ...

in 1987. The Church, with the headquarters in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, has since become a global network of churches, with congregations in many countries and has approximately 13,000,000 followers all over the world. The Church has ministries in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The church has 145 branches, in five continents.

History

The church started with a prayer group led by

, at

Ambrose Alli University Ambrose Alli University (AAU) is a state-owned university in Edo State, Nigeria. It was established in 1981 by the governor of Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States), Ambrose Folorunsho Alli. Initially known as Bendel State University, sub ...

Ekpoma Ekpoma is a town in Edo State, Nigeria. It is the administrative headquarters of the Esan West Local Government Area. Ekpoma lies on the geographical coordinate of latitude . The town has an official Post Office, and it is home to the Ambrose A ...

, while he was studying architecture in 1987. The church celebrated its 30th anniversary in November 2017. The church has approximately 13,000,000 followers worldwide. Several other ministries around the world participate in its programs and conferences like the International Pastors and Partners Conference (IPPC) which holds every November in Lagos, Nigeria; the International Cell Leaders' Conference (ICLC) which holds in the middle of the year; the International School of Ministry; the Healing School, etc.

United Kingdom

Christ Embassy is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, established in 1996. In July 2013 the

Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

launched an inquiry regarding the use of charitable funds; however, inspections of records did not resolve concerns about its financial management and in August 2014 the Charity Commission appointed an interim manager to run the charity until 2016. British tax authorities withheld £2.8 million in

Gift Aid Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive that enables tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. Gift Aid was introduced in the Finance Act 1990 for donations given after 1 October 1990, but was originally limited to cash gi ...

tax refunds from the charity as they were concerned not all of the charity's income was being spent for charitable purposes.

Canada

There are over 50 branches of Christ Embassy churches growing in Canada.

Australia

A branch of the Christ Embassy Church in Sydney was ordered to close for seven days in August 2021 after an illegal in-person service was conducted there during a COVID-19 lockdown. The service was attended by 60 people. The pastor of the church had previously discouraged his followers from receiving

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

LoveWorld television stations

Christ Embassy runs seven TV channels including LoveWorld TV, LoveWorld SAT, LoveWorld Plus, LoveWorld UK, LoveWorld Nigeria, LoveWorld India and LoveWorld USA. LoveWorld USA is run in partnership with Pastor

Benny Hinn Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn (born 3 December 1952) is an Israeli Christian televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades"—revival meeting or faith healing summits that are usually held in stadiums in major cities, which are l ...

, who appears in many programs on the channel.

Loveworld Publications

The publishing house, Loveworld Publications, affiliated to the network of churches, published his first book in 1995, ''Recreating Your World''. Loveworld Publications has published all the books by Chris Oyakhilome, including ''Rhapsody of Realities'' daily devotional published in over 5500 languages and in 242 countries and territories of the world. Over 22 billion copies of the devotional have been distributed since it was first published in year 2001. Christ Embassy also has a book publishing firm called LoveWorld Publishing Ministry and is a dedicated Christian Book Publishing firm reaching out to the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ with God's Word through books authored by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.christembassy.org/ Ogun State Christian denominations in Nigeria Charismatic denominations Evangelical megachurches in Nigeria