Coronavirus Crisis Reveals a Resilient Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
For decades, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has proven to be a vocal and strong religious leader. The coronavirus pandemic has reinforced that image among his millions of followers.
If people were unsure of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s skills as a leader before the COVID-19 pandemic, those doubts have been all but shattered.
Throughout the ongoing world health crisis, the popular Nigerian minister’s congregation has praised his guidance and his ability to keep their spirits high.
While the last year has plunged the entire world into devastation and despair, members of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s LoveWorld Nation, or Christ Embassy as it is also called, have found hope in their pastor’s teachings, calling him a beacon of light.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has joined together in fellowship with his millions of followers all over the world offering comfort and praying against the deadly virus.
It all started on March 27th, 2020, when Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his long-time friend Pastor Benny Hinn hosted a Global Day of Prayer against the coronavirus.
This happened at a time when the virus had gripped the world in earnest, and hospitals were overflowing with patients in countries like Italy and the United States.
Billions of viewers followed the Global Day of Prayer service online. This landmark event become the first of many more services and programs dedicated to nourishing the souls of the LoveWorld nation and beyond.
The popular Nigerian pastor gathered his congregation for Global Days of Prayer against the coronavirus again in June, September and December 2020, but he did not stop there.
Between these broadcast prayer events, he held daily “Your LoveWorld with Pastor Chris” programs on the LoveWorld television network for weeks at a time. To this date, more than 90 episodes have been produced, and the third season has only just begun.
Even though COVID-19 has prevented Pastor Chris Oyakhilome from traveling around the world to deliver the Word of God, it has enabled him to express his leadership ability in a different way by reaching people all over the globe through the digital world.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome helps people in need
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s global philanthropic efforts.
Thousands in countries such as Nigeria, the United Kingdom and Canada have benefitted from the food relief packages that have been distributed to people in dire need by the Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International.
The packages contained various food products and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s daily devotional, “Rhapsody of Realities,” providing nourishment for the body and spirit.
Many people already living in poverty have been further disadvantaged by the coronavirus pandemic with national lockdowns forcing businesses to shut down, schools closed in favor of distance learning and a global slowdown in commerce.
Pastor Chris has a long history of initiating and supporting charitable activities supporting healthcare, education, youth leadership and healthy communities.
In 2015, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome donated one billion Nigerian naira to the creation of the Dr. Chris Oyakhilome Faculty of Engineering at the Benson Idahosa University in Benin City, Nigeria.
The building was inaugurated in March 2020.
13 million followers worldwide
Even as a young boy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome was driven by his faith.
He was born in 1963 in Edo State, Nigeria to parents who were both deeply religious.
His father, T.E. Oyakhilome, was a pastor at the Assemblies of God Church in Benin City. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome aspired to follow in his father’s footsteps.
As a teenager, he studied at Edo College and won a scholarship to study architecture at Bendel State University.
There, he established the student fellowship organization Youth for Christ, which quickly became the most popular fellowship of its kind on campus.
Even at this early stage, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome displayed an innate ability to lead and engage his community. This organization would eventually serve as the foundation of the future Christ Embassy, the congregation he founded in 1987.
Christ Embassy has grown to support 13 million members across the globe, mainly in Nigeria, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Canada since its establishment.
As one can see during the coronavirus pandemic,
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has been a fervent supporter in using technology to connect and communicate. His church has launched multiple satellite television networks and programs over the years including LoveWorldSAT, the first Christian tv station to broadcast live 24/7 from Africa to the rest of the world.
In 2017, the Christ Embassy President also launched the LoveWorld USA television channel with Pastor Benny Hinn.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome embraces technology
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s embrace of technology goes beyond successful religious television networks.
Today, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s LoveWorld Nation spans every sphere from commerce and banking to education, apps and music.
Within Christ Embassy is the LoveWorld Music and Arts Ministry, led by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s sister, Evangelical Kathy Woghiren. Music produced by the ministry can be found across all digital platforms including on the dedicated LoveWorld Worship app available on the Google Play Store.
The ministry has fostered several gospel artists, including Sinach, Testimony Jaga and the pastor’s own daughter, Carissa Sharon Oyakhilome, who goes by the stage name CSO.
Over the years, the pastor has invented several apps that are widely used by his congregation. Among them are the social media platforms KingsChat and Yookos, the video website CeFlix and an online prayer and sermons collection called the Pastor Chris Digital Library.
The Christ Embassy President has always been fond of technology and even hosted a Social Media Week in July 2020.
The week enabled his followers to participate in 70 seminars and 42 workshops that taught them about cybersecurity, privacy violations on social media, how to build their brands and how to engage with people online.
They could, for instance, take part in lectures such as “Privacy Violations — The Dark Side of Social Media,” “The Politics and Business of Data,” “The Control and Silencing of the Church and Conservatives,” and “Connect, Engage and Build Your Brand.”
The purpose of the Social Media Week was to empower people to use online tools for economic growth, personal development, finding a job, connecting with people online in a safe way and much more.
KingsChat and CeFlix were the two creators of the Social Media Week, which was praised by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.
This mastery of broadcast and digital media has provided Pastor Chris with a voice when others have been silenced by the coronavirus pandemic. He has transformed this platform into a spiritual outlet for those suffering and lost during these difficult times.
