says FG should step into church matters-Ononye
Ephraim Ononye is the founder of Ephraim Ononye Ministries. He shares his ministry experience with Clement Emmanuel and why he celebrates his birthday with couples trusting God for the fruit of the womb.
YOU RECENTLY CELEBRATED YOUR BIRTHDAY WITH WAITING COUPLES, WHY?
I was born on 12th January and that was when I celebrated my birthday. I celebrated my mother who gave birth to me on that faithful day. God specifically instructed me that this year 2020, I should celebrate my birthday with couples waiting for the fruit of the womb, presenting them before Him on my birthday that He will remember them, do wonders and perform miracles in their lives so that they can also experience the joy of having child. That they should use that day to ask for divine intervention and God’s visitation. In 9 months, testimonies will be heard.
I can mention more than 20 families that waited on the Lord for the fruit of the womb in my ministry and at the end of it, they gave birth not only one, twins, some gave birth to triplets and so on. God has blessed women, and families through our ministry. I wept that i couldn’t control my tears seeing over 200 couples without children gathered from all corners of Nigeria on my birthday.
My own biological mother came for my birthday, as a prophetess, she prayed and made declarations for the waiting couples. We share experience together as one of them said she has given a pastor N1.5 million for prayers for a child bearing and at the end of it, nothing happened. Another said she has given N750, 000 for prayers. A lot of nauseating things that I can’t mention. Imagine the kind of pains these couples go through after giving all they had to pastors and prophets and the end of it, nothing to show for it. How can these pastors take advantage of people’s problem to enrich themselves? They are all false and fake pastors.
HOW CAN ONE IDENTIFY THESE FAKE PASTORS?
Identifying fake prophets is by their FRUIT, the Bible says you shall know them. The moment you step into a ministry to see a man of God and you are told to pay a certain amount of money，please run away from there. The moment you step into a ministry or a pastor’s house or office and you are told to buy anointed whatever, books, almanac, candle, or pay for emergency, please run away from there. No man that is of God collects money from anybody for prayers. Some pastors turn crusade to fund raising ceremonies. Obtaining by force pretense.
The Federal Government should do something to save the church. The churches in Nigeria are collapsing. Things are falling apart in our churches today. Some pastors are using ideas to mechandize the ministry. Prayer contractors that charge money to pray have done a lot of harm to the church. It is funny to hear that these days there is what they called VIP. Meaning there is VIP charges. To see a man of God there is Emergency charges and there is Normal charges to pay before one sees a pastor. Miracles has now turned for sale.
HOW DOES ONE KNOW IF A MIRACLE IS ARRANGED OR STAGE-MANAGED?
Try to see if you can use the camera in your phone to snap or video record the process of the miracle performances. If the worker of the ministry prevent you from taking the shot, then it is fake.
Once the pastor finishes performing the supposed miracle and the next thing is fund raising know it that he has no other intention to perform that miracle if not raising of money. That means it is stage-managed.
The person receiving the miracle will be a total strange face. The person will not be a member of the church. He is hired to act. There are so many ways to know but the few points I mentioned will help.
In my own ministry any miracle performed is posted on the media, Pictures, Names and address so that anybody who knows the person will confirm that it’s true. You can’t see any miracle perform in my church that is not posted in the media because any miracle avoiding the media is stage-managed. Whatever God has done in my ministry is taken to the media. We have testimonies of what God did to people in our ministry. None of them was told to bring money yet God answered their prayers. The blind sees, the crippled walked, barren women were turned to mother of twins and triplets. All to the glory of God.
SIR, WHEN DID YOU START YOUR MINISTRY?
Honestly it was never my intention to establish a ministry but God mandated me to start in order to save souls. This is my 23 year in ministry working in God’s vineyard as a called prophet and since then I have not deviated.
HAVE YOU COME ACROSS ANY CHALLENGE IN MINISTRY?
So many challenges but the kind of challenges I want to emphasize on is the end time pastors and prophets who have soiled their hands and deviated from the truth. Some church goers have lost interest in the things of God because of what some pastors do. Cheating on them and taking advantage of their problems and challenges to make money. They paid certain amount of money or consultation fee before allowing to see the pastors. They fail to know that it is evil to collect money from someone with problems who come to church for solution.
WHO ARE THE PROBLEMS OF THE CHURCH? THE MEMBERS OR THE PASTORS?
The both. To the congregational members, the major problem is Impatience. When they cannot wait for God’s time. Inability to wait for what God has promised them, seeking after fake pastors and prophets. They want to have it in a hurry. Once the miracle is being delayed, they will be forced to pay an amount of money and any pastor or prophet telling you to bring money is a false prophet. Christ has paid the price on the cross of Calvary, We don’t need to pay any other price for our redemption. The members should be genuinely taught the word of God. To the Pastors, everybody wants to be a pastors, prophets so as to take advantage of people’s challenges to enrich themselves, selling water in the name of Anointing for people to buy. The pastors are getting richer while the members of the congregation are getting poorer. There is no room for the poor and the less privileged in the church. All the pastors are interested in collecting money from them which is very wrong.
WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE DONE TO CORRECT THIS ACT?
I suggest the federal Government should set up a task force, not Just a task force to investigate activities of church leaders because the level of fraud going on in the church is so alarming .Any Church, prophets or pastors defrauding people with arranged of miracle and obtaining by force pretenses should be investigated. Anybody telling you to bring money for prayers is evil and not of God. Imagine a prophet collecting N1.5 million from a woman who wants to receive a miracle of the fruit of the womb, yet nothing to show. When they see arranged miracles, they give their last money thinking it was real but will be disappointed after waiting in vain for a miracle. When the Bible says ‘ Seek ye first the kingdom of God, they said No, they want to buy their miracle with their money.
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HAVE TO THOSE WHO FALL VICTIM TO THIS MENACE?
I still wonder why people who claim to be Christians will dis-value the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
I always go to Golgotha whenever I am in Israel. My aim is to keep reminding myself that somebody died on the cross for my sake. On the cross of Calvary, He paid the price for our redemption, for our deliverance, for our healing, and that is why Prophet Isaiah said that by His stripes, we are healed. So how come Christians still pay for what has been paid for on their behalf. Only ignorant Church goers give money to Pastors and prophets for prayers and for miracles. Those men and women that collect money from people for prayers and miracles are not of God. I have every reason to say they are fraudsters. They know the truth, but they won’t let their followers know the truth because all they want is to take advantage of the ignorant Church goers cum their followers to make money and enrich themselves. The Bible says, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Not you shall bring money and your money shall make you free. If you give money to a pastor for your miracles and you say in the name of Jesus Christ, you are mocking yourself. The right thing for you to say is, in the name of the money I gave to my pastor.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE？
To reduce the number of fake Prophets/Pastors stop giving them money. Be knowledgeable because it is only mere church goers that give money to pastors for prayers and miracles. There are more pulpit fraudsters than street and internet fraudsters now. Be wise.