…….Solicit for funds from rich members to pay salaries of clergies
First generation orthodox churches in Nigeria are now in a big financial crisis as a result of closure of worship centres by the government since March this year,Newdawnngr sources has revealed.
Our correspondent gathered that the situation has become so critical that the Churches only managed to pay salaries for the clergy men in March but since the church were not able to open in April,the church find it extremely difficult to meet its obligations to the clergymen like Reverends,Bishop and other s most of who are full time unlike the pentecostal churches which members are part time pastors and ministers.
As a result of the cash crunch which has totally paralysed the operation of the first generation churches, the leadership have to resort to send messages to their rich and wealthy members especially those of them who attend services in Lagos Island to contribute money to meet their obligations to the clergy.
They also asked such members to send their obligations like Tithes and Thanksgiving offerings to dedicated bank accounts to enable the church meet their monthly obligations to full time church workers.
Besides,one of the former secretary of the church who prefer to speak on condition of anonymity said some of them in addition to receiving the messages for assistance also had to contend with visits to their homes by some of the Reverends and others soliciting for financial assistance.
Said he,” what this portends is that most of this our men in cassocks is that they can’t survive on their salaries alone but various contributions from rich members on the various programmes organised by the churches”.
He said for instance besides the monthly payment of tithes,the clergy men are hard hit by inability to get funds from monthly Thanksgiving services which offerings are seen as blessings for the clergy.
To date none of the churches including the pentecostals which normally had their Thanksgiving services in the first Sunday of the month could hardly do so.
Besides,thanksgiving,the rule on social distancing has also affected the incomes of the churches as wedding,burial,naming and house warming ceremonies which normally fetch income for the churches have seriously pruned down the number of people who could attend such gatherings.
On their part,the situation in first generation pentecostal churches is manageable as such churches had always encouraged members to pay their offerings through dedicated bank accounts.
For now, those based hit among the many one-man pentecostal churches especially in metropolitan cities like Lagos,Abuja and other cities have resorted to making demands from their well to do members since easy avenues for offerings have been blocked by rules on social distancing and closure of worship centres.
“The point is that one would expect the churches to reach out to their members at this period and not to border them with demands since most of their members have lost means of incomes and sustenance”, said Femi Dickson a member of one of the pentecostal gathering.
Though some of the Churches like the Redeemed Christian Church of God(RCCG) in various provinces, salvation army ministries, Mountain of Fire and Miracles(MFM) and others have organised palliatives for their members in their various areas of operation.
The states in the southern parts of the country are yet to open for services as Lagos State government have already initiated meetings with religious leaders on how they will conduct their services before the easing of the gradual lockdown put in place since March this year.
