Relentless Church (formerly El Shaddai International Christian Centre) was an Evangelical denomination led by Ramson Mumba. The church is also a member of the Evangelical Alliance.
The church no longer exists as an overarching entity. Some congregations have continued under other names:
- The London branch as Radiant City Church London [1]
- The Manchester branch as Grace Life Church Manchester
- The Birmingham branch as The Revival City Church Birmingham
- The Bradford branch as Hope Church Family
- The Oxford branch as Oxford Word of Faith Church
History
editRamson Mumba started his first church in 1998 in Bingley, West Yorkshire, with his first wife Linda Mumba[2] and then moved to Bradford in 2000, experiencing considerable growth. In 2004, Ramson Mumba moved to London to plant a church, and churches have also been started in Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Lusaka, Zambia.[3][citation needed]
In early 2007, the London church purchased the Golders Green Hippodrome for £5 million.[4][5] In 2010, the church took out a 5-year lease on Castle Gate Congregational Centre in Nottingham.[6]
Relentless Church has planted its seventh church in the UK, into the city of Sheffield. Dr Ramson has also moved to Houston, Texas to start the ninth church globally. After leaving his first wife and moving to the US without her, he married his second wife Estrella Mumba in 2014 and they make their home together in Houston, Texas.[7]
Ramson Mumba is the spiritual child of Creflo Dollar, and has been affiliated with his organisation in 2002. Ramson Mumba was described as "chic and trendy" by Jonathan Oloyede in an article on the black church in Christianity Magazine.[8]
ESICC is not a black-majority church, and makes it clear that it is a church where all are accepted, regardless of race, skin colour, or gender.
Controversies
editIn 2017, El-Shaddai International Christian Centre went into winding up as a business and charity. Its buildings, including the Golders Green Hippodrome, were closed and repossessed.[9] The US arm of the church continued under the Relentless Church name. In 2018, Ramson Mumba filed for bankruptcy in Texas.[10] and legal action was taken against him in 2020[11] by Pacific Diversified Investments LLC.
References
edit- ^ "Radiant City Church London on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30.[user-generated source]
- ^ "BBC - Bradford and West Yorkshire - Faith - Marketing Churches". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ^ "Founders and Pastoral Page of El-Shaddai London".
- ^ "BBC News article about Hippodrome purchase". 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- ^ "Local press article about Hippodrome purchase". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
- ^ Nottingham Evening Post, 8 May 2010
- ^ "Our Story". Welcome To The Realm Of Unlimited Possibilities. 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ^ "Christianity Magazine article".
- ^ "EL-SHADDAI INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
- ^ "Ramson Mumba". UniCourt. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
- ^ "Pacific Diversified Investments,, LLC v. Mumba et al". Justia Dockets & Filings. Retrieved 2020-06-19.