The Sword of the Spirit Ministries aka Christ Life Church[1] is a Nigerian Evangelical Charismatic Pentecostal[2] Christian denomination and a megachurch. The Ministry is presided over by Bishop Francis Wale Oke,[3][4][5][6] who founded the church in 1983.[7] It has approximately 25,000 members.[8]
| Sword of the Spirit Ministries | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | The Garden of Victory Old Ife Road, P.M.B. 60, Agodi, Ibadan. Nigeria. |
| Founder | Francis Wale Oke |
| Origin | 1983 |
| Official website | sotsm |
The headquarters is located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The organization has since become an international network of churches.[9][10][11] The church's teachings are in the tradition of prosperity theology.[12]
History
editThe church began in 1983 when Francis Wale Oke brought together a team of seven fellow believers including his wife Victoria to meet every week for a prayer group.[13][14][15]
In 1990, Sword of the Spirit Ministries led an anti-Islamic[16] preaching crusade in Sokoto.[17] Historian Toyin Falola mentions Sword of the Spirit Ministries as being specialized at that time in publishing anti-Islamic tracts.[18]
References
edit- ^ "Home". Sword of the Spirit Ministries. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ Olufunke Adeboye (2007). "'Arrowhead' of Nigerian Pentecostalism: The Redeemed Christian Church of God, 1952-2005". Pneuma. 29: 23–56.
- ^ "Bishop Francis Wale Oke". Sword of the Spirit Ministries. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ "About the Sword of the Spirit Ministries International". www.wocome.org. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ "Sword of The Spirit Ministries (Int l Headquarters), The". Directory & MarketPlace. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- ^ "Sword of the Spirit Ministries". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- ^ Mbamalu, A. (2015). "Prosperity a part of the atonement: An interpretation of 2 Corinthians 8:9". Verbum et Ecclesia. 36 (1). doi:10.4102/ve.v36i1.1418.
- ^ Innocent Chiluwa (2012). "Online Religion in Nigeria: The Internet Church and Cyber Miracles". Journal of Asian and African Studies. 47 (6): 734–749. doi:10.1177/0021909611430935. S2CID 146471546.
- ^ Admin (2022-09-13). "SWORD OF THE SPIRIT MINISTRIES PROFILE - UPDATED INFROMATION ABOUT THE CHRIST LIFE CHURCH". Nigeria Christian Events. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ "Meet Our Pastor | Sword of the Spirit Ministries". www.swordofthespiritministries.org. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ Omorogbe, Paul (2022-09-11). "Nigeria needs restructuring to avert retrogression —Bishop Wale Oke". Tribune Online. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ Rosalind I.J. Hackett (1995). "The Gospel of Prosperity in West Africa". Religion and the Transformation of Capitalism. Routledge.
- ^ "Oke, others to minister at Holy Ghost Convention, in Ibadan". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ "Sword of the Spirit Ministries". www.swordofthespiritministries.org. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- ^ "About Us – House of Wonders". Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- ^ Rosalind I.J. Hackett (2003). "Managing or Manipulating Religious Conflict in the Nigerian Media". Mediating Religion: Studies in Media, Religion, and Culture: 47–63.
- ^ Brouwer, Steve (1996). Exporting the American gospel: global Christian fundamentalism. Internet Archive. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-91711-7.
In October 1990, Sword of the Spirit Ministries of Ibadan, with preachers from London's Kensington Temple and Elm Pentecostal Churches of Scotland, launched their Operation GAIN with a five-day crusade in Sokoto, the historic seat of Nigeria's caliphate. … The operation was "directed at destroying the enemy's strongholds and deceits in Sokoto"; the preaching "unveiled the enemy's oppressive weapon of deceit in the lives of the people"; and by the end "well over 4, 500 adults had been delivered from the devil's clutch".
- ^ Falola, Toyin (2000). Violence in Nigeria: The Crisis of Religious Politics and Secular Ideologies. University of Rochester Press. ISBN 9781580460187.
For instance, The Sword of the Spirit Ministries, based at Ibadan, has printed over a dozen pamphlets in the last one year, mainly written by their leader, Francis Wale Oke, in addition to a bi-monthly magazine.