Christ Embassy (also known as LoveWorld Incorporated or Believers' Loveworld) is a

megachurch A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...

and

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

founded in 1987 by Chris Oyakhilome from Edo State,

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. The denomination, with its headquarters in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, has since become a global network of churches. By 2019 it had 145 branches on five continents, with ministries in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Ghana,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the

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History

The church started with a prayer group led by Chris Oyakhilome, at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, while he was studying architecture in 1987. The church celebrated its 30th anniversary in November 2017. Several other ministries around the world participate in its programs and conferences including the International Pastors and Partners Conference (IPPC), which is held every November in Lagos, Nigeria; the International Cell Leaders' Conference (ICLC), which is held in the middle of the year; the International School of Ministry, and the Healing School.

United Kingdom

Christ Embassy is a registered charity in the UK, established in 1996. In July 2013, the

Charity Commission The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...

launched an inquiry regarding the use of charitable funds; however, inspections of records did not resolve concerns about its financial management, and in August 2014, the Charity Commission appointed an interim manager to run the charity until 2016. British tax authorities withheld £2.8million in

Gift Aid Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive that enables tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. Gift Aid was introduced in the Finance Act 1990 for donations given after 1 October 1990, but was originally limited to cash gi ...

tax refunds from the charity as they were concerned not all of the charity's income was being spent for charitable purposes.

Australia

A branch of the Christ Embassy Church in Sydney was ordered to close for seven days in August 2021 after an illegal in-person service was conducted there during a COVID-19 lockdown. The service was attended by 60 people. The pastor of the church had previously discouraged his followers from receiving

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

LoveWorld television stations

Christ Embassy runs seven TV channels, including LoveWorld TV, LoveWorld SAT, LoveWorld Plus, LoveWorld UK, LoveWorld Nigeria, LoveWorld India, and LoveWorld USA. LoveWorld USA is run in partnership with Pastor

Benny Hinn Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn (born 3 December 1952) is an Israeli-born Palestinian-American-Canadian televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades"— revival meeting or faith healing summits that are usually held in stadiums i ...

, who appears in many programs on the channel.

LoveWorld UK

Oyakhilome's UK TV channel was sanctioned twice for sharing misinformation about COVID-19, including suggesting that Covid was planned and vaccines included manipulative nanochips.

LoveWorld USA

LoveWorld USA was an American Christian

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

network launched by Chris Oyakhilome and

in 2017. It was available on

Charter Spectrum Spectrum is the trade name of Charter Communications. The name is widely used by both market consumers and commercial businesses. Services that Spectrum offers include cable television, internet access, internet security, managed services, mo ...

and

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

as well as other small cable operators in the U.S. Currently, LoveWorld USA has stopped cable broadcasting and is no longer available on DirectTV or Charter Spectrum, but is still available for streaming on its website.

Loveworld Publications

Oyakhilome's publishing house, Loveworld Publications, publishes his books, including ‘Rhapsody of Realities,’ a monthly Christian devotional that sells 2 million copies. Christ Embassy also has a book publishing firm called LoveWorld Publishing Ministry.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.christembassy.org/ Ogun State Christian denominations in Nigeria Charismatic denominations Evangelical megachurches in Nigeria