Over the next few weeks or even months or even earlier as time permits me, I will be telling my story with Pentecostalism and how I was delivered from this strange Cult.

I will reserve a few pages for my story , but want to encourage all those who have felt abused, ostracised, scared, worried or any other way in which you have been affected negatively to put pen to paper and tell your story.

The goal is to liberate those souls who have been captured and ravished by 95% of these cults.



Thank You.

PART 1

Started when I was 19 years of age and studying at the University of Ibadan.........

I was not a particularly bad boy, just liked to have my fun, was an introvert but still managed to make a few friends, go to parties once in a while, very active in sports and was one of those students who always travelled to Lagos for the weekend and did the last minute cramming before exams.

My first encounter with this ideology was with a number of pretty babes who attended the then Rhema fellowship on campus. They were on routine evangelism when they decided to pay a visit to my room. At the time I was more curious than anything else. These girls were not the usual SU type , they were well adorned and wore makeup ( I think according to Deeperlife they would not be classified as real Christians ).

Anyway , they preached the 'gospel' , asked me to say the sinners prayer with them, we held hands in a circle and prayed. I then received an invitation to attend a weekly service. I accepted the invite and attended. I remember being a little bemused by the whole setup , coming from a catholic background it all seemed a little strange to say the least. I remember the testimonies which were truly astounding and exciting. Some people were shot at by armed robbers but the bullets did not penetrate while others had accidents and survived. So far so good.

Then it came for time to receive the Holy Ghost baptism and evidence of speaking in tongues. We were told to accept the gift by faith and start speaking in tongues. Well, I prayed the prayer but could not speak in tongues. So the Pastor decided to teach us how to speak in tongues. It started with something like this ;
'Okay brothers and sisters, start with - aaaaaaaaaaa, bababababababbaa, cacacacaccacaca, abababa, ababacaca and then just keep speaking. Amen amen, you have received the gift, keep speaking in tongues, shout , pray in tongues, oh yes........'

After this bewildering experience, then came the usual money collection time, a final prayer and socialising with older members of the church. I was now a fully fledged Christian.

Before I move on from this particular episode, it will truly be incomplete without mentioning a good friend who was a core member of the Rhema fellowship. He said some truly astounding things which were all according to the name it and claim it doctrine. For example if you wanted a girlfriend or wife, just visualise her in your head , what figure you preferred ( normally figure 8 , lol ) , her complexion, height, background etc and pray for it, you will get her. Others included claiming cars, wealth etc.

I never went back to Rhema because I found the experience a bit overwhelming and it was not like anything I had ever witnessed in the name of Christ. You see when I was a catholic, I prayed quietly and tried my best to be good ( did not work most times ) but there was no loud prayer and shouting. Of course they kept witnessing to me on a one to one basis with zilch impact.

This whole experience was soon forgotten and I went back to my 'old ways', i.e normal teenage life, enjoying campus, the food , friends, sports, lectures etc. I used to down a few beers at this time and puff a few cigs and that sort of thing. There is this place called black market in UI , I spent not a few evenings there boozing or in the day time at SUB having nice meals , socialising and chatting. As I talk about this experience I am beginning to miss UI, in those days life was good .

It did not last long. This was when I met a certain strange person who was typical SU in the way he looked , dressed, walked and even talked. His bible was noticeable and he possessed the resilience of marathon runner. He often came to my room to woo me to his church ( Apostolic Faith Church ) and preached about Jesus etc. While he preached I blasted music from my stereo system to prevent the unwanted noise but he never gave up despite the rejection and constant declines to attend his church. I eventually got fedup of his persistence and promised to accept his invitation to the Apostolic Faith Church in Ibadan.

Unfortunately as the 'devil' would have it, I went to a party on the Saturday night before Sunday church and got absolutely hammered with booze. When I returned to campus the next Sunday Morning I bumped into this brother who had the look of sorrow on his face at the state in which I was in. He was smartly dressed and looked like an angel from heaven. This encounter produced such guilt within me that I felt like the devil himself. After this I vowed to come with him to church the next Sunday and that's when it all began.

On this Sunday , we met at a central point where the church bus was waiting. The members were smartly dressed and neat and tidy, no head scarfs like deeper life but nice coloful hats. As we got to the church, I could not help but notice how large it was with the inscription Jesus the Light of the World and a Star at the top. ( Not sure what that star stands for till this day ).

Example :

PART 2

The first thing I noticed about the Apostolic Faith was how orderly they were in terms of organisation and how they cliqued together as family. As we entered the church I noticed how huge the interior was with thousands of people praying in various forms , from shouting, screaming, making repetitive prayers and sounds to stamping their feet and a host of similar body movements. I was utterly frightened and as a new comer it looked like confusion in a very strange way.

I remember we went for search the scriptures or something like that and it was wonderful and well explained, I truly enjoyed that part of the service. The best part was the choir, truly almost heavenly , they were well dressed and harmonious both in appearance and song. The instrumentals were perfect, voices superb and the message touching. After this part the reverend ( they call their pastors reverend I think ) came to preach. After he preached the word , we were all asked to rush forward to pray and we did so in the hundreds, praying on the benches, altar, screaming , shouting, crying and wailing about our unworthiness, asking for mercy , forgiveness, holiness, sanctification and praying for our family members that they will not be lost forever. It was always a sombre experience, never a time for Joy.

After church we were bused back to campus and that was it for a long time.

How I got Saved for real :

During this period I became very contemplative about God and the whole concept of church and salvation. Then it happened, not when I was in church, not when I was praying , but when I was outside my room gazing at the sky ( I mean it ) , something like a wind came over me and totally transformed me from inside out and I felt like a totally new person with a Joy I had never experienced ever and never have till today. I was literally set on fire and immediately craved the word of God, prayer and fellowship with the Apostolic Faith brethren. I was now a full church member and they were all ecstatic about it.

One thing I enjoyed about Apostolic faith church was the bus ride to evening service on Sunday, we sang lovely songs on our way and after the service were served in a lounge with well cooked food, I think this was was worth looking forward to . We also had weekly fellowships in Campus and other fellowships in the church ( I remember this vaguely ). The room fellowships which were held weekly in the hall leaders apartment was always warm and cordial and I learnt a lot about the word of God. This became my family.

I will be honest , during this time my friends thought I was mad, the desire to club and have fun diminished, my desire was to tell everyone about Jesus and how much he loved them and died to save them from their sins and a wicked world. I read the bible like a 'lunatic' and prayed very much. My life became consumed by this newly found faith. The next stage was to pray for sanctification which the church leadership called the second work of grace ( now I know this is a lie, sanctification is a life long process ) . Obviously the third work of grace was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Funny enough , if you had not received the Holy Ghost baptism you were excluded from group evangelism because you had not yet been empowered from on high and you could not be a leader in the church ( I think ). I could only go on 1:1 gospel sharing sessions.


Zero in on the first encounter with my Dad ( after this conversion ) who is not only a catholic but well known and respected in the community. The moment he heard about this newly found faith he went raving mad. He warned me , scolded me, wooed me with presents etc but to no avail, I stubbornly remained yours truly Apostolic Faith member. Then he started starving me of funds.

Before I go into my near death experience, I want to list a few observations during my stay with Apostolic Faith Church. There was this particular room fellowship we had on campus during the week when an uninvited student happened to bump into the meeting unknowingly. The manner in which the house leader threw him out and shut the door as he left petrified me, but I thought nothing of it after that event. The Apostolic faith church men had to shave their beard and moustache. I noticed jealousy and even anger in certain situations which I don't want to mention to protect privacy of the individuals. Apostolic church made it very clear that they were the only true church standing or one of the very few left which followed the truth. Even Deeperlife as extreme as it was could only manage a grudging acceptance because Kumuiy had left the church to start his own. In fact , rumour had it Kumuiyi was paying restitution to their church for leaving ( shocking if it was true ).

Signing up

Note: not all pentecostal churches are as bad as you are painting them. Take it easy bro.

Omexonomy: Note: not all pentecostal churches are as bad as you are painting them. Take it easy bro.

By Pentecostalism, I am talking of a concept that is dangerous to the health of any Christian.

While there are some well meaning churches, the majority are way off the mark.

I hope your story will be worth reading ?

.

frosbel:

By Pentecostalism, I am talking of a concept that is dangerous to the health of any Christian.

While there are some well meaning churches, the majority are way off the mark.

ok

Part 3

( I have added a few bits to Part 2 this evening , so you may want to read the last 3 paragraphs ).

2 events happened that rocked my faith and led to my leaving the church within less than a year. You see when they talked about the evils of medicine at church and the need for faith to heal , as a young gullible fool that I was, I bought into this doctrine hook line and sinker. I remember my sister ( the one I was close to ) tell me time and time again that the snake logo for medicine was occultic and of the devil. This scared me no joke.

Example :



The first event happened in the library when I was preparing for my exams. I will admit that I swore at God for some problem I was going through at the time and for which there did not seem to be an immediate remedy. As I slept in the library after a few minutes of study , it suddenly felt like I was descending downwards through a black tunnel and being dragged forcefully by unseen hands. I desperately fought like a mad dog but was unable to overcome whatever this strange phenomenon was. Then I remembered to shout the name of Jesus and a few cries later I woke up with a jolt , sweating profusely and wondering why no one in the library heard my screams. I thanked God all the same but was severely shaken by that event.

The second event

I started the day as usual cleaning my room and helping with the house chores and forgot about the event. A few hours later I started to feel the early signs of malaria and as the hours progressed and became days I fell seriously ill. I called for the elders of the Apostolic Faith church to pray for me and they encouraged me in my faith not to take any medicine. Despite all their prayers and mine of course my sickness became worse till I stopped eating and was beginning to vomit green bile. This was almost a week after the illness started and still the church elders never once advised me to go to see a doctor or chemist.

My uncle heard about my situation and stubbornness in rejecting medicine and came to see me in a hurry ( my Dad was still in Lagos at this time ). By this time I was 80% dead, as thin as a skeleton and almost going into hallucination mode. After my uncle's pleas I agreed to go to hospital , he brought me some food which I ate and vomited almost immediately. When I got the the hospital my condition was so critical that they rushed me to the emergency section for immediate treatment. The doctor was shocked at what he saw and told my relatives that I would have had only a short time to live if they had not brought me that same day. I was given multiple injections and drip and wheeled into the ward were I was admitted for a week. My relatives who came to see me were distraught at my state and were even more worried because I could not talk but stare into space in a gaze like fashion.

When my Dad returned from his business trip and heard what happened, he went into a fit, tantrum, mad rant and was so angry he arranged to have the pastors arrested and swore to disown me forever ( of course he did not mean it ). In the hospital I could barely bring myself to read any apostolic faith magazines as it seemed that this was the poison that almost caused my death. After a week of release , I felt faintly better and was discharged back home to the joy of my beloved dad. I vowed never again to go back to Apostolic Faith and kept to my word. When I made this decision something strange happened, I saw a small fireball fall from the sky , it jolted me a little but that was about it.

Now was time to go back to campus as the holidays were over , I bade my dad good bye , collected my provisions and money and headed back to Lagos. From Lagos I went back to campus. This was the semester when I went from frying pan to fire, i.e from Apostolic Faith to Deeper Life.

Part 4 should be ready by 11pm tonight. If anything changes as per delay I will let you know.

Thanks.

Remain the JW part and remain make u join cele...no wonder you said u are a free thinking Christian... agnosticism if u want the word for it

Exactly. Among Christians, there are also the false prophets. those that deceive and confuse people. Unfortunately, Op was a victim of the bad ones.

Omexonomy: Note: not all pentecostal churches are as bad as you are painting them. Take it easy bro.

Ewoo.

Gombs:


Remain the JW part and remain make u join cele...no wonder you said u are a free thinking Christian... agnosticism if u want the word for it

Bro, trust me, I love God and Jesus, when I say free thinker I do not mean along the lines of atheism or agnosticism, I mean free from the Pastor, MOG, Reverend, brother or sister thinking for me and telling me what God wants for my life and what doctrines are true or false or what to accept as valid or invalid.

I say good riddance to all that bad rubbish, join me today and experience great joy and liberty.

By the time I finish my story you will understand what I mean.

Brilliant intro...waiting for the main content.

Hypocrite

Your days are are numbered

What a pathetic Church that must have been. For them to teach people how to speak in tongues. Smh.

following...

Joshthefirst: What a pathetic Church that must have been. For them to teach people how to speak in tongues. Smh.

Bro...different strokes for different folks.I also did got saved in rhema campus felowship i unijos and m experience is in far contrast to the OP.I knew Rev.George adegboye and i have sat under his teachings, then people call him the bible encyclopedia because he is able to commit alot of scriptural translations to memory and reel them with such ease and insights that you will envy.If i am to go by his teachings and the pastor i was priviledge to be under during my university days i will disagree with the Op on the tongue issue.infact i received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues when i was taught about it in the bible and hands were laid on me.,My tongues were loosed and i began to utter a language i don't understand supernaturally as the Spirit gave me utterance..Nobody taught me to say it as claimed by the op.

Bidam: Bro...different strokes for different folks.I also did got saved in rhema campus felowship i unijos and m experience is in far contrast to the OP.I knew Rev.George adegboye and i have sat under his teachings, then people call him the bible encyclopedia because he is able to commit alot of scriptural translations to memory and reel them with such ease and insights that you will envy.If i am to go by his teachings and the pastor i was priviledge to be under during my university days i will disagree with the Op on the tongue issue.infact i received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues when i was taught about it in the bible and hands were laid on me.,My tongues were loosed and i began to utter a language i don't understand supernaturally as the Spirit gave me utterance..Nobody taught me to say it as claimed by the op.

great jossite!
bros i hail joor,UJ to d core.

wit regard d tongue thing,no just mind frobel

Bidam: Bro...different strokes for different folks.I also did got saved in rhema campus felowship i unijos and m experience is in far contrast to the OP.I knew Rev.George adegboye and i have sat under his teachings, then people call him the bible encyclopedia because he is able to commit alot of scriptural translations to memory and reel them with such ease and insights that you will envy.If i am to go by his teachings and the pastor i was priviledge to be under during my university days i will disagree with the Op on the tongue issue.infact i received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues when i was taught about it in the bible and hands were laid on me.,My tongues were loosed and i began to utter a language i don't understand supernaturally as the Spirit gave me utterance..Nobody taught me to say it as claimed by the op.

Frosbel isn't lieing.

Rather, you and your cohort is deceiving yourself.

If we go by biblical anology or explanation, the tongue is supposed to be understood by people around you.

So, y'all are speaking bullcrap.

Gombs:

great jossite!
bros i hail joor,UJ to d core.

wit regard d tongue thing,no just mind frobel

You a josite? We plenty be that.

FrancisTony:

Frosbel isn't lieing.

Rather, you and your cohort is deceiving yourself.

If we go by biblical anology or explanation, the tongue is supposed to be understood by people around you.

So, y'all are speaking bullcrap.

Thank God there are documented EVIDENCE of your catholic priests who received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with tongues as evidence even when nobody was there to hear them.They testified of it in your church atleast there is a faction now called charismatic catholic.It is no fault of mine if you are a DOUBTER like thomas.

Bidam: Thank God there are documented EVIDENCE of your catholic priests who received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with tongues as evidence even when nobody was there to hear them.They testified of it in your church atleast there is a faction now called charismatic catholic.It is no fault of mine if you are a DOUBTER like thomas.

It's not that I am doubting.

But, most people fake it.

I've actually witnessed it before in a crusade.

So, someone don't have to force you in doing it like we have in some pentecostal churches. Rather, it comes as a gift from holyspirit.

Bidam: You a josite? We plenty be that.

yesso!
was under tyoden's reign,stayed at naraguta hostel b block.
witnessed only one aluta

We plenty jare

Gombs:

yesso!
was under tyoden's reign,stayed at naraguta hostel b block.
witnessed only one aluta

We plenty jare

I was in village and experienced the first religious crisis back then. Bless you bro.

FrancisTony:

It's not that I am doubting.

But, most people fake it.

I've actually witnessed it before in a crusade.

So, someone don't have to force you in doing it like we have in some pentecostal churches. Rather, it comes as a gift from holyspirit.

I don't agree with your assertion that MOST people fake it but if some fake it that's too bad, maybe with time they will get the real stuff just like frosbel who faked his salvation in CAC before getting the "wind" experience later on.

Part 4


I was in my 300 level year when I was suddenly introduced to Deeperlife. At this time I was not what you would call a church member because I had no church. Apostolic Faith church brethren were surprised at the sudden turn around of my faith, brethren who I thought were very close to me shunned me including the sister that I was very close to. There was this funny event that happened , I had just finished a nice meal from the cafeteria at SUB ( in those days the food was good ) with the Student Union General secretary who happened to be a close friend , when the Apostolic faith brother who introduced me to the church wanted to have a word about my leaving' them. Now , my student union friend was aware of all my past tribulations and was so angry he exploded into a rage and warned the brother to vamose and never ever come near his friend again. The brother quietly slipped away with his 'tail' between his legs and that was the end.


Any way the Semester started well with the usual lectures, my normal evening tennis , late evening debates on topics ranging from politics to religion ( usually in loud voices ) , cooking my favourite red stews ( with all the hangers on waiting to pounce on the food ) and just general activities as you would expect in the life of a student. But , one thing was lacking , I had no church affiliation. It was at this point that I met a deeper life brother who was on a routine evangelism tour of my hall. We discussed the gospel and I told him my story of the near death experience and disillusionment with church overall. He patiently explained where Apostolic faith went wrong , how Deeperlife was different and why medicine was equally important even though they do encourage faith to heal. I was impressed. An invitation to church followed and a new episode in my life started.

My first impression of Deeperlife was their seriousness, utter dedication and 'zeal' for God. They usually gave new comers a very warm welcome and encouraged them in their walk with God after taking a few personal details such as name, hall and room number. I remember the preaching was solid and solemn, we prayed afterwards and were refreshed by the fellowship. Weekly services were held on campus while Sunday services were held in town not very far from the UI Campus. In some cases we held fellowships (but mostly workers meetings) at the Deepelrife campus off site office , which I think was rented and maintained by both student and staff. At this point my zeal for the things of God reignited and the desire to preach Christ and him crucified became my slogan.

During this period I met a new friend who was a medical student and also born again but not into the Deeperlife faith. He was the liberal type of Christian and very funny. If you were the type that got scared at night your wouldn't want to listen to his testimonies at all as they were downright scary. He saw demons ( literally as he would say ) , the sky open and all sorts of strange happenings. These events happened not when he was in deep sleep but when he was wide awake. I noticed the worried look on the faces of the younger brethren ( from all church affiliations ) and the horror with which some perceived these strange encounters. Not everyone agreed it was from God while others did. This brother who I will call Mr. G for purposes of privacy became my BEST FRIEND and you could liken our relationship to that of David and Jonathan, yet he was not a member of Deeperlife. We had a third member in our friendship group who was equally close but far too reserved and quiet to get into all our mad spiritual experiences.


When my dad heard that I was now in Deeperlife he became the envy of active volcanoes as his temper tantrum exceeded their capacity to erupt violently. He was besides himself, imagine as he would say ' my son wanting to destroy the family faith and our reputation '. He declared 'Jihad' on my newly found faith and me of course. This 'Jihad' took the form of him kicking me out of his houses in the East and Lagos , starving me of funds and even threatening at one point to disinherit me. He came to campus and engaged a lecturer who also doubled as a catholic priest. This man talked sense into me but it went into one ear and came of the other.

At this point in time I was now fully brainwashed and ready to die for the faith. My dear father ( who I love so much ) became a distant relative and my church brethren became my immediate family. As I say this the regret causes me deep pain for all the years lost when my Dad could have enjoyed and been proud of his son in his youth. Deeperlife with my agreement robbed me from spending precious time with my family. To wrap up this paragraph, my dad told me a story which he learnt from a close friend ( not sure if it was true) . This friend of his , a Yoruba man said that before the Deeperlife Church at Gbada was built, some cows were sacrificed and buried in the ground. Then the church was built on top. I laughed this off as a fairly tale and lame attempt to discourage me.

to be continued.

Part 5

Part 3 , 2 and 1 above.

Lol. The part3 tho'. Something lied beside your bed? You were simply hallucinating.

FrancisTony: Lol. The part3 tho'. Something lied beside your bed? You were simply hallucinating.

Trust me , I was as wide awake as a bat.

I will continue part 4 tomorrow.

FrancisTony:

Frosbel isn't lieing.

Rather, you and your cohort is deceiving yourself.

If we go by biblical anology or explanation, the tongue is supposed to be understood by people around you.

So, y'all are speaking bullcrap.

no actually.

Read your bible well.

Tongues are for edification of the spirit, incomprehensible to the mind.


But tongues should not be taught. They should be inspired by the Spirit.

I advise you to be filled with the Spirit, and speak in tongues as freqently as you can.