Lagos – Pastor Joe Femi-Dagunro, a senior pastor with the Grace and Glory Chapel, Lagos, on Sunday said that Christian faithful should not indulge in wasteful spending by taking trips to Jerusalem.
The cleric made the remark during an interview in Lagos during the church’ inaugural Thanksgiving Service in Ikeja.
Femi Dagunro said that as much as people could travel to see other climes, they should not attach a trip to Jerusalem as a compulsory task in the practise of Christianity.
He said that such money could be put to more productive use by building industrial and Information Technology parks for the development of the Nigerian youths.
“There is no point for us not to say the truth, if we believe in it. There is nowhere that it is written in the Bible that Christians must visit Jerusalem.
“Jesus did not say: ‘You must visit my tomb.”
“We are wasting money on such trips and that money could be used to support the youth to build industrial parks, or to develop IT parks.
“So, church leaders have a role to speak the truth and advise government on how it can do this,” the cleric said.
He also advised that churches should begin to train their members on skill acquisition, to improve themselves so as to be able to serve the church better and also get opportunities to make better living.
“It is high time that Churches began, as they schedule week days for prayer meetings, to dedicate one day for skill acquisition.
“They can train the people they use in the church, or mentor them, in order to develop the people for their good as well.”
Femi-Dagunro also urged churches to embark on more humanitarian projects such as building cottage hospitals, in addition to building universities.(NAN)

SOURCE: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/jesus-christ-not-task-christians-visiting-jerusalem-says-cleric/

it gud to visit jerusalem but not compulsory

And going to jerusalem is not wasting of money

dodoniyi:
Lagos – Pastor Joe Femi-Dagunro, a senior pastor with the Grace and Glory Chapel, Lagos, on Sunday said that Christian faithful should not indulge in wasteful spending by taking trips to Jerusalem.
The cleric made the remark during an interview in Lagos during the church’ inaugural Thanksgiving Service in Ikeja.
Femi Dagunro said that as much as people could travel to see other climes, they should not attach a trip to Jerusalem as a compulsory task in the practise of Christianity.
He said that such money could be put to more productive use by building industrial and Information Technology parks for the development of the Nigerian youths.
“There is no point for us not to say the truth, if we believe in it. There is nowhere that it is written in the Bible that Christians must visit Jerusalem.
“Jesus did not say: ‘You must visit my tomb.”
“We are wasting money on such trips and that money could be used to support the youth to build industrial parks, or to develop IT parks.
“So, church leaders have a role to speak the truth and advise government on how it can do this,” the cleric said.
He also advised that churches should begin to train their members on skill acquisition, to improve themselves so as to be able to serve the church better and also get opportunities to make better living.
“It is high time that Churches began, as they schedule week days for prayer meetings, to dedicate one day for skill acquisition.
“They can train the people they use in the church, or mentor them, in order to develop the people for their good as well.”
Femi-Dagunro also urged churches to embark on more humanitarian projects such as building cottage hospitals, in addition to building universities.(NAN)

SOURCE: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/jesus-christ-not-task-christians-visiting-jerusalem-says-cleric/

Then did Christian ever claim it's a compulsory task before?

Pure waste of time and money and thank you Jesus for not making it mandatory unlike others who worship meteorites. Quite interesting how the place is reckoned by John

Revelation 11:8 (ESV)
8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified

God gave life. Life is "AIMs'(Actions Interactions and Movements)". Christ only tells us, those with His Spirits of Righteousness, to spread the Good news in The Faith. Christ is Character. The Character here involves:- 1, shinning the light of God in you brightly without blinking i.e. Acting your Vocation well without equivocation. 2,Showing Goodness and 3, Living i.e. Acting, Interacting and moving very well on this Planet earth, which is the land given you by the Lord Himself. Christ is the Issue here and behaving exactly like Him is all that a good christian must be. Christ moved arround to Jeruzalem, Jericho, Judea etc and acted and interacted very well in all His miracles and in all the places He visited. So if Christ visited Jerusalem when He was physically with us and promised us two new Jerusalems on His Return, then we must know very well in advance what we value on His return. As for spending money on other social and wealfare parts of our lives, this should not disturb the development of our spiritual and educational life.. I shall explain further next time.