Nigerian pastor who earns mega bucks in London preaching prosperity 17/4/2009


Nigeria’s Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), London, has carved a niche for himself in the British Christian community. His church, which attracts 8,000 congregation, is considered one of the richest in Britain. Pastor Ashimolowo, with a £100,000 yearly pay, earns more than the Archbishop of Canterbury, the official head of the British church. Robert Booth of The Guardian (London) reports.

A Pentecostal church based in a disused cinema in north-east London has emerged as one of the country’s richest religious institutions.
The Kingsway International Christian Centre, in Walthamstow, has filed company accounts which reveal it made a £4.9m profit over the last 18 months. It also has assets of £22.9m - more than three times the amount held by the foundation which maintains St Paul’s Cathedral.

The church is led by a controversial Nigerian pastor, Matthew Ashimolowo, who earns a salary of £100,000 a year and preaches that God wants you rich.

His church’s wealth stems largely from the donations it encourages from its 8,000-strong largely African and Caribbean congregation. They gave £9.5m in tithes and offerings in the 18 months to April 2008, dwarfing the £33,000 that the average Church of England congregation gave over the same period.

Rather than a more traditional plate collection, forms are handed out to worshippers so they can make bank transfers at some services.

KICC’s wealth is the clearest sign yet of the gathering popularity of evangelical Pentecostalism which is the only growing branch of Christianity in the UK with an estimated 300,000 weekly worshippers. This Easter Sunday KICC is running five services over 12 hours which are expected to attract 5,000 worshippers, more than Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral together.

The church’s increasing wealth represents a transformation in its fortunes after the discovery in 2005 by Charity Commission investigators of financial irregularities. Ashimolowo was ordered to repay £200,000 after it emerged he used church assets to buy a £13,000 Florida timeshare and £120,000 on his birthday celebrations, including £80,000 on a car. New trustees were appointed and Ashimolowo was removed from his role as chief executive.

"The last 18 months have been a period of incredible journey in the life of KICC," said Ashimolowo in a preface to the accounts. "It has been very exciting to see God move the ministry from one level to another as we witness the increased manifestation of His glory."

Ashimolowo is understood to earn his salary from preaching as well as royalties from sermons published in books and on DVDs through his own company. Matthew Ashimolowo Media Ministries made a profit of close to £60,000 in 2003. It has not filed accounts of trading since then although it still operates.

Four KICC directors earn between £60,000 and £80,000 each. By contrast, a typical Church of England vicar earns around £21,500 and even the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has responsibility for an active congregation of close to a million people, only earns £68,740 a year.

"This is a very well-financed business," said a tax accountant who examined the accounts for the Guardian. "It holds more than £16m in short term investments. I am the honorary auditor of my local church and they have just £20,000 on deposit."

The accountant, who asked not to be named because his firm audits other wealthy Pentecostal churches, estimated the KICC had avoided a tax bill of at least £1.3m as a result of its charitable status.

Senior KICC officials denied the surplus meant they were taking too much from their worshippers, many of whom live in the poorest parts of London. "People give because of how they have been blessed by what they receive from the church the teaching, the prayer and the church community," said Soji Otudeko, director of finance. "People give voluntarily and because of their love of the work of God."

"The teaching of the church is very much about self-development," said James McGlashan, a former oil executive who is now KICC’s chief operating officer. "If that is preaching wealth then we are preaching wealth. Becoming financially independent, owning a house, getting a degree and a better job is good."

The church’s International Gathering of Champions conference at the Excel centre in east London last August attracted 94,000 visitors over eight days. The key message was that God wants you rich and believers are "empowered to prosper".

According to the accounts filed with Companies House, KICC finances were boosted by the sale for £10.1m of its Waterden Road home in Hackney to the London Development Agency which needed the site for the 2012 Olympics. It is planning to spend between £50m and £80m on a five-year project to build a complex at a site in Rainham, Essex, with capacity for 8,000 worshippers, classrooms, a TV studio, bookstore and offices.

Its plans have been the subject of a public inquiry which finished last month and a planning inspector is due to report to Hazel Blears, the communities secretary. The plans were originally rejected by the Thames Gateway Development Corporation, and the church feels it is facing undue opposition to its rapid expansion.

"I think the way the KICC has been treated has been unfair," said Otudeko. "Britain has become a less and less Christian place and planning law seems to no longer recognise places of worship in the system. I don’t think any non-religious organisation would have been treated this way."


http://www.thenationonlineng.com/dynamicpage.asp?id=82078

@ post

no comment

"They gave £9.5m in tithes and offerings in the 18 months to April 2008, dwarfing the £33,000 that the average Church of England congregation gave over the same period.
Rather than a more traditional plate collection, forms are handed out to worshippers so they can make bank transfers at some services."

Mostly brainwashed Nigerians living roughly but still afford to pay tithes to their ththievingastors. Just have a look at the comparison between the tithes received by the 2 churches and the way/manner in which it was received.

The basic reason why it might take Nigerians to reach the promise land whilst other countries keep prospering.

This same pastor was rumoured to be building some sort of skool in nigeria.
I just don't get it guys.

Did he use gun to get the money out of their pocket?. God requires us to do that and is ashimolawo collected 9.5M so what?. that is what they use to run the church and pay for Tv time.

He def didn't use gun but when the congregation gets hounded by preachings on tithes every sunday and also going as far as asking them to use credit cards.

jay bee:

He def didn't use gun but when the congregation gets hounded by preachings on tithes every sunday and also going as far as asking them to use credit cards.

He still didn't put a gun to their heads.

"The key message was that God wants you rich and believers are "empowered to prosper"."

@ poster

is the above  True or False?

@ post

GOD DEY!

blacksta:

"The key message was that God wants you rich and believers are "empowered to prosper"."

@ poster

You ignorant fool - is the above True or False?

sir, did you have to call threadstarter names? i hope you know the article he posted has absolutely nothing to do with him?

OMO IBO:

sir, did you have to call threadstarter names? i hope you know the article he posted has absolutely nothing to do with him?

I am sorry - i over reacted. ( it has been removed)

i pass on this one.

MrCrackles:

Bloody thieving men of Satan!

Printing out forms to force people to part with thier hard earned money and hounding for donations from credit cards is definitely not GODLY!

This is so wrong if it is true, TITHES is not by force and not compulsory!

Man of God earning £100K/PA? Now that is GANGSTA!

oga modarata sofri sofri now

Man, it is called religious entrepreneurship. Give the people what they want in return for something and that is not theft. People need succor from a progressively merciless world and the guy provides it. Is that not the very principle of entrepreneurship?

If i have the talent, i would have,

To those who have harsh words for the Pastor, has anyone been forced to give their money? Is the printing of envelopes a forceful way of collecting money?

Anyone who is not happy should not give. He has not forced me to give and I have not given. What exactly is your problem here with the man? Is it not one of the good things about democracy that people are allowed to do what they chose with their hard-eraned (or easily-earned) money?

Abeg make una meshionu

MrCrackles:

Bloody thieving men of Satan!

Printing out forms to force people to part with thier hard earned money and hounding for donations from credit cards is definitely not GODLY!

This is so wrong if it is true, TITHES is not by force and not compulsory!

Man of God earning £100K/PA? Now that is GANGSTA! >

o boy u dey complain when men of the diabolical one earns $5m P/A? does envy have colour? u no dey complain when your footballers earn those figures weekly. softly softly jor. no get heart attack because of another man salary.

where is kunle for God sake?

@post
typical!!instead of directing your angst at the cause of the ineptitude and lethargic govt we have,pastor ashimolowo is the target,the british govt has had it in for the man as a result of institutional racism and their religious intolerance,he isnt the only one even redeedemed as well,the monies and properties in question isnt the man's personally but for k.i.c.c as an entity and he doesnt make decisions without the board of trustees so whats anyone's biz wax??
yes,he makes money and gets paid a salary but he works hard for that priviledge,people dont go to the church because its k.i.c.c. they go there to listen to pastor ashimolowo talk,his books,vcds,dvd and other memorabilia are borne out of years of painstaking research so he deserves any amount he makes out of them.he doesnt just preach prosperity but financial prudence from a xtian point of view and how xtians can drop the shakles of debt e.t.c
he was the very first person i heard talking about the dangers of sub prime mortgage and credit of any kind

as for what he is building in nigeria,we should be careful not to comment on what we dont know about,he is building an ultra modern hospital and nursing school,not in lagos but a village in osun state tos how how important his sense of social responsibility is

lucabrasi:

@post
typical!!instead of directing your angst at the cause of the ineptitude and lethargic govt we have,pastor ashimolowo is the target,the british govt has had it in for the man as a result of institutional racism and their religious intolerance,he isnt the only one even redeedemed as well,the monies and properties in question isnt the man's personally but for k.i.c.c as an entity and he doesnt make decisions without the board of trustees so whats anyone's biz wax??
yes,he makes money and gets paid a salary but he works hard for that priviledge,people dont go to the church because its k.i.c.c. they go there to listen to pastor ashimolowo talk,his books,vcds,dvd and other memorabilia are borne out of years of painstaking research so he deserves any amount he makes out of them.he doesnt just preach prosperity but financial prudence from a xtian point of view and how xtians can drop the shakles of debt e.t.c
he was the very first person i heard talking about the dangers of sub prime mortgage and credit of any kind

as for what he is building in nigeria,we should be careful not to comment on what we dont know about,he is building an ultra modern hospital and nursing school,not in lagos but a village in osun state tos how how important his sense of social responsibility is

tks i keep saying the succees of people like him exposes the failures some people have become so you should expect these kind of envious write-ups on NL. i bet you will see the same people cursing the man hailing air head footballers earning his "obscene" 100K P.A weekly.

Cut the man some slack. He's a gifted motivational speaker and has helped turn many lives around in the name of God.

I personally will not give. However, most people who give are adults and more than capable of making their own decisions.

JustGood:

To those who have harsh words for the Pastor, has anyone been forced to give their money? Is the printing of envelopes a forceful way of collecting money?

U must be very intelligent. . . . . . .

The article clearly stated that his salary comes from his preachings and the proceeds he makes from sermon books and DVDs.
How is that forcing the congregation to part with their money??
Nigerians and their disgusting aggression make me sick to ma stomach.

If this was to happen in Nigeria, the le fenu so peeps (naysayers), would have been shouting he is feeding on nescience and impecuniosity of the people to enrich himself. Now it is in the UK, can someone please tell me, whether the same is obtainable?

~Sauron~:

U must be very intelligent. . . . . . .

The article clearly stated that his salary comes from his preachings and the proceeds he makes from books and DVDs.
How is that forcing the congregation to part with their money??
Nigerians and their disgusting aggression make me sick to ma stomach.

that article is one mans opinion of the situation so it doesnt matter that much.  if he sits with pastor matthew he will discover money is not in nos 1 - 9 motivation of his life.

it is a free world we can all run our mouth freely especially in cyber space. we live in the part of the world where by law all we earn and spend have to be accounted for and published for public records and even online.  i imagine how many of you will fall flat at the first hurdle if all you do was under scrutiny as some of us.  it is always so easy to judge others.

the guy has tried despite the battles he faced.  there is no stopping him now.  it is too late.  he has made his mark for good or bad in some of your books. he continue to touch lives in ways some of you can only imagine.  show us what you have acheived with all the yrs you have got.  some of you had the benefits of having rich parents plus being graduates which he never had. all you can do is run your mouth.   well seunland is free at point of use.

Pataki:

If this was to happen in Nigeria, the le fenu so peeps (naysayers), would have been shouting he is feeding on nescience and impecuniosity of the people to enrich himself. Now it is in the UK, can someone please tell me, whether the same is obtainable?

oga, you know some us dont know book please talk in plain laguage make i understand you very well i beg. thanks

JJYOU:

tks i keep saying the succees of people like him exposes the failures some people have become so you should expect these kind of envious write-ups on NL. i bet you will see the same people cursing the man hailing air head footballers earning his "obscene" 100K P.A weekly.

maybe the question is this,what is the going salary for the c.e.o of a company making 4.5 million in profit a year at least compared to what pastor mathew is earning?bearing in mind that all the tax free noise they are making is only 1.3million which the church can pay with ease without affecting the pastor's salary.

also,while the "air head footballers"are running around the field to make 100k a week,pastor mathew is embarking on years of research to write best selling books,vcds,cds e.t.c which is where the bulk of his money comes from. while your footballers are running around,he is having sleepless nights busy drafting speeches,articles e.t.c and travelling round the world delivering speeches which he is being paid hansomely for,
im sure no one is saying he should turn over all the proceeds he made from his own intelligence and sweat over to the church just because it is a charity??
we should also be aware that  HE IS NOT IN CONTROLL OF THE CHURCHES FINANCES,THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ARE, this is a law governing charities in the united kingdom and cannot be side stepped in any way!

he is not the cause of the present decline in the church of england,and rather than letting petty jelousy,insitutional racism e.t.c becloud their collective reasoning,they should sit down and work with him and other pentecostal churches to draw their people back to GOD like the oral roberts,kenneth hagin ,j osteen e.t.c of america have done sucessfully

If I remember well, it was since the palaver KICC had with the Charities Commission in 2005 that most pentencostal churches started handing out forms to receive tithes as they were required to have records etc especially with them getting Gift Aid from HMRC, making filings to the commission. I think an inherent belief that most Africans churches/pastors were here to swindle the congregation and perhaps general lack of understanding on how churches work in Nigeria/the rest of Africa (debatable but eh?) on the part of the commission and a lack of understanding of requirements to qualify as a charitable organisation on the part of the churches. CoE takings are so small and almost insignificant that they are not required to do this.

Also, most people do not carry cash around in the UK. It's more convenient to make a donation using a card and I think other churches including the CoE should make the facility available to their congregation.

And no I am not a member of KICC neither am I motivated by their Senior Pastor's teachings but the UK Guardian should not be reporting half truths.

Just wondering how much is it that zig ziglar earns for speaking for just an hour, or bill clinton. I heard it is an average of 100K per hour
and this pastor earns 100K a year.

JJYOU:

that article is one mans opinion of the situation so it doesnt matter that much.  if he sits with pastor matthew he will discover money is not in nos 1 - 9 motivation of his life.

It does matter. . . . . especially to some retards who take everything they read on the internet as the gospel truth!!!

Ashimolowo's annual pay is LESS than what Wayne Rooney makes in a week and they are trying to make him look as a rogue.
He does not force any member of his congregation to pay tithes/offerings just like Man Utd cannot force football fans to come to their stadium and watch football games.
Some journalists should be shot for making watery reports designed specifically to make Africans especially Nigerians in London look like criminals.

oops

Ilelobola:

If I remember well, it was since the palaver KICC had with the Charities Commission in 2005 that most pentencostal churches started handing out forms to receive tithes as they were required to have records etc especially with them getting Gift Aid from HMRC, making filings to the commission. I think an inherent belief that most Africans churches/pastors were here to swindle the congregation and perhaps general lack of understanding on how churches work in Nigeria/the rest of Africa (debatable but eh?) on the part of the commission and a lack of understanding of requirements to qualify as a charitable organisation on the part of the churches. CoE takings are so small and almost insignificant that they are not required to do this.

Also, most people do not carry cash around in the UK. It's more convenient to make a donation using a card and I think other churches including the CoE should make the facility available to their congregation.

And no I am not a member of KICC neither am I motivated by their Senior Pastor's teachings but the UK Guardian should not be reporting half truths.

the guardian is a left leaning news paper.  the main reason for the strict record keeping is the gift aid scheme as you said which you will never be entitled to unless you are registered as a charity by you know who. you see the logic.

most churches do not belong to the charities commission and the ECEA Afro caribean evangelical alliance that most belonged to is closing as we speak because of lack of funding so we are left with the general  EA evaqngelical alliance which we should all black/ white belong to  again there is no law requiring any church/ organisation to belong to any organisation in england/wales.

churches like victory didnt register with charities commission and are operating freely.  i think i said this before some of will never achieve in 300yrs what pastor matthew has done in fifty something yrs so can i recommend you shut up.  yes we know you are on NL and not being charged.

He probably has lot more cash stashed away in Nigeria that the charity commission couldn’t touch or investigate. I mean if it is £120,000 of his birthday alone then what else? I am sure that is just the tip of the iceberg.

I clearly remember attending KICC in Hackney as a student. Mr Ash in his Italian suits and snake skin shoes would ask the congregation for £200. He asked for those who could give £200 to stand up and raise their hands and people started holding up their credit cards and cheque books. Mr Ash then proceeded to pray for those people only. That more or less told me that if I didn’t have £200 to spare then I couldn’t receive prayer and neither was I worthy to be in Church.

I am glad he was investigated and I hope they continue to monitor him because questions need to be asked.

EloSela:

He probably has lot more cash stashed away in Nigeria that the charity commission couldn’t touch or investigate. I mean if it is £120,000 of his birthday alone then what else? I am sure that is just the tip of the iceberg.

I clearly remember attending KICC in Hackney as a student. Mr Ash in his Italian suits and snake skin shoes would ask the congregation for £200. He asked for those who could give £200 to stand up and raise their hands and people started holding up their credit cards and cheque books. Mr Ash then proceeded to pray for those people only. That more or less told me that if I didn’t have £200 to spare then I couldn’t receive prayer and neither was I worthy to be in Church.

I am glad he was investigated and I hope they continue to monitor him because questions need to be asked.

ignorance is never a virtue my dear. pastor matthew didnt know anything about birthday. it was a surprice party by some misguided over zealous people who only knew how to spend what they cannot pay for. if you know pastor matthew you will know he is not one of those people that use money any how. he never forgot the days he was zero ( PO ) as he calls it. he does so much to make peoples lives better than he met them. you never hear of what he does behind the scene. you never hear of the pastors of other denominations he pays in your nigeria to take the gospel to the rural nigeria that most people wont go.

you dont hear of the pastor kids he funds scholarships for. if nigeria had just a 100 pastor matthew, the world would take notice of us.

do you know how much the man struggled to make sure black businesses benefitted from olympics contracts? you dont know the man. you only saw him ask for £200. what was the £200 for? was it to help him feed his wife and kids? was it to help him buy more shoes? lets criticize justly so we dont get judged too.

he is the main kicc person you see on tele you dont expect him to wear rags to make you happy do you?

like every other person he has his faults. if you met him in person and told him all he does is gently say sorry sir it wont repeat itself again.

JJYOU:

the guardian is a left leaning news paper. the main reason for the strict record keeping is the gift aid scheme as you said which you will never be entitled to unless you are registered as a charity by you know who. you see the logic.

most churches do not belong to the charities commission and the ECEA Afro caribean evangelical alliance that most belonged to is closing as we speak because of lack of funding so we are left with the general EA evaqngelical alliance which we should all black/ white belong to again there is no law requiring any church/ organisation to belong to any organisation in england/wales.

churches like victory didnt register with charities commission and are operating freely. i think i said this before some of will never achieve in 300yrs what pastor matthew has done in fifty something yrs so can i recommend you shut up. yes we know you are on NL and not being charged.

Most Pentecostal churches are registered with the Charities Commission including KICC. I've been on the CC's website to check, you may want to do so too and they have to file annual returns. KICC's annual returns are on there too. What has Afro Caribbean Evangelical Alliance or any other got to do with record keeping? If a church or any organisation wants to be known as a charitable organisation in the UK, it has to be registered with the Charities Commission. Victory used to be a Charity but after all their palaver they became a Limited Company so they can operate as freely as they want to be within the regulations of the Companies House which tend to be less stringent than the CC.

Well done to Pastor Matthew for his achievements, it can't be belittled in any way. But what do you mean by "yes we know you are on NL and not being charged"? You lost me here. Is it wrong for me to say I'm not a member of KICC or that I am not motivated by his sermons? Surely not everyone can be inspired by him eh? I find Joel Osteen motivating but I am not a member of his church. I just watch him on TV like I do many others.

Ilelobola:

Most Pentecostal churches are registered with the Charities Commission including KICC. I've been on the CC's website to check, you may want to do so too and they have to file annual returns. KICC's annual returns are on there too. What has Afro Caribbean Evangelical Alliance or any other got to do with record keeping? If a church or any organisation wants to be known as a charitable organisation in the UK, it has to be registered with the Charities Commission. Victory used to be a Charity but after all their palaver they became a Limited Company so they can operate as freely as they want to be within the regulations of the Companies House which tend to be less stringent than the CC.

Well done to Pastor Matthew for his achievements, it can't be belittled in any way. But what do you mean by "yes we know you are on NL and not being charged"? You lost me here. Is it wrong for me to say I'm not a member of KICC or that I am not motivated by his sermons? Surely not everyone can be inspired by him eh? I find Joel Osteen motivating but I am not a member of his church. I just watch him on TV like I do many others.

calm down. no vex my brother, i dont attend kicc either. i count myself blessed knowing him. he inspires me and very many others. kicc is a free organisation. you dont have to join every church to admire them plus it is not wrong for you to say you are not a member. no one is criticizing you for that. NL is a free for all forum so live and let us all live oga biko.

i reckon pastor matthew is force for great good with all his faults. he is a very nice man to a fault that is why he is suffering this scandal today.