The controversial sale of Alpha International Christian Centre, AICC, without the knowledge of its members by the founder, Bishop Chinedu Adigwe, has set the church members against the Bishop as both prepare for war.
P.M.NEWS gathered that Adigwe sold the church located at 8, Council Street Ojodu, Lagos State Southwest, Nigeria, to the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, without informing the church members.
Aside the church building, he also sold other church properties, including chairs, musical equipment, fans and the public address system.
The congregation learnt about the sale of the church when the RCCG men led by their provincial pastor came during a Sunday service to inspect the properties and assess the church members whom he had negotiated with the RCCG .
The shocked members claimed that the bishop sold the church without informing them and was planning to relocate to America with the money.The members are protesting that he should not have sold the church without their approval because they jointly built and owned the church.
They are now poised to reclaim the church. They have appealed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate the matter.They alleged that Adigwe secretly changed the members of the church’s Board of Trustees at Corporate Affairs Commission and replaced their names with those of his children to perfect his plan of selling the church.In response, Bishop Adigwe claimed that his decision to sell the church was a divine direction.
He said that God instructed him to do so and relocate to Atlanta in America for another divine assignment with his wife.But he did not explain whether God told him not to tell his members before selling the church.
The former pastor of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, who established the church with the financial support of his members, said that the church was losing steam and he had to quickly transfer it to RCCG.
He said he did not need to get approval from the leaders of the church because the church belonged to him and he appointed them as leaders.
On why he chose to sell it to RCCG, he said it was his wife who saw the vision and he instructed his lawyer to start discussion with the church (RCCG)

When P.M.NEWS visited the church premises, the RCCG was renovating the church.

It was gathered that the church has been temporarily closed pending the time the renovations will be completed.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/07/04/bishop-worshippers-at-war-over-sale-of-church/

REAL TRUTH:

The congregation learnt about the sale of the church when the RCCG men led by their provincial pastor came during a Sunday service to inspect the properties and assess the church members whom he had negotiated with the RCCG

REAL TRUTH:

He said he did not need to get approval from the leaders of the church because the church belonged to him and he appointed them as leaders.

What is happening?

Waiting to see how Jo will explain the action of this Godly MOG

But the MOG get liver sha - he even sold the congregation too

nuclearboy:

But the MOG get liver sha - he even sold the congregation too

I dont know how facual the story is. I dont put my heart into all i see on the net , especially the exaggeration that he sold his members!

The RCCG men led by their provincial pastor came during a Sunday service to inspect the properties and [b]assess the church members whom he had negotiated [/b]with the RCCG

That's Impossible and doesn't make sense . It's simply an exaggeration. A pastor may sell church property or sow the properties as a seed if he is led . A pastor may be called by God to relocate to another place for any reason. But if a pastor is led in such cases , he ought to have carried the congregation along with the idea . In all this,the congregation have their own will. Some pastors have been led to go an submit themselves to another ministry. He shares such vision with the congregation.And those who want to follow still follow and those who don't feel so go somewhere else. But if he feels he had been called into another work , he alone can just take a walk away and hand over the leadership to any of the pastors under him. He ought to give the church his reasons.

@Joagbaje,

You never fail to disappoint! Who really owns the church; the Pastor,Bishop or the Congregation? I'm restraining myself from asking more questions because its too early in the day to be rude.

I don't even know whether to laugh or cry.

Joagbaje may be right in the sense that you can't verify some of these stories that are reported. However, if we're honest, we all know that this story is very plausible in the current ministry climate in Nigeria.

@topic

LWKMD.
Official confirmation that RCCG is a business concern.

@nuclearboy
What is wrong with taking over the customers of the former owner of a business when you buy over the company. From what I see here it was the whole business that was acquired not just the assets of the business in which case the lawyers would have factored in the the churches revenues (tithes, offerings, seeds e.t.c) into the valuation of the business concern. That is perfectly normal in business practise. It is worth more as a going concern with established customers than just selling the assets striped down.

Nigerians in America (Houston and ATL especially) this "bishop" might be opening up shop in your neck of the woods shortly. You'll help him build another one that he may one day "sell" to Creflo because he is "led" to go to Germany and start over again.

This is PURE COMEDY if it's indeed true.

The way all this pastors claim God talks with them is something that really amazed me. Even when they cheat, it's god.

Christianity is a wonderful idea/religion. But it has been hijacked by greedy people. Bottom line, religion is not your solution, it is your problem.