I won’t hand Deeper Life church to my son, says Kumuyi + Video

The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor W.F. Kumuyi has dismissed speculation that he could hand over the leadership of the church to any of his biological children.

Kumuyi made the clarification during a church service while responding to discussions about the future leadership of the ministry.

According to him, questions had been raised about whether he would eventually pass leadership of the church to one of his sons after his tenure.

Addressing the speculation, Kumuyi said: “Many people were speculating, is he going to hand over the church unto his son?

“Won’t he search for his first son, second son, where are they? Where do they live? Is he not going to hand over the church?”

The cleric stressed that the ministry does not belong to him and therefore cannot be treated as a family inheritance.

He said: “Well, it’s not his church. And because it’s not his church, Jesus said, upon this rock, I will build my church… It’s the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and nobody has right to hand it over to his son.”

Kumuyi maintained that leadership of the church must be determined by divine direction rather than family ties.

He also cited examples from the Bible, noting that leading figures of the early church did not transfer spiritual leadership to their children.

Kumuyi said: “Peter did not hand over the church to his son.

“Paul did not have any son or wife, but Paul did not hand over the church to his son. And John did not hand over the church to his son.”

His remarks come amid renewed public discussions about succession in major religious organisations and the future leadership of large ministries.

The Deeper Christian Life Ministry is one of Nigeria’s largest Pentecostal churches and was founded by Kumuyi, who has led the ministry for decades.