Sunday June 12, 2016 was my second time at the Synagogue Church of All Nations [SCOAN] for service in 16 years, I had made several other visits that I cannot remember; for meetings, tourism information, articles as well as news materials.
I had arrive the church premises at about 9 am with lots of energy having had double cup of coffee before leaving, because I promised myself never to miss a single moment of the event and service.
After the necessary welcome protocol for me by two ladies that work with the church’s media unit, I was taken into the church and showed a seat where I would seat for the entire service and programme.
Shortly after I settled down, I quickly fixed my eyes on the testimonies been showed on Emmanuel TV, the church television network. The testimonies were from Saturday June 11, a day and special events for healing because prior to the date, the Founder/General Overseer had announced that his 53rd birthday would be with the sick and afflicted which the pre-birthday service on Sunday June 12, 2016 was meant for.
The testimonies featured among others Trevor Phillip, a young Australia man visiting with his young wife and child.
In his testimonies, he said he received his healing and motivation by mere watching Emmanuel TV back, and the preaching on the channel changed him and motivated him from a low self-esteemed person that he was, to someone who found his way back to school that he abandoned to someone emerging the best graduating student in the whole of Australia.
His amazing testimony sees the congregation breaking into intermittent applause and copies of his certificates as well as letters of commendations were also displayed.
Next was Stanley K. Amadi, a popular Nigerian [Nollywood] actor and movie director, who gave testimony of how his wife who had been suffering chronic pains was healed the previous day, and was giving praises in church to the admiration of many.
Several others who said they were introduced to Emmanuel TV by friends and families, also gave testimonies of how they received healing and they were only in Nigeria to give thanks to Prophet TB Joshua and God Almighty.
The service was conducted in English and interpreted in French and Spanish, while those who could not speak any of the three major international languages, spoke in the local or their country languages that are interpreted to the three international languages aforementioned.
Another Nigerian, Chief Mrs. Regina Illoh, who resides in Abuja, gave testimony of how she was miraculously healed by the Man of God, Prophet TB Joshua during the special healing service on Saturday of her chronic pains that she has been suffering from for years.
The testimonies were not just mere words, but were supported by video evidences of how the people giving testimonies looked like before, and to those that were brought to the church for healing of how they looked prior to the healing.
She narrated how she had gone abroad to find solutions which she could not get. After yet more testimonies, the congregation started rising from there seat, an indication that perhaps something was about to happen, which was true when the celebrant, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua walked into the church that was filled to capacity with everyone at about 3.05 pm.
After few minutes of sermon, a loud ‘happy birthday to you’ but a sax man brought everyone in unison to their feet singing, clapping and dancing with the celebrant.
Without mincing words, he reminded the congregation that the celebration is all about the sick and as such, the special healing will continue with breakthrough.
Sometimes, it looks comical when healing started and lasted till about 5.25 when he called for a 10 minutes break.
By 5.53 pm, the Prophet appeared again and sermon resumes till 6.53 pm when prayers started and by 7 pm, there was joyous chaos-when the Man of God asked for prayer to defeat and send out ‘demons’, with men and women starting to scream from every corner of the church shouting for them to be delivered.
Many heavily well-dressed men and women of both whites and blacks crying for help and from different parts of world confessing of the evils they had committed in the past. Whilst the ‘madness’ lasted, others screamed for them to be too.
However, during his sermon, Prophet TB Joshua lamented that his only limitation is that he cannot physically and personal attend to everyone that needs his attention for spiritual healing and ministration.
He called on viewers wherever they were around the world to believe through the telecast on Emmanuel TV, that whatever their problems are, that they should receive healing.
Like my minders told me, there were over 100 countries represented at the June 12, 2016 birthday celebration of the Founder/General Overseer. Before the final rounds of prayers at 7.32 pm, the groups from Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Paraguay, Greece and Russia requested for the prophet to come over to their countries for crusade.
For the several accommodation providers and vendors around Ikotun town, the headquarters of the SCOAN, it was always like this for several years until the unfortunate incident of building-collapse that killed many pilgrims and several injured, leading to the scaled back of spiritual and healing activities that is gradually returning.
By all accounts, close to 50,000 foreigners visited Nigeria in the last one week, with many of them travelling for 48 hours just to get into country for the celebration of the prophet’s birthday.
Without doubt, 90 per cent of all the visitors of Synagogue are guests with purchasing capacity of staying in 3 star to 5 star hotels, which suggests that such facilities are needed around the church that would ultimately generates revenue for the government and jobs for Nigerians.
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