President and Founder of Word Assembly Ministries, Ilorin, Kwara State, Rev. Isaac Omolehin, has called for deep reflection, prayer and genuine spiritual awakening in Nigeria, warning that the church is facing an existential threat from moral degeneration and spiritual backsliding.
Omolehin made the call at the Empowering the Church Summit organised by Glory Tabernacle Ministry, Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State.
In his sermon, “The Powerless Church,” Omolehin raised concerns over what he described as troubling spiritual, moral and institutional trends spreading across churches in Nigeria and the wider Christian community.
Drawing from over five decades of ministry experience, the cleric warned that the church risks drifting into weakness and irrelevance if corruption, complacency and spiritual powerlessness are not urgently confronted.
“The Lord did not plan to have a powerless church,” he said. “A weak church is an aberration to what was handed over to us.”
Lessons from Europe’s Empty Churches
Drawing from his recent travels to Europe, Omolehin recounted visiting historic churches in Scotland, including the church of John Knox, one of the most influential figures of the Protestant Reformation.
He described the shock of discovering that once-revival-centred church buildings had been converted into apartments and commercial properties.
“I stood in front of John Knox’s church, a place built during revival, and it is now empty, broken into rooms and rented out,” he said. “Churches in Europe did not die suddenly; they died gradually—over 50, 100 years—until there was nothing left.”
He lamented that believers failed to rise when such sacred spaces were put up for sale, warning that Nigeria could follow the same path if Christians remain indifferent.
“We have started that same journey in Nigeria,” he warned. “If things continue the way they are, in less than 50 years, the church may no longer be able to withstand the pressure upon it.”
Then and now: A moral contrast
Reflecting on Nigeria in the 1970s, Rev. Omolehin contrasted past societal values with today’s realities, using examples from his personal experiences around the University of Ibadan.
“In the 1970s, newspaper vendors at the UI would spread their papers on the roadside, leave the money there and walk away,” he recalled. “You took a paper, dropped the money and left. No one watched you.”
He lamented that such trust has largely disappeared, even within church settings.
“Today, in churches, while people are bringing offerings, announcements are made telling worshippers to guard their bags,” he said. “This is no longer comedy; it is lamentation.”
According to him, moral decay within society has seeped into the church, creating a dangerous contradiction.
“The sinners then were better than the saints today,” he stated. “Nothing can be strong when corruption is inside it—no nation, no institution, no church.”
Once-powerful church
Omolehin recalled a time when the church exercised spiritual authority and commanded respect, even in hostile environments. He narrated stories of early Nigerian churches reclaiming land once regarded as sacred forests and transforming them into worship centres.
He also cited the example of Rev. Dr Moody, a former pastor in the ECWA church in Kabba, who, according to Omolehin, disarmed armed robbers through spiritual authority rather than fear.
“This was the church I knew,” he said. “Today, bandits enter churches, kill worshippers and abduct pastors and their families. This was not part of our history.”
Existential threat and the call to prayer
Central to Omolehin’s message was the idea that the church is facing an existential threat, one that demands a militant spiritual response rather than passive resignation.
“If we sit down here, we die,” he repeated, drawing from the biblical story of the four lepers. “The enemy diminishes the church quietly—one person leaves, then another, until emptiness appears.”
He stressed that persecution often targets key leaders first, citing biblical examples such as John the Baptist, James, Peter and Stephen, warning that silence only emboldens opposition.
“The empowerment of the church begins with prayer—praying houses, praying individuals, praying groups,” he said, referencing the prayer meeting in the house of John Mark’s mother that led to Peter’s miraculous release from prison.
Power before mission
He also emphasised that evangelism without spiritual power is futile, reminding listeners that Jesus instructed His disciples to wait for empowerment before embarking on mission.
“Beyond power, there is nothing more,” he said. “If you have power, power will supply what you lack.”
Ministry in crisis zones
Identifying himself as a rural evangelist, Rev. Omolehin spoke candidly about ministering in areas now overtaken by banditry and kidnappings.
He described how communities have been forced to raise money not to secure freedom for captives, but simply to feed them in captivity.
“My field has been invaded by bandits,” he said. “But I cannot abandon my calling. Lagos can count money; I will count souls.”
Despite the challenges, he maintained that the gospel remains the only enduring solution to Nigeria’s layered crises.
Final warning
Omolehin further called on the church to reclaim its spiritual strength and moral authority.
“I don’t want the church to end in my generation as a weak church,” he said. “I want the church to resume in power, to be respected again—by government, by society, by other faiths.”
He warned that Europe’s experience, where churches are now bought by non-Christian groups, should serve as a sobering lesson.
“This place will not close down while we are here,” he declared. “If we sit down here, we die. But if we rise in power, the church will live.”
