Things People Don’t Know About Pastor LAZARUS MUOKA

• The Story Of Lord’s Chosen Church Pastor

There is a viral trend going on in the social media space right now, and it’s the “I am a Chosen” challenge. Lots of notable personalities have been captured on social media wearing the popular apron of the church called The Lord’s Chosen, saying proudly, I am a Chosen. The trend came about when a social media influencer approached a female member of the The Lord’s Chosen and asked her to say to him the words, “I love you”, and she would be given a huge cash reward in return. But the lady, whose physical appearance obviously cut the picture of somebody who could really use the amount of money on offer, promptly declined to say the words. Instead, she fired back at the influencer, saying, “I am a Chosen!”, meaning that as a member of the Chosen church, she is not disposed to engaging in such ‘shenanigans’. And the social media went agog with different shades of reactions largely mocking the lady’s obvious disinterest in the game and the money offered her. And from this point, everything suddenly took a new dimension.

It first started with a seemingly regular testimony video from a member of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry popularly known as the Lord’s Chosen. The testimony video elicited quite some reaction owing to the apparently exaggerated or outrightly fabricated tale of the member who claimed that shouting the ‘I an a Chosen!” three times saved him from the jaws of death. And before anyone could make a sense of the testimony and the utterly unrealistic tale that accompanied it, more and more videos of extremely illogical testimonies started springing up and the church, from that moment, has been under the spotlight, taking a lot of sticks and scathing criticisms from the public. The media team of the church has come out to state the position of the church on the raging controversy that appears to be rubbing the ministry’s reputation in the mud, but the negative publicity coming to the church has not abated. Let us tell you a bit about the church popularly known as Lord’s Chosen.

The Lord’s Chosen is a Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in Nigeria by its leader, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, in 2002. According to the doctrines of the church, the Lord’s Chosen also shares with other denominations core values of Christianity such as salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, holiness and righteousness, prayer and spiritual warfare, evangelism and soul-winning.  The church also believes in Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and also in the Bible as the inspired Word of God and Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

It must be noted that the Lord’s Chosen has grown in leaps and bounds, setting up several branches within and outside Nigeria. With its headquarters in Lagos, they have branches in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, as well as in Europe (UK, Germany, Italy, etc.) Americas (USA, Brazil, etc.) Asia (India, Philippines, etc.)

But it has not been smooth sailing for the church and it’s founder, Pastor Lazarus Mouka. The church has been set back by a few controversies that rocked the church a few years ago, calling to question the authenticity of the calling of its founder. The founder, Pastor Lazarus Mouka, has also been criticised for exploiting his members, who are largely petty traders, low income earners and small scale entrepreneurs who barely manage to eke out a living for themselves. They contribute their widows mite in form of tithe and offering and give to the church. Many have expressed their displeasure at the fact that a lot of the members of the church look impoverished and could do with a bit of financial support themselves, yet they give the little they have to the church. And when the media was agog with reports that the founder was living large while majority of his members appeared to be struggling to make ends meet, he attracted wide condemnation from the public.

But who exactly is Pastor Lazarus Muoka? What are his antecedents? How did he start his ministry? Permit us to avail you of some information that you probably didn’t know about this controversial man of God.

Pastor Lazarus Mouka was born in 1952 in Imo State, Nigeria. It is documented that he was called to ministry in 1975. Not much is known about the churches he attended and under whose ordination he emerged, but he founded Lord’s Chosen in 2002 with 120 members. He was raised in a Christian family and converted to Christianity at the age of 15.

Pastor Lazarus Mouka is widely known for his emphasis on prayer, holiness, prosperity and evangelism. He is also the author of several Christian books and publications. But, like many other prominent men of God, Lazarus Mouka has also endured many controversies and criticisms that have continued to trail his ministry. The church has had to deal with allegations of financial mismanagement, with the man said to be spending lavishly on himself and his family, acquiring cars and mansions. He was even rumoured to have bought his own private jet, an allegation he has neither denied nor admitted.

There have also been criticisms of Pastor Muoka’s leadership style. He is said to be very high handed with close members and workers in the church. This is why the church appears to have suffered the loss of a lot of its members, especially close aides of the pastor. He has also been accused of being overly focused on prosperity gospel. This, his critics say, is to keep his not so financially solid members giving to the church while they hope their own financial breakthroughs will come soon.

Some years back, a few of his members who left the church claimed he forced them into oath taking and suggested that a lot of unusual things happen in the church. But none of these was ever proven by any one of them. There was nothing to show they had any real evidence against the man of God and many simply dismissed their allegations as the ranting expected of disgruntled members.  However, the founder, who recently buried his first wife, has continued to trudge on, taking the church to greater heights and growing it’s membership into several thousands spread across the country and beyond. The church remains popular and influential, with a significant following globally.

Pastor Lazarus who started as an evangelist and church planter, has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from University of Nigeria (1983). He also possesses a Diploma in Theology from International Bible Institute (1985) and a Honorary Doctorate in Divinity from St. John’s University, USA (2006) Despite the many controversies trailing him and the church, Pastor Muoka remains a respected figure within Christendom, one that will always command a huge following everywhere he goes.