Like Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, Like Evangelist Tonto Dikeh -By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

This synchronicity between Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the LoveWorld Nation and erstwhile Nollywood sensation Evangelist Tonto Dikeh isn’t because of any shared provenance or trajectory, but due to their ride on public imagination. Both personalities have manifested the grace to rise above naysayers by coming up with solutions that should silence detractors. Alas, their strides fulfill God’s promise in Luke 21:15 to “give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.”

Social media and the blogosphere quaked from the words that proceeded from the mouth of Pastor Chris this past week. The much-maligned man of God announced LoveWorld’s innovative venture into Nigeria’s emerging technology and mobility sector. At the New Economy Unveiling (NEU) 2026, Pastor Chris presented a new line of electric vehicles under the Tsion brand, highlighting a wider push to develop independent energy, automobile manufacturing, and infrastructure within Christ Embassy. The electric vehicles are the Tsion Passion, Tsion Falcon, Vision Series and OG Series. It was a collection of luxury-styled SUVs, sports cars, luxury coupes and convertibles – all with electric-powered technology. The feat was so monumental that Nigeria’s mainstream media disembarked from their editorial high horse, lifted their “LTP” barrier, and reported the unveiling from feeds circulating online!

As if the wonder on wheels weren’t mind-blowing enough, Oyakhilome teased that the best is yet to come. Also at the NEU 2026 was the introduction of a “wealth liquefaction” scheme centered on “turning waste into profit.” Applauding LoveWorld Nation’s president for the initiatives, Pastor Bolaji Idowu of the Harvesters fame said, “My mind has been stretched. This is what it means to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are not waiting for them to give us a solution. The church has come to its place; now they have no other option than to listen to us. We are not just preaching the gospel; we are demonstrating the ability of the Spirit, even in the marketplace.”

Switching gears now, amid raging debate over whether her under-a-year discipleship training is enough to make her a general overseer, Tonto Dikeh announced that her ministry will donate a Church building and renovate others “following the Holy Spirit’s instructions,” not “based on human favoritism.” Flesh and blood couldn’t have nudged the pastor and the evangelist towards these laudable doings. Little wonder their announcements pushed every other trending topic to the sidelines, taking over social media timelines.

Under the “Church-Building and Support Initiative,” Dikeh’s New Wine Prophetic Tabernacle pledged to “repair and strengthen altars in our communities” by providing churches with essential equipment and structural upgrades. “We are stepping in to support and uplift churches through structural renovation or essential equipment,” she wrote on social media, calling for a “bill of quantities and the approximate cost of the necessary items.” Persons who believe that the baby believer is immature to start a ministry should be astonished by the exploits and impact of a Church that is less than a month old. The critics, some of whom are clerics, sounded like pessimists who ab initio couldn’t see Tonto’s spiritual transformation and the endurance of her newfound faith. This holier-than-thou folk must have dismissed King Tonto Dikeh – the baddie – as a daughter of Jezebel and a corrupting influence. Now that she has become a woman of God, they still don’t feel she should be in the Lord’s army. How impossible it is to please people!

Pastor Emmanuel Iren fortuitously highlighted the gravitas of the projects taken on by the New Wine Tabernacle. This was by disclosing that mega Church pastors account for less than 0.6 per cent of the lot, with many faithful ministers serving smaller congregations struggling to meet basic expenses, including church rent. “Most pastors still don’t have enough money to pay rent for the church building. Many churches closed down because there’s just not enough money. So let love motivate you to support them,” Iren advocated. And this is what Tonto Dikeh is set to do, even if “in honor of the birthday of our father and man of God, Pst. Jerry Eze.”

Apart from the Church building support, the New Wine Tabernacle reportedly offset the hospital bills of every child born across Abuja and Port Harcourt on August 22nd. This charity to society’s indigent also blessed each mother and child with vital supplies for early care and comfort. That Tonto is doing all of this for “our father’s sacred day” should answer those accusing her of hurriedly leaving discipleship to found a Church. She is evidently still under the tutelage of “our man of God”, so what’s the fuss? Not many devotees would go nearly as far to honour their mentors on the latter’s special day.

That the former screen goddess opted for her own ministry path too early doesn’t approximate an expression of zeal without a seal. God’s ways are too heavenly apart from ours for us to predict Him. If Tonto is indeed called for such a time as this, would critics rather she missed the mark by waiting to rise through the ranks? This is part of the reason Churches must reconsider their insistence on new members climbing the discipleship rung, particularly those with the unction and who have concluded foundational classes elsewhere. The counsel from 91-year-old Robert Tillman Kendall with over 70 years of experience in ministry and all manner of degrees rings true.

When asked his major advice to young ministers, Kendall, who pastored Westminster Chapel for 25 years, said, “I will not recommend seminary. I think of Acts 4:13, when the Sadducees saw the boldness of Peter and John, they were amazed. Notice that they were uneducated, but they had been with Jesus. My advice to anybody: two things: know your Bible and pray a lot. Two things God wants us to know: His word and His ways. How do you get to know anybody’s ways? By spending time with them… Know the Bible and pray a lot, and God will use you to exceed all the PhDs and seminary degrees.” Need we say more?

Not too long ago, this column advised Pastor Chris and clergymen portrayed in bad light to publicly refute such narratives, particularly when they feed into the zeitgeist. We argued that such rumours shouldn’t be allowed to calcify into notorious fact for the sake of their brand equity and evangelism missions. It has now emerged that the highly esteemed man of God is too busy with lofty ideals to be convincing those who question the efficacy of his healing streams services. As it were, whatever bad press from him purportedly not being the genuine article has been drowned by the PR mileage from his latest venture, particularly given the brand associations with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

The moral of the story is to stay true to what the Lord has committed into our hands and not allow contrary opinions to take our eyes off the ball. Although she had admitted being a devil worshipper at some point in her life, beneficiaries of Tonto Dikeh’s philanthropy would definitely disagree with those insisting that she’s too young in faith to start a Church. For all the plaudits it has widely received, you only need to go online to find rife mockery and slandering of Christ Embassy’s latest manifestation of exceptionalism, expansionism, and perfectionism. Even those who have been against Churches turning factories and warehouses into worship centers now wonder whether Pastor Chris hasn’t missed his calling by becoming an apostle in the marketplace. Questions are being asked about whether the Church is no longer “preparing for first flight” and how many LoveWorld members can afford the New Kingdom Technologies.

Some lawyer is even arguing whether a Church registered as an incorporated trustee can go into the business of producing cars, as if the LoveWorld Nation, which owns a commercial bank, doesn’t have enough legal luminaries as advisers. Given that it’s like people to be conveniently critical, being a people-pleaser is counterintuitive. The Lord Jesus observed such variable vituperation while He walked the earth. Matthew 11:16-17: “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”

Thankfully, wisdom is always proven right by her deeds!

VIS Ugochukwu is a sage, storyteller and branding specialist who welcomes feedback sent to nmiringwu@gmail.com