RCCG branches nationwide are on franchise contract – Ex-Pastor Reveals: The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has been operating as a business franchise across the country; this is according to recent confession by a former pastor of the church.
Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor (RCCG) licenses its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its business model, brand, and rights to sell its branded products and services to a franchisee (Pastors).
A young man known as Pastor Lazarus Okechuku who was a pastor in training quitted his training and decided to leave the redeemed Christian church.
He gave many reasons for quitting and explained them.
He went on to say that RCCG is a franchise system of operation, where each parish belongs to each pastor and the pastors of each branch are expected to pay 70-75 per cent of their income to the headquarters of the church while they take the remaining for themselves. In order word, the church is loaning their brand to them in return for members’ money.
“You are to run with the parish. Just give them their own portion. They’re borrowing you the logo and they’re borrowing you their members,” he claimed.
He added:
“That already has made many pastors to go into stealing because the 30 and 20 per cent that remains is not enough for them. So they have to lie, they have to cheat. They will do different kinds of things.”
He also alleged that pastors of RCCG have bought lands in Redemption camp using money made from their church. But if they dare leave the Redeemed Christian Church of God, they will lose all their properties in Redemption camp.
He added that as a result of this, many pastors are aware of what goes on in the church but their hands are tied and they cannot come out for fear of losing all they have.
He ended up by saying “So what I did by leaving Redeemed Christian Church of God, many pastors in the Redeemed will not be able to do it. Many presently are hearing what you are saying but they cannot come out, because if they dare come out, they will lose everything that they’ve invested in the same system for many many years.