VICE PRESIDENT
4.10 Observations during Pentecostal Services Attended
The data above could trigger more research by scholars and statisticians but it presents Pentecostalism as a religion of the middle class with about 63.1% of those surveyed having attended tertiary institutions or having university education. Furthermore, 84.4% of those surveyed fall within the age bracket of 15 to 40 years. We consider this as something of an unearthing because certain assumptions have now been corroborated or contradicted. If the findings were to be used as the starting point for a statistical analysis of Pentecostalized communities in Nigeria, we would get an even better perspective on Pentecostalism in the country and the number of assumptions might be further reduced.
confession of faith and the Lord‟s Prayer which are normal features in structured mainline services were completely absent. The services may be simple and flexible to meet the needs of worshippers but, careful observation makes one aware of elements of entertainment, showmanship and self-projection of leaders and singers in the church. Somewhat reminiscent of what is obtainable in clubs and other entertainment centres.
Many Pentecostal churches retain rented spaces in the shopping complex of Yola, capital of Adamawa State, for their activities. This can pose problems for holding wedding and funeral services in their sanctuaries which they call „church auditoriums‟. The neo- Pentecostal churches generally do not allow their dead to be brought into the church for funeral services. They believe and teach that the church is not for the dead but only for the living. Death is associated with decay and bad odour which have no place in the house of worship. Funeral services therefore are held in the deceased‟s compound or at the mortuary and must be as lively as possible.
The funeral service, attended by this researcher in August 2005, was well attended.
There were testimonies by members of the church about the deceased. There were music, praise singing, and a brief sermon by the pastor. Most striking was the cheerfulness of the occasion which would not be tolerated in mainline churches.
The researcher managed to attend services of the Living Faith and the Redeemed Christian Church of God without being recognized as most of its members are not indigenous to Adamawa State. Despite having much in common with other Pentecostals, these two churches were distinguished by their own peculiar characteristics.
(i) The Living Faith (aka Winners Chapel
This congregation was visited January 2, 2005, in Jimeta, and I made the following observations:
i. Several offerings were taken during the worship, but no mention was made of what was offered the previous Sunday.
ii. The church building has no symbols inside or outside the building.
iii. The church does not have an altar in the church hall. They have a raised stage with a fanciful lectern and beautiful curtains with lavish inscriptions as well as rich furnishings. Pentecostal churches do not have pews, they use individual seats. There was a complete absence of the cross outside and inside the worship hall.
iv. Women and men designated as deacons moved up and down, observing people during worship services, in case they fell asleep.
v. The sermon for the day was interspersed with rhetorical questions e.g. “Did I hear someone say, „Hallelujah‟?” or “Let me hear a big, „Amen‟”.
vi. Offering envelopes were sold at the gate of the church hall and all members needed to buy one for their offerings for the day. They resell the same, used envelopes repeatedly. 233
(ii). RCCG
To firsthand appreciate worship for the purpose of this research, I attended a service of the RCCG at Ikeja, Lagos State on 8th February, 2005. The service was typical of Pentecostal services with loud music, several announcements and a very long sermon. The sermon was without a particular text or theme. Several quotations were made from the Old Testament and a few from Pauline epistles. There were continuous references to what the leader had said during a camp held during the last two nights (The leader of the RCCG was a professor of mathematics at the University of Lagos. He was addressed as „General Overseer‟
(G.O.).
Five different offerings were taken that Sunday, there was also a special „thanks giving offering‟ by a newly wedded couple. Those who were worshipping in the church for the first time were invited to the front for prayers which I joined. After the prayers and blessings, we were directed to a room where we had to fill out cards with our names, home addresses and times we would be available at home for visitations and follow-ups by elders or deacons of the church. The elder or deacon, a woman, pleaded with us to give honest answers and correct addresses. Experience has learnt that some people give wrong addresses.
She lamented that, “when we go to their given addresses, we don‟t find them. Some give us numbers of uncompleted buildings with no one living in them.”234 One was automatically considered a new convert and a potential member. The pastor of this RCCG congregation came up only once during this service to make announcements and to invite people to make offerings.
(iii) Summary of Interviews
The pastor of the Winners Chapel at Jimeta during an interview stated that the secret behind the success of his church is: “Dogged addiction to the scriptures, living it and not just preaching it.” In response as to why they take people who are already Christians to form their church, he said, “there are hundreds of people who go to the Lutheran, Catholic or Anglican
233 Participatory observation in Living Faith Church, Jimeta, Adamawa State, Nigeria, 2nd January 2005.
234 Participatory observation in RCCG, Ikej a, Lagos State, Nigeria, 4th February 2005.
churches but who are waiting to be harvested by the Pentecostals. They go to those churches, but they actually belong here. Therefore, we must take them or else they will die without Christ.” In answer to a question how the mainline churches feel about the Living Faith Church taking away their members, he replied: “The sky is too wide for birds to collide and even if you take all these people away; I assure you, I will fill this church again in one month.” The pastor made an analogy with goats and food: “Food is very important. If you don‟t feed your goats very well they will move to your neighbour‟s house where there is food”. And the pastor concluded, “meet the needs of the people, they will follow you.”235