NWAOZURU

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A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF CHRISTIAN HEALING MINISTRY IN

NIGERIA

BY

NWAOZURU, JOHNMAJOR .C.

2020

Published Online by Bambooks Digital Library Limited, Lagos

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Copyright: Nwaozuru, Johnmajor. C. 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this online publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written
permission of the author.

Contact Address

09023990044
07087514159
08169870464

Email

[email protected]
[email protected]

ISBN: 978-978-57662-2-6
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DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Nwabueze, Osita Emmanuel who motivated me to write this

book during my National Youth Service at Taraba State.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Predictably, I want to first of all acknowledge and thank the Almighty God, the

author and finisher of my faith, for all his goodness and mercies in my life and for his

unfading love, provision and protection throughout my first degree in the university. I

also appreciate my parents Mr. and Mrs. Enyeribe Promise Nwaozuru, and my relatives

such as Chigozie Christian Nwaozuru, Engr. C. Joel, Sorochi Ugoala, Vincent Iheajuru,

George Okorafor Nneji and many others, for their collective efforts in assisting me

during my first degree in the university. Special thanks to Rev. and Rev. Mrs. Obinna

Chinwe Agu, Prof. Oliver O.C Uche, Rev Fr. Prof B.A.C. Obiefuna, Very, Rev. Prof.

P.E. Nmah, Prof. (Mrs). E.O. Ezenweke, Ven. B.O.S. Udezo, Rev Fr. Dr. C.B.J.G

Okpalaike, Rev Fr. Dr. D.C. Obielosi, Dr. K.L. Nwadialor, Dr. I.L Umeanolue, Dr. (Mrs)

A.M. Chukwuma-Offor, Mrs. C.N. Chigbo, Mr. J.C. Ihetu, Amah, Johnson, Ejike, Jude,

Nwosu Tochi, Odinenu, Kareen-Happuch, Hayford Michael, Amutaigwe, Ezechukwu,

Chukwunonso Ezekaibeya, Mrs Oluchi Uche, Okonkwo, Jennifer, Titilope Adijatu

Jimoh, Nwofia Joy, Igbokwe, Joyce, Orakwe, Mmaduabuchi, Nwabueze, Osita

Emmanuel, Okafor, Amarachi, Nwokedi, Godswill and Prince Onyebuchi Sunday they

have been of immense help to me. Finally, to all those who in one way or other have

helped me I say a big thank you and that may God bless you all. Amen
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page i
Copyright ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Table of Contents v
Preface vii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER TWO: ILL-HEALTH, HEALING AND HEALTH 7

CHAPTER THREE: DIMENSIONS OF CHRISTIAN HEALING MINISTRY

Christianity and Healing Emphasis 34

Healing Ministry of Jesus 35
Purpose of Jesus Healing Ministry 38
Healing Ministry in the Early Church 40
Healing Ministry in Post Apostolic Era 42
Pentecostalism and Healing Ministry 44
Early Missionary Thrust and the Quest for Healing 46
African Indigenous Prophetic Healing Movement 48
Garrick Sokari Braide 48
William Wade Harris 49
Jehu Appiah 50
Pentecostalism and Quest for Divine Healing 51
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CHAPTER FOUR: APPRAISAL OF CHRISTIAN

HEALING MINISTRY IN NIGERIA

Impact of Healing Ministry on the Church and Christians 54

Church Growth 56
Spiritual Revival of the Church 58
Supernatural Healing 60
Contributions of Christian Healing Ministry to National Development of Nigeria 61
Problems Associated With Christian Healing Ministry in Nigeria 66
Abuses 67
Unnecessary Emphasis on the Influence of Demons and Evil Spirits 69
Inappropriate Use of Sacramental 71
Inadequate Medical Care 73
Declining Spiritual Commitment 75
Materialism and Commercialization of Religious Objects 77
Family crisis 78
Pastoral Care in Christian Healing Ministry 79

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 83

REFERENCES 84
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PREFACE

Africans value good health and make sure that anything that causes harm to health

is avoided. Sickness is inimical to health thus Africans can spend a lot to treat

themselves when they are sick. Africans seek for holistic healing of which Christian

healing ministry can offer through the power of Jesus Christ. This makes some Africans

who are sick to patronise Christian healing ministry with the aim of attending holistic

healing. Christian healing ministry has been helpful in the society as some Pentecostal

churches that practice healing have contributed to national development of Nigeria and

some sick people have received divine healing. It has also help in spiritual revival of the

church and has made Christians to develop their spiritual gifts to exhort the church.

Presently, it has been observed that some fake healers who claim that God has

called them, hide under the cloak of Christian healing ministry to materially and

spiritually exploit sick people seeking for divine healing. It could be observed that many

practices of some Christian healing ministries are contrary to the teachings of Christ in

Matthew 10:8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You

received without paying, give without pay". Some faith healers commercialize religious

objects (selling of olive oil, holy water, handkerchief and many more at exorbitant rate),

encouraging their members not to visit hospitals when they are sick which has led to the

death of many sick people. Some of them give prophecies that has resulted to family

crisis while others emphasis much on demon possession on the sick person and
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suggesting for the sick person to undergo deliverance which they use as medium to

materially exploit the sick person for deliverance services. Some involve in

performing of fake healing miracles to attract people to their ministry. The practices of

some healing ministries have caused a decline in spiritual commitment of some

Christians. Some believers go to church not for salvation nor to seek for Christ but for

healing miracles and the person performing it. Since it seems like the practice of healing

miracles attracts more members some men of God who do not have the gift of healing

and performing of miracles seek for powers from evil source in order to get more

members.

Others only regard and respect ministers with gifts of healing and working of

miracles as they consider others without these gifts as inferior. These do not mean that

there are no genuine healing ministries in the society but it is just that the fake ones are

more than the genuine ones. Therefore Christians should be careful not fall into the hand

of fake pastors operating healing ministries. Although there are disadvantages

associated with Christian healing ministry yet Christian healing ministry has been of

veritable tool in spreading the gospel, spiritual revival of the church, church growth and

has contributed to national development of Nigeria.

Chapter one opens with introduction to the book. chapter two examined ill-

health, healing and health. chapter three emphasized on dimensions of Christian healing

ministry starting from Christianity and healing emphasis, healing ministry of Jesus,
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purpose of Jesus healing ministry, healing ministry in the early church, healing

ministry in post apostolic era, Pentecostalism and healing ministry, early missionary

thrust and the quest for healing and African indigenous prophetic healing movement.

Chapter four appraised Christian healing ministry in Nigeria touching its positive and

negative impact in the society. On the positive side it includes; church growth, spiritual

revival of the church, supernatural healing and national development of Nigeria.

problems associated with Christian healing ministry in Nigeria includes; abuses,

unnecessary emphasis on the influence of demons and evil spirits, inappropriate

use of sacramental, inadequate medical care, declining spiritual commitment, materialism

and commercialization of religious objects, family crisis and pastoral care in Christian

healing ministry. Chapter five brings the book to a conclusion. The book sheds more

light on pastoral care in Christian healing ministry to achieve the purpose of which

Christian healing ministry is originally meant.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Healing especially spiritual and miraculous type is associated with religious

dimension. Healing was practiced in Ancient Near East as some prophets in Israel were

not only mediators between Yahweh and God's people but healed diseases through divine

enablement such as Moses intervention in the healing of Miriam’s leprosy, Naaman's

quick recovery from his illness as a result of obedience to Elisha's directive. Wesley

(2011) opines that the Church’s involvement in the ministry of healing has a theological

framework; it springs from what we believe about God, His will and purposes for

humankind. Christians believe that God’s will for His human creation is wholeness in

body, mind and spirit. It follows that healing, however generated, is a positive experience

that frees us from any abnormality that interferes with wholeness. Healing was central to

the ministry of Jesus when He was on earth. A large percentage of His miracles were

miracles of healing. Furthermore, Wesley (2011) observes that Jesus commissioned His

disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal; Jesus’ commission to heal was

not just for His immediate followers but for succeeding generations of Christians Luke

9:2. In Corinthians 12:28 Paul writes of Gifts of Healings being available to Christians

while James says that those who are sick should call for the elders of the church to pray

over them for healing James 5:14. Thus, healing cannot be disassociated from
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Christianity. It is acknowledged by contemporary church leaders and is seen as evidence

of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church and held in high esteem by Pentecostals.

In Christianity, it is believed that miraculous healings continues where individual

and corporate faith is strong, there is expectation that God could and is able to heal

miraculously always. According to Asuza (1992), African worldview stresses the fact

that a human being needs healing as a socio-religious entity for his whole being. It is

perhaps; in the light of this that one can understand the overall significance of Christian

healing ministry as a sign of profession of faith especially in Africa. Hence, it is

developed in the church as an authentic sign of witness of faith. Thus, there is this

conviction that Christ’s call to His followers to heal the sick is still in force. So, Churches

in Nigeria are not left out in this aspect. According to Wesley (2011), throughout much of

the twentieth century there has been a resurgence of interest in the spiritual dimension of

healing. It could be seen that in this twenty first century, there are many congregations

in various denominations exercising healing ministry. According to Ahiabu (2011), upon

observation, one gets the impression that those churches that practice healing seems to be

growing faster than those that do not practice the phenomenon, thereby suggesting that

there might be a link between the practice of healing and church growth. It could be

observed that churches that practice ministry gifts or whose minsters encourage and

promote the practice, seems to be growing faster while members of other churches that

do not involve in healing ministry tend to join the former or better still show dual
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membership as most of the healing ministry programmes are held on mid-week basis. In

Nigeria, this is commonly seen among the Pentecostals. Ahiabu (2011) observes that

the phenomenon of healing has become very common and central to the religious

activities of most churches in Nigeria especially Pentecostals with their offshoot of

healing ministry as testimonies of various kinds of miraculous healings are reported daily

in their various social media platforms, radio and Television stations, national dailies and

so on. In support of the above viewpoint, Asuza (1992) opines that it has reached that

magnitude whereby new churches, healing centers and prayer houses are being opened

daily, all claiming the power to heal and work miracles. Almost all the so-called

prophets in Nigeria claim to have the gift of healing and ability to work miracles.

New churches, ministries and centers so founded are usually filled beyond

capacity by eager seekers for God’s immediate intervention in their lives. In a bid not to

lose out on membership and to attract new ones, many of the mainline churches have

incorporated miracle healing services into their programme of activities. It is not

surprising that there are many healing programmes and service ongoing in various

Churches in Nigerian society, it is observed that where there is poor medical facilities as

found in many parts of Nigeria there is bound to be high rate of diseases and illnesses.

Thus, there will be high desire for divine healing by the populace. Hence, Kalu (2008)

elucidates that “Africa is a fertile ground for faith healing practices" (p. 263). Faith

healing practices are an undisputed reality in Africa, this is because in African

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worldview good health is the utmost value and must be protected to avoid damage which

could be caused by sickness. It is believed that sickness that defy medical treatment

requires a supernatural being to intervene hence, healing ministry could be considered as

one of the means God helps Africans in curing sickness beyond medical control. Hence,

this has given rise to the establishment of healing ministry in nooks and crannies of

Nigeria.

It is realistic that sickness causes pains, agonizes and finally death if not properly

cured thus, the whole creation groans in its need for deliverance which could come from

Christ. Healing ministry has become very popular among Nigerian Pentecostal churches

in recent times, with large numbers of people attending these activities. However, this

practice has been incorporated into the church with the aim of evangelizing people as

well as responding to the needs of its members and the general society. Hence, when

people face physical ailments, they visit healing ministries hoping to witness the power

of Christ’s healing in their lives, they want God to intervene and restore their physical

health. This is the strong hold sustaining healing ministry in Christianity.

Recently, it could be seen that some of these healing ministries are now

exploiting people both spiritually and materially. They deceive, defraud, commercialize

religious objects and have caused many problems in families and the society at large.

This is contrary to the teachings of Christ in Matthew 10:8 "Heal the sick, raise the

dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay”.
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Therefore, this book aims at appraising Christian healing ministry in Nigeria, pointing

out the contributions and problems associated with it.

For a proper understanding of this book, it is necessary to define some of the

key terms in this topic. Key terms worthy of definition are; appraisal, healing, healing

ministry and faith healing.

Appraisal

Hornby (2015) defines appraisal as a judgment of the value, performance or

nature of something/ somebody. In this context, appraisal means to examine the

contributions and problems associated Christian healing ministry in Nigeria.

Healing

Martin (2014) defines healing as broad concept, which covers a whole range of

social, psychological, cultural and spiritual issues and dimensions in response to

unwanted threatening conditions that disturb a harmonious and peaceful existence.

Healing is also seen as the treatment of diseases for quick cure.

Healing Ministry

Ukanwa (2017) defines healing ministry as a religious concept and the service of

ministering or evoking healing spiritually on people in the name of Jesus Christ.

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Faith Healing

Hornby (2015) defines faith healing as a method of treating a sick person

through the power of belief and prayer. In this context, it could be seen as God's ability

to restore good health to a sick person.

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CHAPTER TWO

ILL-HEALTH, HEALING AND HEALTH

It is undeniable fact that not many things in this world interest humans quite as

much as health. People do not only talk about health in public and in private, but also

spend a great deal of resources and energy on it in one way or the other. It is not

surprising that many governments allocate huge chunks of their resources for providing

good healthcare systems for their citizenry. Morton (1973) opines that United States of

America alone spends billions of dollars to preserve health and prolong life even in

Nigeria, efforts are made to improve the health sector for prevention of diseases and

sustenance of good health. This observation is evident in the resources that individuals

and corporate social organizations invest in ensuring wellbeing through health care

delivery in their respective societies. This assertion therefore demonstrates the

importance of health not only to secular societies but also to religious organizations such

as Christian churches. According to Ahiabu (2011), throughout church history, there

seems to be the practice of healing in one way or the other. Although the processes and

approaches to the practice of healing may take different forms, one can hardly deny the

need of the practice in the church. The practice has since been identified as a key

component of the ministries of Jesus Christ and has continued to make its strong presence

in contemporary Christian practices. In Nigeria, the practice of healing is not only found

in Pentecostal churches but it is also fast spreading in some mainline churches. Examples
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include: Rev Fr. Ejike Mbaka’s Adoration Ministry of Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), Rev. Fr.

Emmanuel Edeh and his Catholic Prayer Ministry of the Holy Spirit (CPM), Rev. Fr.

Emmanuel Obimma’s Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry (Ebube Muo Nso), Rev. Fr.

Celestine Aniofor's Pax Christi Adoration Ministry and many more.

Ahiabu (2011) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social

well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Unlike the traditional system

of healing, biomedical healing, which is usually termed as curing, relies so much on

scientific methods of investigation. Scientifically, health and healing are explained from

many philosophical points of view. Among these perspectives is reductionism. According

to Jubilee (1998), reductionism is a philosophical position which holds that intricate

phenomena are derived from a single fundamental principle. In this context, health is

regarded in terms of biological processes and explained by fundamental laws of

chemistry and physics. Engel (1981) states that this scientific method of reductionism in

medicine has come to be known as bio reductionism; basically, bio reductionism

understands that unless there have been injuries caused by external circumstances, the

cause of a disease can be reduced to a specific micro-organism. Laura (1990) points that

reductionism explains health and disease concepts (within biomedicine) in scientific

terms. Thus, from the biomedical perspective health is a theoretical concept which is

understood basically to be the absence of diseases. Boorse (1976) argues that the chief

components of health are biological and statistical normality (the ability to perform
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physiological functions which are typical of humans) as accordingly health is understood

to be functional normality. He further argues that because health is normal functioning an

organism is healthy at any moment in proportion as it is not disease. Diseases therefore,

in this model are perceived as deviations from the norm of health; they are internal states

which depress functional ability. As a result, healing is mostly limited to the kinds of

sicknesses that are identified through scientific investigations. Ahiabu (2011) notes that

the reliance on scientific causes of ill-health therefore, narrows scientific systems of

healing to measures that aim at restoring only scientifically proven causes of ill-health

situations. These measures include scientific diagnoses of the cause of sickness,

dispensation of biomedicine proven to be efficacious in curing a specific ailment and

other forms of treatments such as; taking rest, doing exercise and regulating one's diet.

Yet there are illnesses that defy medical treatments thus, scientific or medical healing is

not the only source of obtaining cure from diseases especially holistic healing.

One cannot understand and explain the Christian perspective of ill-health without

thoroughly examining the Christian concept of man. This is because in Christianity there

is the believe that when ill- health occurs, it affects certain aspect of the human person.

There are divergent Christian views about the composition of the human person.

According to Ruby (2011), on one hand, the Christian believes that humans are

composed of three basic elements; soul, spirit and body. Others believe in the bipartite

nature of humans. Ferguson (1988) states that alluding to biblical account on the creation
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of humans, humans were created from an existing physical matter. However, it is the

bringing in of the spiritual component, which is the breath of God (Spirit dimension) by

God that makes humans living beings. The spirit element of humans is identified with

God and serves as the divine element and the source of life for human existence.

Ferguson (1988) further asserts that the physical element known as the body serves as the

embodiment of the spiritual component. This is based on the assumption that the two

components of the human person do not function in isolation of each other. This means

that anything that affects one aspect including ill-health will consequently affect the other

component. Ahiabu (2011) opines that from the Christian worldview, sin (which is

explained as disobedience to commandments of God) is considered as one of the causes

of ill health. This believe is strong in Jewish worldview. The Old Testament also shows

that sickness can come to man if he fails to keep to the law or tries to harm the ministers

of Yahweh like the case of Miriam. Even Yahweh told the children of Israel that if

they keep His law, He will not allow any of the diseases that tormented the Egyptians to

come to them Exodus 15:26. When the disciples of Jesus saw the man born blind they

asked Him who sinned? Is it the mother or the father? This question confirms that Jews

consider sickness as a result of sin. From biblical point of view, Ahiabu (2011) contends

that maintaining a right relationship with God and fulfilling the righteous requirements of

the law has a causal link with health. It is, for instance, believed that people were sick

and some died prematurely because they did not participate in the Lord's Supper in a
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proper manner (1 Corinthians 11:29-30). In another case, Jesus was reported of warning

the man beside the pool of Bethesda to stop sinning or something worse may happen to

him (John 5:14). These cases are indication of the belief that some people become sick as

a result of the consequence of sin. For Jubilee (1998), this does not mean sin is believed

to be the only cause of sickness. Neither is every ill-health situation linked to sin

according to the Christian point of view. This is true as there are situations where people

seemed to have suffered with perpetual illnesses, during the times of the apostles.

According to Martin (2014):

In 2 Corinthians 12:7 shows that there was a thorn in the flesh of Paul, 1 Timothy

5:23 - Timothy is encouraged to use wine for his recurring ailment. In the ancient

times, wine was viewed as a medicinal ingredient. In fact, the Jewish elders

believed in wine as a primary medicine. Paul left behind Trophimus in Miletus, as

recorded in 2 Timothy 4:20. The fact that he was left behind in Miletus because

of his illness. In Philippians 2:25-30: Epaphroditus, a co-worker of Paul, was sick

as unto death but by God’s merciful intervention he recovered.(p.237).

Therefore, illness is not something we can completely obliterate. Even for the

apostles, who were powerfully used by God in healing and the performing of many

miracles, illness was a reality they could not just pray away.

It could be said that although there are modern medical facilities in the form of

hospitals and clinics in Nigeria, there is much recourse to religion for the purpose of the
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sustenance and restoration of good health. This ideology is very strong in traditional

African society. In African worldview, ill-health is not only associated with physical

sickness but other aspects such as spiritual, material and so on. Kofi (1981) sees ill health

as a state of disharmony in the whole body and even in the whole society. This viewpoint

resonates with the idea of Idemudia (2012) who opines that the common element in the

African belief system is simply that physical and mental illness is the result of distortions

or disturbance in the harmony between an individual and the cosmos, which may mean

his family, society, peers, ancestors or a deity. In discussing ill- health among humans,

two major things come to mind. These are the nature of humans and the factors that

account for ill-health. Africans generally believe that man is a tripartite being while

Ahiabu (2011) states that, the human is composed of physical and spiritual elements and

none of these elements lives in isolation of the other. The health of one affects other and

vices versa. That is to say that there is an interaction between the spiritual components

with the physical components of man. According to Kofi (1981), there are two major

sources of ill health which he described as natural and preternatural. Kofi (1981) further

writes that:

It is generally held in Africa that man is a compound of material and immaterial

substances. In other words, man has a body, which is tangible and spirit, which is

intangible. The body is the part which perishes when a man dies, but the spirit

survives, and links him with the creator. These two parts may be further divided
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into a complexity of material and immaterial substances by different West African

Societies; but, in spite of this, there is a fundamental assumption among all of

them concerning the unity of man’s personality. The idea that there must be

complete harmony between the body and spirit is basic to African thought; for it

is believed that either part, when damaged, will have effect on the other. In case

of illness, for example, attention is not paid exclusively to the physiological

aspect but to the spiritual causes as well, for good health and well-being can only

be attained when both body and spirit are taken care of.(pp.120-121).

However, in traditional Igbo society, the cause of ill health could be classified

into following; evil spirits, manifestations of the anger of the earth goddess (Ala), and

breaking of taboos (Aru/Alu) and committing of abominations. The Igbo believe in

existence of Ekwensu (Satan), Ogbanje, witches and wizards, ghosts which sometimes

can cause disease to man as Martin (2014) affirms that some African illnesses believed to

be caused by witchcraft and by evil spirits are not treatable by scientific medicine.

Thus, they call on their ancestors and Chukwu the Supreme Being to protect and heal

them. Also, when one commits taboo such as incest, stealing a yam, bestiality, killing

another man, homosexuality and so on such a person will incur the wrath of the earth

goddess which could cause ill-health. Furthermore, it is also believed that good morals

enhance fellowship with the Supreme Being, the earth goddess, ancestors and foster

good health. Bad morals are considered sins and separate the community from the
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Supreme Being leading to disruption in the well- being of both the individual and the

community in which he or she lives. Ahiabu (2011) asserts that all these positions boil

down to one strongly held view in Africa that biology alone does not explain disease

causation. And as such, any attempt to find remedy to ill-health in the form of healing

must take into consideration the multi-dimensional method considered as a holistic

approach to healing-a process.

Closely associated to the concept of ill health is health. According to Jubilee

(1998), in the Old Testament, health was understood in terms of longevity and strength.

Moreover, it has been found that the words health and life in biblical thought were used

interchangeably and synonymously and implies survival and well-being. Thus, the

biblical view of health could be construed primarily as physical in nature although this is

pursued in the broader context to mean human well-being. This understanding of health is

similar to African traditional religion’s view that health is also associated with material

concepts such as life, fertility, plenty, prosperity, rain and the possession of assets.

Ahiabu (2011) opines that these views on ill health and health support the argument that

the Bible has a holistic view of health, revolves around the concept of shalom (peace)

which appears to be the nearest word to health. This in turn to confirm that the Old

Testament concept of health is holistic and indeed not only related to the state of the

body. However, Wilkinson (1980) states that:

In the New Testament, the texts contain no dynamic equivalent to the word
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health but content themselves with terms for healing. As such, these texts limit

instances of healing to three areas which are tangible physical healing, the casting

out of demons and the raising of the dead. In the light of these, it could be argued

that the New Testament understanding of health comprises physical and mental

well-being, the absence of illness, physical disability and the expulsion of demons or

evil spirits which could have an effect upon the physical and mental health of

persons. (p.7).

Jesus understood the importance of restoring good health to the sick thus, He

incorporated healing in his earthly ministry and mandated His disciples to carry on the

Great Commission along with it. Jesus never turns away those who come to him for

healing, rather he is always ready to heal them of their sicknesses and set them free from

their problems. The healing acts of Jesus were themselves the message that he had come

to set men free not only from sin but from sickness.

Both African worldview and Christianity advocates for holistic healing which is

beyond restoring the physical health of man and can only come through divine means.

According to Yang (2011), holistic healing is not an absence of disease physically, but

the process of not only recovering from disease, but also being a healthy person as a

whole being through a holistic and lifestyle approach focusing on all parts of the

individual. If someone asks many doctors and nurses of a hospital the meaning of the

term healing, their responses may be more inclined towards focus on the scientific
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dimension of the physical components of the person. In other words, they most likely

would answer in terms of cure.

There is a difference between the meaning of the terms healing and cure, and it is

one that calls for explanation. Michael (2008) views that the term cure is rooted in the

Latin curare meaning, to take care of. The term developed to mean a medical course of

treatment for a body ailment while the term healing, on the other hand, is rooted in the

Old English hal meaning to make sound or whole which rectifies a disease or a disorder

in one component of the triune being, while healing addresses the integration of these

three components into a single entity, and is independent of the extent to which an

individual’s physical body is cured. Many people think that healing is simply defined as

the absence of disease. And disease, sickness, pain and suffering are things to be avoided

instead of seeing them as messages to embrace. In this line of thinking death is seen as

the final defeat. However, healing is more about relationships with oneself, with others,

and with God.

Holistic healing is the process of being restored to bodily wholeness, emotional

well- being, mental functioning, and spiritual vitality. Holistic healing may also refer to

the process of reconciling broken human relationships and to the development of a just

social and political order among races and nations. Holistic healing is also the process of

gaining holistic health. According to Bernard and Roberts (2010), health is a dynamic

state of complete physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being and not merely the
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absence of disease or infirmity. In this definition, social well-being is included for human

health; thus, in order to gain holistic health, the health condition of society is also crucial.

Holistic healing is a lifestyle approach, taking a holistic approach when seeking treatment

for imbalances and choosing to live a more balanced lifestyle. Holistic healing focuses on

all parts of the individual, not just the physical aspect of a person where manifested

illnesses are most apparent. Physical illnesses are the symptoms of a greater imbalance

that may or may not have a root cause in the physical. Physical symptoms can be

alleviated by taking medication; however, unless the whole person is treated, the actual

problem still exists. Holistic healing goes beyond merely treating symptoms, and instead,

uses them as a guide to address the root cause of the problem. Yang (2011) asserts that

the healing ministry in the church should be effective and efficient to allow the

congregations to recover holistically from the prevalence of illness, pain, doubt,

weakness, and brokenness. Holistic healing is associated with faith healing in both

African worldview and Christianity especially the Pentecostals.

It is very important to examine healing from the biblical point of view since the

Bible is believed to be the Christians’ guide to faith and practice. A survey of the Bible

shows several records of healing and deliverance incidences. According to Gbordzoe

(2010), the earliest trace of healing in the Bible recounts the story about Abraham who

was reported to have prayed and Abimelech and his household were healed. In the

accounts of healing reported in the Old Testament, it is used not only in reference to the
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healing of humans but it also includes natural phenomena from which humans derive

their existence and livelihood. For instance, Elijah prayed for rain in Israel for there to be

plentiful harvest since there was famine as a result of drought. Elisha used salt to heal

the unproductive land of Jordan in order for it be fruitful. These show that the Old

Testament usage of healing does not only mean physical sickness of people but also has

to do with the immediate environments in which people live and derive their existence

and livelihood. It could be observed that that healing was one of the obvious

characteristics of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. The teaching and preaching of what

Jesus describes as the gospel or good news went hand-in-hand with the healing of the

sick and the casting out of evil spirits from people suspected to be under demonic control.

It is also evident that the Gospels showed evidences of Jesus’ practice of healing and

recorded that Jesus commanded his disciples to do same. Maragh (2006) elucidates that

Mathew, for example, portrays Jesus not only as a teacher and preacher; but also a healer

who was portrayed to have practically and clearly demonstrated divine power in his early

ministry by casting out devils, healing the sick and raising the dead. After His death and

ascension, the early disciples obeyed the command to heal the sick as part of their

ministry this is witnessed in the book of Acts where the Apostles performed many

healing and miracles in the various places they preached the gospel.

Coming to healing ministry, ministry is an office of service; and a minister is a

person who serves. The office of service can be socio-political, economic, it can also be
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religious. Achtemeier (2002) enunciates that “while ministry was an obligation of all,

certain persons were ministers in special ways” (p. 639). These persons include the

priests who ministered in the Old Testament and in the New Testament they include the

apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelist and pastors. According to Ukanwa (2017),

healing ministry is a religious concept, and it is the service of ministering or evoking

healing spiritually on people in the name of Jesus Christ; and not medically as in the

ministry of health. Healing ministry is one of the ministries of the Church, and it

addresses the issues of sickness and health. It is the Church’s process of restoring health

holistically through prayers and anointing with oil. Whitehead (2002) states that it is a

situation where healing is preached, expected, ministered, and experienced. Thus, healing

ministry is a spiritually based practice of effecting physical, mental and emotional

healing of an individual. In the church, there are believers who have the gift of healing

and such believers are ones to be active in the healing ministry.

There are prerequisites for healing. These prerequisites are considered to be

collective responsibilities between the practitioner and the client. The prerequisites

include; prayer, total faith in the healing power of Jesus, forgiveness and repentance,

accepting Christ as personal Lord and Saviour and many more. Prayer is a veritable tool

to invoke divine intervention during difficult time in human history. According to

Ringma and Dickau (2015):

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Healing is primarily a prayer ministry does not suggest that other factors do not

contribute to the healing process. The healing ministry of the Church recognizes

many other dimensions in the healing process, including the use of symbolism

and sacramentals. Thus Scripture, praise, the Eucharist, the laying on of hands

and anointing with oil all play a role in the ministry of healing. But the basic

frame supporting all of these remains prayer. (p. 14)

Jesus began to perform healing and other miracles after fasting and praying in the

wilderness. The Apostles prayed, the Holy Spirit descended on them and they performed

many healing miracles. Thus, prayer is necessary for divine healing to take place.

Faith in Christ is another core prerequisite for a sick person to experience divine

healing . This is shown in some of the healing stories of Jesus such as healing of Blind

Bartimaeus, the Centurion’s servant and many more. Faith healing serves as the

hallmark of Pentecostal theology. The theology and doctrine of faith healing is the

emphasis on faith in the Lord Jesus as the key to receiving healing. Ukanwa (2017) states

that at the heart of the theology of faith healing is the condition that physical sickness

was atoned for when Christ died on the cross. Christ’s substitutionary death paid for not

only sin of humankind, but also for the disease of humankind. Warrington (2008) opines

that the faith referred to is described as a belief that God will answer the prayer as it has

been requested, some thus choosing to claim the answer to the prayer. Ukanwa (2017)

further opines that every prayer for healing is faith-based, and the will of God applies;
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but it seems that in the Pentecostal faith-healing, there is nothing like if it is the will of

God, because God has already purchased healing for his children through Christ’s

atonement on the cross, it is always his will. Faith is seen as the key to receiving healing.

The emphasis on faith for healing has led to the belief that lack of faith is responsible for

cases where people do not receive healing. This emphasis on faith also is the reason why

the Pentecostal theology calls this exercise of healing in the name of Jesus, faith healing.

It is well known that without faith it is impossible to please God hence, every Christian

should endeavour to develop a strong and firm faith in Christ not only to for healing but

to please God.

Forgiveness of sin and repentance are included as prerequisites for healing.

The Jews believe that some sicknesses, sufferings and misfortunes are connected with

sin, and Jesus recognized it in His earthly ministry. Domingues (2000) observes that:

Sickness and misfortune were often seen in connection with sin, in the global

context of the mystery of evil and suffering that burdens man and that Jesus

accepted the current Jewish cultural and religious mentality of understanding

sickness in connection with sin. Jesus contrasted the sicknesses caused by sin

from sicknesses of natural occurrence just like in the case of the man born blind.

(pp. 75-80).

Ukanwa (2017) asserts that forgiveness and healing of the paralytic lowered by

his friends to Jesus through the roof. This is one of the passages where Jesus showed
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acceptance of the Jewish cultural and religious view on the connection between sin and

sickness, and suffering. Jesus’ acceptance of sin as cause of sickness made him to say to

the man; your sins are forgiven. It portrays Jesus as one who has authority to forgive

sins and to heal the sick sinners. Domingues (2000) opines that it is on this point of

authoritative forgiveness and healing that differentiate Jesus from his contemporary

Jewish healers. According to Ukanwa (2017):

First and deepest kind of healing that Jesus brings is the forgiveness of sins. It is

on forgiveness that the whole scenario of healing revolves. Naturally, forgiveness

heals persons (the giver and receiver) spiritually, emotionally, and even

physically. Forgiveness is a wonderful and effective tool for healing, and that is

what Jesus gives believers; the forgiveness of their sins. Repentance from sin is a

requirement on the part of the penitent or sick- sinner. For example in story of the

prodigal son, when the young man came back to his senses, he repented of his

actions and returned home and implored his father’s mercy and forgiveness,

which healed him. This was the healing of his emotions which he wounded with

his actions. (pp. 74-75).

It is pertinent to examine post-apostolic view of healing. Warner (1990) argues

that the post-apostolic church continued the tradition of first-century believers by

teaching and practicing a healing ministry to the sick. He maintains that Irenaeus, Justin

Martyr and Tertullian viewed passages such as Mark 16:15-18 and James 5:14-16 as the
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church's mandate to pray for the sick in expectation of their healing. Warner further notes

that in the third century, Gregory Thaumaturgus or Wonder Worker (. 213-c. 270) was

credited with many miracles, among which was healing. Cunnigham (1990) observes that

the Waldensians were practicing faith healing while the sixteenth-century Protestant

Reformation brought with it a revival of prayers for the sick. Luther himself believed in

praying for the sick and later Protestant groups continued this apostolic practice. The

Catholic Church has maintained the Sacrament of anointing of the sick since the eleventh

and twelfth centuries, with healings reportedly taking place. However, in popular

medieval thinking, the sacrament was regarded as a preparation for death (extreme

unction) rather than a sacramental means of healing grace. Cunnigham (1990) elucidates

that other means of miraculous healings have been recognized by the Catholic Church,

whether they take place by means of sacraments such as prayers or blessings, by healing

power associated with places such as Lourdes in France, or as a result of prayers to a

saint. Certain individuals within the Catholic tradition, such as Francis of Assisi, Bernard

of Clairvoux and Patrick of Ireland were credited with their spiritual gift of healing.

According to Warner (1990), reports of healings have accompanied revivals and

awakenings throughout the history of the Christian church, the present-day faith-healing

movements look to the late nineteenth century for their immediate antecedents. The

practice of faith healing particularly associated with the Pentecostal movement is based

on the belief that Jesus' promise of healing recorded in Mark 16:18 is for every
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generation of believers. This new wave of interest in faith healing eventually influenced

the American revival tradition. Warner (1990) further enunciates that by the late

nineteenth century, religious figures such as Charles Cullis, Carrie Judd Montgomery,

Maria B. Woodworth-Etter, A. B. Simpson, A. J. Gordon, R. A. Torrey, John Alexander

Dowie and R. Kelso Carter were teaching and practicing faith healing in America. But

among these practitioners there were differences in interpretation and practice of healing.

While some taught that healing is part of the atonement and as readily available to

believers as salvation, others reasoned that healing is a mercy available as a result of

Christ's atonement, but not a guarantee of physical wellbeing. The latter group looked to

the resurrection for the fullness of healing. On the other hand, conservative theologians,

particularly those of a dispensationalist persuasion, maintained that the gift of healing had

ceased with the apostolic age. This explains why the missionaries to West Africa did not

over emphasis on healing and other miracles which the indigenous people yearned for

but could not obtain them, until the era of African prophetic revivalist movements.

According to Cunnigham (1990), despite these divergent views on faith healing, some

religious individuals like J. A. Dowie held the most radical view of faith healing. He went

further, teaching that medicine and faith healing were incompatible. As a result his

theocratic community of Zion, Illinois, banned the medical profession including

veterinarians from practicing within the city.

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Although Christ has given power and authority to those who believe in Him to

heal diseases yet, Ahiabu (2011) states that not all ministers can do healing effectively.

This is because although certain activities have been identified as components of the

healing practice, healing go beyond ordinary adherence to these principles. Despite the

general trend in the practice of healing ministry in Pentecostal churches, ministers in

the church have developed diverse but similar approaches to it. The dynamism in the

approaches to the practice of healing among ministers is believed to be the result of

different impartation by the Holy Spirit on the lives of the ministers. This could be

observed from the varying levels of experiences and encounters the ministers have had in

the course of their ministrations in the various congregations. Though the genesis of

healing ministry in Nigeria is linked to the revivalist movements of indigenous prophets,

there are other grounds in the Bible, particularly in the new testament for which

Pentecostal churches practice healing. As it is common with Pentecostal churches, they

teach, belief in, and practice of the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit with strong

emphasis on the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. In practice, Pentecostal churches

consider Jesus Christ as the ultimate model in its approach to healing ministry. Gbordzoe

(2010) opines that, Jesus practically engaged in healing ministry on earth. He further

explains that at the start of Jesus ministry, He cast out many demons from people and

healed them. For example, He cast demons out of two men in the Gaderenes, delivered

the daughter of a Canaanite woman, cured a demonized man and cast seven demons out
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of Mary Magdalene as well as some other women followers. It could been observed that

Jesus spent more time healing and casting out demons than preaching. The Pentecostals

draw their inspirations from these biblical evidences in their healing practice. In the case

of Africa, the period of silence on faith healing continued with the type of Christian

tradition presented to the Africans until the practice of evangelization and spiritual

healing resurfaced through the initiatives of some African prophets such as Jehu Appiah,

Willams Harris, Garrick Sokari Braide and so on. Although healing is no longer new to

indigenous Pentecostalism, the ministry has enjoyed an enormous resurgence within

Nigerian Christianity in the last five decades.

It has been observed that, Christian healing ministry in Nigeria has in doubt lead

to increase in membership and growth of Pentecostal churches. One could say that during

Jesus ministry on earth many followed Him not only because He was a teacher of God's

word but because of the mighty healing miracles He did. Martin (2014) indicates that

the healing ministry of the early Church helped in the spreading of the Gospel. The

present Church is not excluded as Ahiabu (2011) states that upon observation, one gets

the impression that those churches that practice healing seems to be growing faster than

those that do not practice the phenomenon, thereby suggesting that there might be a link

between the practice of healing and growth. Hence, there is need to examine Church

growth in line with healing ministry. Church is simply put as the body of Christ.

Gbordzoe (2010) defines Church growth as having to do with an investigation of the

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nature, function, structure, health and multiplication of Christian churches as they relate

to the effective implementation of Christ’s commission to go to all peoples everywhere

and make them my disciples (Matt 28:19-20). There various dimensions of Church

growth as explained below:

The growth of the church by the addition of new converts is the fundamental

dimension of growth, but there are obviously many other areas of growth that relate to the

nature, function, structure, health and multiplication of Christian churches. Roy (1984)

notes that church growth embraces more than an interest in numbers and includes a

concern for quality. Roy further suggests holistic expansion as a suitable term to describe

the multidimensional growth of the body of Christ, and points out four dimensions.

According to him, in order for church growth to be considered holistic expansion, it must

encompass four major areas namely the numerical, organic, conceptual and incarnational.

The numerical growth has to do with an increase in numbers of the membership of the

church. According to Kwabena (2005), this can occur through biological, transfer,

restoration and conversion. Firstly, the biological growth occurs when the children of

Christian parents come to a personal faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and join

the church, usually by a rite that recognizes their status as responsible members. This

may be by confirmation, believers’ baptism, putting on and any other means by which

converts are identified with the community of believers. Roy (1984) is of the view that

even though biological growth is good and biblical, it can sometimes be very slow and
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often not equal the population growth since non-Christian part of the world seems to be

growing faster than that of Christians. The second is transfer growth which Costa

identified as the recruitment of members who are already committed Christians, by

transfer from other congregations. This may be due to movement of Christians from one

area to another but occasionally may be as a result of social or doctrinal reasons. The

third is restoration growth. This describes the phenomenon where some Christians who

have withdrawn their active participation in religious activities are successfully brought

to fellowship with Jesus Christ and into active church membership. The successful

bringing and restoration of these inactive Christians to active membership is considered

as a form of growth. The fourth dimension of numerical church growth is conversion

growth. Roy (1984) describes this kind of growth as growing more in number; it takes

place when those outside the church are brought to repentance and faith in Christ and join

a local church as responsible members. Ahiabu (2011) observes that although this

dimension of church growth comes from obedience and commitment to the Great

Commission, it only materializes after the evangelized have become responsible and

committed members of the Christian community- the church of Christ. The point of

emphasis here can be linked to the task of evangelization. Roy (2011) identifies another

dimension of church growth known as conceptual growth. He also calls it growing up in

maturity. This dimension of growth describes the personal and corporate development of

the Christians’ understanding of his or her faith. Roy (2011) further defines conceptual
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growth as the degree of consciousness that a community's of faith has with regard to its

nature and mission to the world. This idea is similar to Gbordzoe (2010) whose

proposition is that the church grows when its activities are aimed at fulfilling the Great

Commission which is making disciples for Christ. For Roy (2011), the Great

Commission includes the teaching of disciples as a fundamental activity and offers the

opportunity of learning the faith as first duty. The early fellowships of believers were

constituted on the basis of the Lord’s teaching through the Apostles. Moreover, Roy

(2011) stresses that the local church is a community formed and nurtured by the

preaching and teaching of the word of God. The progress of preaching the gospel and the

growth of the church are even described as the increase of the word. According to

Ahiabu (2011), this is to say that the key factor in conceptual growth is the word of God.

How much knowledge has the Christian about the word of God? To what extent is the

believer able to apply the word of God to practical life situations? Conceptual growth

points to the Christians’ ability to interact with the word of God meaningfully in order to

discover the will of God for their lives and order their lives accordingly. Therefore the

progress of a church in every age and all cultures may be measured against this yardstick

of scripture. Taking into account variations of illumination, interpretation and culture we

may gauge the maturity and ministry of every Church throughout history. another

dimension identified by Roy (1984) is organic growth, which is growing together in

community. He notes that while becoming and being a Christian are entirely dependent
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upon an intimate and personal relationship to Christ, the Christian faith can only be lived

in a relationship with and in service to others. Roy (1984) strongly argues that

commitment to Christ includes commitment to a community and organic growth

describes the formation and functioning of this communal life of the local church. Roy

(1984) defines organic growth as the:

Internal development of a local community of faith (that is, the system of

relationships among its members), its form of government, financial structures,

leadership and types of activities in which its time and resources are invested.

Organic growth is concerned with such issues as depth of fellowships, quality of

worship, training of new members, discovery of gifts, the exercise of miracles,

practice of corporate prayer; celebration of the ordinance or sacraments- all that

relate to the corporate organization and activity of the local church.(p.380).

The church, according to Kwabena (2005), also has another dimension of growth

referred to as incarnational growth. He explains that incarnational growth describes the

degree of involvement of a community of faith in the life and problems of her social

environment. For Morton (1973), that is the church's participation in the afflictions of the

world in which the church finds itself, it’s prophetic, intercessory and liberating action on

behalf of the weak and destitute, the intensity of its preaching to the poor; the broken-

hearted, the captives, the blind and the oppressed. This kind of growth describes the

development of the ministry of a local church as an extension and continuation of

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Christ’s ministry. Roy (1984) views that a local church should engage in a healing

ministry even if many within the church rejects the miracle that underlines the messages

and the wonders that signify the Lord is with his people. Roy's ideology may be a strong

reason why many pastors in Nigeria insist on paying much attention to healing ministry

than other church activities in their various churches. According to Kwabena (2005), The

church, therefore, must learn to tap by prayer the unlimited spiritual resources available

for the progress of God’s mission. It is in respect of this that, Christians are called to

stand against the forces of evil and the rebellion of men. Ahiabu (2011) says that the

churches ability to discover the various spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit among the

members of the church and their mobilization, development and the subsequent

utilization of these gifts to the benefit of the members of its community is a crucial factor

to her growth and the healing ministry could speed up this growth.

It is necessary to identify steps for Church Growth. McGravan and Winfield

(1977) list these steps which include; discovering church growth principles, respecting

biblical principles, yielding to God’s unswerving purpose, giving priority to effective

evangelism, rightly discerning the body, rightly discerning the community, finding new

groups and ways to disciple, churches reproducing themselves through planned

parenthood, structuring for growth and risking for growth. Roy (1984) identifies constant

prayer, respect for biblical authority, effective leadership, mobilized membership,

continuous evangelism, community life, compassionate service, openness to change and

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released resources as signs of growth. Roy (1984) discusses them as signs because they

are observable phenomena that accompany genuine church growth. Furthermore, Roy

(1984) indicates that these signs are not exhaustive and explains that though a growing

church may exhibit several of these signs; it may not necessarily exhibit all of them.

Moreover, Roy argues that churches grow when they pray constantly, respect the

authority of the Bible, appoint effective leaders, mobilize their membership, worship God

in eventful services; engage in continuous evangelism and compassionate service,

develop genuine community life; allow spirit-directed change and release the resources of

God for God’s mission. McGavran and Winfield (1977) explain that a church growth

principle is the universal truth which, when properly interpreted and applied, contributes

significantly to the growth of churches and denominations. However, Ahiabu (2011)

states that to discover a church growth principle, one must observe where the church is

growing, where God is blessing the efforts of his servants with factual, actual church

growth, where the number of members is increasing and new congregations are being

born and where men and women are introduced to Jesus Christ, committing their lives to

him, and becoming responsible members of his Church. Thus, to know how to grow a

church, one must critically study churches which are growing so as to discover the

biblical principles which account for the carefully observed growth. When one sees

where God is blessing the church with growth, it is important that one investigates why

and how the growth is occurring. Norman and James (1994) asserts that when one
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observes and studies the various factors such as efforts, prayers, witness, passion,

teaching, education, biblical base and outreach from which this growth emerges and then

carefully analyzes and truthfully describes the findings, one is bound to find one or more

church growth principles. In Nigeria, healing ministry with its deliverance and other

miraculous activities result to increase in numerical strength of the church.

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CHAPTER THREE

DIMENSIONS OF CHRISTIAN HEALING MINISTRY

Christianity and Healing Emphasis

The idea of divine healing has been in existence before the founding of

Christianity. It could be that the first report of healing in the Old Testament is cited in

Exodus 16: 26 where Yahweh instructed the children of Israel to keep his command in

order for him not allow the Egyptian diseases come upon them. Also, reports of healing

by supernatural means in the Old Testament include the miraculous healing of

Namaan’s leprosy, Miriam restoration from the plague of leprosy and many more. Jesus

in his time also performed healings stressing the fact that his power of healing is from

God. He commissioned his disciples to carry out the Great Commission along with the

healing ministry. Thus, the emphasizes on divine healing by Christians is in obedience to

Christ’s command. In order to properly understand Christianity and healing emphasis

there is the need to examine history of healing ministry in the Christian Church starting

from the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to the contemporary church.

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Healing Ministry of Jesus

The practice of healing was witnessed in Jesus earthly ministry. Healing the sick

was the hallmark of Jesus' ministry. Rice (2004) states that Jesus' miracles affirm the

value of physical health and provide a basis for endeavors to relieve suffering and heal

the sick. Physically Jesus cured blindness, deafness, leprosy, and paralysis. Jesus also

provided physical food for the 5,000 plus multitude. Rice (2004) goes on to address the

spiritual dynamics of Jesus' healing when He dealt with spiritual and physical needs

together. For example, the healing of the paralyzed man in Mark 2 shows both the

physical and spiritual healing of Jesus. Jesus healed the man from paralysis (physical)

and he said to him "Your sins are forgiven" (spiritual healing). According, Maragh

(2006), Jesus' entire ministry was directed toward spiritual ends. Its primary objective

was to restore human beings to proper relationship with God. Emotional needs of people

were also addressed by Jesus. Jesus showed his feelings to the woman who had an issue

of blood; He called her daughter, and listened to her story. Jesus was also attentive to the

emotional needs of His closest followers. He once told His disciples to come apart from

the crowd and rest awhile (Mark 6:31). Jesus also dealt with the social aspects of healing.

Rice (2004) elucidates that "we see the healing of communities in a number of Jesus'

miracles, as well as his teachings on forgiveness. Each of the individuals He raised from

the dead was restored to a bereaved family— Jairus' daughter, the son of the widow of

Nain, and Lazarus of Bethany" (p. 24). Jesus healed diseases that caused social
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discrimination. For example, in Luke 17 Jesus healed ten Samaritans who had leprosy.

The person with leprosy was excommunicated from society and forced to shout, unclean,

unclean. White (1961) comments on ministry as it pertains to the poor, home dynamics,

the use of remedies, and healing the soul, just to name a few. White says that during the

ministry of Jesus He did more healing than preaching. Jesus dealt with the mind and

soul. The Saviour made each work of healing an occasion for implanting divine

principles in the mind and soul. This was the purpose of His work. White (1961) also

comments on the paralytic's. She states, "He needed health of soul before he could

appreciate health of body. Before the physical malady could be healed, Christ must

bring relief to the mind, and cleanse the soul from sin" (p.77). When Jesus said, "Your

sins are forgiven," instantly the man was restored spiritually. Jesus' ministry was holistic

in nature and not just limited to the physical aspects of healing the sick. There are three

aspects of Jesus' ministry to the sick and dying that should be noted. According to

Maragh (2006):

First, He recognized the vulnerability of the sick, in their need for care. Jesus

touched those who were sick both physically and spiritually. He touched the leper

(Mark 1:41), laid hands on the blind man (Mark 8:22), and took the hand of the

daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:54). Second, Jesus brought "outcasts" back into human

society through His healing word and touch. He challenged the notion that

sickness is the result of sin. The diseased were thought of as unclean, punished by
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God and cut off from God's holy people. When his disciples asked, "Lord, who

sinned, this man or his parents, for him to be born blind?" (John 9:2), Jesus

replied, "Neither he nor his parents sinned." Jesus' ministry was holistic and dealt

with the sick and outcast. Finally, Jesus reaffirmed the need for spiritual healing.

The paralytic lowered through the roof is first healed of his sins (Mark 2:5), while

the man by the pool at Bethesda is warned, "Give up your sins so that something

worse may not overtake you" (John 5:24). It is important to note that in Jesus'

healings death was not excluded. Death itself, the ultimate affront to humanity,

was overcome by Jesus. He raised Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:49-56), the widow of

Nain's son (Luke 7:11-17), and Lazarus (John 11:38-44). His healing ministry

consisted of not only the sick, but also those who were dead. God's compassion

for all his children is revealed in the human touch of Jesus, in the restoration to

community of those considered outcasts, and in the salvia healing of sin and

death. This is fundamental to the message of the Gospel. (pp. 8-9).

It is important to note that Jesus' healing ministry brought about a social

integration for people of different walks of life. He cured prostitutes, lepers, servant of a

centurion, the demon-possessed and so forth. Jesus' miracles and healings were not

merely acts of good deeds; there were deeper significance to them. It is therefore

necessary to explore why Jesus was performing miracles and healings.

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Purpose of Jesus Healing Ministry

Christ did not involve in his healing ministry without any reason. A proper

understanding of the reason Jesus involved in healing ministry will enable us know why

Christian emphasize on divine healing. There are different scholarly views on the

purpose of Jesus healing ministry. Martin (2014) suggests that the healings were a way

that Jesus demonstrated God's love and sympathy to the suffering people. He was never

indifferent to suffering, but was always moved by compassionate love (Matthew 20:34).

Christ fully understood that sickness brings agony and pains to man thus, He was

affectionate towards sick people. This portrayed the humanity of Christ. For Kim (2008),

the healing acts shows the status of Jesus as the Messiah. Kim further elucidates that

although Jesus' divine sonship is the primary focus of His miracle, there is also

significant messianic implications. For instance the miracle of Jesus healing the lame

man provides yet another aspect of the Messiah's work in His coming kingdom, namely

the healing of the blind, the dumb, the mute, and the lame in Isaiah. 35:5-6, 61:1.

According to Angelica (1999), this point is further substantiated by the fact that Jesus

wanted his miracles to be signs of His sonship and the coming of the Spirit and to

represent God as agents of healing in this world. Jesus could in many instances heal

without any demand on the sufferer's faith, thereby displaying that healing was an act of

grace and not essentially of one's faith. In fact, Jesus saw healing as a shared enterprise

where he provided an opportunity for faith and divine power to coalesce in creating a
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new order. In some of the accounts of Jesus’ healings, first of all the sick person must

have faith then Jesus would heal the person. This is an indication that faith in God is a

prerequisite to receive divine healing.

Morton (1973) argues that the miraculous healings and exorcism ministry of Jesus

represent the definite breaking in of the kingdom of God in triumph over the kingdom of

Satan. Whereas in various healing miracles Jesus expels the demonic powers causing

disease, in his exorcisms he cast out demons who had gained total control over people.

Martin (2014) remarks that Jesus performed healings to manifest God's power over evil,

as the world was under the dominion of evil, and the human beings incapable of defeating

this, so by God's creative and redemptive power he was attacking evil, as it affects the

moral, mental and physical dimensions of the people. The Gospel according to Mark does

not try to show the sonship of Christ through his healing recordings; rather, he wanted to

express Jesus rule over the cosmic forces and demonic world. Martin (2014) opines that:

The purpose of Jesus' miracles was demonstrating signs to authenticate his

divinity and to announce the coming of God's kingdom in Christ. They were not

just done for the sake of the spectacular or to put focus upon him. Many times, He

did not even want them to be revealed. Jesus' healings were pointing to the

confrontation of his purposes to bring hope and life against the devil's evil

intentions and control of the world. Jesus releases the healing power to heal in

totality and to usher in spaciousness of health for mankind. (p.37).

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Thus, Christ understood the necessity and importance of healing ministry in

fulfilling His divine mission therefore, He did not neglect it but rather was deeply

involved in it and even commanded his disciples to preach the gospel along with the

healing ministry in obedience to this Jesus' command Martin (2014) elucidates that the

Church has carried out their mission mandate including the healing practice, on the

teachings of Jesus Christ.

Healing Ministry in the Early Church

The main feature of the Early Church was their fellowship and togetherness. The

gifts of the Holy Spirit were also given to them. Individual gifts were to build up the

body unto maturity (Eph. 4:11-13). Martin (2014) indicates that this fellowship is

therapeutic in nature, just like being in the company of Jesus. The healing ministry of the

Early Church helped with the spreading of the Gospel. Petersen (2000) observes that:

There are many biblical texts (Acts 2:42-43, 5:12-16 and 19:11-12) and examples to

prove that healing was part and parcel of the Early Church's ministry. The signs and

wonders were particularly performed by apostles as Christ's agents. The healing

miracles of the apostles parallels that of Jesus in many ways, such as the popular

interest for what was taking place ( Mark 6:35). The layout in James 5:14-16 reflects

an important portion of how the healing sacrament was officiated in the Early

Church. This Scripture reads: Is any of you sick? He should call the elders of the

church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the
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prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If

he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray

for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful

and effective. (pp.160-1633).

This shows that for the healing ministry to be efficient and effective there is need for

the church to cooperatively and collectively have strong faith in God and love to enable

them bear one another’s burden especially in the aspect of ill health. According to Mays

(2000):

The readers of James are reminded that their lives are shared by mutual affection, as

a result of their shared relationship of Christ. Prayers of faith and praying for each

other has the potential not only to heal the individual spiritually, but also to benefit

the community as a whole. Christians are encouraged to call elders when they are

sick. This is not speaking against going for medical treatment, but seems to suggest

that prayer should be the obvious place to start when faced with sickness. After

reflecting on James 5:14-16 previously, there are two conclusions to make: Firstly,

the sick person must call the elders, and exercise some faith that God will manifest

healing through his servants and therefore call on them. Secondly, the faith

according to James 5:14-16 that is used to bring about healing is not individual

faith; it is not the faith of the sick person or the pastor alone. It is the corporate faith

of the whole Church, involving all the leaders (elders). It is very important to note
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that God is the healer and the faith of the Church; the body of believers is merely

the medium. (p.1167).

It is clear that the Early Church did not go around advertising healing, but

understood it to be part and parcel of their commissioning and preaching of the gospel.

The healing ministry in the Early Church's focus was a corporate ministry.

Healing Ministry in Post Apostolic Era

The healing ministry was not lagging behind in the post Apostolic era.

Historically speaking, the post Apostolic Church regarded a healing ministry as essential

to the life and work of the church. According to Yang (2011), Justin Martyr spoke of the

gift of healing as one of the charismata still received in the church and refers to the early

Christians’ responsibility to care for the sick at their own expense. Irenaeus of Lyons

referred to such works of healing as giving sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf;

casting out demons; curing the lame, the paralytic and all physical ills; and raising the

dead. Gusmer (1974) elucidates that the patristic period there was a strong belief in

healing, although the more traditional Protestant view would refute this by contending

that miraculous healing ceased with the apostolic age. Yang (2015) further remarks that

in early times the Christian churches were referred to as temples of healing.

Gusmer (1974) views that deacons were designated to serve the sick and to inform the

bishops to pray over them; healing took place by prayer, invocation of God’s name,
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signing of the cross, exorcism, laying on of hands, anointing with oil, and a visit from the

bishop to a sick person’s house. Moreover, Paul (1987) points that:

The Cannons of Hippolytus mentions the charisma of healing as a qualification

for being a candidates for ordination. Though it is too early in the history of the

church to consider this unction, most scholars agree that the earliest liturgical

source for the consecration of oil for the sick is from the early third century. The

oil was thought to have power to strengthen the body, the soul, and the mind.

Although during the 300s the Church became an official healing place through the

use of the charisma of the Holy Spirit, since then, healing through baptism of the

Holy Spirit was often no longer expected. Healing stories were bused to prove the

divine origin of Christianity, but they got separated from their context and the

essence of healing. (pp. 8-10).

According to Yang (2011), the influence of Gnostic and Manichean philosophies

(300-400) taught that the material world and body was either evil or unspiritual and that

the soul was essentially spiritual and good. This caused Christians to doubt the validity of

a healing ministry yet, Augustine, one of the great leaders of the early church, was not

taught to pray for healing but later in his Retractions he talked of how he experienced

healing and affirmed its validity. These influenced the practice of Christian healing

ministry. Paul (1987) observed that at a point, anointing with oil was no longer allowed

to be done by lay people; only Bishops and priests were allowed to anoint, and only for
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the healing of the soul and the whole person. This offered more effective occasion for

healing. Therefore, healing by the Christian church fell into disuse as the church yielded

to healing to the medical profession.

Pentecostalism and Healing Ministry

Pentecostalism is deeply rooted in the practice of divine healing. In Nigeria, it

could be said that emphasis on faith healing is championed by Pentecostal churches.

Morton (1973) states that at the beginning of the 20th century, the new Pentecostal

movement, called “First Wave,” drew participants from the holiness movement and other

movements in America that already believed in divine healing. Morton (1973) further

opines that the first Pentecostals in the modern sense appeared in Topeka, Kansas, in a

Bible school conducted by Charles Fox Parham, a holiness teacher and former Methodist

pastor. Shiminenge (2014) observes that Pentecostalism achieved worldwide attention in

1906 through the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, led by William Joseph Seymour.

Vinson (2009) reports that all kinds of sick people were healed during the Azusa Street

meetings and by the year 2000, this wave had grown into 65 million Pentecostals in 740

Pentecostal denominations, including the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in

Christ. According to Yang (2011), the charismatic renewal wave, called the “Second

Wave,” was larger than the first wave, with 175 million people in all the major

denominations such as Catholic and Protestant. Agnes Sanford, a key figure in the

Charismatic Movement in the United States during the 1960s through to about 1980, is
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considered to be one of the preeminent spiritual healers of the twentieth century. These

Christians who have had a charismatic experience have mostly stayed (75 percent) within

the parent churches to form organizations that host annual conventions; however, some

25 percent have left to join other “Spirit-filled” churches or to found independent

charismatic churches. These now number around 100,000, loosely organized into 3,700

denominations or other groupings. Jung (2010) states that the Third Wave were mainly

made up of faith healers who traveled with large tents for large, open-air crusades.

Furthermore, Jung(2010) points that the extraordinary phenomenon in this Third Wave

is the great success of the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, which in the late 1990s

became the number one tourist attraction in Toronto, Canada. Thousands of visitors,

including many pastors, came to see and experience healing, basking in the intense

presence of God. Jung (2010) opines that Oral Roberts was one of the most famous

people in spiritual gifts movement after 1960s, continued with faith healing until the

1980s. For more than thirty years, he held more than three-hundred major healing

crusades, and he laid hands on more than one million people. Oral Roberts was a pioneer

televangelist who attracted a vast viewership. His successful use of television as a

medium to gain a wider audience led others to follow suit. His ministry had a worldwide

impact second only to Billy Graham. His divine healing ministry called for prayer to heal

the whole person— body, mind and spirit.

Generally in Africa (Nigeria inclusive) Nwadialor (2016) observes that healing

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ministry started with the activities of the indigenous prophets and their spiritual

movements such as Garrick Sokari Braide, Harris Willams and others as Yang (2014)

observes that healing ministry was widely conducted and was an integral part of

spreading the new faith which the people yearned for that the mission churches could not

offer to them. Contemporarily healing ministry is championed by Pentecostal churches in

Nigerian society.

Early Missionary Thrust and the Quest for Healing

There are two phases of Christian missionary enterprise in Nigeria. According to

Nwadialor (2016), the first missionary enterprise to Nigeria was between 14-15 century

in Benin and Warri kingdom by the Portuguese missionaries but the missionary activity

was not successful due to reasons such as language barrier, financial difficulty,

unfavourable weather condition and so on. But by the nineteen century, Church

Missionary Society led by Henry Townsend first arrived to Eastern Nigeria then extended

their missionary work to Abeokuta where they established their first missionary station;

coupled with the efforts of other missionary groups, Christianity spread to other parts of

Nigeria. Mafukata (2017) observes that missionary theology was neither prophetic nor

miracle healing oriented. The reason behind this could be according to Warner (1990),

that the conservative theologians in nineteenth century maintained that the gift of

healing had ceased with the apostolic age. It was this period that the missionaries came

to West Africa so they did not over emphasis on healing and other miracles. The
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missionaries understood that Africans were educationally and socially sick thus, they

established schools, hospitals and provided other social amenities to better the life of the

people. Ukpong (2007) analyzing the religious scenario of the period observes that:

There was dissatisfaction among members of the missionary churches in the

country. Their religious problems were not met adequately by the liturgical

ceremonies of these churches as expectations from the churches were not met.

The missionaries of the older churches failed to address the type of questions the

African situation raised for them: witchcraft, demon possession, haunting by evil

spirits, the cult of ancestors; the use of protective charms, talisman; sorcery and

the traditional dancing form of worship at the shrines. The tendency among the

missionaries was to dismiss these questions as due to ignorance arising from a

pre-scientific mentality This general dissatisfaction opened door for new religious

experiences among members of the mainline churches in particular and the

general populace at large. (pp. 18-19).

Ukpong (2007) further states that in a church where theology and spirituality do

not meet these yearnings, do not take into consideration these dispositions and impulses,

and do not articulate them at the level of practicability and functionality, the Christian

faith becomes ineffective and could be thrown away. The missionaries were not in

support of the revivalist movements centred on miracles and healing activities carried

out by African prophets therefore, many of them broke away from the mainline churches
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and established their own churches that were miracle and healing oriented. Thus, lack of

operating the healing ministry together with the gospel by the early missionaries gave

room for the establishment of indigenous prophetic healing movements.

African Indigenous Prophetic Healing Movement

It could be observed that in Africa, healing ministry started with the revivalist

movements of indigenous prophets. Nwadialor (2016) observes that the Christianity

brought by the missionaries failed to address issues such as demon possession, witchcraft

and so on raised by the Africans which the missionaries considered unscientific and

unrealistic. Therefore, the early missionary's failure to bring spiritual healing gave

rise to indigenous African prophets and their spiritual movement such as Garrick

Sokari Braide, Williams Wade Harris, Jehu Appiah and so on. The spiritual movement

of these three indigenous African prophets will be examined.

Garrick Sokari Braide

According to Clarke (1986), Garrick Braide began his activities in the Niger Delta

in 1915. He was a catechist in Church Missionary Society (CMS) Niger Delta

pastorate. CMS required thorough preparation, including the memorizing of the Creed,

prayers, catechism, and hymns in administering the people. Garrick Braide tried more

radical and practical methods; he did not insist on literacy, his chief method was to

organize a crusade against charms, fetishes and idols. His demands were: Destroy
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fetishes, Confess your sins Put absolute faith in Jesus Christ and Stop drinking gin. He

promoted some pious exercises like daily prayers, fasting and singing hymns of praise to

God. He also discovered that he possessed healing power. He had a great impact, brought

about a spiritual revival and took the Gospel to the areas not reached by Christianity

before. Clarke (1986) further stated that the tension between him and the CMS

authorities caused a break that led to a separation in 1918. The initial success of Garrick

Braide showed that the people had some spiritual needs and wanted something that the

apostolate of the CMS could not give them at that time.

William Wade Harris

Ayandele (1966) enunciates that William Harris became a prophet in 1911 when

he was about 47years old. Harris was a catechist and teacher in a school of the Episcopal

Church. He was imprisoned for political activities (hoisting the British flag). While in

prison, he felt himself called to give up all political activities and to follow his new

mission for God. His missionary activities from 1913 to 1915, he walked and preached

in Liberia, Ivory coast and Ghana. He was successful in his evangelical crusade.

Everywhere people flocked to him, fetishes were ruthlessly burnt; evil spirits were cast

out, tens of thousands were baptized and Sundays were henceforth observed as days of

religious rest. Ajayi (1965) opines that there were tensions with the church authorities

and the French colonial administration in Ivory coast. In 1915 Harris was expelled from
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the Ivory coast. He continued his missionary work in Liberia, at his old he was

handicapped by the effects of stroke. He died in 1929.

Jehu Appiah

Clarke (1986) states that Jehu Appiah started a prayer group within the Methodist

church in Ghana in 1919 called Faith society. In 1922, it broke away from the Methodists

and established itself as the Musama Disco Church- Army of the Cross of Christ church.

His followers meet on Thursdays for seeking the holy spirit as the apostles did. They

insisted on divine healing, not to use any medicine for treatment, for the Lord is the

healer. The Bible was considered as the unerring guide for life and worship. The church

regarded herself as an extension of Christianity into African society and culture.

These indigenous prophetic spiritual movements were accepted by the people not

just because that they were Africans but because their mission responded to the spiritual

yearnings of the people. Such spiritual movement is still in force today in the form of

healing ministry. Le Roux (2011) explicitly states that “the indigenous prophetic

revivalist movements and Pentecostal movements have gone a long way towards meeting

the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of African people, offering solutions to life’s

problems and ways of coping in a threatening and hostile world” (p. 126).
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Pentecostalism and Quest for Divine Healing

Generally, the practice of faith healing has proven to be a powerful tool for

evangelism and church growth in Nigeria among Pentecostal churches. According to

Anderson (2002), historically, faith healing practices for Pentecostals have almost

exclusively been about praying for healing of the sick. Healing crusades or healing

services are popular in Nigerian society, as many people flock to such gatherings to be

cured of various illnesses and diseases. Martin (2014) points that faith healers promise

people deliverance and healing from all kinds of illness emphasizing the fact that Jesus

Christ is supreme over every disease and that his name is higher than any other name,

including names given to all kinds of dreaded illnesses. They contend that healing is

designed to continue with the mission of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not only preach the

message of salvation for eternity but also attended to the very needs of people He

encountered on his mission. According to Ahiabu (2011), one of the popular texts used

by healing experts is Matthew 4:23-25 which reads "And he went about all Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every

disease and every infirmity among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria,

and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains,

demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed

him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the

Jordan”. From the above viewpoint, some of these healing ministers argue that healing
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was one of Jesus' practical earthly ministries. They maintain that Jesus effectively

combined teaching, preaching and healing to meet both the spiritual and physical needs

of his audience. This approach to ministry, they stress, attracted a lot of followers to him.

This understanding of the practice of healing is common among the Pentecostals. Hence,

they organise revivals, conferences, crusades, retreats, seminars and so on all geared

towards healing. Ahiabu (2011) observes that these practice also prevent many

Christians from visiting African indigenous religious practitioners in search for solutions

to their human existential problems. Although the practice of healing continues to be an

integral part of the church’s activities in Nigeria, the Pentecostals hold it as an utmost

value. Thus, they encourage their members who are endowed with the gift of healing as

well other gifts of the Spirit not to hesitate to explore them for the edifying of the church.

It could be observed that most of the Pentecostal churches hold their healing ministries on

mid-week days in form of mid-week services.

During such service Ahiabu (2011) identifies that activities such as praying,

singing of songs, preaching the word of God, laying- on of hands, anointing, counselling,

and testimonies take place. During healing section, prayers such as “I command you to

leave this body in Jesus’ name! and I set you free by the power of the Holy Spirit” is

made. Also Another common prayer is “receive your healing in the name of Jesus!” and

the sick ones will respond “I receive it”. Martin (2014) observes that faith healing

movements emphasize positive confession and attitude when praying for healing. Thus,
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Pentecostal Churches see healing as a non-negotiable aspect of Christianity that must be

fully explored for the success of the Great Commission.

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CHAPTER FOUR

APPRAISAL OF CHRISTIAN HEALING MINISTRY IN NIGERIA

The church as a religious institution has been positively affected severally by the

activities of healing ministry. The effect of the practice of healing has brought about

different dimensions of growth in various churches as well brought development to the

society. Also, there is no doubt that Christian healing ministry has negative effects

therefore, we shall examine the above viewpoints below.

Impact of Healing Ministry on the Church and Christians

Healing is a holistic Christian religious practice in which members participate so

as to achieve total wellbeing. Ahiabu (2011) observes that the practice indicates that

healing is fashioned not only for those who are physically sick but also for anyone who

aspires to attain holistic wellbeing. As Africans, ensuring our wellbeing goes beyond

being physically healthy. Ahiabu (2011) further states that Africans could really be

said to be well if all other aspects of their lives including marriage, children,

employment, good harvest in the farm, promotions at work places, protection against

physical and perceived spirit powers, success in job interviews, absence of bad dreams,

success in examinations, victory over court ligations, peace of the family and the

community, successful journeys, protection against evil spirits and many other life

situation of Africans are without problem. It could be observed that many people who

attend the healing service are not physically sick but they consider it necessary and
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important for them to attend it. This could be because as long as one continues to live,

one may encounter challenges of one sort or the other. The healing service, therefore,

serves as a significant medium for dealing with both spiritual and existential needs of

people. In fact, Martin (2014) says that the ministry of prayer and healing is meant to

enable the person who is hurt physically, emotionally and spiritually to experience the

Lord meeting her/ his need. Thus, Ahiabu (2011) affirms that the healing ministry has to

some extent responded to the African understanding of health and wellbeing. According

to Kwabena (2005), For Pentecostal churches, true conversion must permeate the total

lives of members including overcoming challenges of the physical world. Thus,

conversion among the Pentecostal churches implies not being a slave to sin, sickness,

poverty, childlessness, drunkenness, joblessness, unsuccessful marriage, and any others

that trample on living fulfilled lives as humans. It is against this that healing services are

designed to help members overcome these human existential challenges through activities

such as studying scriptures, prayers and songs of praises, laying on of hands, counselling

and so on in order to achieve total and holistic salvation.

Owing to the significant role healing ministry played during the time of Jesus

Christ, the practice of healing has become one ministry which every prospective minister

would want to be trained in. Thus, training in the ministry of healing is very important

for all upcoming ministers in the Christian faith. For Ahiabu (2011), a minister can

impact positively on the lives of his/ her members and others when he/she develops a
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holistic approach to ministry as that of Jesus' to meet both spiritual and physical needs.

This is possible through the healing ministry. This is because it is through this ministry

that many lives can be transformed and people are helped to achieve total and holistic

salvation. The above view, as expressed by Ahiabu only indicates a shift from being

trained mainly only to teach the word of God and administer sacraments to practically

demonstrate the saving power of God through healing in meeting the spiritual and

physical needs of people. Furthermore, the healing ministry has helped to win souls for

Christ. As an evangelistic tool, healing is used at various programmes of activities

organised with the purpose of winning many people to faith in Christ. Hence, As

Kwabena (2005) finds out that most of the evangelists insist that the victim must always

be led through the process of accepting Christ before healing takes place. Through that

way many people have obtained salvation.

Church Growth

Healing ministry has contributed to the growth of the church in various ways.

Numerically, Ahiabu (2011) views that ministers with healing and other gifts appear to

draw more people into the church than those without the gift. When people are healed,

they may end up becoming a member of the church where they got their healing. The

healing ministry of Jesus also contributed to the conversion of many people to the faith.

Same applies to any church whose healing ministry is active. Healing ministry influences

growth in physical wealth of the church. The growth of the church can again be measured
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in its physical wealth and hence, ability to provide infrastructure to meet the demands of

its growing membership. According to Gbordzoe (2010), infrastructure here refers to

ability to build a sizeable place of worship for its members, office spaces for workers in

the church and all other logistics necessary for running the church in its administrative

and spiritual dimensions. Ahiabu (2011) suggests that healing serves as an effective tool

for mobilizing material and human resources for infrastructural development of the

church; these resources are derived from pledges and donations clients sometimes

voluntarily make towards infrastructural development of the church. It could be said that

some infrastructural projects established by the church could be through supports

received from many people in appreciation for what God has done for them through the

healing ministry. Ahiabu (2011) enunciates that healing ministry is not particularly

fashioned to develop the infrastructure of the church; however, the practice indirectly

affects the lives of people who also use their resources to improve upon the

infrastructural growth of the church. The healing ministry has contributed immensely not

only to the church but to the society at large.

There is no doubt that healing ministry has contributed to the financial growth of

many Churches through thanks-giving offerings. Apart from giving testimonies, which

is a key component of the healing process, members and clients further give certain

things including money to seal their appreciation to God and to tap anointing . This is

biblically even Christ was unhappy that out of the ten lepers he healed only one came
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back to appreciate him Luke 17:11-19. According to Ahiabu (2011), in this case,

although, giving of testimony is meant for appreciating God for his goodness in the lives

of people as well as encouraging other clients to trust in God for receiving solutions to

their problems, the activity further serves as a source of revenue generation for the

church. Ahiabu (2011) further notes that monies offered as thanks-giving to God for

healing is not a demand being placed on clients after they have been healed.

Spiritual Revival of the Church

Moreover, healing ministry has helped to build and strengthen the faith of

believers. At different points in time, programmes such as crusades, conventions,

revivals, camp retreats usually involve healing section which has helped to transform

the lives of people and to enhance their faith in Christ. It could be said that seeing is

believing therefore, when believers see that sick ones are restored, this reignite their faith

to stand firm in the Lord. Hence, Musgrave and Bickle (2003) state that the healing

ministry can be a sign of hope and trust that enable revival of faltering faith. The

continuous prayer habit at the healing services does not only develop members to respond

appropriately to life situations but it also further equips some of them to take up

responsibilities of becoming ministers and others servants whose services are needed in

the house of God. In addition, corporate prayer helps to unearth spiritual gifts of

Christians which could be considered very important and critical for church ministry

development. Ahiabu (2011) suggests that through corporate prayer as it is normally done
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by prayer warriors as well as healing team members before, during and after healing

services, members further identify their spiritual gifts which when developed prepares

them to be more useful spiritual resources to the church. Healing ministry extends

beyond the services to include activation and promotion of cooperate prayer life among

Christians. The ability of a church to mobilize, train and to develop its members in the

habit of prayer is another mark of its spiritual growth. Gbordzoe (2010) states that the

healing practice which has prayer as one of its strong components strengthens Christians

to pray at different levels. As noted with the aim of inviting the Holy Spirit to intervene

in the affairs of people, these regular and persistent prayers indirectly develop in

participants the desire and ability to relate with God both at individual and collective

levels.

Healing ministry helps in discovery, development and utilisation of spiritual gifts.

One of the theological orientations of Pentecostals is rooted in the belief about

priesthood of all believers. According to Gbordzoe (2010), this is the theological

position which presupposes that all believers have the same privilege and are all qualified

to work in one capacity as priests in the house of God. The belief is also based on the

assumption that each and every believer is endowed with one gift of the Holy Spirit or the

other which when explored can be used to the benefit of the church. It is against the

background of this belief that the Pentecostals endeavour to create avenues for recruiting

members, identifying their gifts of the Holy Spirit, developing these gifts so as to explore
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them for the benefit of the church. The adoption of healing ministry has become an

avenue through which this process of recruitment, identification of spiritual gifs,

developing the gifts and their utilisation occur. Ahiabu (2011) states that healing in

Christian perspective demands these spiritual gifts to be effective. The discovery,

development and use of these gifts by individuals in the church has helped to revive

believers to true worship of God. This confirms the fact that, spiritual gifts can help both

the church and members to grow in faith.

Supernatural Healing

Some sick people in Nigeria have recovered from deadly diseases that could have

terminated their lives as a result of Christian healing ministry activities carried out by

Nigerian Pentecostal pastors and faith healers. Rotimi (2010) opines that many healing

miracles are claimed to have been recorded in open revivals and faith clinic homes. For

example, the annual and monthly Holy Ghost revival of the Redeemed Christian Church

of God under the leadership of Pastor E. Adeboye is of great value in this regard. Many

sicknesses that are beyond the ability of medical doctors are claimed to have been healed

in some of the Pentecostal Churches. Although some of these acclaimed healing miracles

are controversial due to the number of fake faith healers and their healing miracles yet

one cannot deny the fact that divine healing witnessed in the bible is no longer possible

today this because it is the same Jesus who did it then that is present in our

dispensation. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forevermore.

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Contributions of Christian Healing Ministry to National Development of Nigeria

It is interesting to know that some notable indigenous Pentecostal churches in

Nigeria such as Christ Embassy, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Living

Faith Chapel, Deeper Life Bible Church, Synagogue Church of All Nations, Salvation

Ministries, Lord Chosen Charismatic Renewal, Omega Fire Ministries, Dunamis Gospel

Church, Church of God Mission, Chapel of Faith Bible Assembly International and

many more are deeply active in healing ministry yet they have established so many

infrastructural developmental projects that have enhanced the development of Nigerian

society. Such projects include; road constructions, schools, seminaries, universities,

banks, supermarkets, petrol filling stations, water factories, bookshops, estates and hotels

among others. They offer social services to the host communities, rehabilitate drug

addicts, while praying for divine intervention for a holistic healing on the sick people

who attend their healing service. These projects put together can cover much land space

which is a way of speeding up the development of the Nigerian nation. Sometimes they

do these with finance realised from people who gave in appreciation to God for healing

them. Some of the Pentecostal churches contributions in developing Nigeria would be

pointed out.

Rotimi (2010) states that in 1997, the Living Faith World Outreach provided

food, clothing and other relief materials to the indigenes of Koma in Adamawa where

natives have been disconnected by civilization. As part of humanitarian services, many

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of the leaders of the Pentecostal Churches are involved in the campaign against

HIV/AIDS. For instance, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is in

partnership with the National Agency for the control of AIDS, (NACA). T.B Joshua is

well known for his care of the poor, destitute and returnees from Libya slave trade

rescued from human traffickers. Ayeku (2008) observes that the RCCG is involved in

alleviating of poverty of its members in particular and Nigerians in general through some

economic empowerment programmes. This programmme is called the Tree of Life for

the Economic Healing of the Nation. The Zion Needs Management is the body in charge

of the economic ventures and programmes of the church. RCCG has established

Jubilee Development Foundation in 2002, in order to enlighten and mobilize its members

for economic empowerment and development. RCCG also established Jubilee Co-

operative Society, so as to enhance the economic power of the members and Nigerians

at large. Kitause (2015) opines that:

RCCG has made efforts to establish Habitation of Hope Foundation which sets

out to evangelize and rehabilitate street children in Lagos. The first point of call is

Kuramo Beach that housed child prostitutes, drug addicts and criminal gang.

Again, the “Freedom Foundation” of This Present House Church, Lagos devotes

her resources and efforts towards rehabilitating specifically street girls and male

drug addicts. This endeavour has yielded positive result as most of the former area

boys and prostitutes are now transformed and are serving as committed members
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of This Present House Church, Lagos, forming at least 80% of the Church total

population. Wale Adefarasin who pastors Guiding Light Assembly Lagos,

established Changing Your World Foundation’s Obalende Project, he has over

the years been improving on the quality of life of the people of Obalende, Lagos.

This Foundation has renovated a large state-run secondary school and provided

meals each week for 800 children and 70 widows. The Foundation has equally

sunk many boreholes in six streets and is currently providing health care services

every two weeks to the people. (p. 199).

Even in sports development, Pentecostal Churches are not exempted Rotimi

(2010) opines that T.B Joshua’s football academy provided two players to the Nigerian

U-17 World Championship in 2009. So also Mike Okinawa’s football team is assisting in

fishing out capable Nigerian football players. Bishop Dr. Emeka Nwankpa of Chapel of

Faith Bible Assembly International has invested much in grassroot football in

IsialaNgwa North especially in his home town Umukalu Ntigha Autonomous Community

of IsialaNgwa North in Abia State as he organizes annual football competitions in

IsialaNgwa North and promises to assist young talented footballers to fulfill their dream.

The Pentecostal churches have promoted Western education in Nigeria by

building schools such as Rhema University, Covenant University and many more. Some

of them give scholarship to indigent students. Kitause (2015) affirms that Synagogue

Church of All Nations (SCOAN) grants scholarship to the less privileged in the society
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from primary to tertiary level in addition to distributing food items and other basic

commodities to the people. These institutions no doubt have given many Nigerian

applicants the opportunity of accomplishing their life ambition of attending University in

Nigeria. The competition in the public Universities is too keen and cannot accommodate

the increasing number of applicants every year. In other words, many Nigerians are

provided desired education and employment opportunities in these institutions. It is

observed that there is an un-interrupted academic calendar in such schools, and Christian

moral principles are emphasized.

Obasanjo (2009) remarks that the multiplier effect of job creation of the Nigerian

Christian universities and schools in Nigeria is worthy of note. So far, many have been

turned out of these schools as graduates as well as being gainfully employed by these

institutions as teaching and non-teaching staff alike, which indeed has assisted in

reducing the unemployment problem of Nigeria.

Most of the members of Pentecostal churches participate actively in Nigerian

politics. Apart from being actively involved in national call for prayer and fasting to

create a very conducive atmosphere for democracy to thrive, some of them are taking

practical steps towards ensuring the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. Some of the

members of Pentecostal churches have vied for one political position or the other.

Onapajo (2016) opines that:

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In 2010, former President Jonathan visited Redeemed Christian Church of God

and Pastor Enoch Adeboye prayed for him, possibly for victory in 2011 election.

It was also reported that many influential Christian pastors campaigned for him in

their churches. For example, Pastor Paul Adefarasin asked his members to vote

for a Christian President when Jonathan visited his Church in Lagos. (p. 120).

Rotimi (2010) points to Rev. Chris Okotie presidential candidate of the Fresh

Party in the 2007 general elections, others are Pastor Tunde Bakare (Latter Rain

Assembly) former running mate of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2011 under the

umbrella of Congress for Progressive Change. Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu (Redeemed

Christian Church of God) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in

2016 election in Edo state, Bishop Dr. Emeka Nwankpa (Chapel of Faith Bible

Assembly International) contested for governorship in Anambra State in 2011 and also

contested for IsialaNgwa North House of Assembly Constituency under All Progressive

Grand Alliance in 2019 general elections. Both the 2015 and 2019 general elections,

Buhari picked a Pentecostal pastor and Professor, Yemi Osinbajo of RCCG as his

running mate and they won in the general elections respectively. Yemi Osinbajo is

currently the Vice President of Nigeria.

Roy (1984) portrays that on one hand Christian healing ministry provides means

for people to overcome the problems of ill health, on the other hand it creates avenue for

developing human resources for the church who provide services to other members of the
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community in which the church is situated. Thus, Christian healing ministry has brought

some level of development to Nigerian society.

Problems Associated With Christian Healing Ministry in Nigeria

It is observed that Africans have deep-seated belief in supernatural forces that

intervene and alter human destinies for good or ill. These spiritual forces are believed to

work in miraculous ways, through signs and wonders that confound the human mind.

Adetunji (2010) opines that this religio-cultural setting encourages the desire for miracles

to cure diseases and resolve other distressing situations. Today in Nigeria, there is hardly

a well-known denomination that is not linked with the performance of miracles and

healing service. It could be said that some of the healing ministries are capitalizing on

this belief element in African thought and culture, to peddle and propagate their

fraudulent activities. It could be observed that there is spiritual and material exploitation

of those seeking healing miracles by some of these healing ministries in the society.
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Abuses

The excesses in some Christain healing Ministries, especially independent

healing ministries, had created prejudice against genuine healing ministry. According to

Martin (2014), the elevation and veneration of the faith healers, their lack of humility,

their dependence on tools and techniques, the preoccupation with large churches that

hinder real relationships between people, and the flow of people into healing services

with little follow- up are some of the challenges that need addressing. Anderson (2004)

observes that:

Unfortunately, the focus from Christ is lost and shifted to the miracle and the

miracle worker. This is where the opportune time is missed as so many people are

drawn by miracles to healing crusades but are not pointed to the giver of the gift,

Jesus Christ. Salvation is a holistic concept that embraces healing, but the

methodologies employed in faith healing often do not exalt Christ as much as they

portray the faith healer as the wonderful man/woman of God. (p. 495).

In Nigeria, it could be observed that many people are drawn to faith healers for

the following reasons explained by Martin (2014):

Firstly, faith healers promise to heal people of all kinds of illnesses and epidemics

through fervent prayers. Faith healers are powerful and charismatic personalities

that command a great following as a result of their charisma. Secondly, because

African culture is spirit- centred and has a high regard for spiritual powers and
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forces, Africans are amused by supernatural and are therefore drawn to healing

phenomena, as it speaks to their reality and reference framework. Thirdly, faith

healing practice is a cost free, alternative intervention strategy for managing

illness, especially to the poor masses, who do not have access to specialized

medical care. (p. 6).

Faith healers often create high expectations of healing to people suffering with

illness by making promises to heal people through faith healing practice. People are

prayed for by faith healers at “miracle crusades” and what happened after the prayers are

solely left in the hands of the individuals. Martin (2014) decries that despite fervent

prayers, the laying on of hands and anointing with oil, all are not healed. This creates

faith conflict and emotional crisis for people when they are not ultimately healed. Thus,

the indiscreet use of faith healing practices leads to pain and hurt for some genuine and

well-meaning Christians in need of help from physical ailments. This affects such

peoples' emotional, psychological and spiritual state of wellness, leading to pain and

trauma with serious spiritual and emotional effects. People who are not healed after being

promised healing by faith healers may experience additional ongoing ill-health conditions

and psychological suffering. This is confirmed by Theron (1999) when he states that

apparently such people suffer from guilt-feelings and even rejection because of their

situation. This may discourage them and cause them to backslide in the things of God

while others may turn to traditional healers as an alternative.

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Furthermore, Theron (1999) observes that many genuine and sincere Christians who

are prayed for, however, are not instantly healed from their illnesses as promised by faith

healers" (p.57). People who are not healed after receiving faith healing prayers may be

subdued to inner pain, inner hurt and faith conflict. This may be unexpressed, yet may

severely torment the victim. Promises of healing that faith healers make and the way the

healing services are advertised to offer guaranteed results, cause high expectations. As

such, when persons are not healed after healing prayers it becomes a mental and spiritual

battle to make sense of why they are not healed. The quest for miraculous healing by

many sick people has led them to be exploited by fraudsters claiming that God has called

them to deliver those held captive by the devil. Some of the sick people pay huge sum of

money for the healing ministers to perform exorcism and deliverance in order to be

healed since Africans believe that any sickness that defy medical treatment needs

supernatural cure.

Unnecessary Emphasis on the Influence of Demons and Evil Spirits

Although the idea of demon possession is a reality in African worldview,

Maragh (2006) states that both Jesus and Apostle Paul performed exorcism. wood

(2002) states that today’s Christianity is often preoccupied with emphasis on health,

wealth and prosperity thus, sickness must be decisively dealt with. Nowadays many

Pentecostal pastors over emphasis on the influence of demon possession and use it as a

means of exploiting those who have one illness or the other that come after them. Some
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of them discourage their members from visiting hospitals when they are sick but

encourage them to opt for deliverance to experience supernatural healing. Most of them

have failed to properly educate their members on the need to be eating balance diet,

maintaining personal and environmental hygiene, performing regular exercise, taking

adequate rest which when a person fails to do could cause sickness. In support of the

above viewpoint, Ahiabu (2011) asserts that while church believes in the extraordinary

intervention of God in the healing process, it also believes in progress of modern

medicine in curing diseases. Therefore, pastors should organize health seminar for the

members to learn how to properly take good care of their health while they depend on

God for illness that defy medical cure. It could be said that over emphasis on demon

possession by some Pentecostal pastors has created fear in many believers that they now

seek deliverance for every slightest change in their body system. One thing that is a

common characteristic of those who are seeking religious healing is the desire to get well

thus, could fall into the hands of fake miracle healers and wil be exploited, so now

fraudsters who claim to be miracle workers or healers now charge money before

conducting healing or deliverance service to the sick people. This is against Christ order

in performing healing ministry (Matt. 10:8).

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Inappropriate Use of Sacramental

There is inappropriate use of sacramental by some of the healing ministries in the

healing process. Ukanwa (2017) observes that there is abuses and excesses in the use of

the Church’s sacraments and the sacramentals by the faith healers in the healing ministry.

Obiefuna (1996) states that: “today we find people using holy water, incense, oil and all

sorts of things as sacramentals simply to gratify the senses and emotions of their clients

and thus spreading doubts and confusions among the faithful” (p.3). Artelias (2005)

states that healing is of a sacramental nature; it is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12: 7-

11) that the church exercises through baptism, ordination and holy unction. The Eucharist

is a sacrament of healing. According to Morril (2017):

The sacraments are properly understood and practiced as manifestations of

Christ's redemptive action in the lives of believers and for the life of the world. In

the sacrament of anointing the sick the medicinal dimension, obviously, is

primary. With its etymological roots in solus, the Latin word for health,

salvation, thereby imply bringing about health and wholeness. (p. 483).

Morril (2017) further explains that:

The Eucharist preface above, invoking Christ as healer, frames Jesus' death and

resurrection in terms of the assured promise of final deliverance from bodily and

spiritual affliction, a promise which nonetheless can be sacramentally experienced

presently as "comfort and healing, strength and hope, forgiveness and peace." The
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sacrament of anointing the sick, especially when celebrated with an assembly of the

faithful, is meant to make, through word and symbolic gesture, an effective

difference in the lives of those who are experiencing the turmoil, physical,

psychological, spiritual, and social that sickness or seriously diminished health

brings about for them and those around them. (p.483).

It is also to grace (transform) the community with greater faith through their

interaction with the sick and suffering, who become living witnesses for them of a crucial

dimension of the gospel, namely, that in the raising up of the lowly God's reign is known.

A critical look into both Old and New Testament certain things such as salt, sand, cloth

and so on were used by ministers of God to perform divine healing. A good example is

Paul's clothes was used to heal a sick person (Acts 19:11-12). Based on this, some

preachers are now making inappropriate use of sacramental or religious objects in their

various healing ministries. They commercialize religious objects in the name of selling

anointing for healing and other miracles. Iheanacho (2009) observes that some pastors

who perform healing miracles and sundry religious services attach financial charges just

to make quick money. Obeta (2006) enunciates that people are fraudulently asked to pay

and expect miracles that never arrive. Most of these religious objects are price tagged and

many sick people buy in expectation of instant healing which probably may not happen.
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Inadequate Medical Care

Faith healing is the greatest threat to scientific medicine and health-care delivery

in Nigeria. Sick persons are supposed to go to the hospitals early in their disease

conditions and not to seek healing in the healing ministries primarily but reverse is the

case in Nigeria. It could be said that medical treatment to cure diseases should be sought

first but whereby the sickness defy medical treatment, divine or spiritual healing can be

sought for. Healing ministries that profess miracles through prayers to heal sick persons

have caused many sick people not to seek for medical treatment as they wait for

miraculous healing which in most cases do not take place. According to Agu and Eze

(2016), this causes so much delay before the search for appropriate medical solutions. By

this time, a varying number of them may not respond positively to treatment because of

the late presentations. This shows the problems caused by healing ministries whose

modus operandi are the use of prayers and miracles to solve all medical conditions and

inadvertently cause delays in accessing proper medical treatment by the patients, thus

resulting in more complications. The belief in healing miracles through prayers is a

common knowledge in Nigeria. This has caused the proliferation of healing ministries,

which play hosts to some members and non-members of their congregations who are sick

for the sole purpose of healing them through prayers and miracles. Some healing

ministries do not accept medication but teach prayers as solution to ill health. Agu and

Eze (2016) observe that:

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Delaying patients from getting the appropriate medical care often leads to the

development of complications. Due to lateness, more resources would be

consumed in the patient's management, to the development of complications even

then, recovery is either slow or may be impossible. This activity of the healing

ministries is on the increase in Nigeria and the continued patronage is festering

the malady. Late treatment of patients is mainly contributory to the high mortality

recorded in our nation. (p. 15).

According to Igwe (2006), if there are indeed people with supernatural powers

to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cure all ailments, why are human beings suffering

from various sicknesses and dying? It is quite obvious that some claims of miracles and

faith healing are fake. Ukanwa (2017) narrates that in 1980s, there was a couple who was

a member of Faith Tabernacle, who lived as tenants in my village in Nguru Mbaise. The

husband, Hezekiah, claimed he was a pastor, and he and his pregnant wife refused to go

for antenatal, and did not go to the hospital for delivery nor took any drug. They were

praying for divine delivery; but she lost her baby and her life. So, faith healers are just

taking advantage of the African predicament. They are cashing in on the desperation and

gullibility of Africans to enrich themselves and to promote their churches. Hence, the

fake promises of some healing ministries on sick people make them not to access

adequate medical care which has contributed to the death of many sick people in our

society.
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Declining Spiritual Commitment

` The quest for healing miracles by many Nigerian Christians has led to the neglect

of the original concept of Christianity which is following the foot step of Christ to

following the self-acclaimed miracle workers and faith healers. This has resulted to

decline in spiritual commitment, morality and practical Christian living. Salvation and

holiness messages are no longer preached rather prosperity gospel and healing miracle

messages. It could be observed that the people do not seek Christ for any worthy

motive; but for healing miracles. According to Adetunji (2010), people can spend a

whole day in churches seeking for miracles and visions for their insurmountable

problems. Thus, healing miracles attract people to church rather than the need for

salvation of their souls. Abogunrin (2004) states that people appear in their thousands in

churches and crusade grounds (both Christians and non-Christians), not seriously seeking

after Christ but for miracles . . . healing miracles have actually become the real thing or

the most current issue in Nigerian Christianity. Contemporarily, some Christians consider

only ministers with healing and miracle gifts as the most relevant in the church. Adetunji

(2010) asserts that many of the so-called miracles today are fabrications intended to

attract crowds and make money; the majority of the so-called miracles are used as baits to

lure people to the various healing ministries. The quest for power to heal and perform

miracles has led some preachers to acquire such powers from occult means. Some of

them have been reported to consulting Juju priests to possess the power of visions,
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dreams, healing miracles and prophecies to attract authority and popularity to themselves,

and to make their healing ministries boom. Ukanwa (2017) states that:

An Ifa priest, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon disclosed how some pastors consult him

to seek power. A lot of Christians, even pastors come to me to consult Ifa and use

Ifa to solve their problems. on January 8, 2014, a superstar pastor based in

Aguda, Lagos, identified as sign fireman, whose real name is Ofuche Ukoha, was

involved in a ritual murder of a virgin girl Bose, aged 12. The said pastor offered

to pay one of his members, Ikechukwu, who went to him for help, the sum of one

hundred thousand naira to bring to him the faeces of a strangled virgin.

Ikechukwu who was caught in the act testified against him. The pastor is well

known for miracles in Lagos. On April 28, 2017, a pastor of Christ Apolistic

Church (CAC) identified as Moses Abiodun was arrested by the Ondo state

command of the Nigerian security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for burying

charms in his Church. (p. 188).

These few instances demonstrate the extent some desperate self-proclaimed faith

healers can go to possess the power of vision, prophecy, the power to heal and perform

other miracles. With the power they got from juju priests, ritual murdering and fetish

practices. Ukanwa’s above viewpoint is in agreement with Matthew 24:24 “ For many

false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if
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possible the even elect”. This does not mean that there are no genuine men of God in our

society but only that greater number of them are fakes.

Materialism and Commercialization of Religious Objects

It could be observed that some of the faith healers are engulfed by the quest for

materialism. Rather than find solace in the Christian hope of eternal life, signs of total

submission to capitalistic tendencies, especially in insatiable material acquisition, looms

large in healing ministries. Iheanacho (2009) states that the spiritual growth and moral

sanctity towards better eternity is fast giving way to material craving, as the new idea of

fulfillment of life and ultimate reality. The level of material quest by healing ministries ,

especially faith healers is radically in deviance and inimical to the values and life of the

early Church. Some pastors who perform miracles, blessings, and sundry religious

services attach financial charges just to make quick money. Some of the faith healers

advertise for harvest of healing miracles on the media and billboards, during such

programme it turns out to be harvest of money and many sick people would be exploited

financially yet no evidence of divine healing on them.

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Family Crisis

It could be said that some of the faith healers have been causing problems in

families and communities. Their visions and prophecies have always centered on the

machinations of enemies who want to kill their clients by inflicting deadly sickness on

them, stop their progress or exchange their destinies. This has resulted to family crisis in

many homes, because there clients tend to physically confront their family member

whom they think is the cause of their sickness or misfortunes according the description

given to them by the faith healer. In some families today, siblings are no longer in good

terms with each other, one considers the other as the evil one who is trying to eliminate

him. Ukanwa (2017) observes that so many false prophets have deceived some people in

our society for many years, claiming to have the power of healing the people, but using

methods that are nothing else than old heathen, customs covered by the cloak of religious.

This is a very big danger for the Christian religion, as the problem of transferring occult

rituals into Christian healing, some faith healers are going back to traditional religion to

acquire power to work healing miracles in the name of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes some faith healers stage-manage miracles by arranging them with

their patronizers whom they pay. This is popularly known as “ arrangee miracle”. These

forms are bringing doubts and suspicions on the genuine healing ministries in the

society.
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Pastoral Care in Christian Healing Ministry

It is known that healing ministry is where people with various kind of diseases

frequent to get healed by divine means. Thus, during this process pastoral care should be

administered to them. Martin (2014) observes that in the context of a vibrant and

growing faith healing practice, there is a need to investigate the spiritual and emotional

impact of faith healing on healing seekers, especially when the desired healing does not

materialise; it is only pastoral care that could serve as a solace to them. According to

Louw (2008), pastoral care aims to guide people suffering with illness to discover hope

and meaning on their journey to healing and restoration. The primary goal of pastoral

care is to strive to enable persons facing illness to make sense of life and its challenges.

Pastoral care aims at bringing hope and help to sick individuals. The importance of

pastoral care is to guide and support people to be equipped for possibilities of living for

the rest of their lives with illness. Pastoral care is geared towards supporting and

sustaining of the inner strength of a sick person, in the midst of adversary. It is to help

people to face the reality of illness with the available resources and courage to persevere

through the trauma resulting from illness; with the hope to be gradually restored to

productive living. Pastoral care is more than simply helping those in need; it is also about

care givers sharing their lives, times and energy with their patients. It is well known that

the desire of every sick person is primarily to get healed thus, the concepts of healing

and cure are integral to pastoral care ministry for people grappling with illness and hurt
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that need cure. Martin (2014) opines that the healing practice seems to be an easier and

quicker methodological approach to counselling in solving challenges. This makes

pastoral care and counselling mandatory. In addition, Ahiabu (2011), states that the

counselling services offered to clients during healing practice promote their spiritual

lives. Counselling, which forms part of pastoral care activities, creates avenue for the

minister to best understand issues that confront sick members and thus, inform him on

what measures to take in dealing with the people’s challenges. However, according to

Gbordzoe (2010):

In the course of the counselling, sick members are not only made to

understand their problems in the light of Christian teachings but they are also

provided with alternative approach to dealing with similar life situations so as

to prevent future occurrences. In some cases, those whose challenges may

have resulted from their own misconducts are given precautionary measures to

overcome these challenges as well as to live morally upright life. Thus,

through counselling, members are challenged to live their lives in conformity

with the teachings of the Bible, a phenomenon that facilitates and improves

their lives as transformed Christians. (p. 7).

Ahiabu (2010) observes that pastoral care through counselling has developed

measures by which common challenges that confront its members and the generality

of human society are either prevented or solved including ill health. It has been found
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that during counselling, ministers do not only gain knowledge about problems that

confront their members but also become aware of each and every day physical and

spiritual challenges that confront their members and the human society at large.

Martin (2014) opines that the church that is able to position itself against both

material and spiritual problem of the society does not only become significant to the

lives of people but it also demonstrates its preparedness to purge itself of problems

which have the potential of drawing the church as a social and spiritual institution into

disrepute. Through pastoral care offered in healing ministry, members could be able

to overcome the problem of drug abuse, addiction to alcohol, premarital sex and so

on which could cause illness to them . Thus, regular holding of pastoral care in

healing ministry services and active participation of church members would provide

them with the requisite measures to overcome their personal moral weakness. It

could be considered that applying pastoral care of hope and compassion is one way of

responding to sick ones which prompts a response that is geared towards positive

ways to manage ongoing illness and not see themselves as people rejected by God and

take actions that may be detrimental to them.

Louw (2008) states that the fact that God identifies with the fate of a person

suffering with illness and his/ her vulnerability, is a strong basis for pastoral ministry

of hope and compassion to console them with words of encouragement for them to

know that their predicament is not the end of life. Encouragement to the sick will
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strengthen his emotional and psychological state. This is because people that are sick

need to be consoled and encouraged always. This will give them support to manage

the sickness until there is divine intervention. According to Martin (2014), faith

healing involves offering fervent prayers on behalf of the sick. This is done with solid

conviction that prayers of righteous person will avail and heal the sick from his/ her

infirmity yet prayers alone is not enough therefore, supporting structures and follow

up programmes to support people who are being prayed for should be done. This

will help them to cope with their condition. Martin (2014) further notes that that

people suffering illness need teaching about the character of God, the virtues of

patience and endurance, and how to stand in faith in midst of illness. This holistic

caring approach would seriously respond to emotional and spiritual challenges of sick

ones. Pastoral care is an integral aspect of healing ministry which should be

adequately utilized in dealing with sick people. It would help to revitalise the strength

of the sick people as they wait for divine healing. Pastoral care when properly

administered will ensure that biblical principles are properly followed in officiating

healing ministry in the church and would help to curb abuses ongoing in Christian

healing ministry and sustain its biblical mandate of total restoration of man.
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CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

Africans value health and could spend all they have to secure it, but sickness

damages good health thus, healing is inevitable. Africans make recourse to religious

perspective for holistic healing. The church was instituted by Christ not only to serve God

but to relief man from suffering, pains, agony and for restoration of abundant life. Ill-

health is associated with pains and that which cut life short. Hence, holistic healing is an

antidote to sickness. This could come through the healing ministry which focuses on

divine intervention on the sick. Holistic healing is an integral component of Christian

healing ministry therefore, Africans subscribe to it. Holistic healing is characterised by

different activities, it is the effectiveness of these activities that contributes to the well-

being of the healed.

The Christian healing ministry has also become an evangelistic tool in winning

many souls into the church and could be said to have brought some form of

transformation among the members of the church and development of Nigerian society.

Although there are abuses by fraudsters who claim that God has called them into the

ministry yet Christian healing ministry has contributed immensely to the society in its

fight to ameliorate sickness that terminates life.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nwaozuru, Johnmajor Chinecherem hails from Umukalu Ntigha in

IsialaNgwa North Local Government Abia State. His First School

Leaving Certificate was obtained at Golf Course Primary School II

while his West African Examination Certificate was at Adonai

College all in Aba. He obtained B.A in Religion and Human

Relations in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. He carried out his

NYSC programme in Furmi Magu Ward, Sardauna Local

Government, Taraba State 2019-2020. He is proficient in web

programming and development (frontend and backend), computer

networking, CCTV installation. He authored his first book in 2019

titled Socio-economic Appraisal of Football Betting Among Nigerian

Youths: Blessing or Burden. He has many other books and articles to

his credit listed below:

(1). Appraisal of Social Media Among Undergraduates in Nigeria: Blessing or Burden.

(2019).

(2) . The Menace of Petroleum Pipeline Vandalism: A Case Study of Osisioma Ngwa
Local Government Area, Abia State Nigeria. (2019).

(3). The Menace of Baby Factory in Nigeria: A call for Prompt Action. (2019).

(4). The Survival of African Traditional Religion Amidst Foreign Religions in Nigeria.
(2019)

(5) Church and the fight against kidnapping in Nigeria. (2020).

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(6) Students and sports betting in Nigeria. (2020).

(7) A Critical appraisal of Christian healing ministry in Nigeria. (2020).

(8) The menace of cultism among Nigerian youths. (2020).

(9) The predicaments of broken marriage on children. (2020).

(10) Christian appraisal of feminist ideologies among Nigerian women. (2020).

(11) Christian appraisal of feminist ideologies among Nigerian women. (2020).

(12) Church response to domestic violence against Igbo women of SouthEastern

Nigeria.(2020).

(13) A clarion call for proactive participation in politics by Nigerian Christians. (2020).

(14) The quest to get rich quick by Nigerian youths. (2020).

(15) My NYSC experience (focuse on some cultural practices of Mambilla and Kaka
ethnic groups) (2020).

ARTICLES

(1) Seychelles 2020 presidential election: A lesson for contemporary Nigerian

Christians.

(2) Biblical support to the use of plants for medicinal purposes: In African
perspective.

SOME OF THE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE AT www.bambooks.io

FOR THE ARTICLES VISIT www.owupress.com and scribd.com