Following a ₦1 million challenge to anyone who could demonstrate that the founder of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry had discouraged his people from viewing television, a Nigerian man uploaded an old video of Pastor William Kumuyi.
An X user going by the handle @jayhemz posted the video when @MathiasIgonor was challenged regarding Kumuyi’s purported views on television.
The challenge’s creator offered ₦1 million to anyone who could create a video or audio recording of Kumuyi advising Deeper Life followers not to watch television.
“I’ll give you or anyone ₦1m if you/they can provide a video clip or Audio clip where Pastor Kumuyi told his members not to watch TV,” he wrote.
However, he clarified that every uploaded video will undergo verification.
“Video clip will be authenticated and checked for originality, Date of the Sermon (Preaching) will also be confirmed,” he added.
Kumuyi recounted the stance taken by Deeper Life in the early years of the ministry in the video posted by @jayhemz.
The clergyman claimed that the church banned watching television due to worries over material he thought may harm Christians.
“At the beginning of this ministry, many, many years ago, we emphasised, and we re-emphasised, and we preached it every time, and we made it everybody knew about it.
“We said, there are dirty things, there were dirty things on the television. And that those things pollute the heart. They make the heart impure.
“And because of that, we discouraged watching television. We wanted to prepare people for heaven,” Kumuyi said.
According to Kumuyi, other Christians at the time also voiced worries about the impact of television content, therefore the teaching was not exclusively based on Deeper Life’s identity as a church.
“We emphasised to the people, not just because it’s deeper life, every serious-minded believer at that time, from America to UK, even the whites, not members of deeper life, they knew that the pollutions on the television will pollute the minds of people, make them impure,” he said.
He continued by pointing out that as technology has advanced, people can now access a greater variety of information via phones, tablets, and other internet-enabled devices.
“But now, the age of television is almost year-rounding up. Because now, everything you can see on television, much, much more, you can see on television, you can have it on your handset, you can have it on your telephone, you can have it on your tablet, you can have it on your iPad,” he stated.
Kumuyi also warned about inappropriate content available online, particularly pornography and other material he said could affect a person’s thoughts and emotions.
“Once you are connected to the internet, and there are people, they may not be watching television, but they’re looking at pornographic pictures,” he said.
He urged Christians to guard their hearts against content that could lead to what he described as impure thoughts or actions.
“If you are having anything that secretly makes me impure, makes your thoughts impure, even can make your emotion, your feeling impure, and can make you to be committing immorality, even with images and pictures and whatever they call them, I don’t want to mention it in my message, whatever they call them, they are impure,” Kumuyi said.
“The Lord deliver us. The Lord keep us holy. The Lord keep us righteous,” he added.
The resurfaced video has since drawn attention online, particularly because Kumuyi is heard saying that Deeper Life “discouraged watching television” during the early years of the ministry.