Pastor William Kumuyi said his ministry, The Deeper Christian Life Ministry, embraced the use of television, social media, aeroplane, exotic cars and other technological inventions for the propagation of the Gospel.
The 80-year-old cleric spoke in a video uploaded on Sunday via Facebook by the Ekiti State chapter of the church.
The preacher said the church needed to ‘wake up’ after the discovery that ‘wicked people’ were using the provisions of technology to advance their agenda.
Kumuyi, whose church members were known for heavily criticising television, and other gadgets, said:
“People are getting new methods and they are doing evil. These are the last days and evil is growing worse because people go beyond using their natural strengths, natural technology, they use telephones, they use the media, they use all these connections, the Zoom and all these things to expand the evil they are doing.
“If those messengers of Satan are using the present-day technology and they are expanding, how about you? You will use those things available; they are not only available for messengers who do evil, they are available for the people that are doing good. You will use them.
“The church has been asleep. When radio began some years ago, people didn’t understand how voices would be coming out of a radio, and so the church at that time said, ‘No, we cannot use radio, there is something there that is magical, that is demonic, voice coming out from just a gadget?’ The church said no. Then, the people of the world began to use the radio. Then the church woke up.
“When television came, somebody somewhere performing drama, they see him on the screen and then the church said, ‘This is evil, these are the last days, look at them, bringing pictures on the screen and whatever they are doing somewhere’. And the church said, ‘No, we are not going to use that’ but later they woke up and they are now using the television.
“But now the church is waking up and we are seeing that that thing (technology) is to spread the gospel, for the word of God gets everywhere. We will be wiser than the people of the world. The Lord will wake us up.”
Kumuyi, who was criticised last September for using a private jet and limousine to a crusade in Abuja, added that:
“Some people, when the aeroplane came, some people said, ‘We are not doing to use aeroplane’ and they were riding on horses. The bicycle came and they said. ‘God has given us legs and if He has given us legs, why are we going to use bicycles?’
“Motorcycles came, cars came and when the aeroplane came, they said, ‘God has given us the land; He has not given us the space and so all those people who are using aeroplane are worldly, are going to go to hell’. I am telling you what they said in those days but now, all those people, an aeroplane has silenced them and now they can go anywhere.”
The Deeper Life church leader regretted that the church was a latecomer in taking advantage of technological tools.
“Why are you the latecomer, why are you the one to be the last to use all these things that the people are using to make the world worse, we are going to rise up.
“Anything at the disposal of the people that are doing evil, we are going to take it away from them and use it for the propagation of the gospel. Let your NO be changed to YES,” he declared.
