This is a detailed guide on how to start a church in Nigeria.
Nigerians are religious people that believe majorly in the two most popular religions in Africa, Islam, and Christianity.
Although there is also a third popular religion called the traditional religion, Islam and Christianity are the two major religions in Nigeria.
Far back into the stone age and some parts of the industrial age, traditional religion was the main religion of Nigerians until things began to change with the advent of Christian and Islamic missionaries.
While Islamic missionaries brought the gospel of Islam and the Quoran to the country, Christian missionaries brought the gospel of Christ and the Bible to Nigeria.
This has in turn birthed many churches and denominations across the length and breadth of the country.
New churches are being planted continuously, and in this post, I will show you how to start a church in Nigeria.
If you want to start a church in Nigeria, read on with utmost attention as I unravel what is required of you to begin.
Church In Nigeria
A church is a place of fellowship. A place where a group of people meet to fellowship and to worship God.
This sect of people is referred to as Christians, a name that is believed to mean “followers of Christ” or “little Christ”.
Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century, but the first built church is the Cathedral Church of St. Peter which was built in the year 1898.
It is located in Ake, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Today, there are thousands of churches in Nigeria, and there are many denominations of churches.
While some people believe that running a church is just another business where you can generate profit, I want to believe that starting and running a church goes beyond just running a secular business.
Church And Business
Although, there are many churches that are run only for profit at the expense of their member’s well-being. But a real church will have the members in mind and not the profit at the center of the stage.
As a church leader, the lives of the members sometimes hinges on your leadership
The main goal should be to glorify God and not to grow richer.
While you can become wealthy owning a ministry, service to humanity should come first.
This is important to take note of before thinking about how to start a ministry.
How To Start A Church In Nigeria
How to start a church from the scratch isn’t too difficult provided you have the right motive as well as the right prerequisites.
Even if you don’t have how much it costs to register a church in Nigeria (200,000), you can start a church with no money.
Below is how to start a church in Nigeria.
1. Be Sure You Have the calling
Starting a Church is not like other business ventures as I’ve said earlier, and many times it is not something you literarily create interest in overnight.
Most of the time it requires having a calling from God.
Why is this important?
In the early days, the church is most likely to stagger because of the lack of members, but one thing that can keep you going is the assurance that God is leading you into it – that he is calling you.
If you are not called, your success in ministry may be stunted.
2. Attend A School Of Theology
From the experience of what I’ve seen, I can say the role of pastors or church leaders is much more than just preaching from the Bible.
Many times, pastors take the responsibility of leaders, teachers, coaches, psychologists, and so on.
This is because, they lead their members on how to seek God, how to run their home, how to have a successful career, how to witness Christ to others, and in many other spheres of life.
The required skills to be successful in these areas as a pastor is what you will gain from the school of theology or what some call Bible schools.
Although many pastors began without going for this form of training, in the more oriented world that we are, you will fare better with the exposure of theology schools.
3. Have A Worship Centre
There is no way to have a goal of bringing people together for worship without having a meeting place for worship.
Businesses begin small, so also do many big churches. But no matter how small, you ought to have a place of worship before you start your own church.
4. Register your Church With Corporate Affairs Commission
While a church is not like a regular business like I’ve said, it is still a corporate institution and must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commissions (CAC).
Upon registration with the CAC, your church will be duly recognized by the Nigerian constitution and will be regarded as a non-profit organization. Learn how to register your Church name with CAC in Nigeria.
5. Market Your Church
You might be getting surprised at how I use terms from the business field over and over, yet I said starting a church is different from starting a business.
Well, I must say the process has many similarities, but the purpose differs by a fine margin.
That being said, you should plan or learn how to market your church so that you can grow quickly.
There are many Christians who do not have a permanent church maybe because they just got to town, or because they do not trust their current churches.
Marketing your church could attract people in this category and others to your church and can grow your congregation.
You can market your church by preaching via media, crusades, outreaches, and so on.
You can also host music concerts, marriage seminars, business seminars, and so on.
Marketing is basically telling the world about your Church.
While marketing your Church can bring new members, it may not keep them for long.
You will have to do more to gain their trust.
Read on.
6. Preach The True Gospel
There is nothing worse than lies and falsehoods, especially in the church.
You need to preach the truth as pure as it is, and you should also act what you preach.
The net result of this is that people will flock after you and submit to your leadership.
7. Plan On Having A Permanent Location
If you are starting small, you should have a vision of growing big, else your success in the ministry assignment may be little.
The small place you’re starting with will not sustain you for long especially when the congregation has grown big.
Also, a center that is not standard will not fit for a popular church that you’ll hope to become.
You may be thinking how would you get a standard worship center without enough money.
But that is not the case, remember you’re are not doing all at once. You will grow steadily into betterment.
Members will also help to contribute and donate as much as they have trusted you and your leadership.
8. Build A Global Church
This may relate to marketing your church but it is a little bigger.
Giving your church global recognition is one of the best things to help it grow faster.
This can be implemented through the creation of websites and social media handles.
The creation of these is not the end but active usage to promote your services, your forthcoming programs, your choir, and all.
In general, taking your local church to the global world via the internet is one of the best things you can do for the church.
That is all on how to start a church in Nigeria.
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