‘Expensive Worship’: Pastor Poju Oyemade reacts to report that Mercy Chinwo charges N10m to perform in churches

A Catholic priest in the Abuja Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Chinenye Oluoma, during a sermon asked the congregation how much popular gospel singer, Mercy Chinwo, now charges to perform in churches; they responded “N10 million”.

He asked the question while decrying how religious worship has become costly.

Speaking in a now trending video on social media, Father Oluoma berated gospel musicians who demand huge payments to perform in a place of worship.

“We have made religious worship expensive. If I have to bring Mercy Chinwo to come here and sing, how much will I pay her? How much does a gospel artiste of Mercy Chinwo’s status charge to come to an event or in a Church?

“It has reached N10m now?”

“This is the tragedy that we have turned Christianity into, that an artiste will come to a church and lead in ten minutes praise and worship for N10m, N5m. So if that particular artiste doesn’t sing Jesus you love me too much, that means God didn’t love you too much?

“And some people were asking should they be paid? Why didn’t you pay them? If you must bring them you must pay them because what you are bringing them for is entertainment. We have turned worship into entertainment.

“We have copied the world. In those days, those who composed songs we are still using for worshipping nobody even knows them,” he said.

Reacting, the Senior Pastor of The Covenant Nation posted on his Twitter page; “Mercy Chinwo @MMercychinwo sang at our service at Lekki last Sunday and the honorarium we gave was at our discretion. She made NO formal charges.”