Founder and Presiding pastor of Salvation Ministries David Ibiyeomie has sparked controversy online following a statement he made during a sermon.
In a video that surfaced online and has now gone viral, Ibiyeomie declared that ‘Jesus hates poverty and poor people.’
According to Ibiyeomie, Jesus died so that we wouldn’t have to live in poverty. While it’s understandable to start poor, he emphasized that it is wrong to remain poor.
Ibiyeomie, who emphasized the importance of living a life of abundance, left many social media users stunned, sparking a heated debate online.
Some of his followers defended the pastor’s words as a call for believers to rise above poverty and achieve financial prosperity.
However, a significant number of people criticized him for what they perceived as a distasteful and harmful interpretation of Christian teachings.
As of the time of filling this report, Pastor Ibiyeomie is yet to issue a public response to the backlash.
Below are some of the comments;
“Even for Church, Poor Man no get peace of mind.”
“These marketers sha. Same Jesus that said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” They will want to drive home discussion of prosperity for their own gain and then twist the Bible.”
“Any Christian that doesn’t have a personal understanding of the Bible is in big trouble. Pastors make a lot of inferences from the Bible and draw conclusions on things that are not exactly written in the Bible. Their inferences can be based on their emotions, personal understanding and knowledge, personal experience, exposure, level of education, and sometimes lust. A Christian must grow to be able to know which of their messages to discard.“
Watch the video below,
Jesus never visited any poor person in the house – Pastor David Ibiyeomie pic.twitter.com/usE9NqlOYq
— Naija (@Naija_PR) April 14, 2025
