Church Provides Bride Price, Free Gowns, Suits For Couples

Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere, general overseer of Omega Power Ministries (OPM) Port-Harcourt, on Sunday afternoon round off the sermon, had a leading to make an altar call. It was a strange call, one that he would naturally dismiss with a wave of hand. But the leading persisted and Chinyere, who leads the fast-growing assembly, glumsly spilled it out.“If you are here and you have been cohabiting with a woman without paying her bride price or securing her family consent to be your wife, raise up your hands,” he declared. What followed shocked the preacher. Over one hundred hands went up. Chinyere was stunned so also were many in the church. Over one hundred couples have been cohabiting without solemnity or payment of bride pice in the congregation. A situation Chinyere pointed out could lead them to hell. If you keep doing this and you die today, you are heading straight to hell because you are living with someone you have not married legally,” he stressed. An idea occurred to the preacher to organize what is known in Christian circles as correction marriage, a ceremonial event that offers couples living together without formalization a second chance to rectify the fundamental infractions. He didn’t just organize the mass marriage, which help penultimate weekend in the church’s headquarters. He sponsored all the one hundred and forty couples that participated in the ceremony witnessed by their relations and well-wishers. Chinyere offered the men funds to pay the bride price to the shocked of their in-laws, many of them whom have given up hope that such honor will ever come their way. He went ahead to pay for their wedding gowns and suits for all the couples as well as refreshment for the invited guests at the reception. The truth is many of these couples didn’t plan to just cohabit. Many wanted to the pay bride’s price but couldn’t afford it.“Many of couple are already with children So, you had to come in to save these people from going to hell because of what poverty forced them to do,” Chinyere said. At the ceremony, many of the couples exuded great joy. They praised the general overseer for coming to their rescue and wiping away their age-long shame. 71-year-old Samuel Arewa from Umuahia Abia State, said he had been living with his wife for forty three years without paying her pride price. The omission, chinyere said, had become an evil pattern in the family with many of their children also following the same example. My family had been under a curse but God has used his servant to deliver us today. I am grateful that my shame has been removed,” Arewa said overwhelmed with emotions. Another beneficiary, John Nyeso from Rumuoji in Rivers State, said he has been living with his wife for 20 years with four children from the cohabitation. He said whenever he attempted to pay for the bride price, several unpleasant occurrences would frustrate the plan. Nyeso said the intervention of the church has restored his dignity and that of the family. Eze Oyenbuchi had been cohabiting with his wife for 6 years with two children. He said: “I was doing well financially before but since I took my wife into my house everything ceased.“The devil almost stopped us again today as we were preparing to come to the church for the ceremony, my brother, without any physical sickness, died just to prevent us from being joined together in the church.”Mrs. Ike Aguta, who has four children from 20 years of cohabitation, said with the ceremony she becomes the first female in her family to put on wedding gown and take bride price to her parents.