Church Reopening: I Can’t Endanger The Lives Of My Church Members – Bakare

Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly has revealed that he is not ready to open his church for services and put the lives of his congregants in danger of contracting coronavirus.

The cleric stated this while reacting to the decision of the Federal Government to lift the ban on religious gatherings across Nigeria.

Bakare in his statement noted that it is not yet time to open worship centres. He added that he is sorry for Nigeria as religious leaders were pressurizing the government to open worship centres.

The cleric in a sermon titled, ‘You are free to dream again,’ which he delivered on Saturday and was posted on Youtube, Bakare wondered if the religious leaders pilling pressure on the government to open worship centres were planning to take people to the graveyards.

Bakare said, “I’m so sorry for our country at this juncture; I’m so sorry that we are pressurising the government to open churches and to open mosques; you want calamity upon calamity. The church has not been closed; nobody can close the church.”

“Yes, it is true that buildings are closed but the church is marching on. No one can close the church. And the government can shut down the buildings; they cannot force us to go back because I’m not going to endanger the lives of our people.”

Bakare who compared Coronavirus with the story of Noah in the bible said, “Noah did not jump out of the ark; he sent the raven first to test the ground. The raven never returned. He sent the duck twice; on the third occasion, it did not return. He knew it was safe to go out but he still stayed there until God said, ‘Noah, come out!”

“He (God) locked him in and He brought him out. Let’s be patient. And they now want to start carrying people to their gravesides and be praying for their families. Let’s stay within that time when the calamity is over.”