Pastor William Kumuyi has publicly shut down claims that leadership of Deeper Christian Life Ministry will pass to one of his children, insisting the choice of his successor rests solely with God.

The 84-year-old General Superintendent addressed the issue during a recent ministration after members raised questions about the church’s future leadership. The remarks, captured on video, have since gone viral.

“I Reject Anyone Trying to Control Me” 

Kumuyi said he has noticed subtle agitations about succession and warned against attempts to pressure him. “I reject any member of the church, my child, my son, my daughter. I reject any worker trying to control me,” he told the congregation. 

He added that not even his wife could dictate to him, noting: “I am the head of the home… I stand where I stand with conviction.”

The cleric directly addressed rumours that his sons were being positioned to take over. “Many people are speculating… They were searching for his first son and his second son, asking where they were,” he said. 

Kumuyi maintained that “nobody has the right to hand over a church to his son” because Deeper Life “belongs to Jesus Christ,” not to him or any founder.

Drawing from scripture, Kumuyi said biblical leaders like Moses and Joshua did not handpick their replacements. “God will give a successor at His own time,” he said. “When the time comes, God will choose a man after His own heart.”

He acknowledged giving preaching opportunities to “gifted ministers” across the ministry but stressed that leadership transition would happen only when God decides.

The statement touches on a recurring debate in Nigerian Pentecostal circles about founders, family, and succession planning. In 2016, a proposed FRC code that would have required church heads to step down at 70 or after 20 years and barred family succession was suspended after opposition.

Professor Kunle Macaulay of the Association of Christian Theologians has publicly disagreed with Kumuyi’s stance, arguing that leaders should actively mentor and prepare successors to ensure continuity.

Kumuyi founded Deeper Life in 1973. He told members: “Your father in the Lord is still here… The church will continue whether I am there or not, because it is God’s church.”