Thousands besiege TB Joshua’s church for miracles

Thousands of people, acting on a hint that the Founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet T. B. Joshua, would minister in Accra yesterday, thronged the Ghana branch of the church, off the Spintex Road, seeking divine intervention in their lives. Prophet Joshua shepherds one of the largest unorthodox Christian congregations in Africa and is renowned for his healing and deliverance ministration. The large number of worshippers spilled over the church auditorium and premises onto the street outside, stretching for as long as about 100 metres, with canopies erected on both sides of the street to accommodate the anxious congregants. Some of those who could not find space under the canopies had to sit or stand in the scorching sun, with a few taking shelter under small umbrellas. The Daily Graphic team had a tough time entering the premises of the church, as the crowd jostled one another to find convenient places to seek divine intervention. Some of the ushers of the church were very hostile to the Graphic team, leading to heated exchanges at one stage. But, eventually, an official of Emmanuel TV, the media organisation of the church, intervened and ushered the team onto the church premises, where church officials were very helpful. The Daily Graphic later learnt that some journalists who had visited the premises earlier had been manhandled and detained by some officials of the church. That incident must have prompted the heavy presence of police and military personnel on the premises to maintain law and order. Although Prophet Joshua did not show up at the service, many of the worshippers were not perturbed, as they claimed to have received healing, deliverance and breakthroughs in their lives. The moment to justify the long wait in the sun came when leaders of the church, identified as the three ‘Wise Men’, walked through

the congregation, giving them spiritual touches for their healing and deliverance. As the three ‘Wise Men’ laid their hands on the people, there were screams from the recipients of the holy touches, screams that were supposedly from demons fleeing and pleading for mercy. A teacher at a school at Dansoman in Accra, Kwasi Amoah, was one of those touched by the three ‘Wise Men’. “My brother, it was not easy; it was as if some power has passed through my system,” he told the Daily Graphic. Mr Amoah said he had attended the service because he had heard that Prophet Joshua would be ministering. He said having seen Prophet Joshua’s spiritual exploits on television, “I knew that when I come anything tormenting me will stop”. He said things had not been going on well in his job and he attributed that to spiritual reasons. A resident of Odorkor, an Accra suburb, Naa Dedei, had been suffering from stomach ache for a long time, but after a touch from one of the three ‘Wise Men’, she said, “I feel good now.” continued