The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, has scrapped some of the church’s long-standing marriage restrictions, declaring them mere human arrangements rather than biblical commandments.
Speaking on Sunday at the 2025 Global Family and Marriage Conference, Kumuyi announced that the church’s controversial marriage policies—such as barring intending couples from visiting each other and enforcing a compulsory six-month courtship—were never rooted in scripture.
He clarified that the ban stopping ladies from visiting men they intended to marry has been lifted, though he advised that such visits should take place in the presence of an elder.
On the mandatory six-month courtship period, Kumuyi admitted it was an administrative guideline introduced by the church, not a divine directive.
“We just felt couples should have time to know one another. We said one month was too short, two months too short, so why not six months? But it is not from the Bible,” he explained.
The respected cleric emphasised the need for Christians to distinguish between God’s commandments and church traditions, warning against equating human arrangements with divine authority.
“As a Christian, you need to be mature enough to know what comes from God and church principles. Six months is okay, but it’s not fixed. If it becomes three months, it does not mean we are changing the Bible, because six months is not in the Bible,” Kumuyi added.
He also underscored that marriage committees within the church were designed only to provide guidance, not to replace biblical instructions.
“There is no marriage committee in the New Testament. We created it to help, not because there is a chapter or verse that commands it. It is simply church administration,” he noted, urging leaders not to overstep their limits.
The development is part of ongoing reforms by Kumuyi, who has in recent years reviewed several church practices, often stressing that many were introduced for order and discipline but should not be mistaken for God’s unchanging word.
