Anita Ebhodaghe, formerly Anita Oyakhilome,former wife of the founder of Christ Embassy Church, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome,has set internet on fire over a post on her blog, https://www.pastoranita.org/beta/index.php/home/soul-winning in which she sheds light on the phenomenon of soul winning in the churches, warning that the so-called soul-winners, the pastors, could also be predators on the gullible.

When people talk about winning souls these days, I feel absolutely concerned for the so-called souls. It looks to me like a lion on a breakfast mission, in search for his hunt; he hides behind the grass for an unwise lamb that would wander away from the herd in search of fresh grass. This will be an easy catch and good feast for the lion’s plate.

Anita Oyakhilome

When I hear these people talk about winning souls, I feel sorry for the souls who have no idea of what they are getting into. It sometimes sounds to me like blood-thirty people desperate to count the number of innocent, ignorant people who will give their blood to be sucked. These souls are classified, as those who are needy, can undoubtedly gullible in their search for solutions and wanting to identify or belong to a community.

These souls are caught when they are most vulnerable maybe they have lost a loved one, in a bad relationship with their parents or family, in need of healing or desperate for a change. At this point they will give anything and do anything without a second thought.

When caught by the wrong hands, they will start running in a wheel. Initially, the souls will be treated with some measure of care, so they do not detach. This will be short lived to prepare them to be trained as unconscious servants. Once the attachment is built, they would start attending endless meetings till they begin to be unavailable for their loved ones and disassociate from their families over time. These souls will eventually give their energy away and with time they begin to feel tired, unhappy, sick, financially drained and depleted. Unknown to them, this new community and friends maybe superficial. The souls might observe that sweet and bitter method of sucking their blood has gradually robbed them of their self worth. They might realize they have given their energy to somebody else and they are now hanging in the spider’s web.

They are tied up with daily and weekly responsibilities but if you look closely, their main leader is seating in a place of convenience by handling brief monthly meetings (not weekly) or occasional gatherings.

When I hear about souls, I have sympathy for those who give their blood to be sucked. They are simply prey to be used as objects in some people’s game. Incidentally, some of these souls have become wiser in seeking the opportunity to reap the reaper in his own game, like the buffalo who challenges the tiger.

Mt 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

An aggressive soul winner is hungry like a hunter; he goes with all manner of tools and uses different technique to capture his prey.
An aggressive soul winner is like a fisherman who uses a net. This method of fishing is solely for material or commercial purposes. On the other hand a fish can also be caught by using a fishing rod with baits or lures impaled on the hooks to entice any fish that venture near to bite off the attractive bait. Unfortunately, if caught by a commercial fisherman the fish is not going anywhere after all that effort, it must be eaten. However, if caught by a hobbyist, he will admire the fish and put it back where it belongs, in its natural habitat. Thank God for regulatory organizations helping to stop brutal killings of animals whether on land or sea.

Soul winning alone will not take you to heaven; you win a soul by living the God life and your personal interest in bringing somebody to the knowledge of Christ. You have to be in a good frame of mind first, not under fear or compulsion that if you do not win souls you will go to hell. There should be no ulterior motives like getting the soul’s money eventually, you want a position or seeking to be rewarded with treats or awards. There are people who reach out to others daily not for any earthly reward or to direct the souls to their own churches, for benefits or for any selfish reason. These people recommend and make available other authors, ministers and local assemblies for the interest of the soul alone.

Every man should learn to take care of himself first. He should learn to use his initiative and study for himself otherwise he might become somebody’s big catch or ‘meat’. At that point he would have no one to blame.

I have written this for those who have asked me questions on soul winning and their fears.

“And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Mat 24:11-14
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
2 Tim3:1-5