So a few weeks ago I found out that one of my amaininis (will call her Jocy) goes to Prophet Magaya’s church (Ministry). So I invited her for a chat because I was eager to have a civil conversation with her to get an understanding of what goes on there and get the perspective from a regular worshipper.
Jocy originally went to Anglican church and then she got married, her husband was a member of Spirit Embassy (Prophet Eubert Angel). When Eubert packed his bags and left for the UK, he changed churches and went to Magaya’s church. That is when Jocy started going to Magaya’s church.
So today I had the opportunity to chat to Jocy, she stated that she was not able to go to church today because she had no money. I joked with her and said isn’t that something that Magaya is able to fix quite easily. I asked her if she had ever met Magaya and she said no, its not easy since there will be lots of people.
How can I see Magaya
So I said how can you get to see Magaya so that he is able to attend to your problems? She said one way is if you go to the sections which are like satellite cell groups which take place every Wednesday night. You can take your problems to the overseer and he will forward them to Magaya and then hopefully he will attend to you on Sunday. The other way is to book into the guest houses where you will pay from $200 from Tuesday to Thursday.
Each day while you are there you will be attending services and prayer meetings then on the last day you will get an audience with Magaya. The 200 covers meals. You will be sharing a large room. Joyce has never been to the guest house but said it was a sure way to see Magaya. After the special service with Magaya reserved for only those who were staying in the guest house, you are encouraged to come back on Sunday with your testimony.
Normal Sunday Service
A Sunday starts at 8am with people coming in and engaging in prayer and worship up to about 10am. At 10 am its time for testimonies where people testify about what the Prophet has done for them. This goes on until about 2pm when the prophet comes through to present his sermon. I asked her where he will be from the morning and she said he will be there watching the testimonies on TV.
Seeding
When Magaya walks onto the stage she said that people cheer and rejoice and manifest (falling) and some rush to the front to seed (throwing offering of money). The seed is also done through out the sermon, when you hear something that touches your heart or that you desire you can go forward and seed money. You seed and then you declare your hearts desires and if you have enough faith it will come to pass.
She stated that during one of the questions times that Magaya affords, a young man asked sincerely “We see people seeding money, what if someone does not have money to seed?” And the prophet – much to the shock of some of the congregants including Jocy – he said “Why would you come here if you do not have money to seed?”
Why does Prophet need Guards?
After asking why the prophet needs body guards she stated that when he walks through the church people will be clambering to touch him, or to have him touch them with the anointing. Also when people manifest they become wild and he needs someone to keep them at bay. I also asked here why the camera men never manifest and she confirmed that they did, one time one of the camera men manifested and threw away the camera.
Amongst those who give testimonies each Sunday will be mainly those from the guest house and also those who would have bought the anointing oil. I queried her about the source of the anointing oil and she admitted she did not know. She did however let us know that it costs $10 for a small bottle.
Buying Merchandise
She had a silicon wristband that said “Be fruitful and multiply” which she bought for $5! I asked her if it had any significance and she said its just a reminder. I asked her what the phrase on it meant and she was not able to give me an answer. When I asked her second time she said I don’t know. But she wears it all the time. She was however excited to announce that the church had started advertising new Blesslets (A type of bracelet). No price had yet been announced as they were still in production.
Healing
I also asked if she personally knew anyone who had been healed. She said lots of people and I said tell me the accounts. The first one was a tete of hers who had AIDS and she had constant blisters which she had gone to several places but without help even to traditional healers. Then she saw Magaya on TV and she decided to come. She bought the anointing oil and applied it and after going to the guest house and meeting the prophet, the blisters disappeared. But she is still HIV positive…
She went on to list a few other people, a man who came from Mozambique who had stomach cancer and another man who had a brain tumor and I reminded her that we need people that she knows personally. Then she said when she was pregnant Magaya prayed for her and she had a safe delivery.
Speaking in Tongues
On the subject of tongues she said she had never seen him speak in tongues. I asked her if she speaks in tongues and her answer was “handisvikirwi!” I asked her if there was anytime she had questioned what Magaya did in relation to what the bible teaches, and she stated that she had seen nothing unusual or out of order. But upon further pressing she admitted that she was baptised in grade 5, and on asking if she knew the reason why she had been baptised, she confirmed that she had no idea at the time nor now.
Ask the Overseers
Now this discussion was happening outside pasink while she was doing the laundry. A lady from next door hearing our discussion also came over and was interested in asking her questions. Through out the discussion she would say you must come to the church and ask the overseers they are very helpful. Or she would say why do people hate our prophet? Despite that I continued to press her for her own views.
I wanted to find out where she stood and how much she knew. She was getting defensive but it never deteriorated to the abusive levels that we are used to facing online. One main factor seemed like she was not entirely convicted or convinced about Magaya. One thing was certain she did’t even read her bible, she could not reference it in any way. She admitted to only reading when she goes to church and sometimes when she has nothing to do.
So I didn’t burden her with asking for proof for what she believed. If it aligned with scripture. I encouraged her to constantly read her bible and check for herself if what the prophet says aligns with scripture. This our first real discussion and it was clear only milk was necessary as there would be time for bones at a later stage Lord willing.
I commend Jocy for her time in answering a barrage of questions, and keeping it civil through out. Now this does not reflect all the followers of Magaya, it just represents the perspective of one of his followers.
