NEWS
₦1m Challenge Resurfaces Old Kumuyi Video on Deeper Life’s Television Ban Debate
An old video of the founder of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, has resurfaced online, reigniting a debate over the church’s historical position on television and the kind of content considered appropriate for Christian living.
The video emerged after a ₦1 million challenge was issued to anyone who could provide evidence of Kumuyi discouraging members of the ministry from watching television.
The development has attracted renewed attention on social media, particularly among users debating whether Deeper Life had, in its early years, expressly discouraged television viewing among its members.
The video was shared on X by a user identified as @jayhemz, following a challenge directed at @MathiasIgonor over Kumuyi’s alleged position on television.
The individual who issued the challenge had offered ₦1 million to anyone capable of producing an audio or video recording in which Kumuyi could be heard telling Deeper Life members not to watch television.
“I’ll give you or anyone ₦1m if you/they can provide a video clip or Audio clip where Pastor Kumuyi told his members not to watch TV,” he wrote.
He further made it clear that any material presented as evidence would have to undergo verification to establish its authenticity and determine when it was originally recorded.
“Video clip will be authenticated and checked for originality, Date of the Sermon (Preaching) will also be confirmed,” he added.
In the resurfaced footage, Kumuyi recalled the position adopted by Deeper Life during the early years of the ministry, explaining that the church repeatedly discouraged television viewing because of concerns over content he believed could negatively affect Christians.
“At the beginning of this ministry, many, many years ago, we emphasised, and we re-emphasised, and we preached it every time, and we made it everybody knew about it.
“We said, there are dirty things, there were dirty things on the television. And that those things pollute the heart. They make the heart impure.
“And because of that, we discouraged watching television. We wanted to prepare people for heaven,” Kumuyi said.
The cleric explained that the teaching was not based solely on the identity of Deeper Life as a church, arguing that other Christians in different parts of the world also expressed concerns about the influence of television content at the time.
“We emphasised to the people, not just because it’s deeper life, every serious-minded believer at that time, from America to UK, even the whites, not members of deeper life, they knew that the pollutions on the television will pollute the minds of people, make them impure,” he said.
Kumuyi also acknowledged the dramatic changes brought about by technological advancement, noting that the emergence of smartphones, tablets and other internet-enabled devices has transformed how people consume entertainment and information.
“But now, the age of television is almost year-rounding up. Because now, everything you can see on television, much, much more, you can see on television, you can have it on your handset, you can have it on your telephone, you can have it on your tablet, you can have it on your iPad,” he stated.
His comments shifted the focus from traditional television to the wider digital environment, where users can access a vast range of material through their personal devices without necessarily owning or watching a television set.
Kumuyi subsequently warned Christians about inappropriate online content, particularly pornography and other materials he said could negatively influence a person’s thoughts, emotions and behaviour.
“Once you are connected to the internet, and there are people, they may not be watching television, but they’re looking at pornographic pictures,” he said.
He urged believers to remain vigilant about the content they consume, stressing that material capable of influencing their thoughts or emotions in an impure direction should be avoided.
“If you are having anything that secretly makes me impure, makes your thoughts impure, even can make your emotion, your feeling impure, and can make you to be committing immorality, even with images and pictures and whatever they call them, I don’t want to mention it in my message, whatever they call them, they are impure,” Kumuyi said.
“The Lord deliver us. The Lord keep us holy. The Lord keep us righteous,” he added.
The resurfaced video has since generated fresh reactions online, particularly because Kumuyi is heard clearly recalling that Deeper Life “discouraged watching television” during the early years of the ministry.
The development has also reignited broader discussions about how religious teachings on entertainment and media consumption have evolved alongside technological changes.
While television was once the primary medium through which people accessed films, music and other forms of entertainment, smartphones and internet-connected devices have created an even wider digital environment where content can be accessed privately and virtually anywhere.
The debate therefore extends beyond the question of television itself, touching on the broader responsibility of Christians to carefully assess the content they consume and its possible in
fluence on their minds, emotions and conduct.