In 2012, Pastor Emmanuel Iren started a church in Ikotun, Lagos. Nine years later, this church of humble beginnings as an online following of over 86,000 on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Sermons are watched by an average of 10,000 viewers and Celebration Church International has over 7 campuses, with its eight branches about to be planted in Ile-Ife, Osun state.
Pastor Iren, on the meteoric rise, says, “Our online community is the reason we have disciples in countries I have never visited. Every now and then, I get a message from virtually every country you can think of, talking about how blessed they have been by our ministry.”
The ministry which has many of its disciples beyond the shores of Nigeria in countries like the UK, the US, and Canada, leverages its online community to ensure its followers and members get the full church experience. Following the nationwide lockdown during the COVID-pandemic, the church doubled down on expanding its online audience.
From weekly streaming of church services to online membership classes, Celebration Church is poised to take the Gospel to even more people using online platforms while helping followers grow in their faith through its various online resources.
Speaking on the role of online platforms in the church’s mission of evangelism and spreading the Gospel, Pastor Iren shares, ‘In the bible, evangelism is quite proactive. Rather than waiting for people to come to you, you find saints of old constantly commending themselves to people and saying: ‘Be ye followers of me’. I believe that to be the role that social media plays in the Church today. [With an online community], the value the Church offers is also constantly before them.”
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Regarding what other churches can do to take advantage of social media, he believes it’s important for church leaders to identify people within the Church who have the know-how and engage them so their skills can be put to use.
Citing the example of Acts 6 where people were appointed as deacons to help with the work of welfare, he believes spiritual leaders can stick to what they are called to do whilst recognizing people within the ministry who can share administrative burdens like social media and community management. In the event that no one in the church has these skills, they should also be open to outsourcing, he says.
No doubt, it is evident that Celebration Church is not slowing down on its efforts to keep growing its online community, using short Tiktoks reels, excerpts from sermons, and other life-changing content to keep its members grounded.
For others that may be skeptics of the church using social media and other online platforms, Pastor Iren acknowledges that there are several arguments for and against new innovation and technology. These words by its Lead Pastor sum up the ministry’s approach and unchanging vision-,‘wherever people can be found, the gospel must be preached’.
