Thousands of people trooped to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) on Sunday, 17th of December, 2023, to celebrate Pastor Evelyn Joshua who clocked 55.
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She also noted that she needs prayers.
“The reason for our celebration here today is what God can do in the lives of people; in a hopeless situation, He gives them hope.
“What is good needs prayer; I need prayer,” Pastor Evelyn Joshua tells the people as she addresses them before commencing the Prayer Line ministration.
She also encouraged the people to celebrate her by reaching out to others in love.
“When you receive something you can never earn, it is ground for gratitude not arrogance,” she emphasised.
Pastor Evelyn Joshua also prayed: “Father Lord, we thank You for this wonderful day. We have come to You with a heart full of grace, a heart full of joy. Almighty God, we ask You for the grace to continue to obey Your commandments and to stay in fellowship with You. Father Lord God Almighty, let Your Word abide in us and we abide in it, in the name of Jesus Christ. Father, guide us to Your way of truth and give us the power to continue to follow that way. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray!”
Evelyn took over SCOAN after the death of her husband, Prophet TB Joshua.
Her emergence as the leader of SCAN was however not without battles.
Joshua’s unexpected death in June, 2021, at the age of 57, unleashed a succession battle that took months to resolve.
Mrs Joshua, who is an ordained pastor, faced competition as she was not a member of the church’s board of trustees.
This was taken by her opponents as an indication that her husband did not consider her his successor.
Unlike other wives of Nigeria’s mega pastors, she mostly stayed in the background during their three-decade marriage.
TB Joshua, known by SCOAN members as “the prophet”, worked with a group of close disciples he called the “wise men” – one of whom it was believed was being groomed to succeed him.
But after his death, those loyal to Mrs Joshua obtained a court order making her a member of the board and so smoothing the path for her to assume control.
The church has since announced Mrs Joshua as the new leader “under the guidance of God.”