Embassy of God

Embassy of God is a Charismatic Protestant church and parachurch organization in Kiev, Ukraine. It was founded and is led by pastor Sunday Adelaja, who is an immigrant from Nigeria.

Homeless people are served food in the Stephania Soup Kitchen, run by the Embassy of God.

The church claims to have 25,000 members in Kiev and many more elsewhere in Ukraine. Furthermore, it claims to have more than 600 daughter churches in over 45 countries.[1] 1,000 to 2,000 people are fed daily at the churches' soup kitchens in Kiev. The church also has a program helping homeless people acquiring skills, thus helping them back to a normal life and work. According to the church 2,000 children have been helped off the street, and have been returned to their families. Furthermore the church runs a 24-hour hot-line, named "Trust line",[2] for people to call in need. The church also works with addicted people and has a program helping addicted people to be set free from various addictions. The main organization is called "Love Rehabilitation Center".[3] According to the church, more than 5000 drug and alcohol addicted people have been set free from their addiction through their work.[4][5]

There are many educational institutions connected to the church, and among them the following are more known: the Joshua Missionary Bible Institute in Ukraine,[6] the Center of Restoration of Personality and Transformation of the Society in Ukraine,[7] the History Makers Bible School in the USA,[8] the UK,[9] Germany,[10] France,[11] and the Institute for National Transformation in Nigeria.[12]

The church faces opposition from the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, other Ukrainian Evangelicals,[13] authorities, and political groups. The church receives significant criticism for teaching the doctrine of prosperity.[13] The church's reputation also suffered after members were implicated in a financial fraud case: King’s Capital, a financial group led by a former member of his congregation, promised as much as 60 percent returns on investments and drew many of its investors from the church. Later, several former church members went to the authorities claiming they were unable to recover the money they invested, which left many of them bankrupt. Police later arrested Aleksandr Bandurchenko, a church member and one of King Capital's leaders, on suspicion of fraud.[14]

Former Mayor of Kiev, Leonid Chernovetsky, is a prominent member of the church.

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