The Founder and General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, William Folorunso Kumuyi, has opened up about his early life and the reasons behind his departure from orthodox and white-garment churches. In a video shared on X on Friday, April 24, the cleric described a strict and forceful religious upbringing that, he said, did not lead to true spiritual change.
Strict Childhood Discipline
Kumuyi recounted how he grew up in a religious home where the Bible was read daily, yet he and his family were not “born again.” He stated, “At least I know I wasn’t born again. I was a religious child.” He further explained, “Daddy took us to church. The normal, nominal orthodox one. We read the Bible every day, and if you didn’t wake up in time to brush the sleep from your face, Daddy’s whip would wipe it off so you could read the Bible and sing from our hymn book in that orthodox church. But we were not born again. Daddy, Mummy, myself, and the other children. It was just religion.”
Questioning Religious Practices
The experience made Kumuyi question that kind of religion. He noted that despite the many religious activities, there was no real change in his life at the time. He warned parents and leaders against using force or harsh methods in raising children in the faith. “We couldn’t practice the words of Christ. I don’t want you to lead your family with that kind of brutality that I experienced when I was much younger, because that kind of harsh, militant training did not make me born again. In fact, I felt that if Daddy was like this with all this religion..., then I didn’t believe in that kind of religion,” he said.
Search for Deeper Spiritual Experience
Kumuyi said he later left the orthodox church in search of a deeper spiritual experience. This search took him to different religious groups, including white-garment churches, where practices such as candle burning, incense use, and scheduled midnight prayers were common. However, he said those practices also did not bring the change he was looking for. As he put it: “That’s why I left that orthodox church in search of something that would bring a real change. That search led me to candle-burning, incense-burning, white-garment churches and all that we did there, too.”
Rejection of Ritualistic Practices
Reflecting on his time in white-garment churches, Kumuyi stated, “Now, as I look back, even at that time, I didn’t agree, because I was searching for something that would change my heart, change my life, and set me on the way to heaven. Eventually, I had to leave that as well, because it wasn’t doing me any good; it was just religion.” He criticized the use of force in religious practices, saying, “And though some people use force with a cutlass, an axe, or a dagger, they used the force of reading the Psalms, praying, and doing certain practices at 12 o’clock at night, 9 o’clock, and 3 o’clock. They trained people to pray in certain ways so that their enemies would be gone. I knew it wasn’t right.”
Finding the Right Way
According to Kumuyi, this personal journey involved searching in many places before he eventually found what he described as the “right way.” He said, “I can’t even tell all the places I went, asking questions and searching—how can we be doing this and that? I thank the Lord that as I kept searching, I found the way.”



