EVELYN JOSHUA AND THE BATTLE FOR SCOAN

For the first time after the unexpected demise of TB Joshua, the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) welcomed worshippers with a service led by its apparent new leader, Evelyn Joshua.

Evelyn Joshua has become the head of one of Africa’s most influential evangelical churches, but the 52-year-old is faced with the challenge of maintaining her late husband’s legacy.

TB Joshua’s death in June at the age of 57 unleashed a succession battle that only now appears to have abated.

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.

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”, enraging some factions of the church unhappy about the lack of transparency.

Mrs. Joshua’s biggest hurdle yet, however, will be proving her spiritual credentials to the thousands of followers who adored her husband. They came for his charisma and self-proclaimed healing abilities and will expect nothing less from the new leader.

Evelyn Joshua refused to inherit her husband’s title of “General Overseer”, saying that he is still in charge and that she has only “commenced the journey from where our father left the baton”.

And TB Joshua still looms large at the church, his posters adorn every corner of the building and his old sermons are rebroadcast on its media platforms.

Mrs Joshua also seems to have inherited his preaching style – breaking intermittently into songs of worship – her cadence also mirroring that of her late husband at her inaugural solo service.

The couple first met in 1990 when he impressed her by narrating her life story and writing her name on a piece of paper without her saying a word.

They spent 45 minutes together on that first meeting, by the end of which he had asked for her hand in marriage.

Source: BBC