Pastor Mike Chuks Nwanegbo’s  story is that of the proverbial from grass to grace. As a primary school pupil, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor and missionary overseeing six nations in Europe, hawked  pap to assist his mum with the family upkeep. Every morning, he hawked a trayful of pap  before going to school. That, however, didn’t deter him from single-mindedly pursuing his goals in life. At the University of Port Harcourt, the then worldly young chap won the Mr. UNIPORT pageant, a feat he repeated during his National Youth Service Corps Scheme (NYSC), when he emerged Mr. NYSC, the first in the history of the scheme.  Nwanegbo later  became a professional footballer, but today is a   full time pastor of RCCG. He was in Nigeria recently and told Effects about his life as a minister, growing up days and his move to bring Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) home to his motherland. Despite his large looming status as a pastor doing exploits in Europe in the area of missionary and healing ministry, Igbo-born man of God is still very down- to- earth and unassuming.

Tell us how it all started. Why did you dump professional football to become a pastor?

I’m a Redeemed Pastor. I pastor Redeemed Christian Church of God in six nations. Germany, Switzerland, Russia, UK, Lithustian, Ukraine, Belarose. I schooled in Nigeria. I had my education in University of Port Harcourt. I became a Christian, immediately God sent me abroad. I went abroad to play professional football, but football didn’t work out for me. Not really that it didn’t work out for me, because I had already played two seasons. In one of the times, I had a pure revelation. Jesus appeared in my room, just as I’m talking to you. He told me that I should leave football; I should go to Bible school. So, I went to Bible school. It caused a big fracas in my house. The first country I went was Belgium. My parents saw me as their breadwinner; so, going to Bible school caused a big fracas. My parents are Catholic, they don’t so much believe in the ‘Born Again’ thing. God helped me, they later accepted. When I finished Bible school, God told me to go to England, on getting to England, I met my wife. She used to be in the same primary school with me in Nigeria. She left for the UK when she was about 16 years, so she has been there for so long. We became friends; we got married within few months. We came to Nigeria and did our traditional wedding. I joined the Redeemed in the UK. God now told us to go back to Belgium. After a while, we went back to Belgium and started a church.

I’m more into media. I wrote for Daily Star newspaper during my youth service. But I got into video media too.  I started a programme called ‘Just before you go to bed’. If you Google my name, you will see a lot about me, on U-tube you have hundreds of my works. I have been on Ben TV for so long and I have over 2 million viewers. I brought TBN to Nigeria for the last Holy Ghost Convention. I took them to interview Pastor E.A Adeboye, Bishop David Oyedepo, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Enenche, we just went round Nigeria a little bit and interviewed a lot of people. They offered me to set up TBN in Nigeria, I pray God permits me to do that and I will set it up for them. I just set it up and run it from Europe. We leave some team here to be running it. You can call me a missionary to the core. I’m more interested in soul winning. And power service for the miraculous. I’m more a ministry kind of man, I do a little business; I’m not a paid pastor. I chose it that way. I live by faith.

Live by faith, no salary, how do you cope financially?

Pastor Adeboye came to London and he looked, he told three of us, he told us his plans of how God wanted him to float Redeemed around the world. The next month, I packed my things, one went to Austria, and we all scattered. I went to Belgium to start; today we have covered all of Europe with churches. We go out of passion and God blesses us. Money is always not a problem in the sense that, when you cry out to God, he gets people who will come to your aid. I give you an example; I needed air conditioners in the church. Sometimes, it could be hot and somebody just walked into the church and said God told him to give me 22,000 euro to buy air conditioners. He’s a Nigerian, but came to Europe for something else and walked into the church. That is the kind of life I live. I will be in the church and just sit down and somebody will come asking for Pastor Mike, ‘God said I should give you this amount that you need it’. That’s how I live; God provided my needs on a daily basis. I have seen God do great things, I have seen him healed cancer cases. I got a call from a friend of mine, an English man, he said God told him in his dream that Mike hadn’t been on holiday for a while and this was true. He said God wants me to go on holiday, I told him I don’t have the money for holiday. He repeated again that God wanted me to go on holiday. I talked to my wife where she wanted us to go and she said, Orlando. Two days after, a man called me that God said he should pay for my ticket that I needed to go on holiday. When you are doing God’s work, you just see God doing the miraculous in your life. I don’t husle, I don’t seek for money, I don’t ask for money , I just do my work and he provides for me. I don’t have a house in Nigeria, but when I came to Redeemed Church, the Lord told me He wanted to build me a house in my village and I knew that it will come to pass.    

Who is your role model in Nigeria?

Pastor Enoch A. Adeboye. He is my closest. He has taught me a lot of things. One of them is holiness as a way of life. He taught me that if you live a holy life, every other thing falls in place. I found out that as I live a holy life, everything falls in place. That’s why he’s like my father, I just hold on to him. Do you know the funniest thing? When I was in business I couldn’t meet my needs. Now, my children attend the best international schools in Belgium and they are all on scholarships. And the schools where they are, I’m a member of the board of Trustees. So, I’m helping giving scholarship to other black people. So, I see God do things for me when I do his own thing.

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Did you at anytime derailed?

I don’t want to talk about it. If I had known Jesus earlier, it would have been easier. I was Mr. Uniport; I won a beauty pageant in school. I was first ever Mr. NYSC in Nigeria. That was in 1990 in Ogu Camp, Anambra State.

Growing up memories?

At age 7 and 8, I was already selling Akamu on the road. I carried Akamu on my head. My mum used to wake me up at 5.am, I would go sell Akamu  before I go to school. Already self reliance has been part of my lifestyle and that built me up for where I am today. I have learnt a life of not begging, but providing. I have started providing from a very young age. She always tells me never to live a reckless life, and that I have followed and that’s why I didn’t keep girlfriend all through while I was growing up.

What’s your advice to the youth?

Hard work. Never trust in man, never trust in human being, trust in God and God will always make provision for you. Hard work, no shortcut to success, another thing, nothing goes for nothing, there’s always a price to pay, whether for good or for evil.

You met your wife in the UK, is she into business?

No. My wife is into full time ministry with me. We travel a lot as ministers of the gospel. We do a lot of healing services.