I WILL BUY MY OWN JET TOO---BISHOP TOM SAMSON BLASTS CRITICS

Bishop Tom Samson of Christ Royal Family International Church speaks His mind on the raging issue of pastors having private jets.

"Don’t the state governors own jets? Doesn’t the President have a jet? Does the Nigerian government give everybody money to buy food? No. They only make facilities available. The Bible says it will give you power to get wealth. The government only provides the enabling environment for you to be comfortable in life by providing jobs. When I was going to Abuja the other day, I spent three hours at the airport. On another occasion, I was coming from Abuja for a meeting in Lagos,
I missed that meeting. I spent four hours at the Abuja airport. If I have the means, in fact, I will buy my own jet.

 Those of us who have ministries all over the world, do you know how many times our flights have been cancelled? But if you have your jet, it would make things easier for you. It is not about luxury but about the purpose of the jet. The governors who have jets don’t even do as much work as we do. We touch more lives than the governors and even the government officials. We help the government in their work. People are downcast and discouraged. We help the government to give these people hope. People come to us out of frustration. People think we are about making money. But do you know how much we spend on people as well? We pay people’s rents.

An average church has a welfare package. Does the government provide welfare for the citizens? Nigeria is moving on because of the role the churches are playing. It is only the government that will buy a bag of rice for some individuals and they will call a press conference. We don’t see churches doing such. Those of us travelling around the world, preaching, we are suffering. How can somebody be at the airport for four hours? The purpose of what you are travelling for is always defeated. For those who can afford a jet, I congratulate them. I am trusting God for mine. For those pastors condemning the pastors that own jets, I would say that it is the way life is. People criticised Jesus.

 They couldn’t do what Jesus was doing. So, when they couldn’t buy the jet others were able to buy, instead of celebrating the person and in order not to look like failures in front of their congregation, they rubbish the thing. We have different callings. I am good at what I am doing; I congratulate those who do more than I am doing. God will judge everybody individually. He would only judge me by the assignment He has given me to do. Why should I feel bad about somebody’s work?