Something is deeply wrong about Gadites

“Jesus is not enough. After Jesus, you must attain God.”

Let me start from the beginning and confess straight up that I used to have a personal vendetta against them.

This was because my best friend, shortly after joining the fellowship, started avoiding the little clique we had formed. Then one day when we finally confronted her, she looked us dead in the eyes and said “You don’t love God enough”.

Stunned is an understatement for what my reaction was. All is forgiven now, but Gadites have deeper hiccups than the action of one member. I started attending their meetings to ‘love God enough’, and eventually, I just went on my own volition.

Let me say this: They have sound teaching. It was through one of their sermons I understood dedication to God, and a source says one of their sermons convicted him to stop cheating in exams.

The pastors are good teachers, the people are amazing and enthusiastic. But I can’t say the same about their doctrine or their lifestyle.

My “something is wrong about Gadites” moment started when one of the Pastors in his long sermon said:

“Jesus is not enough. After Jesus, you must attain God.”

It wasn’t enough that he just uttered blatant heresy, the congregation ‘hmm’-ed in awe because he said it passionately. There and then, I mentally checked out and concluded there was something deeply wrong with the doctrine that has these people hooked.

I told a friend, who managed to convince me that I had hallucinated the statement. But after speaking to a lot of people with their special “something is wrong about Gadites” moment, I’m happy to announce that the problem was never me!

This piece, at its frankest, is to expose them — and at a calmer level, it’s to critique them. Pick whichever makes you more comfortable. In between are first-hand accounts of people who clocked that the whole movement was off. Names are also changed for anonymity. Mine isn’t. I’m Ruth. Do your worst.

The growth of Gadites on school grounds and across Nigeria was unprecedented. We thought their popular slogan: “A troop cometh” was just a statement. No. They’ve infiltrated everywhere. The moment I knew they were a force to be reckoned with was when I attended a Friday night meeting at Sports Center, UNILAG. Everywhere was packed to the brim and you could see them from across the road.

They’ve also started taking over denominational churches — because it’s hard to find an executive team without a Gadite as part of the body. Not to talk about the take over of UJCF [Unilag Joint Christian Fellowship] and departmental fellowships.

The point is, this is no small fellowship with strange ideas. It is a huge system that is shaping Christian formation in UNILAG and across Nigerian campuses. An average Joe would tell me to be happy because “the Word of God and ways of the Kingdom” are spreading. But their ways don’t look very Kingdom, and their Words don’t sound very God.

Dude*

Before I join any movement, I like to look at its fruits and its members to know what I’m getting myself into. The Bible would say, ‘Wisdom is justified by her children’. I had a lot of Gadites in my room, but respectfully, God forbid, I ever become like them. It might sound harsh but the codependency is just too much. Every time ‘my brethren this, my brethren that’. I mean, I understand loving people, but whatever they are doing is not love.

There is a lot to unpack about the members of Gadites. As part of their linguo, they call each other ‘brethrens’ and these brethrens are their ‘coverings’ and ‘judgements’. It looks like a very communal, christ-like way to live till you realize it is actually exploitative and cult-like.

Gadites members are very noticeable everywhere because of how close-knitted and near-impenetrable they are. It seems to be working well for them, but it’s toxic because what happens when you leave?

Zee*

I used to be part of the Gadites, but I’m Catholic – and I had questions. I would ask on the groups, and they were either left unanswered, or answered like I was low on faith. When I decided to take a step back and go deeper into my Catholic faith, I was literally ostracized. They passed me on the road like a stranger

There is a huge difference between love and codependency. With zero apologies, I think the Gadites are extremely co-dependent on each other. Some of them are unable to mix freely with other people of the same supposed faith, and this is a big sign that the community has transitioned to a craze. A cult, if you may.

Fifi*

One time, during Q & A I asked about the involvement of the so-called brethren in my life. Community is great and all, but when does privacy end and nosiness begin? The response I got was “What am I hiding from my brethren”?

They seem to be unable to have a private life, and don’t get me started on resource sharing!

Dude*

Five of them can share the thing meant for one, and when that is finished, they move to the next person that has. It’s parasitic. You can’t grow or build wealth that way. I even had one of them who constantly borrowed money from me and when I gave him a business idea, he said he didn’t know if it was the ‘will of God’ for his life. Someone in debt? Okay.

The codependency doesn’t end at member-to-member relationships; it extends to members and pastors as well. On a fateful evening, I was with a ‘Momo’, and two of her brethrens came by. She introduced me to them and her exact words were “These are your fathers”. My head first went “Nibo?” in the most Yoruba way possible, and I’m from Delta.

Bee*

I was part of the Gadites for most of my years in school, and I loved the community. But one thing I was uncomfortable with was this culture where a Pastor — usually my age, or slightly older — had to “confirm” whatever I said I received in prayer.

The Gadites community goes beyond just “coverings” and “judgements” of members, to seeking “confirmation” for even the smallest decisions from Pastors. Pastors who, 89% of the time, are also students with their own private struggles and unanswered prayers. The logic, I suppose, is that these Pastors have sacrificed more on the altar of God and are therefore able to hear Him more clearly concerning your own life.

It takes reading it out loud to understand how ridiculous it sounds in the long run.

Last I checked, the standard for decision-making was alignment with Scripture. Whatever instruction you receive from whatever Spirit, has to at least find a backing in The Word, or else it is safer to abandon. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Pastors are meant to pray for you and guide you with Scripture, not validate or approve or “confirm” your personal walk with God.

Gigi*

They encouraged thinking through your pastors, downplayed quiet time and said that there were scriptures one could not understand independently except through pastors. But they taught me salvation of the Spirit, soul and body, so there’s still some good in them.

We could excuse this as ‘Spiritual authority’ but the custom of the Gadites is to exalt these Pastors so much, your independence is carnal. And even that ‘sinful independence’ is not total. Your brethren must still know your business, so that they can be adequate ‘coverings’.

Salt & Pepa*

We love the people there, but the first time we attended the fellowship, we couldn’t sit through it. The Word was solid, but all of a sudden people started popping out with tongues randomly in the crowd while the Pastor was speaking! We would all wait till the ‘ministration’ of tongues was finished. A few times, there were interpreters and then the Pastor just continued. This could happen about 3 to 5 times in the middle of a service. We may not know anything else about God, but the Bible said He is not a Spirit of disorder.

The Scripture the Gadites use to justify this random display of tongues is Paul’s letter where he says “Do not stifle or quench the Spirit”. They take this to mean the Spirit can work in any and every way — which is also why services can spin for 7, 8 hours and they would be mentally glued because the ‘Spirit was at work’.

I won’t lie, the first time I saw their interpreters, I was impressed. I’ve never met one before, didn’t even know they existed. But the Bible also says that the Spirit is subject to the Prophet. That tongue that must be uttered can absolutely wait till later.

Riri*

I asked an ardent Gadite about the spontaneous speaking in tongues thing. She explained that the way a man like Adeboye can suppress the leading and utterance of the Spirit is different from the way I, or she, could. Simply put, he was on a higher spiritual level and could choose not to utter, with or without struggle. I, on the other hand, would be too engulfed by the Spirit to be able to think straight. I looked for this logic in the Bible, found none and held my peace

Dear Riri, you’re not alone. I can’t find the Biblical backing either.

So far, those are the tip of the iceberg.

Jess*

They had this very subtle, unassuming way of downplaying the deity of Jesus in their preaching. It was so innocent that it takes listening with your head, not your heart, to see it. The breaking point for me was at BEACON ‘22 and the theme was “Who is like God?” They explained that the names of Angels showed an attribute of God, which made sense at the start. Then they preached around the whole Bible, and I have no idea the magic they did - but the whole congregation started worshiping Jesus as Angel Michael. It was so dark and so wrong, I never returned.

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this since I saw it, for two reasons. First, it is something they can absolutely do. Secondly, for a people who claim to be versed in the Word, this is repulsive. The link to the video would be placed in the comments and the timestamp as to where this heresy happened (or click this and check the most receent comment).

People were jumping, rejoicing, praising “Great Michael!” The worship leader started to speak in tongues! Pastors, ‘fathers of faith’, ‘coverings’ and everyone sat there and let this slide as a ‘ministration of the Holy Ghost’. It gave me chills.

Coco*

I haven’t said this to anyone before because I thought it was all in my head, but during GBC, I have a note for what every Pastor said except the head Pastor - Reverend Kayode. I couldn’t tell where he was coming from or where he was going because he just kept moving around the Scripture - and it was as if the Spirit of confusion settled on me. I was in a trance. It was another Pastor that came to break it down after he was done, and I just chose to believe RK was operating on a higher dimension than I have attained.

I’m too certain if you asked a Gadite about this, they would attribute her lack of understanding to her Spiritual maturity, or as they like to call it ‘Stature’. Even Jesus while on Earth did not confuse illiterates with his sermons. That was Jesus, a.k.a God. I would leave it at that.

Gigi*

The dance they did around The Bible was too amusing to be true. They could take 10 scriptures out of context and use it to form a story that had zero Biblical backing. It was after I stopped attending, I connected the dots.

Gadites have a way of playing around with terms, messing with your understanding and making you question your stance with God. One of the reasons I personally stopped going, even though the songs were great, was because every time I sat in a meeting, I felt more condemnation than conviction. And I may not know much about the Holy Spirit, but He convicts, not condemns.

At every meeting, it felt like I had to spill blood and expend all my breath to serve God. And even when that is done, it is still not enough. Another thing they have is this silly distinction between ‘Everlasting’ and ‘Eternal life’. Apparently, one is a higher version than the other - and your walk on Earth is towards the Higher one. Honestly, I blame King James for this. If he had used simpler languages, all these wouldn’t be happening. Poor man probably didn’t even intend his grammar choices to cause a hiccup.

Olie*

You should hear their creation story. God was involved, good and fine. But apparently in their story, it was when the devil fell into the ground after being kicked out of heaven, that the tree of good and evil was created.

Take a moment and laugh. Seriously, somebody shout POWER!

I can’t even give a commentary on this. I’m not even pissed, just amused.

The Bible would say ‘knowledge puffs up” and Gadites are very selective about the scripture they let rule their lives. The fellowship and its adherents have this constant distinction between ‘Milk word’ and ‘Meat word’.

Glen*

It took time for me to admit it but for a while, the ‘knowledge’ I had of the Bible made me proud in holy and unholy ways. Gadites emphasize that they give us the ‘meat word’, that is, the Secrets about the Kingdom — not the milk word and what baby Christians still struggle with — like Holiness or the fruit of the Spirit. It took me a while to realize that the so-called ‘meat word’ was doing nothing to me. Yes, I had ‘knowledge’ of the great things of the Kingdom, but what was the use? Was I going to write a book with it? Or feel better than other ‘baby Christians’? The second happened more. It was after my fallout with them I reconsidered. Guys, Holiness has been taught since the time of Christ and we still haven’t perfected it. The fruit of the Spirit is the hallmark of a Christian, how dare they call that ‘Milk word’?”

How dare they call that ‘Milk word’? Paul was the one who used these terms when He was rebuking the Corinthians. The ‘meat word’ is an understanding of Scripture. An understanding that Jesus isn’t Angel Michael, that the devil had nothing to do with the tree and that God is not disorderly — just to name a few. The ‘Meat Word’ Paul referenced, he told other churches in his other letters, and still, none of them hold as much ‘depth’ as what Gadites has to offer.

Amy*

The only memory I have left is confusion. I was very very very confused. Everything feels performative, and even worse is their doctrine. Tell me why you’re twisting the Bible, deciphering it into something like its astronomy?? I literally come sane and leave confused.

Very few steps take one over the threshold of heresy. Gadites have manned the front while appearing Biblical to everyone. I guess it’s this paradox that intrigues me. How a people can be so deep into the Word and so wrong about it, simply because they think they have outgrown and perfected the simpler things.

I hope this piece reveals that even the ‘simpler things they have perfected’ needs to be looked into. Especially the culture of community. My heart goes out to them because looking at the congregation of students, you know these ones have a deep desire to serve God and are more willing than I am — than I might ever be — to walk towards, and in that service.

It’s like a man who beats his wife and cleans her wounds afterwards, because ‘he loves her by correcting her’. This is how the Gadites seem to me. A condemnation ritual followed by good knowledge.

This piece doesn’t do justice to the damage Gadites have done to people. They have distorted the importance of life on Earth, and some of their members don’t bother with the present moment because it is ‘here on Earth’ and it is ‘passing’.

Loly*

They told my friend that having ambition is a sin. I was so confused, and I thank God she left after that.

Dude* (again)

I even had one of them who constantly borrowed money from me and when I gave him a business idea, he said he didn’t know if it was the ‘will of God’ for his life. Someone in debt? Okay.

Going back to our Main Mentor — Jesus, who knew His life was temporary (and this is as real as it gets) — even He lived to the fullest. Denying worldly pleasure is not the same as practicing asceticism. Gadites do the second.

Tee*

I wish I could tell a lot of people to LEAVE but a lot of them have been completely brainwashed and it’s so sad.

If there is anything they are doing right: it’s community. It’s also how well their preachers preach.

If there is anything they’re doing wrong: it’s also community. The codependency and cult-like outlook is sickening. It’s also how the preachers preach, and what they preach. Just because someone says heresy passionately doesn’t mean it’s right.

With Love,

Ruth,

Ex-Gadites,

Other Christians who see right through the bs,

UJCF if it wasn’t infiltrated.