We've seen
more Nollywood stars take to pastor-ship in the last 3-5 years more
than ever. Although many have criticized their decisions to become
pastors, most times judging by their past life. Vanguard Newspaper‘s Benjamin Njoku review their past and their sojourn to pastorship. Read below
Zack Orji
Ex-President
of the Actors Guild of Nigeria,AGN, Zack Orji can be described as “a
gentleman without blemish.” This, no doubt informed his decision to
become a worker in the Vineyard of
God. Zack Orji ordained a full-time evangelist by Bishop Emma Isong of Christian Central Chapel International (CCCI).
He
is said to have dedicated his time to preaching the gospel of good
tidings across the nations of the world. The veteran actor has been
spotted in
such cities as Abuja,
Nasarawa and Makurdi where he is engaged in various evangelical
activities. But this, however, has not stopped him from storming the
celebrity hangout, in Surulere to fraternize with his friends and
colleagues in the movie industry
Eucharia Anunobi
In
fact, Eucheria Anunobi’s conversion was the most talked about
conversion to Christ in recent times. The actress who ruled the screen
in the early 90s with her role in the film “Glamour Girls”
has
been trailed with many controversies and scandals, most of which
bothered on her relationships and crashed marriage. But after many years
of being in the news for the wrong reasons, Eucheria shocked her fans
when she announced she had given her life to Christ. Few
months after the announcement, UK was
ordained at the Fresh Oil Ministry, Egbeda, Lagos, as an evangelist.
Interestingly,
with her ordination which was performed by Pastor Psalm Okpe, Eucharia
willed the power to preach as a pastor and she’s doing so, without
looking back. Those in the know said,
she already counsels youths in the church and travels at random to spread the gospel of salvation.
This,
however, has not taken away some of the traits that made her fans term
her “a bad girl” before her transformation. She is still flashy and
daring. Just weeks after the ordination, Eucheria bought a brand new BMW
X5. Severally, she has
refuted
reports that she has abandoned her acting career for the work of God.
Instead, she pointed out that she would be choosier in accepting roles
in movies.
Pat Attah
Pat
Attah? That play boy actor who broke the hearts of many ‘Nollywood
babes’ during his time, and left as soon as the ovation was loud.
The
once-upon-a-dreadlock-turned clean cut actor, is currently based in
Hamburg, Germany where he’s winning souls for Christ. Those in the know
said, he does not preach in churches, rather he is now very much a
born-again.
Many
knew him before he left the shores of the country as one who was close
to the ladies and in Love with the bottle. Today, reading his posts
online, one would acknowledge the fact that Pat is
a
new creature in Christ. He often uses social network sites including
Facebook to deliver his sermon and messages to those who care to read
them. But what we don’t know is how he has been faring over there.
Liz Benson
Elizabeth
Benson, popularly known as Liz Benson used to be the toast of many
lovers of Nigerian films and TV series. Her journey into stardom began
when she appeared on the set of the popular television soap opera,
Fortunes, in 1993.
Liz Benson
played the part of Mrs. Agnes Johnson in the soap, which ran for about
two years on the NTA. After that, she acted in various TV series and
many movies.
In 1994, her role in Glamour Girls, a very
successful home video that focused on
prostitution,
literally changed her fortunes. The movie shot her into prominence and
soon, she became a subject of many scandals and controversies, forcing
her to disappear from the scene, in order to rebrand herself. But as
luck would have it, she got married to her Bishop Great Emeya husband in
2009, at the Rainbow Christian Assembly in Warri, Delta State. She has
since been ordained an evangelist in the church.
Presently, she runs the church with her husband.
Charles Okafor
Charles
Okafor who staged a comeback to Nollywood recently in Uche Jombo’s
film, “Misplaced” after disappearing from the radar is also one of the
actors that are winning souls for Christ. He used to act alongside Saint
Obi, Zack Orji and Richard Mofe Damijo and has made a
name for himself before disappearing from the scene.
The
UNIPORT trained actor who starred in such films as Forest of Promises,
Ocean Deep, Across the River, Between Love, Boiling Point, and Executive
Connection, worked briefly with the
Security
and Exchange Commission, before resigning to go into full time acting.
Recently, he was spotted at a filling station around Isolo area of
Lagos, and from the way, he looked, the
handsome actor has surely given up the things of this world.
Okey Ogunjiofor
Okechukwu
Ogunjiofor is known to be the founder of Nollywood. He produced the
film, Living in Bondage which gave birth to Nollywood. With the
explosion of this movie in 1992, Nollywood prides
itself
today as second to the largest movie Industry in the world after 20
years of its existence. But this man who started this innovation engage
himself more in other aspects of movie production. He hardly features in
movies
but appears on special
arrangement. He has since reconciled himself with his maker. Today, he
is not only a preacher of teh Word, he is also House of God. He is also a
motivational speaker and unknown to many, Paullo as he’s fondly called
by his fans is an author of many Christian literature .
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