By Peace Udugba
The long-running controversy over Pastor William F. Kumuyi and Deeper Christian Life Ministry’s historical position on television has taken a new turn following the resurfacing of an old video in which the church leader himself is heard acknowledging that the ministry once discouraged members from watching television.
The development is significant because it comes amid a ₦1 million challenge issued to anyone who could produce an authentic recording showing Kumuyi telling Deeper Life members not to watch television.
The challenge had shifted public attention towards a specific question: Did Kumuyi personally instruct members not to watch television?
A resurfaced video now provides important evidence that Kumuyi himself acknowledged that, during the early years of the ministry, Deeper Life discouraged television viewing.
According to a report published on August 31, 2026, the video was shared online by X user @jayhemz after the ₦1 million challenge was issued. In the recording, Kumuyi explains that the ministry repeatedly warned members about television because of concerns over what he described as morally harmful content.
Kumuyi: ‘We Discouraged Watching Television’
In the resurfaced recording, Kumuyi recalls the ministry’s position during its early years.
He explains that Deeper Life repeatedly taught members about what it considered the harmful influence of television programmes.
The central portion of his explanation is clear: the ministry discouraged television watching because of concerns that what people saw could pollute their minds and hearts.
That admission is important because it moves the discussion beyond the recollections of former members and places Kumuyi’s own account at the centre of the historical record.
It does not necessarily establish every version of the historical claims that have circulated over the years. But it does establish something important: Kumuyi himself acknowledges that Deeper Life discouraged television watching during its early years.
That distinction matters.
The ₦1 Million Challenge
The controversy began afresh after a Nigerian man offered ₦1 million to anyone who could produce a video or audio recording of Kumuyi telling Deeper Life members not to watch television.
The person behind the challenge said any recording would have to be authenticated, with the originality and date of the sermon or preaching verified before the money could be claimed.
That demand appeared to make the controversy a question of documentary evidence.
But the emergence of the old Kumuyi recording has changed the nature of the debate.
The issue is no longer simply whether there is evidence that Deeper Life discouraged television.
There is now a publicly circulated recording in which Kumuyi himself says that the ministry “discouraged watching television” during its early years.
The remaining question for the challenger, therefore, is whether the resurfaced video meets the conditions he attached to the ₦1 million offer — particularly its authenticity, date and context.
What Tunde Bakare Previously Recalled
The resurfaced video also gives greater context to an account previously given by former Deeper Life member Pastor Tunde Bakare.
Bakare, who said he belonged to Deeper Life from 1978 to December 1983, recalled an incident involving television during his time in the ministry.
According to Bakare, he was preaching and used a television advertisement as an illustration. His interpreter referred to television as the “devil’s box.”
Bakare said Kumuyi was present and subsequently delivered what he described as a “Sunday Exaltation” in which television was strongly condemned.
Bakare said the episode contributed to his decision to leave Deeper Life.
However, Bakare also acknowledged an important development: Kumuyi later changed his approach to television.
Looking back, Bakare argued that television itself was not necessarily the problem but rather the programmes being transmitted through it.
That observation is particularly relevant to the present controversy.
From Suspicion to Evangelism
Deeper Life’s position did not remain frozen in the early years of the ministry.
In 2022, Kumuyi publicly explained why the ministry eventually embraced television, radio, social media and other technologies for Gospel propagation.
According to The PUNCH, Kumuyi said the church had initially been a latecomer in using technological tools but argued that Christians should not abandon technology simply because it was being used for harmful purposes.
Instead, he said the same technology could be used to spread the Gospel.
His explanation provides an important context for understanding the apparent transformation.
Technology itself had not necessarily changed from good to bad or bad to good.
Rather, the way technology was understood and used had changed.
Television, once viewed primarily through the lens of potentially harmful entertainment, eventually became another platform through which Christian messages could reach large audiences.
WATCH: Kumuyi Explains Why Deeper Life Embraced Television
A video published online under the title “Reason We Allowed Televisions In Deeper Life – Pastor Kumuyi” also presents Kumuyi discussing the ministry’s eventual acceptance of television and other technological platforms.
WATCH: Reason We Allowed Televisions In Deeper Life – Pastor Kumuyi
The development illustrates how dramatically the ministry’s relationship with technology has evolved.
A church that once discouraged television viewing now uses television, livestreaming, social media and digital platforms to propagate its message.
So, Was Television Really the ‘Devil’s Box’?
This is where the historical debate requires some caution.
The phrase “devil’s box” became associated with the old television controversy, particularly through accounts from former members such as Bakare.
But Bakare’s own later reflection offers a more nuanced interpretation.
He argued that the television set itself was not necessarily the problem; rather, the programmes being transmitted through it could be harmful.
That distinction is even more relevant today.
A television can broadcast a Christian sermon or harmful entertainment.
A smartphone can be used to read the Bible or consume immoral material.
YouTube can carry a Gospel message or misinformation.
Social media can be used for evangelism or for spreading material that damages people’s lives.
The technology is a tool.
The content, purpose and choices of the user determine much of its impact.
Kumuyi’s Later Explanation
Kumuyi’s 2022 explanation is particularly significant because it shows that the change was not necessarily an abandonment of concern about morality.
Rather, he argued that Christians could not allow technology to be monopolised by people using it for evil.
He maintained that if technology could be used to spread harmful messages, it could equally be used to spread the Gospel.
That argument helps explain the journey from resistance to adoption.
The question became less about whether television existed and more about what was being transmitted through it and how Christians should respond.
Editorial View:
The Evidence Matters
The latest development offers an important lesson for public debate in the age of social media.
Historical claims should not be settled merely by competing memories, viral posts or accusations.
They should be tested against available evidence.
In this case, the historical record contains at least three important elements.
First, former Deeper Life member Tunde Bakare gave a detailed account of the ministry’s strong opposition to television during the period when he belonged to the church.
Second, Kumuyi himself later acknowledged that Deeper Life discouraged watching television during the ministry’s early years.
Third, Kumuyi subsequently explained why the ministry changed its approach and embraced television and other technologies for Gospel propagation.
Taken together, these pieces of evidence make it difficult to sustain the argument that Deeper Life never discouraged television watching.
However, the exact circumstances, date and original context of the resurfaced recording still matter, particularly if the ₦1 million challenge is to be resolved according to its stated conditions.
From ‘Devil’s Box’ to Gospel Platform
There is an unmistakable irony in the evolution.
A technology once viewed with deep suspicion eventually became a means of reaching millions of people with Christian preaching.
Today, the argument extends far beyond television.
The internet has placed television, radio, newspapers, books, social media, smartphones and streaming platforms inside one enormous communication ecosystem.
The old question — Is television good or bad? — therefore appears increasingly inadequate.
The better questions are:
What are people watching?
What are they listening to?
What values are being transmitted?
How is the technology being used?
And perhaps most importantly:
Are people exercising the discernment that their faith requires?
The Bigger Lesson
The Kumuyi television controversy is ultimately bigger than a ₦1 million challenge.
It illustrates how institutions can change as society, technology and circumstances change.
A position adopted in one era may be reconsidered in another.
That does not automatically make the earlier position dishonest, nor does a later change necessarily erase what was previously taught.
What matters is whether the institution is prepared to explain the change honestly and whether the public is prepared to examine the evidence fairly.
In this particular case, the resurfaced Kumuyi video adds a significant piece of evidence to a debate that has continued for years.
It shows that the founder of Deeper Life himself acknowledged that the ministry once discouraged television watching.
The debate should therefore move beyond the simplistic question of whether Kumuyi ever opposed television.
The evidence indicates that he acknowledged the ministry did.
The more useful question is why the position changed — and what that change tells us about technology, religion and institutional adaptation.
Conclusion
From the era of the so-called “devil’s box” to today’s television broadcasts, livestreams and social-media evangelism, Deeper Life’s experience demonstrates that institutions can evolve.
The important lesson is not simply that a church once opposed a technology and later embraced it.
It is that historical claims should be separated from myths, memories should be tested against evidence, and institutional changes should be understood within their historical context.
The ₦1 million challenge may have started as a demand for proof.
The resurfaced video has now provided a much more consequential part of that proof.
What remains is for the authenticity, date and full context of the recording to be independently established.
Until then, one fact is already clear from Kumuyi’s own recorded explanation:
Deeper Life discouraged television watching in its early years.
And decades later, the same technology became one of the platforms through which the ministry could take its message to the world.
video, “Reason We Allowed Televisions In Deeper Life – Pastor Kumuyi” YouTube video
