The founder and presiding pastor of Salvation Ministries, David Ibiyeomie, has ignited a firestorm of social media after a video surfaced showing him strictly prohibiting the use of mobile phones, chewing gum, and drinking water during church services.
In a recent social media post now trending, the cleric called for a return to traditional decorum, urging his congregation to maintain a higher level of reverence within the sanctuary.
The directive was delivered with sharp rhetoric, as Ibiyeomie likened those chewing gum in the pews to “goats” and insisted that those needing water must exit the building to consume it. “Don’t use a phone at all in church,” Ibiyeomie stated, further distancing his ministry from other denominations by adding, “This is not a Pentecostal church; only Pentecostal churches allow water inside.”
To consolidate his argument, the cleric pointed toward the conduct of other prominent Nigerian religious leaders, such as Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Bishop David Oyedepo. Ibiyeomie noted that these figures do not consume water while on the altar, describing the act of drinking during a service as “indecent” and a distraction from the sanctity of the environment.
While some supporters applauded the move as a necessary step toward restoring discipline and focus in the house of God, some questioned the practicality and compassion behind the rules.
