The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, has clarified that some of the church’s long-standing marriage regulations are not biblical commandments but administrative guidelines introduced by leadership.
Speaking at the 2025 Global Family and Marriage Conference, Pastor Kumuyi explained that rules such as the ban on a woman visiting her suitor and the previously mandatory six-month courtship period were human arrangements created to provide order, not divine instructions.
He emphasized that the six-month courtship requirement was designed to give intending couples enough time to understand each other, but it was never a biblical law.
“We just felt you need some time to know one another. And then we said one month will be too short, two months too short. So, why not six months? But it is not from the Bible,” Kumuyi said.
The respected cleric further urged Christians to differentiate between God’s commandments and church traditions, stressing that human rules must not be placed at the same level as divine authority.
“Six months is all right, but it’s not something inflexible. If we change it to three months, we’re not changing the Bible, because six months is not in the Bible,” he added.
Pastor Kumuyi also noted that the church’s marriage committees were established to guide and support members, not to replace the authority of scripture.
“There’s no marriage committee in the New Testament. We created it to help you, not because we can give you a chapter and a verse. It is church administration,” he clarified.
His clarification highlights the importance of separating biblical instructions from church administrative practices, ensuring that Christians follow God’s Word above human traditions.
