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Universal Church Of The Kingdom Of God
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HISTORY


The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) was formed in 1977, in Brazil. It owes its origins to a successful evangelistic programme conducted by Bishop Robert McAlister, a Canadian missionary in the Pentecostal tradition.

Edir Macedo—who went on to found UCKG—was one of the early converts. He started to hold services under a small park shelter in Rio de Janeiro. His aim was to reach out to needy, less privileged people who were often excluded by established religions. As his services grew in popularity, he used cinemas and local halls to accommodate growing congregations, attracting people from the streets to the expanding movement. Shortly afterwards the UCKG officially opened its first church inside a funeral parlour.

Further church openings followed and the movement expanded nationally across Brazil. Today there are approximately 5,000 UCKG churches in Brazil, with the headquarters in Rio de Janeiro holding up to 12,000 people at a time.

Following an exploratory visit to the USA, the UCKG was established in New York in 1986. Today there are churches in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Miami, Los Angeles and many other US cities. UCKG then developed its presence in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala and Ecuador. There are also churches in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana.

In Europe, it is established in England, Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland and Poland. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the UCKG opened its doors in Germany and the end of communism enabled the church to provide churches for Russian and Romanian people.

The first UCKG church in Africa opened in Angola in 1992. It is now active in South Africa, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Kenya, Lesotho, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Uganda and many other countries on the continent. In Asia, the UCKG is established in India, China, the Philippines and Japan, where the first 24-hour church is based.


DOCTRINES


The UCKG HelpCentre believes:

  • In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in their original writings as fully inspired by God and accept them as the Supreme and Final Authority for faith and life.

  • In one God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

  • That Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born by the virgin Mary and is true God and true Man.


  • That God created man in His own image; that man sinned and thereby incurred the penalty of death, physical and spiritual; and that all human beings inherit a sinful nature, which causes actual transgression involving personal guilt.

  • That the Lord Jesus Christ died for people’s sins, a substitution sacrifice according to the Scriptures and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.

  • In the body of resurrection of the Lord Jesus, His ascension into heaven and His present life as High Priest and Advocate.

  • In the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.

  • That those who repent of their sins, receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and hold fast to Him are born again by the Holy Spirit and become children of God.

  • In the baptism of the Holy Spirit, empowering believers for service, with accompanying supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit and in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

  • In the divinely ordained ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher.

  • In the resurrection of the just and the unjust, the eternal blessings of the redeemed, and the eternal banishment of those who have rejected salvation.

  • That the one true Church consists of all those who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit; that the local church on earth should take its character from this conception of the spiritual Church and therefore new birth and personal confession of the Christ are essential for church membership.

  • That the Lord Jesus Christ appointed two ordinances: baptism in water and the Lord’s Supper, to be observed as acts of obedience and as a continual witness to the facts of the Christian faith; that baptism is the immersion of the believer in water as a confession of the Lord Jesus in burial and resurrection and that the Lord’s Supper is the partaking of the body and blood of Jesus in remembrance of His sacrifice until He comes.

  • The divine healing seen in the Old Testament and the New is an integral part of the Gospel.

  • The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see God.

  • In sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of the new birth and continuing until the end of one’s life.



PRACTICES



Tithe and offerings

The tithe is present in diverse abrahamic religions, a continuation of the tradition instituted as sacrifice Melchizedek offered to the patriarch Abraham (Genesis 14.18-24). This practice was regularly incorporated into judaism in the times of Moses, and Christianity inherited this, with tithes being not unusual in Christian denominations.


Spirituality


The followers believe the work of fallen spirits or demons have real oppressing power on people. Such oppressing spirits can act directly on people, through a demonic possession, or around them.
The Lord’s Prayer which includes the words ‘deliver us from evil’ is in common use across all Christian denominations. The UCKG approach is to pray for spiritual cleansing from all negativity.
Prayerful support and counselling are offered free of charge. Spiritual cleansing services are held every Friday. Attendance at the church’s UK headquarters HelpCentre, alone, can exceed 400 people.
.

COMMUNITY GROUPS


The UCKG HelpCentre is committed to guiding people to discover their potential, to live a full and happy life, and to connect to God directly. Their motto is, ‘Helping to make a new beginning’.
People can also find practical help and guidance through their support activities, which are:
  • Rescue of Dignity (ROD) – The group was established in 1997 and is made up of volunteers. Its aim is to help support prison inmates both spiritually and physically, through letter writing and regular visits.

  • Victory Youth Group (VYG) – The Victory Youth Group is the youth ministry, which has been set up by the UCKG HelpCentre to help young people develop their full potential. The working method of the group is simple: to promote events and activities combining what youths like with the life-changing message of the Gospel, thus keeping them busy with such constructive activities.

  • Seniors’ Group – The group provides help and support to the over 55s through counselling and home help (e.g. shopping, house cleaning etc) plus activities such as dinner, dances and outings.

  • Patient Care Group – The Patient Care Group is comprised of men and women who visit patients on a voluntary basis. They aim to help alleviate suffering both spiritually and physically.

  • RAHAB Group – The RAHAB Group is set up to reach out to victims of domestic violence and abuse, and aims to help women by giving them a chance to express themselves as well as practical advice on how to re-build their families.

  • Young Single Mothers Group – The Young Single Mothers Group is an initiative of the Victory Youth Group aimed at teenage mothers. This group not only offers helpful support and advice, but a place where they can speak openly to other teenage mothers who have been through the same thing and have managed to turn their situation around.



COMMUNITY SERVICES


Training Centre
The UCKG Training Centre is an established project aiming to train and equip the users of the centre to be more competitive and skilled for the job market.
The intention is to address the exclusion of people from the labour market by providing accessible training, fully publicised courses, with childcare provision, trainee support, information on benefits, job search, etc.

Counselling
The UCKG offers free one to one counselling. Counsellors are available every day including bank holidays. One can simply drop in or book an appointment.

24-hr Helpline
Help through counselling, advice and one-to-one appointments are available 24 hours a day on the UCKG's Helpline.


CONTROVERSIES

Bishop Macedo, the founder and leader of the church, has also been prosecuted for tax evasion in the state of Sao Paulo. Bishop Edir Macedo was arbitrarily imprisoned for 11 days in 1992. No charges against him were ever proven; and it is felt within the church that this action was politically motivated and he was found not guilty.


Victoria Climbié's death

See Also: Victoria Climbié


Victoria Climbié was a child murder victim whose death led to major changes in child protection policies in the UK.

The eight-year-old died from abuse and neglect while living with her aunt Marie-Therese Kouao and her boyfriend Carl Manning. Victoria was seen by dozens of social workers, nurses, doctors and police officers before she died, but all failed to spot and stop the abuse as she was slowly tortured to death. Marie Thérèse Kouao and Carl Manning were charged with child cruelty and murder. During police interviews, both claimed that Victoria was possessed. Their trial ran from November 2000 to January 12, 2001. Both were found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Victoria's murder led to a public inquiry, chaired by Lord Laming, which investigated the role of social services, the National Health Service, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and the police in her death.

The eight-year-old attended the church with her aunt on three occasions and the pastors had very little contact with her. On her last visit, the Church took action to get her to hospital. UCKG was the only organisation to have taken action to help Victoria Climbie. A Charity Commission investigation ascertained that there was no wrongdoing on the part of the church.

The Church has a formal Child Protection policy which states that they shall always put the child's interest and safety first. The church now work with AFRUCA, the leading charity promoting the welfare of African children in the UK in response to the fact that African children are at risk of harm by adult fellow countrymen and women who believe in witchcraft.


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