Pastor Kumuyi, the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, has made significant adjustments to some of the church’s marital rules, emphasizing that they are church customs rather than divine mandates.
At the 2025 Global Family and Marriage Conference, Pastor Kumuyi spoke to a female participant who expressed worry that because they had previously been prohibited from seeing their potential husbands, single women frequently do not know them well enough.
He clarified that the church’s long-standing six-month courtship rule was instituted to help prospective spouses avoid sin rather than being derived from the Bible.
Nonetheless, he pointed out that since marriage is a lifelong commitment that has a significant impact on a person’s future, couples have to have more chances to get to know one another better.
In order to achieve this, Kumuyi declared that courtship visits are henceforth permitted, emphasizing the value of observing a fiancé in his natural setting.
“You’re marrying the man, but he has his mother, his father, his relatives, and other people around him. When you visit, you’ll be able to see how they relate to you and how he responds.
“Some men can be very reserved, answering every question with ‘everything is okay,’ while hiding their true behavior. Our sister is right, and I asked myself—why not? If not, follow them home,” Pastor Kumuyi, remarked while going over marital regulations.
The Deeper Life leader underlined that the foundation of this new provision is trust, expressing faith that members will behave responsibly and refrain from abusing the chance by visiting at strange times or acting inappropriately.
By implementing these changes, Pastor Kumuyi emphasized the need of distinguishing between biblical commandments and church customs, reminding members that regulations should be used to guide rather than to burden their relationship with God.
