Pastor William Kumuyi, General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, has announced major reforms to the church’s long-standing marriage regulations, clarifying that these rules are administrative measures, not divine mandates.
Speaking at the 2025 Global Family and Marriage Conference, Kumuyi emphasized the need for believers to distinguish between God’s unchanging commandments and church traditions, which he noted can be adjusted to reflect practical realities.
Among the key changes, he lifted the restriction that previously barred women from visiting men they intended to marry.
Going forward, couples may visit each other during courtship, provided an elder is present. He also scrapped the mandatory six-month courtship requirement, explaining that the period was never a biblical instruction but simply a guideline.
“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. 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,” Kumuyi said.
The Deeper Life leader explained that marriage committees are meant solely to offer guidance, not to wield authority over members.
“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. Marriage committees should not exercise an authority that God has not given them. This is just church organisation, not divine law,” he noted.
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