Evangelist Isaac Josiah, lead pastor of Reclaimers Ministry in Benin City, Edo State, has stirred controversy after a viral Facebook video showed him distributing clothing items, including bras, wrappers, and pyjamas, during a church service.
The footage, recorded on September 14 and posted on the church’s official page, captured Pastor Josiah condemning what he described as the “indecent dressing” of some female worshippers, which he claimed was distracting men during worship.
To curb the trend, the clergyman instructed ushers to hand out the garments to any woman he deemed inappropriately dressed. “From today, any girl who enters this church and we see her nipple, we will give her a bra and say, ‘We have discovered that you can’t afford one. On behalf of the church, we give you this,’” Josiah declared.
He further warned that any member unwilling to abide by the church’s dress code should “look for another church,” insisting he was determined to uphold discipline within the congregation.
The pastor also targeted men who sagged their trousers or exposed their underwear, announcing that belts would be bought and handed to such individuals. Nursing mothers were not exempt from the sermon, as Josiah directed ushers to shield those who arrived with exposed cleavage, stressing that “a mother’s body is private and not meant for public display.”
Throughout the sermon, he argued that revealing outfits hinder genuine worship and encouraged his congregation to embrace modesty. “When we praise God and jump, a brother will say, ‘I want to praise God, but my manhood is reacting.’ What some brothers have fallen in love with in this church are breasts and buttocks. They don’t love the girl; what they are looking at is not real,” Josiah said.
The video has since sparked heated debate online, with many Nigerians divided over whether the pastor’s approach was corrective or humiliating.