01/09/2026
A woman in a church I know had been contributing ₦50,000 every month to the church welfare account.
She wasn't rich. She was a petty trader, but she always said, “If somebody needs help and I can contribute, I should.”
Then she lost her business.
Not completely, but badly enough that she couldn't pay her children's school fees.
She went to the same church welfare department and asked for ₦300,000.
They told her they would get back to her.
Two weeks passed and still nothing.
She asked again.
They said the welfare fund was meant for “verified emergencies” and they needed more documentation.
She was frustrated but kept quiet.
Then one Sunday, the church announced that they had raised about ₦3 million for a member who needed urgent medical treatment.
People were clapping, she clapped too but after service, she went home and cried.
Not because they helped the man, she was actually happy for him.
What hurt her was that she had been contributing to that same welfare account every month, and when her own children needed help, nobody even called her back.
She eventually stopped contributing.
Three months later, one of the welfare committee members asked why.
She told him:
“I thought the money was for people like me too.”
The man couldn't really answer her.
Now some people are saying she shouldn't have stopped giving just because she wasn't helped.
Others say the church should have been more accountable, especially since she was a regular contributor.
If you faithfully contribute to a church welfare fund and later find yourself genuinely in need, do you have a right to expect help from that same fund?
Or is giving supposed to be completely separate from expecting anything back?
Be honest. What would you do in her position?
Credit: Samuel Amadi Ukpe