The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, has shed more light on some of the long-standing rules and traditions surrounding marriage in the church, clarifying that not all of them are directly rooted in the Bible. According to him, while certain practices were introduced over the years, they were more of administrative guidelines created to help members rather than divine commandments that must be followed without question.
Speaking extensively at the 2025 Global Family and Marriage Conference, Pastor Kumuyi pointed out that regulations such as the restriction on women visiting their suitors before marriage, and the once-compulsory six-month courtship rule, were not laws handed down from God but policies introduced by the church leadership at the time. These, he said, were designed to provide order and direction within the congregation but should never be mistaken for unchangeable biblical standards.
He recalled how the six-month waiting period before marriage was initially introduced. According to him, leaders of the church had reasoned that one or two months might be too short for couples to truly know each other, so they extended the period to half a year. However, Kumuyi emphasized that this was simply a human arrangement for practical purposes and not something commanded by the scriptures.
In his words: “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.” He made it clear that such practices should not be enforced as if they were divine instructions, since they were never given as commandments in the word of God.
Kumuyi went further to urge Christians everywhere to grow in spiritual maturity and learn to differentiate between God’s eternal commandments and church policies that are subject to change. He explained that while rules like a six-month courtship might serve a purpose in certain contexts, they are not meant to be treated as binding scripture. “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,” he noted firmly.
He also addressed the issue of marriage committees in churches, stating that while they exist in Deeper Life and other ministries, they were created purely for administrative support and guidance, not because the Bible commands their existence. He pointed out that the New Testament makes no mention of marriage committees, and as such, they should be seen only as tools for organization and not as biblical institutions. “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,” he clarified.
By drawing this distinction, Pastor Kumuyi highlighted the importance of believers holding firmly to God’s unchanging word while also understanding that church structures, rules, and guidelines may evolve with time and context. His message served as a reminder that while administration is useful, it should never be elevated to the level of scripture.