The Streams of Joy founder drew tens of thousands to Manchester United's home ground on Saturday, then knelt in a video to apologise to those who couldn't get in.
Manchester United's Old Trafford became a prayer ground on Saturday, when Nigerian pastor Jerry Eze led the NSPPD UK Prayer Conference, filling the 74,000-capacity stadium and leaving thousands more outside the gates.
Eze, the lead pastor of Streams of Joy International and convener of New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations, posted on X as the event got under way on September 26:
ONGOING NSPPD UK PRAYER CONFERENCE 2026 WHAT GOD CANNOT DO DOES NOT EXIST
The programme was free, but organisers asked people to register in advance because space was limited. In the days before Saturday, demand ran well past what the ground could hold, with some social media users saying the conference was fully booked and turning to TikTok to hunt for spare tickets.
A lineup of gospel ministers joined Eze on stage, among them Sunmisola Agbebi, Mercy Chinwo, Dunsin Oyekan and Kaestrings.
By Monday the story had turned into an apology. In a video shared on his social media, Eze knelt and spoke directly to the worshippers who could not get in.
"I want to sincerely, from the depth of my heart, apologize. Apologize to the tens of thousands of people who were turned back," he said. "Some people traveled very far from Australia, from North Macedonia, from Sweden, from different parts of the world to come. I felt so sorry."
He made clear the decision to turn people away was not his or his ministry's. "It was beyond my control... It was the stadium people that did what they had to do," he said, adding: "People of God, I want to say, I'm sorry. It will not happen again."
The gathering ran during the international break, with Premier League football paused and Old Trafford handed over to worship for the day.
No comments yet