The Founder and Presiding Pastor of Salvation Ministries, David Ibiyeomie, has urged Christian clerics and evangelists to shift their focus from fire-and-brimstone preaching to messages of love and compassion, noting that Nigerians are already enduring hellish economic conditions.

Speaking on Sunday during a sermon titled "The Power of Compassion," Ibiyeomie argued that threatening impoverished and struggling citizens with hellfire is ineffective for soul-winning. Instead, he emphasized that evangelism in times of severe economic hardship must offer hope and practical support.

"You can imagine preaching hell to Nigerians; they are already in hell," the cleric said. "There is no way you will preach hell to Nigerians and anybody will be born again. Just tell them God loves you; He can change your story."

The cleric noted that citizens grappling with basic survival, skyrocketing petrol prices, and food inflation cannot connect with fear-based evangelism.

"The man will say he has not even seen food to eat, he has not bought petrol; already, he is in hell," Ibiyeomie remarked, using popular pidgin phrasing to illustrate the mindset of ordinary citizens: "The suffering wey I dey suffer now, na wetin e be?"

He maintained that messages centered strictly on judgment fail to resonate with people who are already at their breaking point.

Quoting Psalm 103:8 and Ephesians 4:32, the pastor defined compassion as the ultimate expression of God’s nature. He explained that genuine compassion requires more than just feeling pity for the distressed, breaking it down into three distinct operational steps: Seeing a person`s desperate situation clearly. Caring deeply about their plight. Taking concrete action to alleviate their suffering.

While acknowledging the severe financial strain across the country, Ibiyeomie clarified that acts of compassion should not be limited to monetary hand-outs. Citing Acts 3:6, he explained that believers can also support the vulnerable through steadfast faith, emotional solidarity, and other forms of practical assistance.

He concluded by challenging the Church to become a refuge of mercy and kindness, reminding Christians that experiencing God`s compassion binds them to extend the same grace to others without judgment.