December arrives in Nigeria like a tide that cannot be stopped. Streets glow with colour. Radio stations slide into familiar rhythms. Churches rehearse carols weeks ahead, banners rise, and sermons soften into celebration. In most places, the season announces itself loudly, insisting on attention, shaping behaviour before it even explains itself.
Yet there are spaces where December enters quietly. No banners, no countdowns, no rehearsed joy. Inside these halls, the calendar does not dictate meaning. The mood does not bend to the season. There is instead a deliberate stillness, almost defiant in its calm, as though something older and more rigid is holding its ground.
For decades, Deeper Life Bible Church has existed in that stillness. Its founder, Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi, has never allowed the season to rename the faith. Each year, as celebrations swell across the country, his church steps further inward, not out of indifference, but out of conviction that runs deeper than culture.
What appears to outsiders as refusal is, from inside, continuity. Nothing is being rejected suddenly. Nothing is being provoked. What is happening now is the resurfacing of a theology that has always resisted noise, especially when that noise claims sacred authority without biblical command.
A doctrine formed before controversy
Long before Christmas debates became headline material, Kumuyi’s theology was already formed. Deeper Life was born in the late twentieth century with an uncompromising emphasis on scriptural literalism, holiness, and separation from practices viewed as human additions to divine instruction.
From the beginning, the church rejected the idea that popularity conferred legitimacy. Worship was to be regulated by scripture alone, not by tradition, emotion, or majority practice. This theological posture shaped everything from dress codes to worship style, from music to calendar observance.
Christmas, in this framework, was never central enough to be debated. It simply did not qualify as a commanded observance. There was no recorded date for the birth of Christ in scripture. There was no instruction to commemorate it annually. To elevate a day without mandate was, in Kumuyi’s reasoning, to introduce human authority into divine space.
That logic hardened over time. As Christianity globally absorbed cultural festivals and repackaged them as worship moments, Deeper Life moved in the opposite direction. It stripped worship down, not to make it cold, but to make it precise. The result was a church that grew large while refusing to bend.
Scripture as boundary not inspiration
For many churches, scripture inspires celebration. For Deeper Life, scripture sets boundaries. This distinction is crucial to understanding why Christmas remains excluded.
Kumuyi has consistently taught that faith must be practiced within explicit biblical permission. Silence in scripture is not an invitation to innovate. It is a warning to restrain. Where the Bible does not command, the church must hesitate.
This theology places Christmas in an uncomfortable position. Christ is central to Christian faith, but the celebration of his birth on December 25 is not scripturally anchored. It is historically inferred, culturally reinforced, and emotionally cherished, but not biblically instructed.
In Deeper Life teaching, this gap matters. It is not enough that a practice honours Christ in intention. It must also obey scripture in form. To Kumuyi, sincerity without obedience is insufficient. Worship must be correct, not just heartfelt.
This is why the church does not substitute Christmas with symbolic alternatives. There is no birthday themed service, no seasonal rebranding. Instead, the church continues as it always has, teaching scripture, calling for repentance, and emphasizing personal holiness without seasonal interruption.
The question of origins
When Kumuyi speaks about Christmas traditions as idolatrous in origin, he is not making a casual accusation. He is referring to historical arguments that predate modern Nigerian Christianity.
Scholars have long documented that December 25 aligns with pre Christian festivals in Roman culture. While many churches acknowledge this history but see redemption rather than contamination, Deeper Life interprets it differently. For Kumuyi, origin matters as much as intention.
If a practice did not emerge from biblical instruction, and if its historical roots lie outside Christian revelation, then adopting it risks importing meaning that cannot be purified simply by Christian labeling.
This is not an emotional argument. It is a structural one. Kumuyi does not argue that celebrating Christmas makes someone less Christian. He argues that institutionalizing it as worship introduces unnecessary spiritual risk.
That distinction allows Deeper Life to remain firm without becoming militant. The church does not campaign against Christmas nationally. It simply refuses to sanctify it internally.
December without celebration
Inside Deeper Life, December looks nothing like December elsewhere. The absence is noticeable not because something is missing, but because nothing has changed.
Services continue. Teaching remains intense. Prayer meetings deepen. Members are encouraged to use the period for self examination, fasting, and recommitment. The end of the year becomes a spiritual checkpoint rather than a festive climax.
This approach reframes the season entirely. While other churches focus on celebration, Deeper Life emphasizes preparation. While others mark the birth of Christ, Deeper Life focuses on the return of Christ. The orientation is forward looking, not commemorative.
This difference is theological, not aesthetic. It reflects a belief that Christianity is not sustained by rituals, but by obedience lived daily. Seasons come and go. Doctrine remains.
Why the position keeps resurfacing
Kumuyi’s recent reaffirmation did not introduce anything new. What changed was public attention. Social media amplifies statements that once circulated quietly within sermons and church teachings.
Each December, curiosity returns. Why does such a large church refuse what seems universal. Why does its founder remain unmoved by cultural consensus. The repetition of the question forces repetition of the answer.
Kumuyi responds without defensiveness. His tone remains instructional, not confrontational. He speaks as a teacher explaining a principle, not as a rebel rejecting society.
That consistency is part of the story. In an era where churches often adjust theology to cultural temperature, Deeper Life has chosen predictability over relevance. For its members, this stability is not rigidity. It is trustworthiness.
Christianity without uniformity
One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Christmas debate is the assumption that Christianity requires uniform practice. Kumuyi rejects this idea quietly but firmly.
Unity, in his theology, is rooted in shared belief, not shared rituals. Churches can differ in practice without fracturing faith, as long as scripture remains central.
This is why Deeper Life does not condemn churches that celebrate Christmas. It simply declines to follow them. The church draws a boundary without demanding others step inside it.
That posture has allowed Deeper Life to exist alongside other denominations without continuous conflict, even while remaining visibly distinct.
A church shaped by refusal
Refusal is often framed negatively, as absence or denial. In Deeper Life, refusal has become formative.
By refusing Christmas, the church reinforces its identity as scripture governed rather than culture led. It trains members to resist emotional pressure, majority behavior, and seasonal expectation.
This discipline extends beyond December. It shapes how members engage fashion, entertainment, relationships, and public life. Christmas becomes a symbol, not the core issue.
What Kumuyi is defending is not a calendar decision, but a worldview. One where faith is measured by obedience rather than celebration.
Why the stance is unlikely to change
Institutions change when pressure outweighs conviction. In Deeper Life, the reverse has happened. Growth has occurred without compromise, reinforcing the belief that obedience does not hinder expansion.
For Kumuyi, changing the Christmas position would signal something deeper than seasonal adjustment. It would imply that scripture can be negotiated by culture. That line has never been crossed.
As long as Kumuyi remains the theological anchor of the church, and as long as Deeper Life defines faith through biblical command rather than inherited tradition, Christmas will remain outside its worship life.
Not because Christ is absent, but because obedience, in their understanding, must remain unembellished.