The BBC recently ran a series of posts on its website about Pentecostal pastors and their churches in South Africa and Nigeria. It raised questions about the influence that they have in these countries and across sub-Saharan Africa.

The BBC articles focused on controversies surrounding the pastors’ wealth. One article featured the Malawian pastor, Shepherd Bushiri, and his church in Pretoria, South Africa. It investigated the links between the money the church receives from its members and in  Bushiri’s case, his personal fortune: Bushiri owns four private jets and is rumored to have investments in mines and hotels across South Africa.

The article on Nigeria raised questions about the way in which Pentecostal leaders obtain and use their members’ money. It quotes critics in Nigeria who argue that poor Christians are being conned out of their hard-earned money through the “prosperity gospel,” a doctrine associated with Pentecostalism that holds that if Christians give money to the church God will miraculously provide them with wealth and health in return.