Even My Spiritual Father Abandoned Me’ — Pastor CC Israel Breaks Silence on Divorce, Abuse, and Redemption
By Femi Oyewale
“I died. But I’m alive again. My ministry died. But it’s alive again. Because God never left—even when everyone else did.”
These are the haunting yet healing words of Pastor CC Israel, founder of Inspiration Community Gospel Centre (ICGC) in Abuja, as he finally speaks out about the darkest chapter of his life—a marriage marred by violence, a ministry drowned in silence, and a pastor nearly buried by shame, suicide, and betrayal.
In an unfiltered, emotional, and brutally honest confession, Pastor Israel takes the mask off the pulpit to reveal the bleeding man behind the mic.
A Marriage That Shattered the Man
The year was 2017. On the outside, Pastor CC Israel was an emerging spiritual voice. But behind closed doors, he was dying silently.
From physical abuse—even before the wedding—to emotional and psychological torment, the marriage he once prayed for turned into a daily battlefield. “She slapped me just a week before our wedding,” he recalls. “I thought love would conquer it, but that was just the beginning of horror.”
Despite sacrificing everything—including selling his only car to fund 99% of the marital demands—he was constantly told he wasn’t “man enough.” Every morning, he woke up afraid—not of demons, but of domestic rage.
Silence, Shame, and Suicide
Bound by fear of religious backlash and societal mockery, Pastor Israel hid everything.
“How do you tell people your wife beats you? A pastor, no less?” So he endured it alone. Until he could no longer bear the weight.
Then came the night he drank alcohol for the first time in his life—a desperate escape from going home. That night, he blacked out in Onitsha and woke up in Aba, transported by intoxication and pain.
From there, suicide seemed like mercy. “I thought, if I died, everyone would be free.”
He tried to end it. Not once, not twice—but three times.
The CD That Saved His Life
On the third suicide attempt, ready to die, he decided to take one last walk through his house. That’s when he stumbled across a dusty CD of Bishop Noel Jones, a voice he hadn’t listened to in years.
He played it.
The first words were no coincidence—they were prophetic precision:
“There’s a man of God watching me from West Africa. You’re about to take your life because of your marriage. God says don’t die yet…”
The power came back suddenly—after weeks of darkness in the entire estate—just long enough for the message to play. Then it went off again.
He was knocked unconscious by a strange force and woke up hours later. The message could never be found again, not even on replay.
God had interrupted his funeral.
When the Church Closed Its Doors
With new courage, Pastor Israel ended the toxic marriage—but the cost was devastating.
When the news of his divorce broke, his world collapsed. “Doors I helped build were slammed in my face. The ministers I trained ignored me. Even my spiritual father—whom I defended at all costs—cut me off.”
He tried reaching him, calling, texting—silence.
“He blocked every channel of access. Even told his followers not to give me his number. That rejection almost killed me more than the abuse did.”
His reputation? Gone.
His ministry? Abandoned.
His friendships? Destroyed.
All for telling the truth… too late.
From Ashes to Assignment
Years passed. Pain lingered. But mercy triumphed.
Today, Pastor CC Israel is slowly rebuilding—not with fame, but with grace. “I am no longer trying to impress anyone. I am just grateful to be alive.”
His ministry may have died—but like Lazarus, God called it back.
Now, he speaks for every man, every minister, every misjudged soul silently bleeding in the name of appearances and religion.
His Message to the Broken and Burdened
“There’s life after divorce. There’s ministry after failure.
There’s still a purpose after pain.
God’s plan for you is bigger than your failed marriage.”
To those contemplating suicide, to ministers hiding in shame, to leaders abandoned after one mistake—his life is now their letter of hope.
A Final Word to the Church
Pastor Israel’s story isn’t just personal—it’s prophetic.
It’s a call for the church to stop killing its wounded, to stop demanding perfection, and to create a safe place for struggles behind the collars.
“Let us not be quick to throw stones when one of us falls.
Let us not forget that even broken pastors are still God’s sons.
Pastor CC Israel Today
Serving as the lead pastor of Inspiration Community Gospel Centre (ICGC), Abuja, Pastor Israel now ministers with deeper compassion, reaching out to hurting men, broken ministers, and survivors of marital trauma.
He didn’t just survive for himself—he survived for you.
“Don’t end it. God is not finished with you.”