"I Am the God They See" – Actress Sarah Martins Explains Why She Doesn't Pay Tithes to Pastors

"I Am the God They See" – Actress Sarah Martins Explains Why She Doesn't Pay Tithes to Pastors

The actress, who runs a YouTube channel where she produces Nollywood movies, made the remarks in a recent interview that has gone viral across social media.

Explaining her philosophy, she said, "Instead of enriching billionaire pastors, I rather use that to empower people who don't know where their help comes from. I don't pay tithe.

What I do is a means of paying tithe", She described her personal relationship with the people she helps in striking terms, saying, "To the streets, I am the God they see. As God is blessing me, I'm transferring the blessing on them as well so that it will go round".

Martins revealed the scale of her charitable work, disclosing that she has cooked for as many as 1,000 people at once, funding and preparing the meal entirely from her own pocket, with two bags of rice cooked alone.

The actress also spoke about her business success, sharing that her highest monthly earnings hit N40 million, and that popular crossdresser Bobrisky helped her generate N15 million in sales in a single day.

This is not the first time the actress has been vocal about her stance on church and tithing. In previous interviews, she has revealed that she does not attend church, citing inappropriate sexual advances from pastors as a reason she stepped away from regular worship.

"In every church I attended, the pastors started making advances at me. So, I stopped. I built a personal relationship with God and made a promise to stay faithful to Him by doing things that please Him," she said in a 2025 interview.

Her commitment to charity has not come without challenges. In October 2025, she was assaulted by officials from the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (KAI) while cooking on the streets for vulnerable people, a harrowing experience that saw her cooking equipment seized.

The incident sparked public outrage and eventually led to support from Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, who donated N20 million to support her charity work and provided a charity kitchen for her feeding programmes.

The Lagos State Government later warned her against street cooking, citing environmental regulations, but she has since committed to carrying out her activities in approved locations.

Martins' latest comments have sparked mixed reactions, with some applauding her commitment to helping the less privileged and others debating her views on religious giving.

Her declaration that she refuses to "enrich billionaire pastors" echoes a growing sentiment among some Nigerians questioning the prosperity gospel movement, while her claim that she is "the God they see" to the vulnerable underscores the deep connection she feels to the people she helps.

Regardless of where one stands on the issue, Martins has made it clear that her faith is expressed through action, not through traditional religious institutions.