My husband Prophet Carmel slid into my DM [direct message], Rev Lucy Natasha says.
In 2017, Reverend Lucy Natasha, popularly known as Oracle, came to the limelight after launching a service dubbed ‘Miracle Monday.’ The flamboyant preacher intrigued many with her novelty, which was a far cry from the conservative male pastors donned in flowing robes and religious paraphernalia.
Rev Natasha, who is the senior pastor at Empowerment Christian Church (ECC), says her calling is not to the masses but to “Millennials and Gen Zs.” She shares her journey of growing a global ministry, the cross-cultural marriage that cost her Sh17 million in dowry and her staunch belief in “slaying and praying.”
You recently announced that you were moving your church online. Why the shift?
This was not a decision I made overnight. It was a process that involved prayer, deep reflection, and wide consultation. We started the ECC in February 2021 with a mission to raise empowered believers and advance global Christian leadership.
It was operating from a rented rooftop in Nairobi’s CBD, and with time, we grew so much that there was no more room for expansion or parking.
Anyone attending the service had to find parking elsewhere, and that is not sustainable. Structurally and logistically, there was no way to grow beyond that point; we had to move.
Let me clarify that the church was never a building. The church is people, the church is faith, and the presence of God. While we are not holding physical services for now, the ministry has not stopped. I am still active and will continue to hold conferences, seminars, and revivals as God directs.
Rev Lucy Natasha prays moments after a snake and witchcraft paraphernalia were found with a woman attending her crusade at Emco House, Embu town, July 16, 2016. The items included a polythene containing blood and a crooked mirror.
How much did it cost you to rent out that space?
Our monthly rent was Sh350,000, and over five years, that alone amounts to almost Sh22 million. The sound equipment costs about Sh10 million, and the media equipment another Sh15 million. Then there are salaries for the 20 staff; thankfully, we have over 100 volunteers serving in the ministry. The gospel is free, but building and maintaining a ministry is very expensive.
Where did the money come from?
So, before starting ECC, I was still in ministry. We had begun a service called ‘Miracle Monday’ back in 2017 that brought together thousands of people from different denominations every Monday to worship. We met at the Exhibition Hall of the 680 hotel, Nairobi. When the pandemic hit, and public gatherings were suspended, everything came to a halt.
But our church has always had a strong social media presence, so we continued fellowshipping online, like most churches during the pandemic.
When I got the vision to start ECC in February 2021, I shared it with the church community online. People responded and began giving toward the construction, and that’s how we renovated the place and built the sanctuary.
Pastor Lucy Natasha at the pulpit.
Let’s talk about your marriage. How did you meet your husband, Carmel?
I was on a mission outreach in North India, and he texted me and said, “I see you are doing things in North India, and I am from South India.” He added that he would like to partner with ‘Natasha Hands of Compassion’, an initiative I launched to distribute food to families in slums and informal settlements who were severely affected by hunger during the pandemic.
I responded to the text two years later and asked him for his phone number so we could video call on WhatsApp. I remember thinking, “He is good-looking.” But I left it at that.
Then he started checking on me, asking if I had slept well, if I had eaten, and how my heart was. I was not used to such messages, and that touched me. He never came to me with the usual spiritual lines like “God told me” or “God showed me.” Instead, he brought out the baby girl in me.
Did he propose, and how was that like?
He lived in Canada, still does, and we arranged to meet in the US, where I had been invited to preach. We connected instantly—it was like a house on fire. That was in 2021, and later that year, in November, he came to Kenya (for the first time in Africa) and proposed to me.
In January 2022, we got married. We started with a traditional wedding because of cultural differences. In India, the woman pays the dowry, while in Kenya, it is the man who pays. We decided we would both pay.
My husband Prophet Carmel slid into my DM [direct message], Rev Lucy Natasha says.
How was that like, paying dowry for your husband?
I never imagined I would pay dowry for a man, but I did. In 2025, I had my Indian wedding. I travelled with some family members, and we paid the dowry there in Kerala, South India. That is why it took time; we got married in 2022, but the dowry was paid in 2025.
Did you pay cash or in kind?
Indians usually ask for gold, but it can be translated into money. We gave money and gifts, clothes and other items. I paid an equivalent of one bar of gold…
That is approximately, Sh17 million…
(Laughs) Yes. If you are single and looking to marry an Indian man, make sure you have resources. Don’t be a gold digger, be a gold carrier. Prepare yourself.
Is it difficult to be in a long-distance relationship with you here and Carmel in Canada?
We are very involved in each other’s lives all the time. We have travelled together to the Bahamas, Qatar, and the US. He was here for the crossover. So even though we live on different continents, we are always together. Our relationship is not a community project; not everyone has to understand it.
From LeftRev Lucy Natasha, Salome Njeri, Makeup Artist Phoina Tosha and Musician Bahati poses for the picture on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at Sebuleni Centre located on Riara Road, Ngong road, Nairobi. Phoina Tosha launched her cosmetic line known as Phoina Beauty Cosmetics.
Has social media been kind to you and your marriage?
Not always. You know, before our engagement, my husband was not a public figure. When I posted him, his followers jumped from 500 to over 100,000 instantly. He suddenly had to fight battles he never signed up for.
Some time back, he trended a lot after posting his spiritual daughter on his page. People claimed she was his side chick. They sent me screenshots saying, “Be strong.” Yet I knew the girl personally.
We don’t use social media to judge or fight each other, because when you are a public figure, everything you do becomes a topic and a target. There were even rumours that we had separated. We have learned to shut our ears to noise.
And not just social media, even in real life, there are challenges. When I made my engagement public, over 10 men walked away from the ministry. I didn’t even know they wanted to marry me; I just saw them as my spiritual sons. You can’t marry someone you are pastoring.
You once talked about wanting to have five children…
That was actually my husband’s prayer, not mine. Children are a gift from God, and we are definitely praying to expand our family.
I have also come to understand that children come in many forms. Adoption is a beautiful option, and it’s something I’m open to. As for carrying five children myself, I honestly don’t see that happening anytime soon, especially after paying dowry worth over Sh17 million! (Laughs)
Rev Lucy Natasha wearing a flowing maroon satin and milky silk non stitch gown.
Talk to us a bit about your style. It isn’t quite the conservative pulpit attire now, is it?
I love to look good and smell good. I am a woman of God, yes, but I am still Natasha.
I also understand the generation I’m pastoring. I’m not called to everyone. I’m called to Gen Zs and millennials. I speak their language. I understand their vibe.
That is why in our church we say, come as you are, and as you come, as you are, the gospel is the one that will transform you. You can serve God and look good. I believe in slaying and praying.
The same goes for your tattoos?
For me, tattoos are art. As long as you are not drawing anything demonic or tied to rituals, it is purely art. One of my tattoos says ‘Oracle, impacting generations’. Many people call me Oracle, meaning God’s mouthpiece.
It is a reminder of what God has called me to be. Even the Bible says God has inscribed us in the palm of His hand.
