MONROVIA – Following the assertion by the Minister of Information Jerolinmek Matthew Piah that he has not seen any other “New Water in the Desert” assembly across Liberia, the local church through its leadership is clarifying for the sake of the public that there is more than one “New-Water-in-the-Desert Assembly” (NWIDA) in Liberia and beyond.
It can be recalled on September 9, 2025, Minister Piah, in his attempt to respond to reported assessments of the performance of current Government officials, strayed from the issue to question the numerical strength of the local assembly which is pastored by Bishop Kortu K Brown.
The Minister boldly asserted that when one travels around the country, one doesn’t see any other “New Water in the Desert”, implicitly rebuking the Bishop for labeling government officials as being “lazy” in performing their public functions when he himself apparently lacks strength in expanding the kingdom of God here in Liberia due to his inability to plant any other local assemblies across the country in addition to the one he pastors. The Minister asserted that around the country “you can see a Baptist Church or a Methodist Church, but you can’t see New Water in the Desert. The only one here is the church on the VOA Road in Brewerville…”
But according to Bishop Brown, Minister Piah is in grae error, noting that the New Water in the Desert is a denominational headquarters assembly with several local branches across the country.
“The Minister will serve government’s information dissemination machinery well if he properly researches his facts before going public. Imagine someone outside the country listening to the Minister spewing out such incorrect and misleading information, what will they think about the overall accuracy of the government’s information dissemination machinery?
“The people of New Water in the Desert and all her affiliates – and by extension the Christian community and general public in and out of Liberia wondered how the Minister could put out such inaccurate information with such boldness and without remorse when he doesn’t appear to know anything about New-Water-In-The-Desert Assembly (NWIDA) situated on the VOA#1 Road. The Minister needs to correct his facts or he will make it difficult for many Liberians and non-Liberians in and out of the country to believe the information they provide from the platform of the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Liberia, weekly.
“Secondly, New Water in the Desert Assembly Apostolic Pentecostal Church encourages the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Liberia to properly research their facts before presenting them to the public to avoid eroding public confidence in government’s information dissemination. If the chief government spokesperson can stand on such a big platform and confidently give the public such misleading information, we wonder what else he’s saying to the public with such confidence that’s not true”.
“The New-Water-in the-Desert Assembly is reminding the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Liberia that their weekly platform is meant to disseminate accurate and balanced information on the performance of the government and our country. It’s not intended to be used to spew misleading information about other people and institutions who may disagreed or question their performance; otherwise people will lose confidence in the platform and it will further create a confidence crisis for the Government
“New-Water-in-the-Desert Assembly however reminds the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Liberia that spiritual strength is not in numbers and buildings, but in the Will and Purpose of God. Jesus rebuked His disciples for trying to fight for Him during His arrest contending that if He wanted to fight He would have asked His Father in Heaven to send Him more than 12 legions of angels according to the Book of Matthew Chapter 26 verse 53. That could have been more than 72,000 angels fighting for Him. But He wanted God’s will to be fulfilled. “It’s not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord”, according to the Book of Zechariah Chapter 4 verse 6.
“New Water in the Desert is an Apostolic Pentecostal assembly that believes in the infallibility and inerrancy of the Word of God. The church upholds the doctrine and fellowship of the Apostles as recorded in Acts Chapter 2 verses 38 thru 42, and promotes evangelism as the heartbeat of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and prayer and fellowship as cornerstones of our daily communion with God and man. The local and general church continue to establish and administer church points, preaching points, local assemblies, sectional and district church structures around the country, amongst others,” the NWIDA Church Administration said.