Joyce Meyer is a 66-year old American preacher and a proponent of the ‘God wants you to be seriously rich’ school of charismatic Christian evangelism.

She’s been a guest at Brian Houston’s sometimes controversial Hillsong Church in Sydney, which has the same ‘prosperity gospel’ tendency (in fact Brian was the warm up act for Joyce’s recent three day Moresby gig).

It's claimed her TV and radio programs are broadcast in 25 languages in 200 countries – including PNG – and it seems Joyce has written no less than 70 books.

According to Wikipedia, Joyce frequently talks in her teachings about overcoming obstacles and finding strength to deal with difficult circumstances, drawing candidly and with humour on her own experiences.

And PNG blogger and occasional PNG Attitude correspondent, Emmanuel Narokobi, a self-confessed Catholic who says he needs to lift his game, has written:

“If faith can move mountains then right now faith has brought us a private jet flying, multimedia, multi-staged, multi-screened, multi-million kina concert extravaganza and all for the people for the price of nothing. All they want are your souls, well I shouldn’t put it that way, but all they want is for you to take part in their brand of faith.” [See Emmanuel’s blog here.]

So Joyce the Voice made a flying visit to Port Moresby in her new Gulfstream jet to teach people, as Emmanuel puts it, “that God desires material prosperity for those He favours. Material prosperity in this theology not only includes financial prosperity but success in relationships and good health as well.”

Joyce arrived in PNG last week to be greeted by an enthusiastic crowd that The National said was “yearning for a glimpse of her”. Not that it did The National’s prosperity any good, the newspaper's website has been shut down subsequently after coming under serious cyber attack from some ungodly hackers.

Joyce’s team preceded her three-day ‘Festival of Light’ (24-26 July) with a five-day medical mission, which offered free treatment to 4300 people, 1000 of whom committed their lives to the Lord on the spot. And Joyce also popped out to Bomana gaol to meet some of the guests.

Steve Grace, whose Christian band warmed up proceedings, writes in his blog: “When half the population of the capital city turns up to hear some good Bible teaching and worship the Lord together, you just know that God is at work in a nation… It was an estimated crowd of 400,000 - the largest gathering for a Christian event in PNG’s history.”

Steve went on: “People came with a great expectation and hunger. Joyce’s Bible-based practical preaching was warmly received by the PNG people. Thousands made decisions to live for Christ each night and everyone who attended received a small booklet called A new way of living. It was like witnessing a phenomenon.”

Joyce Meyer makes $100 million a year. As the St Louis Post-Dispatch has editorialised, “In the Gospel of St Matthew, Jesus says, ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ Ms Meyer would seem to believe she can make the squeeze.”