In The Beginning…
A Son is Born
In July 1909, a son was born into the Akindayomi family of Ondo State, Nigeria. Even though this child grew up surrounded by idol worshippers, he knew there existed a greater power and yearned to know “the God who created the earth and everyone on it.”
This pursuit for God led him to the Church Missionary Society, where he was baptised in 1927. Still spiritually unfulfilled, he joined the Cherubim and Seraphim church in 1931.
The Call of God
“You will be my servant.”
Whilst in the Cherubim and Seraphim church, he began to hear a voice within him. Since ministry was not his intention, he chose to ignore it — for seven years. All his business ventures failed. In debt and without peace of mind, he found himself totally dependent on the grace of God.
Totally broken, he yielded: “Lord, I will go wherever you want me to go.” The confirmation came through the Bible passages of Jeremiah 1:4–10, Isaiah 41:10–13 and Romans 8:29–31. The Lord assured him that He would provide for all his needs — he would receive no salary from that point on. He became married in 1941.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God is Born
By 1947, Pa Akindayomi had grown concerned that the Cherubim and Seraphim church was departing from the true Word of God. By 1952, he felt totally persuaded to leave. He started a house fellowship at Willoughby Street, Ebute-Metta, Lagos — called the Glory of God Fellowship. Initially there were nine members, but the fellowship rapidly grew as news of miracles in their midst spread.
Pa Akindayomi also had a vision of words written on a blackboard: “The Redeemed Christian Church of God.” Amazingly, Pa Akindayomi — who could not read or write — was supernaturally able to write these words down. In this visitation, God said that this church would go to the ends of the earth, and that when the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in glory, He would meet the church.
Thus the Redeemed Christian Church of God was born in 1952, destined by the Lord Himself to take the world for Him. The church continued to meet at 9 Willoughby Street before relocating to the present Headquarters at 1–5 Redemption Way, Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
A New Leader is Appointed
Sometime in the early 1970s, God had spoken to Pa Akindayomi about his successor — a young, educated man not yet in the church. When a young university lecturer joined in 1973, Papa recognised him in the Spirit as the one the Lord had spoken of.
This man — Enoch Adejare Adeboye, a Mathematics lecturer at the University of Lagos — soon became deeply involved in the church, translating Pa Akindayomi’s sermons from Yoruba to English. He was ordained a pastor in 1975.
Before passing, Pa Akindayomi spent several hours sharing with Pastor Adeboye the details of the covenant and the Lord’s plans for the church. Pa Josiah Akindayomi was 71 years old when he died. Amidst controversy, Pastor Adeboye’s appointment was formalised by the reading of Pa Akindayomi’s sealed pronouncement after his burial.
An Open Explosion
Since 1981, an open explosion began, with the number of parishes growing in leaps and bounds. The RCCG now spans Nigeria, across Africa — Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and many more — and is present in Europe (England, Germany, France) and the United States, with parishes in Dallas, Houston, New York, Washington, Chicago and more.
One of the church’s most celebrated programmes is the Holy Ghost Service — an all-night miracle service held on the first Friday of every month at the Redemption Camp, Km. 46, Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. The Holy Ghost Service now holds in the United Kingdom, India, USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Dubai, Ghana, Philippines and many more.
Today, God is still doing marvellous deeds through the Redeemed Christian Church of God, worldwide.
