A peep into how Winners Chapel came into being as the church clocks 39 years today

Today, the presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, otherwise known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo alongside members of the commission world wide, are marking the 39^th anniversary of the church.

39 years ago, the father of four and grandfather of 7 often referred to as God’s General, heeded the call to go into ministry and today, not only has the church impacted on the lives of members and non-members immensely, both spiritually and otherwise, globally, Bishop Oyedepo who remained faithful enough not to ignore the call, is regarded as a force to reckon with in Africa.

To understand how much he is held in high esteem, in 2019, he made the list of one of the most 100 reputable people on earth by Reputation Poll International, a leading international reputation management firm. The list which features distinguished personalities from all sectors, in over 44 countries across the globe, recognizes leaders in all spheres of life, who have maintained a high level of credibility and an exemplary reputation worthy of emulation.

Bishop Oyedepo and Betty Lasher, the woman who led him to Christ in 1969

The story of how the commission he presides over known today as Living Faith Church Worldwide began between May 1^st and May 2^nd 1981. The Bishop had gone visiting a friend in Ilesa, Oyo State on May 1^st during the period of crisis between Ife and Modakeke in the state. Unfortunately, the said friend was not home. Even though it was a disappointing trip, he chose to see the good in it, saying in his spirit that all things work together for good to them that love God. Just then he heard God tell him to seek a quiet place to commune with him.

As he knelt down to pray in one of the rooms he lodged in at the ‘International Hotel, Ilesa,’ a dilapidated hotel that was a far cry from being ‘International’ by any standard, he saw an open vision which lasted about 18 hours and ended on May 2nd, where the afflicted, battered, beaten, tattered, the deformed, the blind, the lame, people in rags, were weeping, wailing, groaning and agonizing as a result of pains and pangs and seemingly crying for rescue. Moved with compassion and sobbing profusely he asked, God why (referring to the sufferings) and God responded, “But from the beginning, it was not so.”

Probing further, he would later get the mandate which was quite simple: “The hour has come to liberate the world from all oppression of the devil through the preaching of the word of faith, and I am sending you to undertake this task.” This was further confirmed from the book of Ephesians 6:16.

After that encounter, he called his then partner now wife, Faith Abiola Akano; along with Bishop David Abioye, the second in command of the Living Faith Church Worldwide and the Vice President, whom he likes to refer to as his longest serving Joshua; Joseph Ebrohimen and Dickson Olorunda both of whom were made Bishops in Winners Chapel but who now run their own individual ministries, Pacesetters Christian Assembly and Royal Destiny Ministry respectively, among others, and shared the vision with them.

Almost immediately, a weekly teaching program called ‘The Faith Liberation Hour’ began at the ECWA Youth Centre, Ilorin, Kwara State. Likewise, a prayer and fasting group to actualize the vision known as the ‘Power house’ was also inaugurated. This group who were mostly undergraduates who would always meet regularly at Erin-Ile Secondary School, Ilorin to pray everyday of the week. Additionally, the Bishop who was not yet a pastor then, began to engage in deep word study – studying 39 selected biographies of great apostles of faith in a bid to understand how people were called, how they pursued their calling and the mistakes they made so that he would not have to make those mistakes.

In all, he spent 26 months in preparation, communion, watching, praying, fasting, thinking and planning in order to lay hold on details of the vision as well as a time chart to follow. During this period, he was involved in so much fasting and prayer that he grew very lean and on many occasions, vomited blood. Several times, he would go up alone to the mountains to seek God’s face in prayer encountering several obstacles like a snake in one instance or heavy down pour in another instance. The Bishop has said on several occasions that he once said to God “Lord, should I pretend not to have heard You, see to it that I do not succeed in any other thing I do”.

Young David Oyedepo ministering in the early days of Winners Chapel

However, it wasn’t until October 4^th 1981 that he received the name of the church to be called ‘LIVING FAITH CHURCH’ while in prayers and meditation. Soon fellowship began to grow and it metamorphosed into a church necessitating him and his team to get a proper place for fellowship. This they did, getting a two room apartment where the Bishop lived.

Today, 39 years after, having crisscrossed Ilorin, Kwara, Kaduna, Lagos and Ogun State, the evidence of faithfully heeding that call has been made manifest for all to see. All of the prophesies the Bishop received in the early days of the ministry, precisely April 10^th 1982 are today a reality. Some of them are:

1. That at the base of the ministry, a tent shall be built to contain 50,000 people. An inconceivable thing 39 years ago as not many people were favourably disposed to going to church. Infact, it wasn’t until 2008 when the Guinness World Records announced the Faith Tabernacle as the biggest church auditorium in the world, that the world began to appreciate the magnitude of what had happened when the ministry laid the foundation in 1998 and completed it a year later. Today, the church not only holds four services every Sunday in faith tabernacle, including over 2000, branches scattered across the country with 2000+ zones for midweek worship and 20,000+ Satellite Fellowship centers, it is embarking on a 100,000-seater church auditorium to be called ‘The Faith Theatre.’
2. That soon, millions shall gather at the base of the ministry to listen to the gospel and that a telecast shall be used to put on screen to spread the gospel across nations. At that time there was nothing like the internet but rather than wonder how this would be, the Bishop chose to believe in faith. Today, multitudes gather around the world and even in very strong Islamic nations, especially during the annual Shiloh programme and even now, as the coronavirus pandemic ravages nations, forcing churches to hold services online.
3. That the ministry shall have a printing press which will operate at an industrial scale, first to Christian organizations, and then to the public at large. Today, the ministry operates an industrial printing press, Dominion Publishing House, DPH with machines made to specification and works just at the push of a button. The impact of the millions of reading materials churned out by DPH over the years is un-quantifiable.
4. That the work of the ministry shall not be limited to Nigeria alone, but to other nations and Church establishment on the mission field where the living word will be taught. This prophecy commenced with the Africa Gospel Invasion Programme (AGIP). Today, the presence of the church is felt in over 100 nations across the globe in fulfillment of that prophesy.
5. Seeing ‘wings passing across nations’ interpreted to mean an airplane flying to other nations carrying the gospel of liberation. Today, the ministry has an aircraft and a helicopter. Over the years, aircrafts bought were usually to replace older models which would be sold. The ministry also has an aircraft hangar and lounge called Dominion Aviation Centre at the International Airport which it leases out to other private jet operators for parking.

Outside of the prophecies that have been fulfilled, Winners Chapel successfully runs:

1. A network of primary schools called Kingdom Heritage School in most of its branches across Nigeria and Africa.
2. A network of secondary schools, both boarding and day called Faith Academy
3. Two private universities, Covenant University, Ogun State and Landmark University, Kwara State.
4. A housing estate project called Canaan City that gives church staff and members 30 years to pay up via a mortgage scheme. Comprising of 15,000 home units ranging from a one bedroom apartment to a duplex/mansion, it is reportedly the single largest housing estate in Africa.
5. The Relief Promotion Agency which Ais the humanitarian arm of the ministry. It has sunk millions into education bursary, membership empowerment, welfare service for the less privileged, relief programs to victims of natural/man made disasters within and outside the country etc. On this particular one, the ministry is deliberately silent and not known to publicize what it does. It would rather make the necessary impact than make noise about it.

All of the afore mentioned besides the Dominion Aviation Centre are all located on the over 17,000 acres of land today known as Canaanland.