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David Oyedepo

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David Oyedepo
Born
David Olaniyi Oyedepo

(1954-09-27) September 27, 1954 (age 70)
Omu Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria
Nationality Nigeria
Occupation(s)Pastor, Author, Educationist, Minister
SpouseFaith Abiola Oyedepo
ChildrenDavid Oyedepo Jnr, Issac Oyedepo, Love Oyedepo Ogah, Joyce Oyedepo
WebsiteDavid Oyedepo Ministries Online

David O. Oyedepo is reported to be the richest pastor in Nigeria,[1] affectionately called "Papa" by members of his congregation. Oyedepo (born September 27, 1954) is a Nigerian Christian author, preacher, the founder and presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church World Wide, also known as Winners Chapel, and its affiliated international churches known as Winners Chapel International, with headquarters in Ogun State, Nigeria. Oyedepo is the senior pastor of Faith Tabernacle, a 50,000 seat church auditorium, reported to be the largest church auditorium in the world by the Guinness Book of Records.[2] The Winners Chapel network of churches is located in over 300 cities, in all states of Nigeria, as well as, in over 63 cities in 32 African nations, Dubai, the United Kingdom and the United States.[3][4] Oyedepo has been seen as one of the pioneers of the Christian charismatic movement in Africa and has been referred to as one of the most powerful preachers in Nigeria.[5] He was named in 2011 by Forbes magazine as being the richest pastor in Nigeria, worth around $150 million.[6]

Early life and history

On September 27, 1954 David Olaniyi Oyedepo was born in Osogbo, Nigeria, but is considered a native of Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria. He was raised in a mixed religious family His father, Ibrahim, was a Muslim healer. His mother, Dorcas, was a member of the Eternal Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (C&S), a branch of the Aladura movement in Nigeria. He was raised by his grandmother in Osogbo, who introduced him to the virtues of Christian life via early morning prayers which she attended with him. She also taught him the importance of tithing. David was “born again” in 1969, through the influence of his teacher, Betty Lasher, who took special interest in him during his high school days. He studied architecture at Kwara State Polytechnic and worked briefly with the Federal Ministry of Housing in Ilorin before resigning to concentrate on missionary work. Oyedepo received a Ph.D. in Human Development from Honolulu University, Hawaii, United States.[7]

Bishop David received a mandate from God through an 18 hour vision in May 1981, to liberate the world from all oppression of the devil through the preaching of the word of faith.[8] This is the inaugural vision that led to the founding of the Living Faith Church World Wide (LFCWW), first called Liberation Faith Hour Ministries, in 1981. Two years later, on September 17, 1983, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, ordained David and his wife, Florence Abiola Akano (known as Faith Abiola Oyedepo) to become pastors and officially commissioned the new church. Five years later, Oyedepo was ordained as Bishop.

Living Faith Church (AKA Winners Chapel) started in Kaduna but moved to Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria in September 1989, to start a new branch of the church after Oyedepo received instructions from God to reach out to the people of Lagos.[9] The church in Lagos grew to become the International headquarters of Living Faith Church, with constantly increasing crowds spilling onto adjacent roads and decks of nearby uncompleted buildings, compelling people to stand for hours to listen to his teachings. This led to the building of the renowned Faith Tabernacle as instructed by God.

Oyedepo is the wealthiest preacher in Nigeria with a net worth of over USD $150 million. The church owns four private jets and several buildings around the world, including London and the United States. Oyedepo is an acclaimed author and publisher who has written over 70 titles apart from periodicals. He is the Chairman/Publisher of Dominion Publishing House (DPH), a publishing arm of the ministry. DPH has over 4 million prints in circulation to date. Through Oyedepo Covenant University, Landmark University, Faith Academy (Nigeria)|Faith Academy and Kingdom Heritage Schools have been established to equip the youth for global impact. The construction of a third university named Crown University is already underway, located in Calabar, Cross Rivers, Nigeria.[10]

Place of Worship

In 1998, Bishop Oyedepo set forth to build a new building to accommodate the increasing number of worshippers. This resulted in Bishop Oyedepo's church's acquisition of the initial 530-acre (2.1 km2) facility, known as Canaanland, which serves as the headquarters. It is the home of the 50,000-seat capacity auditorium, the 'Faith Tabernacle', which is reputed to be the largest church auditorium in the world.[11] This was a feat also recorded by the Guinness Book of Records.[12][13][14]

File:World largest church auditorium, Faith Tabernacle.jpg
Faith Tabernacle was reported as the Worlds' Largest Church Auditorium in December 2005

The speed of the construction of Faith Tabernacle was breath-taking, considering the size of the building. Construction of this gigantic project was completed within 12 months, which experts claim could only have been a miracle because such a project should normally take a minimum of three years to complete. Reports also claimed that this building was built debt free.[15][16][17] This 50,000-seat edifice was dedicated on September 18, 1999 under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.[18]

Canaanland is in Ota, Ogun state and is the 5,000-acre (20 km2) estate and campus, that houses The 50,000 church building, the church secretariat, the church's youth chapel, a primary school called Kingdom heritage model school, a full boarding mission secondary school called Faith Academy, with over 1,500 students and the its University facilities which accommodates over 7,000 students, fully resident in ultra-modern hostel facilities, with fully equipped faculty buildings and numerous staff housing facilities.Canaanland campus also has for profit establishments operated by the church such as a bakery, a bottled water processing plant, a petrol station, various restaurants and shopping stores, several residential houses that provide for the over 2,000 church employees, and guest houses.Four banks are also present on this Estate, three of which are branches of external commercial banks and one which is a community and micro-finance Bank and operated by the Church.The whole of Canaanland which includes a proposed 15,000 housing estate known as Canaan City had increased to 17,000 acres as at 2012.[19][20]

Christian ministry

The teachings of Oyedepo has put him in the category of what is commonly called the Word of Faith Movement.[21] He has referred to principal exponents of the Faith Movement such as Kenneth Copeland, Gloria Copeland,the late Kenneth Hagin, T.L Osborn, Smith WigglesWorth as well as renowned Nigerian preachers Enoch Adeboye and the late Benson Idahosa as mentors.[22][23]

The teachings of Oyedepo are grouped under a range of topics called '12 pillars of Destiny', which include: Faith, The Word, Prosperity, the Holy Spirit, Praise, Consecration, the Supernatural, Wisdom, Prayer, Success, Vision and Healing.[24] The Overall focus of His teachings centre around Faith in God's, Prosperity and Miracles.He teaches that faith in the word of God is the key to a life of God's blessings and security from the works of the devil.His teachings on prosperity are aimed at empowering people to live free from poverty, particularly the African continent. He describes his own teaching on prosperity as “covenant software for programming yourself into victories and triumphs."[25] His Church (Winners Chapel) also operates a Bible training programme known as Word of Faith Bible Institute for members and non-members alike to develop knowledge of Christian principles and to develop leaders and future pastors.This institute is run in major branches of the Church.[26]

Oyedepo who operates like the “Chief Executive Officer” of a conglomerate,is the President of David Oyedepo Ministries International (DOMI).[27] DOMI is the umbrella organisation comprising Living Faith Church World Wide (a global network of churches), World Mission Agency (WMA); the global missionary arm of the church's operations, Dominion Publishing House; the publishing arm of the church, Covenant University, and the Social Development Missions projects (made up of hospitals, maternity homes, schools, etc.

Oyedepo is also a strong critic of corruption in Africa as a whole and poor leadership in government.[28]

Educational endeavours

Oyedepo's socio-economic endeavours include founding over 100 educational institutions based on Christian principles for primary, secondary and tertiary stages of formal Education to empower the young generation,develop the human capacity and improve the educational system in Nigeria and Africa. This has led to the establishment of kingdom heritage model schools in different cities in Nigeria for primary education, Faith Academy; a missionary full boarding secondary school was opened to students on October 25, 1999 and Covenant University.Covenant University was opened to students on October 21, 2002 and was adjudged to be the best private university in Nigeria as of 2005. On March 21, 2011, Landmark University, Omuaran Kwara State (another educational institution founded by the Ministry) officially opened the doors to her pioneer students.

Landmark University by her founder (Dr. Oyedepo) was said to be built with over USD $100 million at one of his speaking engagement in 2011' This university will be a top quality university that will be able to compete with universities such as Harvard. '[29]

Book publishing

Oyedepo's church also operates its own publishing house,called Dominion Publishing House(DPH), commissioned on December 5, 1992 which has published over 60 Christian, inspirational and motivational books, mini books, magazines and other resources.[30][31] Some of His Best Selling books include:

  • Pillars of Destiny
  • Exploits in Ministry
  • Walking in Dominion
  • Possessing your possession
  • Exploits of Faith
  • Anointing for exploits
  • Walking in the Newness of life
  • Maximise destiny
  • Commanding the supernatural
  • Winning invisible battles
  • Success Strategies
  • Success systems
  • Towards Excellency in life and Ministry
  • Excellency of Wisdom
  • Breaking Financial Hardship
  • The Release of Power
  • Excellency of Wisdom
  • Born to Win
  • The Miracle Meal
  • The Healing Balm
  • The Blood Triumph
  • Keys to Divine Health
  • Fulfilling Your Days
  • Breaking the Curses of Life
  • All You Need to Have All Your Needs Met
  • Emergence Of The Glorious Church
  • Manifestation of the Spirits of God
  • The Unlimited Power of Faith
  • Ruling your world
  • The idea of a university

Family life

In 1982 he married Florence Abiola Akano (now known as Faith). They have four children together (David Jr, Isaac, Love and Joys). David Jr and Isaac Oyedepo were ordained as Pastors in May 2007 by Kenneth Copeland.[32] David Jr pastors the London Branch of the Church with His wife, Kemi while Isaac Oyedepo is the present Resident Pastor of Winners' Chapel International, South Africa.

David Oyedepo Day of Service- (DODOS) Launched

The DODOS is an initiative setup by the Covenant University Alumni Association with the aim to promote the contribution and value adding lifestyle of Bishop David O. Oyedepo. Started on the 27th of Sept. 2012, which also is the Bishop's birthday, people around the world who connect with this initiative are expected to show an act of contribution to individuals, organizations or the society at large.[33]

References

  1. ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong (2011-06-07). Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/06/07/the-five-richest-pastors-in-nigeria/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ http://odili.net/news/source/2008/feb/4/14.html%7Ctitle=Faith Tabernacle makes Guinness Book of Records|accessdate=2010-02-02
  3. ^ http://davidoyedepoministries.org/church-network%7Caccessdate=2010-02-02
  4. ^ http://winners-chapel.org.uk/aboutus.php%7Caccessdate=2010-02-02
  5. ^ http://www.onlinenigeria.com/links/adv.asp?blurb=110%7Ctitle=50 Most Powerful Pastors|work=Online Nigeria|accessdate=2010-02-02
  6. ^ The Five Richest Pastors In Nigeria. Forbes
  7. ^ http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/columnists/inspiration/inspiration-feb-14-2008.htm%7Caccessdate=2009-10-08
  8. ^ http://www.davidoyedepoministries.org/about-us%7Caccessdate=2009-11-12
  9. ^ http://www.davidoyedepoministries.org/the-journey-so-far/%7Caccessdate=2010-02-03
  10. ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong (2011-06-07). "The Five Richest Pastors In Nigeria". blogs.forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Church of the 50,000 faithful". BBC News. 1999-11-30. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  12. ^ http://www.inprofiledaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=880:bishop-oyedepo-arrives-today-as-empowerment-summit-2009-kicks-off&catid=1:headlines&Itemid=56%7Caccessdate=2010-02-03
  13. ^ http://odili.net/news/source/2008/feb/4/14.html%7Caccessdate=2010-02-03
  14. ^ http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=4&id=1243401456%7Caccessdate=2010-02-03
  15. ^ http://allafrica.com/stories/200604210188.html%7Caccessdate=2010-02-03
  16. ^ http://www.kingdomprecepts.org/news/article.php?id=3921%7Caccessdate=2010-02-03
  17. ^ http://ofmonline.ning.com/forum/topics/2040680:Topic:6313?commentId=2040680:Comment:35105%7Caccessdate=2010-02-03
  18. ^ http://odili.net/news/source/2008/feb/4/14.html%7Caccessdate=2009-08-17
  19. ^ http://odili.net/news/source/2008/feb/1/423.html%7Caccessdate=2009-08-17
  20. ^ http://www.cenbank.org/Supervision/fi.asp?name=Covenant%20University%20Microfinance%20Bank%20Limited&institutetype=MicroFinance%20Bank%7Caccessdate=2009-08-17
  21. ^ http://www.believersstandunited.com/word_of_faith_movement.html%7Caccessdate=2009-10-12
  22. ^ Kuponu, S 2005. “Processes of Deliverance Ritual among Nigerian Pentecostals: The Case of the Living Faith Church”, paper presented at the Postgraduate Colloquium, Department of History of Religions, University of Bayreuth/Germany, 24 November.
  23. ^ Kuponu, S 2006. “Success and Empowerment in Living Faith Church Worldwide, Nigeria”, paper presented at the Postgraduate Colloquium, Department of History of Religions, University of Bayreuth/Germany,2 February.
  24. ^ http://davidoyedepoministries.org/pillars-of-faith/%7Caccessdate=2009-10-12
  25. ^ Oyedepo, D 1997. Understanding Financial Prosperity, Lagos: Dominion Publishing House
  26. ^ http://www.davidoyedepoministries.org/the-word-of-faith-bible-institute/%7Caccessdate=2010-02-03
  27. ^ http://repository.up.ac.za/upspace/bitstream/2263/4089/1/Ukah_Piety(2007)a.pdf%7Caccessdate=2010-02-02
  28. ^ http://www.modernghana.com/news/250632/1/christians-must-champion-fight-against-corruption-.html%7Caccessdate=2009-10-27
  29. ^ http://www.davidoyedepoministries.org/education
  30. ^ http://www.dominionbooksonline.com/about-us.php%7Caccessdate=2010-02-02
  31. ^ http://davidoyedepoministries.org/dominion-publishing-house/%7Caccessdate=2010-02-02
  32. ^ http://www.winnerschapelny.org/meetpastor.php%7Caccessdate=2010-02-02
  33. ^ http://www.davidoyedepodayofservice.com

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