Photos From Preserved Legacy Lecture

REMEMBERING A FAITHFUL FATHER

A FAITHFUL FATHER OF FAITH:

IN EVERGREEN MEMORY OF PA. JOSIAH OLUFEMI AKINDAYOMI (1909-1980)

With gratitude to God, we acknowledge the grace of God upon our lives and The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) which has been growing in leaps and bounds since our father, the founder of RCCG, went to be with the Lord, November 2^nd, 1980.

Our father, the late Reverend Josiah Akindayomi devoted his life to the pursuit of reconciliation between mankind and God. He lived a Spartan life for the kingdom of God on earth. As a servant of God, he was committed to prayer, holiness, and sacrifice. These virtues formed the foundation of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) founded by Reverend Josiah Akindayomi in Lagos Nigeria in 1952.
Upon the death of Rev. Akindayomi in 1980, in accordance with his will, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye became the General Overseer of the RCCG in 1981 through whom the RCCG has spread all over the world. This global spread is in accordance with the promise God made to Rev. Josiah Akindayomi in his lifetime. This promise was relayed to Pastor Adeboye by Late Rev. Akindayomi before he died. Pastor  Adeboye himself has been acknowledged as one of the most influential personalities in the world by Newsweek Magazine (2011). Till date, Pastor Adeboye continues to reveal to the world that the late Reverend Akindayomi is the only mentor he has had. He is always proud to note that the late founder of RCCG taught him three major things: how to pray, back up every word he speaks with the Scriptures and to live holy.

We, the biological offspring of Pa Josiah Akindayomi, therefore cherish the memories we have of our father, grandfather, and great-grandfather on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of his passing on to glory. We confidently declare that sweet is the memory of the righteous (Proverbs 10:7) concerning the late patriarch of our family and a faithful father of faith in Nigeria and in the over 178 nations where The Redeemed Christian Church of God is represented. Today, as the work of God spreads like a fruitful acorn around the world through The Redeemed Christian Church of God, we raise our heads high that we are from the loin of a righteous and humble sons and daughters of the living God.

Historically, our father ranks among the pioneers of faith in world history who founded enduring churches. Great men like Henry VIII of England who founded the Anglican Church and John Wesley who founded The Methodist Church are the two notable only parallels of our father around the world.

An understanding of the conversion experience of our father and the establishment of RCCG reveals a parallel with the life of John Wesley and the establishment of the Methodist Church. Both men, having encountered God in their private moments, were zealous about practicing the spirit of the gospel as the Holy Spirit revealed it to them. The consequence of this was that they ruffled a few feathers in their existing denomination, thus forcing them out of their denomination to create a new environment where the Lord Jesus would be glorified in the beauty of holiness and power. Yet, our father, Pa Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi and John Wesley lived in different centuries and continents. The world is blessed with great men in every generation.

Widely believed to be uneducated, our father had an uncanny understanding of the written and revealed word of God. He passionately read his bible daily without any assistance whatsoever rightly dividing the word of truth. Till date, we treasure the sermon notes written with the long hands of our father in flowing cursive as a testimony to how the Lord trained an otherwise uneducated man. He got the revelation of the name of the church directly from God, which with the help of the Holy Spirit legibly written down without no one’s assistance.

Miracle was the middle name and daily experience of our beloved father. We witnessed when he visited US in  the 70s, accompanied amongst others by Pastor Igbekoyi,  how he was able to communicate in English by the help of the Holy Spirit direct with the American Pastors, and thereafter he couldn't do so again. Pastor Enoch Adeboye, always share the story of how our father prayed into an empty pot and commanded our mother to scoop soup from the otherwise empty pot. The testimony flowed as our mother continuously scooped out soup from the pot for many days until the day she looked into the pot!  He was a man who, like our Lord Jesus Christ, predicted how he would die, the time which towards the last hours he was constantly checking his wristwatch like someone embarking on a trip. He also predicted the future growth of RCCG across the entire world. God wrought many healings, signs, and wonders through our father. Our father was known to pray nonstop for several days on his kneesuntil God healed any of the members of the church who had long-standing sickness; some of the miracles are still fresh in our memories which include, healing of chronic sicknesses, long-time barren women becoming fruitful, the blind regained their sights and the lame walked.

God, like he did on behalf of Moses, baptized a Pastor who despised our father with leprosy in Oshogbo.

Our father, as soon as he encountered God began to do the work of an Evangelist till he gave his last breath. He always traveled overseas on missionary trips, even some African countries.

Elder Amos Olusanya (aka, king of boys), who is still vibrant in his late 80s, who was always part of his entourage in most of his trips, is a witness too, to some of our father's life testimonies. 
Our father pioneered the work of RCCG without any financial base or resources in a rented space at 9 Willoughby Street, Ebute Metta Lagos, with rugged determination combined with unparalleled zeal and sacrifice he was able to establish 40 parishes of RCCG before he died in 1980. He used the Radio as a tool for evangelism through his weekly broadcast titled, “Redemption Way”, that goes on the air every Wednesday on Ogun Radio then. Occasionally, the church embarked on  open-air crusades on Sunday evenings.

It is instructive that, apart from the Orthodox Churches, mainly the Anglican Church and Catholic Church, there was hardly any Church that had up to forty parishes operating in Nigeria as at 1980. Even today, there are very few Pentecostal churches that have up to 40 parishes.

RCCG has always been a frontrunner known for holiness, prayers, and sacrifice. It was not surprising when God assured our father, through prophecy, that RCCG is one of the few Churches that our Lord Jesus Christ will meet upon His second coming to the world.

It is in public domain that our father lived and died as a righteous man even at the risk of being separated from his second wife through Godly restitution. He had the opportunity by the special grace of God, as God gave him a second chance to reconcile with a church leader who had offended him by burning some of their customized Christian tracts that Pa. Akindayomi reproduced for evangelism. This is why we make bold to declare that our father is resting in the bosom of the Lord. He was truly ready to meet the Lord. He might not have been financially wealthy like father Abraham, our beloved father left a rich heritage and a good name for us his biological offspring and the thousands of believers who are members of RCCG all over the world today.

Prophetically, our father, Pa Akindayomi ordained Pastor Stephen Rathod, an Indian - American, as Pastor not too long before he died as a fulfillment of part of the prophecies that God gave our father, at the inception of the Church. This was interesting because as at that time the RCCG had no parish overseas though he traveled overseas on missionary trips.

Thanks to the solid spiritual foundation that our father bequeathed to us. All his children, grandchildren and matured great-grandchildren are all in the Lord. All his surviving children and some of his grandchildren are serving as Pastors in the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria and North America respectively.

It is gratifying to note that Pastor Enoch Adeboye has sacrificed so much to bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy that God declared through our father that the RCCG shall spread all over the world. In Nigeria alone, there are over 40,000 Parishes of RCCG as at August 2017. We pray that God will strengthen our beloved Daddy Adeboye to be able to accomplish more to the glory of God.

By the grace of God, caring, all of us march on toward the mark of the high calling in Jesus Christ that our father has crossed. We pray that God shall uphold us with His righteous right hand as we commit ourselves afresh to keep the banner of love, caring for masses, touching lives and faith in Christ flying as our beloved father did.

“Baba Alakoso”, as fondly called, and we his children called him "Baba Mi"  our memory is evergreen until we reunite with you in Heaven that you preached to us, and we too discovered in the infallible word of God, (The Bible).

Sleep on Baba Mi, till we meet to part no more.

From all your 5 children you left behind, Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren.

Bi-annual Legacy Lecture

The Preserved Legacy Competition

Pa Josiah Akindayomi's Bi-annual Legacy Lecture

This is an application package for Pa Josiah Akindayomi’s Bi-annual Legacy Lecture.

It explains the competition rules, process, and instruction on how to draft and submit a proposal.

 

Question: WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE YOUTH IN CHURCH GROWTH?

WHAT METHOD BEST HELP FACILITATE EVANGELISM?

COMPETITION RULES

Who should apply?

Anybody with a zeal and passion to build and increase church membership in any given denomination.

Eligibility

        Individuals participating in the competition should be between ages 15-27
       Could be either male or female
        Have experience in word process

Submission Policies

       All projects must be turned into 10 Lockwood Avenue, New Rochelle, before 5^th of November 2017
   Name and topic carefully printed on the front cover
  Must include a practical assessment of the methods procured in your project.

Printed submission (A4 paper)

Pa Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi

THE FOUNDER AND SUPERINTENDENT OF REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD:

PA Akindayomi Josiah Olufemi, his original birth name  which was Ogunribido, was derived from the god of iron. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi was the founder and first superintendent of what is today known as the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The church, today acclaimed as the fastest growing Pentecostal church in the world, started in 1947 as an independent prayer fellowship, the Glory of God Fellowship. 

Josiah was born around 1909,(though there was no proper birth records maintained at that time) into the Akindayomi family of Ondo State, Nigeria. From early childhood Josiah’s parents noticed unusual things about him; when he was sick, whicjh most times defied traditional medicine which was the common treatment in his times. The sickness would abate and suddenly disappear once he was bathed in ordinary water to the amazement of many. Josiah himself also had an inkling that he was different, for although he grew up in an environment where the worship of Ogun (the Yoruba divinity of iron and war) was prevalent, he was aware of the existence of a greater power and yearned to know the true God who created the earth and everyone in it.His yearning after God led him into the Anglican Church where he was baptized in 1927. Still spiritually unfulfilled, he joined the Cherubim and Seraphim Church in 1931. A few years later he began to hear a voice inside him declaring that he would be a minister of God. He was not at ease with this voice, which he identified as God’s call to full time ministry. For seven years he ignored it, since he had never intended to be a pastor. During this period, virtually everything went wrong for him. All his business ventures failed; heavily in debt and without peace of mind, he found himself totally dependent on the grace of God.

The turning point for Josiah came when, in 1940, he dreamed of an old man scratching his leg. He woke up the next morning with a sore on his leg that deteriorated significantly within a short period of time. Then he heard the voice inside him telling him to submit to God’s will and to serve him. When he asked for signs to confirm that the call was from God he was given the following passages as confirmation: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Isaiah 41:10-13, and Romans 8:29-31. [1] Without the use of medication, the Lord healed the sore on his leg. This marked the beginning of a definite relationship with God. Totally broken, he yielded to God, saying, “Lord I will go wherever you want me to go.” The Lord assured him that he would provide for all his needs as he would henceforth receive no salary from anyone. This promise from the Lord was a comforting reminder to him during his trials in subsequent months.



By 1952 he felt persuaded to leave the Cherubim and Seraphim Church. The fellowship he had started then grew into the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The name of the church was said to have been revealed to the founder in a vision which read “The Redeemed Christian Church of God.” This has been the name of the church ever since. During the early stages of the church he put together a  program for members of the church who could not read or write, to help them learn to read the bible and write down sermons and messages.



Akindayomi was married in 1947 and relocated to Lagos in the latter part of that year. In Lagos, he worshipped with the Cherubim and Seraphim Church at its Ibadan Street, Ebute-Metta branch, where Prophet Onanuga, the immediate successor to Prophet Moses Orimolade, the church founder, was the leader. He was still with the church in 1947 when a zeal for a better service and a deeper experience with God prompted him to start the prayer fellowship later known as the Glory of God Fellowship that met at 9, Willougby Street, Ebute-Metta, Lagos. Initially there were nine members; however the fellowship gradually grew as the news of the miracles that occurred in their midst spread. It became so popular that it drew not only members of the church, but others from the neighborhood.



It is claimed that God made a covenant with Pa Akindayomi that is synonymous to Abraham’s covenant. He said that He the Lord would meet all the needs of the church in an awesome way if only members would serve Him faithfully and be obedient to His Word. It is upon this covenant that the Redeemed Christian Church of God was built. Thus in 1952, the Redeemed Christian Church Of God was born. The church continued to meet at 9 Willoughby Street until they relocated to 1-5 Redemption Way (formerly 1a Cemetery Street). Pa Josiah Akindayomi Sometime in the early 70s, Pa Akindayomi claimed that God had spoken to him about his successor. He claimed that The Lord told him that this man, who was not a member of the church then, would be a young educated man. Thus when a young university lecturer joined the church in 1973, Papa was able,as was claimed, to recognize him in the Spirit as the one that the Lord had spoken about in the past. This man, Enoch Adejare Adeboye who was then a lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Lagos soon became involved in the church. He became one of the interpreters translating Pa Akindayomi’s sermons from Yoruba to English. He was ordained a pastor of the church in 1975. As Papa was preparing to meet his Creator, he sent for Pastor Adeboye and spent several hours sharing with him details of the covenant and the plans of the Lord for the church. Even though a year before this, the Lord had revealed to Pastor Adeboye that he would be Papa’s successor, it was still too difficult for him to fully contemplate such an awesome responsibility. Pa Josiah Akindayomi was 71 years old when he died. Amidst controversy, Pastor Adeboye’s appointment was formalized by the reading of Pa Akindayomi’s sealed pronouncement after his burial.



Since 1981, an open explosion began with the number of parishes growing in leaps and bounds. At the last count, there are over 2000 parishes of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria. On the International scene, the church is present in other African nations including C’ote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Gambia, Cameroon, and South Africa. In Europe the church is spread in England, Germany, and France. In the United States there are parishes in Dallas, Tallahassee, Houston, New York, Washington, Maryland, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Delaware, DC, New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Chicago (in fact nearly all the states in the United State) and also in the Caribbean states of Haiti and Jamaica. Pa Josiah Akindayomi. One of the well-known programs of the church is the Holy Ghost Service, an all night miracle service that holds on the first Friday of every month at the Redemption Camp at km. 46, Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The Holy Ghost Service now holds in London quarterly and in other parts of the world. Another major service is the Holy Ghost congress which holds in the second week of December every year at the Redemption Camp.



Some of the said promises of the Lord to the RCCG are as follows: 1. That He will meet this Church on His return. 2. That this Church will become a model to the whole world. 3. That other Churches from all over the world would come to learn and worship in this Church.