- Details Of His Encounter With GOD!
- What No One Will Tell You
What sort of a man is Pastor Adeboye? How did he become a born-again Christian? How did he become an interpreter translating the sermons of the late G. O. of Redeemed, Pa Josiah Akindayomi from Yoruba to English before he was ordained a pastor of the church in 1975? How did he emerge as the next General Overseer when Pa Akindayomi moved on to greater glory? We thought you
might want to know something about this wonderful man” whom God is using to bless millions of people the world over. The following is the story of Pastor Adeboye, as culled from Redemption Light. Excerpts:
The man who walked into The Redeemed Christian Church of God at Ebute-Metta mid 1973 was not the usual type of worshipper. He and his wife stood out in the modest place of worship that could not even boast of a concrete floor. Of course, he had no way of knowing that prior to his appearance at the church, God had told the General Superintendent, Pa Josiah Afidayomi, of his coming and that he would be his successor. The 31-year-old University of Lagos lecturer had to pocket his pride and impressive credentials to come to this lagoon-front-ramshackled church because he needed a solution to a very pressing problem. And this was not the first time he would consult men of lower social and intellectual status in search of a solution. He had gone from medical doctors and herbalists in filthy shacks to beach front spiritualists.
Enoch Adejare Adeboye had risen from a very humble background’. Financial hardship had nearly truncated his academic pursuits. But he managed to obtain the First School Leaving Certificate at Ifewara, his home town in Osun State and the secondary school certificate from I1esa. At the age of 25, he obtained his first degree in Mathematics. The very brilliant academic pursuit of this child of destiny was punctuated between schools with teaching experiences at , Ondo, and Okeigbo/lfetedo Grammar School, Okeigbo. At the time he first came in contact with The Redeemed
Christian Church of God, he was a Mathematics lecturer at the University of Lagos and was pursuing adoctorate degree in Hydrodynamics. He had his life well laid out. Coming from a background that was so poor mat he could not own a pair of shoes until the age of 17, Adeboye was running fast to reach the peak of his chosen career in the ivory tower. His academic pursuit, once threatened by financial handicap had blossomed. At the age of 31, he was working hard to become the youngest Vice Chancellor of a university in Africa. Years earlier, he had married his heart-throb, Folu. All things seemed to be on course. as the woman he loved soon became pregnant. Then trouble started. Doctors discovered that due to the formation of her pelvic bones. the chances of her ever having normal delivery were non-existent. So, the first child was delivered by Caesarean section. The same happened to the second and third deliveries. At this point, medical practitioners advised the young couple to forget about having more children. Of course, this was a difficult decision for them.
When it rains, the effects are felt. About the same time, the third child who was still a baby, became afflicted with a strange disease. This was another terrible blow to die couple. Sleepless nights and days of consulting orthodox, traditional and spiritual healers yielded no relief. It was at this point that Dr. Adeboye’s uncle, Rev. Chris Fajemirokun, recommended The Redeemed Christian Church of God. The rather rowdy mode of worship and noisy prayers sounded strange to a man who was used to the controlled religious ceremonies of his orthodox church. Nevertheless, the scholar was struck by the sound biblical exegesis contained in the sermons delivered by the church leader who had had no formal education”. But because the man needed a miracle, he endured the unusual worship and the rather derelict environment of the church.
What Dr. Adeboye could not get himself to understand was the call by the bunch of illiterate people that he should surrender his life to Jesus Christ to obtain total victory over all woes and afflictions. The issue that brought the Adeboyes was still outstanding. So, they kept coming. The sharp Word of God finally penetrated. And on July 29, 1973, sobbing like a baby, Dr. Adeboye ran to the altar to accept Jesus as his personal Lord and Saviour.
Having received the message that “With God, nothing shall be impossible”, the Adeboyes decided this was a better report than the earlier report from the doctors about the woman’s inability to deliver children the natural way. When their fourth child was born in 1978, it was at the Church Maternity Centre at Ebute-Metta: The delivery was normal, The son was named Oluwadamilare meaning, “God has vindicated me”. While fellow scholars argued with Dr. Adeboye that the birth was more of an accident than a miracle, the couple decided to disprove the cynics. So, in 1982, their last child was delivered at the same Maternity Centre normally. He was named Oluwagbenileke meaning, “God has lifted me up”. The young convert received’ a divine touch and peace returned to his home. The sick child was healed and new things began to happen in his life. As the message of complete holiness was being preached, he made up his mind to live by the Word. Zealous for the Lord, Dr. Adeboye never missed any church service.
When he found that mostly the illiterate members of the church had better grasp of the Bible than he did,
he started spending more time with it. Initially, his knowledge of the Bible was so shallow that he would on occasions search for, say, the book of Hebrews in the Old Testament. A brother whose prayer life challenged him became his model. He would sit next to the brother and try to imitate the concentration and seriousness of the former.
By the time Dr. Adeboye was baptized by immersion in 1973, his zeal and the gifts of God upon his’life had marked him out. He was soon ordained a Deacon. By this time, he had become interpreter to the General Superintendent. When after several months he was informed that he would be ordained a Pastor, both he and his wife concluded that the matter was being taken too far. They went into their prayer closet to persuade God with fasting and prayer to change His mind. It Was to no avail.
On September 14, 1975, he was ordained along with four others at the Ebute-Metta headquarters of the church. The interpreter for the General Superintendent became Rev. (Dr.) E. A. Adeboye.
From the moment he gave his life to Christ, Pastor Adeboye eagerly shared the Gospel with all he met. His colleagues and students at the University were the primary target of his evangelical zeal. In 1977, this trend took a new dimension, For about three years before his conversion, Pastor Adeboye did not dare visit his hometown of Ifewara in present day Osun State. The problem was that some witches thought his meat would make a good breakfast. So, he ran for his dear life by escaping into a self-imposed exile. After his conversion, however, he visited the town. He boasted of the power of his Redeemer who had conquered all the forces of darkness. The same year, Pastor Adeboye hired a cocoa produce buyer’s warehouse by paying 15 years rent. The place was renovated and a branch of The Redeemed Christian Church of God took off in the town .
The issue of who would succeed the founder and first General Superintendent of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi, was on the minds of many in the church as the leader grew older. But by the time he passed on to glory in 1980 at the age of 75, he left a clear statement about whom the Lord had chosen to replace him. Pastor E. A. Adeboye, who had left the University of Lagos for the University of Ilorin in 1979 was the choice. So, in March 1981, Pastor Adeboye was consecrated as the new leader of the church.
Leaving the ivory tower to move to a modest apartment in the oldest slum in Lagos, Mushin, was like falling from grace to grass. But that was the beginning of a new thing. The new leader’s modesty would not permit him tobe called Reverend Doctor General Superintendent So, he changed his title to simply Pastor and his designation to General Overseer. The vision dropped in the heart of an unlettered man began to blossom in the hand of the scholar. From 39 parishes, the church has spread across the globe.
