•They Hold Over 6 Weddings On Weekends
Talk about one Abuja church that is always filled with the high and mighty from different parts of the country every Saturday and COZA, the Commonwealth Church of Zion Assembly will come to mind. This is because the church holds over 6 weddings every Saturday. The church which was founded by Pastor Abiodun Fatoyibo is unarguably one of Abuja’s richest churches with a huge number of youths as worshipers. Though it started small, permit us to tell you that it has grown bigger than many of its contemporaries most of which came into being even before COZA.
The church ‘COZA” located at Gilmor Construction area, Guzape Hills, Asokoro Extension Abuja was founded by Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo alongside his beautiful wife Modele Fatoyinbo on February 1999 and to say that the church has grown in leaps and bounds will be an understatement.
While other churches are complaining about the youth leaving their churches, COZA has a minimum of over 5000 youth as part of its congregation. Though many refer to the church as a place for youth but permit us to add that there is this joy which comes from within when going to worship at Coza. Why is this so, you may ask?
Driving toward the church through Gabi to link Gusape Hills is a hitch-free journey that is ever so smooth. While enjoying the cool breeze of the area, you will begin to appreciate the fantastic architectural design of the big church from afar. And just when the church is taking your attention, you notice, the flag which leads to the church and it reads. “The wealthy place”. Of course, this will certainly lift your spirit.
The pastor and his wife understand the need for members to be able to have fun in the church so they don’t get bored and turn to secular forms of entertainment. This also informs the kind of music played and performed in COZA as well as the general ambience of the church.”
Another reason why COZA is a perfect place of worship for young people is because of the dress code. In the words of our source, “COZA members are known to dress very well both in church and outside because they believe that, while God looks at the heart, men look at the outward appearance to judge. The fabulous and trendy outfits are also a strategy to show that being a Christian is not an excuse for being boring.”
Stepping inside the church, you will begin to appreciate the architectural design of the church. Permit us to tell you that no church’s beats COZA in terms of architectural designs in Abuja. People say that it is because of the structure that the church motto is “The wealthy place”. You can’t help but appreciate the sublime design of the edifice as you move closer to the smiling security personnel who welcome you to the church.
The first question you will be asked is “which of the weddings are you here for? You may be lucky to meet the wedding you came for if you come as early as stipulated on the invites. This is because they hold a minimum of 6 weddings and this must be because of the huge youth congregation.
When City People Magazine visited the church penultimate weekend for the Ademodis wedding, the wedding which was anchored by Pastor Fatoyinbo and his wife only lasted 1-hour. This is to give room for another wedding which was supposed to take place afterwards.
For a church that has been around for over 19 years, one would think that the church would have a lot of branches and pastors. Surprisingly, this is not the case. So far, COZA has just five branches; one in Ilorin, then Abuja in 2008, a Lagos branch in 2012, a Port Harcourt branch in 2016 and finally another in Dubai, which started this year. Another shocking revelation is that COZA has only ordained 4 full-time pastors. Rev. Biodun Fatoyinbo mans the Headquarters in Abuja with his wife, Pastor Modele Fatoyinbo, popularly called Mummy D. He also pays a weekly visit to the Dubai branch.
Pastor Folarin “Flow” Ogunsola is the resident pastor in Lagos while Pastor Wole Soetan mans the PH branch. Pastor Kenneth Habuh-Rajan takes care of the Ilorin branch. This is a shocker because a lot of churches are known for having loads of branches.
What is the story of the church like when they started? According to the founder of the church, Pastor Abiodun Fatoyinbo, via his Instagram handle while appreciating his wife in 2017, he wrote “Babe, we walked the streets of Ilorin together looking for people to preach the gospel to. We didn’t have any car, I had just one trouser, we didn’t have technology or finance to increase our reach, and there were holes in your shoes.
“We had to do it one person per time. I’m fully aware that God will reward us for our labour“.
There is no doubt that all their efforts have paid off as the church is today one of the richest churches in Abuja right now.
–ABIOLA ORISILE
