September 29, (THEWILL) – Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo, the presiding bishop of the Living Faith Church otherwise known as Winners Chapel clocked 70 a few days ago.
For a man of his stature and influence, one day wasn’t enough to celebrate him. It was a weeklong celebration that saw over 40 ministers of the gospel from around the world converge to celebrate Oyedepo for being one of the enigmas of the charismatic movement in Nigeria, Africa and in several other continents around the world where his impact has been felt and is still being felt.
The celebrations started on the morning of Monday September 23rd with visitations to hospitals, orphanages and old peoples’ homes bearing gifts, prayers and words of encouragement to them. In the evening heralded a praise and thanksgiving service organised by the alumnus of Covenant and Landmark Universities which he both founded. Both alumni presented him with significant gifts in appreciation of his impact in their lives. It was also an opportunity for students of the Bethesda Home of the Blind to publicly acknowledge how he has been responsible for their welfare – feeding, clothing and schooling with at least 21 of them graduating from universities and at least half of them bagging first class degrees.
On the morning of Tuesday September 24, there was a public lecture in his honour at the Covenant University Chapel as its Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Regents. The lecture title, ‘The Black Race And The Leadership Question’ was delivered by Professor Peter Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary, National University Commission, NUC.
In the evening of Tuesday was another praise and worship session. This continued till Wednesday September 25 and Thursday September 26, with more rounds of praise and worship in the evenings. On the morning of Friday September 27, the d-day, was a birthday service. Virtually who is who in the Christian faith, were at the service to felicitate with him.
Clergymen such as Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG; Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, Bishop Wale Oke, President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa of Church of God Mission International; Pastor Paul Enenche of Dunamis International Gospel Centre; Pastor David Ibiyeomie of Salvation Ministries; Pastor Femi Emmanuel, Pastor Sam Adeyemi, Pastor Goodman Akinlabi, Pastor Jerry Eze, Rev Esther Ajayi and many others too numerous to mention. Other dignitaries at the service were former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and his predecessor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. Others were Delta State governor, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, Mudashiru Obasa, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly; Professor Jerry Gana; several traditional rulers and too many dignitaries to mention. Following the service was a grand reception.
And on Sunday, a thanksgiving service was held to round up the celebrations. Some of the gospel acts who ministered throughout the weeklong celebration were Evangelist Tope Alabi, Lilian Nneji, Yinka Alaseyori, Nathaniel Bassey, Dunsin Oyekan, Mercy Chinwo, Emmanuel Edunjobi aka Emma Oh My God, City Choir, Ayewa Band, Covenant University choir, Faith Tabernacle choir etc. To show the profound impact Oyedepo has on them, two of his sons in the Christian faith gave him two Rolls Royce Cullinans. One of them is Ibiyeomie. A third son in the Christian faith anonymously donated N1 billion to feed the over 50,000 guests throughout the duration of the birthday celebration.
That Oyedepo has made some profound impact cannot be overemphasised. Besides his ministry which spans over 300 cities in Nigeria and numerous countries worldwide, three of his accomplishments stand out in the public eye. The first is building the first 50,000-seat church auditorium, Faith Tabernacle, in Canaan land, Ota, Ogun State, something that was unheard of in Nigeria until he did it within one year. In 2010, Guinness World Records book recognized it as the largest church auditorium in the world. The second is his trailblazing zest in education.
In addition to founding two universities in Nigeria, the church’s chain of primary and secondary schools spread across the country and beyond the shores have set new standards and prepared many young minds for global challenges. The third is the 105,000-seater Ark Project, a stadium-like edifice costing hundreds of billions of naira with a proposed launch date of November 2025. This project on completion will dwarf the 50,000-seat church auditorium and will serve as an overflow facility.
