September 24, (THEWILL) – Last week, Jimmy Odukoya, the first son of the late Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, was declared as the new Senior Pastor of the Fountain of Life Church. He has also assumed the office of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Church. His sister, Tolu Ijogun was also chosen as the new associate Pastor of the Church.
With his elevation as pastor, tongues have been wagging over his physical appearance. The Nollywood actor who got his education at the Oral Roberts University, United States has a muscular body, grows his beard and his locks. He however has a spiritual backing to his mode of dressing. He said that he was called by God, adding that it is quite a big responsibility for him. He said after he was ordained as a pastor in 2009, he became a pastor in the church three years later. The senior pastor gave several examples as backing for different modes of dressing, citing God’s instruction to Samson not to cut his hair in the Holy Bilble as the reason he still keeps his dreadlocks.
He said, “God has called me into this new season of my life. This new position is a big responsibility. All of my focus is here (on the church). As for my dreads, most people don’t know I can back up everything I do with scripture.
“If you say I’m wrong to keep my hair as a pastor, I can tell you that God told Samson not to cut his hair in the Bible. That means long hair is not a bad thing. Also, if you say the pastor is keeping a beard, I can tell you that the Bible says that when Jesus was tortured, they pulled hair from his face.
“If you say this pastor is putting on earrings, I can tell you that in the book of Exodus, when the children of Israel got out of Egypt and wanted to do golden calf, they collected jewelry, rings, and earrings from their sons and daughters.
“Anybody can do what they want. A personal opinion is different from saying something is sinful. You should not use your own personal opinion to judge me.”
Odukoya stated further, “I was ordained as a minister in 2009 and became a pastor in the church in 2012. I was the lead pastor of the youth church until 2020 or 2021. With the things I’ve witnessed in life, there’s nothing that can shake me. I’ve lost two of the closest people to me—my father and mother—and, to an extent, some members of my family, including my aunt and grandparents. When the thing you feared most happens, then there’s nothing again. In all of this, my father was a strong man. He was full of life and energy,” Jimmy said.
Jimmy has also said that he will not stop taking roles from Nollywood despite his new calling. He said initially, many people doubted his ability to balance both roles. He, however, revealed how God moved him from Nollywood to Hollywood in six years, adding that with God nothing is impossible. He said he believes that acting can still be a means to teach important life lessons.
His father, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya passed away on August 7 in the United States at the age of 67. He was buried in Lagos on September 9.
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