Two Fridays before the one of yesterday, the President of the Living Faith Church worldwide, better known also as WinnersChapel or simply Winners, Dr. David Olaniyi Oyedepo, marked his 70th birthday on earth. For months and weeks before that Friday, it had been preparations upon hectic preparations for a celebration galore in honour of a priest who truly deserves to be celebrated as a priest of the Lord Most High.
For a man who is known all over the world as one whose church has the largest sitting capacity of all churches in the world, Oyedepo surely deserves some bow of recognition. There is no argument about it that having a church with the largest sitting capacity in the world may not necessarily mean he has won the largest number of the hearts of many lost souls to Christ. But that achievement of size alone is worthy of some recognition because it shows that he is well on his way to turning many sinners to saints.
But that is hardly the only worthy thing faithful all over the world are celebrating Oyedepo for. The man is a great builder of men and institutions. Called in 1981 by God to liberate mankind from the deception and subsequent stranglehold of the Devil, Oyedepo began his ministry with bare hands and his unwavering faith in God made him to succeed. The story of Oyedepo is the story of a man who rose from anonymity to the present stardom he enjoys. This is a man who, from his base in Kaduna, used to send his missionaries with humble provisions to go to faraway places like Maiduguri, Bauchi, Port-Harcourt and Sokoto and all over Nigeria to found churches and command them that ‘’your money and other provisions must not finish, you must not callback to headquarters for financial and other reinforcements and above all, your assignment must be accomplished to the glory of God’’. That is how Living Faith Church started and has grown steadily in the past 33 years to today become one of the most influential churches on earth.
In the course of the pursuit of his God given work, Oyedepo has taken raw, crude and coarse men and women and have smoothened their rough edges and turned them into ardent disciples of Christ and into great citizens of their countries. His followers are numbered among presidents of nations, governors, senators, noble men and women and millions of active ordinary mend women. This writer is one of his followers. Everyday, I pray that the virtues of wisdom, knowledge, drive, determination and the unwavering faith in God that is upon Oyedepo, God should give me three times upon what he has bestowed on that man. And I think I am not doing badly at all in the manifestation of these virtues upon my life.
There are several attributes of Oyedepo that have helped him become the person we know him to be today. The attributes are encapsulated in what he calls the 12 pillars of the Living Faith Church. There are: vision, success,, perseverance, prosperity, consecration, sanctification, thanksgiving, praise.h To breakdown each of these, you need 12 books to be able to do so successfully.faith in the God who sent him, hard work, prayer, praise, prudence, miracles, healing, unwavering faith in God and his dependence on Him for leadership and guidance. These principles have guided and driven Oyedepo to reach the hieight he has reached in life and ministry today.Oyedepo is a man who believes that with God all things are possible and that is why he has scores of what he himself calls undeniable proofs to show to us what faith can do to a man who has it. What are some of these undeniable proofs? Covenant University Ota,Nigeria, one of the best universities in Nigeria, West Africa, Africa and the worldtoday, Landmark University, in Omu- Aran his home village in Kwara State, another great institution, where two of my own children have graduated from.
Oyedepo is a priest who deserves to be called a priest. He has an unwavering faith in every promise or prophecy made by God. Before I started worshipping with this church I had heard that Oyedepo once declared that leprosy should come upon him if he ever commits adultery and fornication. Since joining the church I have not bothered to find out if indeed he made such a vow. What I have seen and what he says and does have settled it for me. Given the enormous temptation that comes the way of many men and women of God a man who makes a conscious declaration such as this must be a man who has sold his soul to God. That is the type of man to follow so that his spirit can influence yours.
Oyedepo’s impact upon the world is unmistakable. He is known all over the world as the richest pastor on planet earth. Some of his critics criticize him for a prosperity gospel preacher and not focused on salvation, sanctification and living a holy spirit filled life. This accusation is false and misleading.
