Meet Bishop David O Oyedepo, President of Living Faith Church Worldwide – His Biography, Life, Ministry and Exploits’
Only touched people, can touch others, only blessed people can bless others, only anointed people can anoint others, only liberated people can liberate others, only empowered people can empower others, Only Ordained Leaders can make meaningful landmark in their generation and cause the people to flourish like a cedar of Lebanon.
I am excited to be writing about one man I so much love in the world today who is causing waves of glory all around the globe, and his impart is so profound and can’t be neglected – Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo.
Bishop David O. Oyedepo (born September 27, 1954) is a Nigerian Christian author, preacher, the founder and presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church World Wide, also known as Winners’ Chapel, and its affiliated international churches known as Winners Chapel International, with headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
‘ The Liberation Mandate
On May 2nd 1981 at the end of a visionary encounter that lasted about 18hours, God gave a command to his servant Bishop David Oyedepo – “The hour as come to liberate the world from every operation of the devil by the preaching of the word of Faith, and I am sending you to undertake this task – The Liberation Mandate”.
From this encounter, as mandated by God; Bishop david oyedepo took off into destiny gradually, and grew from a church of 4 standing members in 1983 to a congregation of more multitudes.
| Bishop David Oyedepo and Pastor Faith Oyedepo When Young and Older together. |
Early life and history
On September 27, 1954 David Olaniyi Oyedepo was born in
Osogbo, Nigeria, but is a native of Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria. He
was raised in a mixed religious family His father, Ibrahim, was a Muslim
healer. His mother, Dorcas, was a member of the Eternal Order of the
Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (C&S), a branch of
the Aladura movement in Nigeria. He was raised by his grandmother in
Osogbo, who introduced him to the virtues of Christian life via early
morning prayers which she attended with him. She also taught him the
importance of tithing.
Oyedepo
was born again in 1969, through the influence of his teacher, Betty
Lasher, who took special interest in him during his high school days. He
studied Architecture at the former Kwara State Polytechnic, he worked
briefly with the Federal Ministry of Housing in Ilorin before resigning
to concentrate on missionary work. Oyedepo received a Ph.D. in Human Development from Honolulu University, Hawaii, United States.
After The encounter of The Liberation Mandate; Living Faith Church World Wide (LFCWW) emerged, first called Liberation Faith Hour Ministries, in 1981. Two years later, on September 17, 1983, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God,
ordained David and his wife, Florence Abiola Akano (known as Faith
Abiola Oyedepo) to become pastors and officially commissioned the new
church. Five years later, Oyedepo was ordained as Bishop.
Living Faith Church (AKA Winners Chapel) started in Kaduna but moved
to Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria in July 1989, to start a new
branch of the church after Oyedepo claimed to have received instructions
from God to reach out to the people of Lagos.
By The virtue of Grace, Bishop David Oyedepo is the wealthiest preacher in Nigeria with a net worth of over USD $150 million.
The church owns four private jets and several buildings around the
world, including London and the United States. Oyedepo is an author and
publisher who has written over 70 titles apart from periodicals. He is
the Chairman/Publisher of Dominion Publishing House (DPH), a publishing
arm of the ministry. DPH has over 4 million prints in circulation to
date. Through Oyedepo Covenant University, Faith Academy and Kingdom
Heritage Schools have been established to equip the youth for global
impact. The construction of a third university named Crown University is
already underway, located in Calabar, Cross Rivers, Nigeria.
Place of Worship
Bishop Oyedepo
claims that in 1998 he was instructed by God to build a new base for
the Commission to accommodate the increasing number of worshippers. This
resulted in Bishop Oyedepo’s church’s acquisition of the initial
530-acre (2.1 km2) facility, known as Canaanland, which serves as the headquarters. It is the home of the 50,000-seat capacity auditorium, the ‘Faith Tabernacle‘,
which is reputed to be the largest church auditorium in the world. This
was a feat also recorded by the Guinness Book of Records.
Construction was completed within 12 months. Reports also claimed
that this building was built debt free. This 50,000-seat edifice was
dedicated on September 18, 1999 under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Canaanland is in Ota, Ogun state and is the 5,000-acre (20 km2)
estate and campus, that houses The 50,000 church building, the church
secretariat, the church’s youth chapel, a primary school called Kingdom
heritage model school, a full boarding mission secondary school called
Faith Academy, with over 1,500 students and the Covenant University
facilities, which accommodates over 7,000 students, fully resident in
ultra-modern hostel facilities, with fully equipped faculty buildings
and numerous staff housing facilities. Canaanland campus also has for
profit establishments operated by the church such as a bakery, a bottled
water processing plant, a petrol station, various restaurants and
shopping stores, several residential houses that provide for the over
2,000 church employees, and guest houses. The whole of Canaanland which
includes a proposed 15,000 housing estate known as Canaan City had
increased to 17,000 acres as at 2012.
Christian ministry
The teachings of Bishop Oyedepo has put him in the category of what
is commonly called the Word of Faith Movement. He has referred to
principal exponents of the Faith Movement such as Kenneth
Copeland, Gloria Copeland, the late Kenneth E. Hagin, E. W. Kenyon, T. L. Osborn, Smith Wigglesworth as well as renowned Nigerian preachers Pastor Enoch Adeboye and the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa as mentors.
His Winners Chapel operates a Bible training programme known as Word
of Faith Bible Institute for members and non-members alike to develop
knowledge of Christian principles and to develop leaders and future
pastors. This institute is run in major branches of the Church.
Oyedepo is the President of David Oyedepo Ministries International (DOMI). DOMI
is the umbrella organisation comprising Living Faith Church World Wide
(a global network of churches), World Mission Agency (WMA); the global
missionary arm of the church’s operations, Dominion Publishing House;
the publishing arm of the church, Covenant University, and the Social
Development Missions projects (made up of hospitals, maternity homes,
schools, etc.
With such a deep understanding and leadership skills; Bishop Oyedepo
has criticised corruption in Africa as a whole and poor leadership in
government, and he as been committed to be a wave of change in the land.
Book publishing
Oyedepo’s church also operates its own publishing house, called
Dominion Publishing House (DPH), commissioned on December 5, 1992 which
has published over 70 Christian, inspirational and motivational books,
mini books, magazines and other resources. Some of his authored books
include:
- Pillars of Destiny
- Signs and Wonders Today
- Anointing for Exploits
- Understanding Financial Prosperity
- The Healing Balm
- The Force of Freedom
- Walking in the Newness of Life
- Exploits in Ministry
- The Unlimited Power of Faith
- Winning Prayer
- Success Strategies
- Breaking Financial Hardship
- In Pursuit of Vision
- Understanding Divine Direction
- The Winning Wisdom
- Understanding the Power of Praise
- Releasing the Supernatural
- Walking in the Miraculous
- Anointing for Breakthrough
- Understanding Vision
- Towards Excellence in Life and Ministry
- Success Systems
- Understanding the Anointing
- Exploits of Faith
- The Blood Triumph
- Satan Get Lost
Family life
In 1982 he married Florence Abiola Akano (now known as Faith). They have four children together (David Junior, Isaac, Love and Joyce). David Junior and
Isaac Oyedepo were ordained as Pastors in May 2007 by Kenneth
Copeland. David Junior pastors the London Branch of the Church with His
wife, Kemi while Isaac Oyedepo pastors of Winners’ Chapel International, South Africa with his wife Ayomitide.
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| Family Time – Bishop Oyedepo and Wife With All Their Children in Family Photo |
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| Entire Oyedepo Family. |
David Oyedepo Day of Service- (DODOS) Launched
The DODOS is an initiative set up by the Covenant University Alumni
Association with the aim to promote the contribution and value adding
lifestyle of Bishop David O. Oyedepo. Started on the 27th of Sept. 2012,
which also is the Bishop’s birthday, people around the world who
connect with this initiative are expected to show an act of contribution
to individuals, organizations or the society at large.
Bishop
Oyedepo is one of the pioneer of faith in Africa and has been
considered as one of the most powerful Preachers in Nigeria, he’s the
founder and the president of the Living FAITH Church Worldwide, also
known as “Winners Chapel” he serve as the senior pastor of Faith
Tabernacle, in 1987 bishop oyedepo had a grass cathedral where people
converge to worship God and hear the word of faith from the Lord, but
today, FAITH TABERNACLE at Otta, is considered to be the largest
church in the world with a total of 50,000 seaters where 5 services hold
every Sunday, Faith tabernacle was built totally debt-free in 12 month
with all equipment gotten from Nigeria in Africa, the amazing feature of
this great auditorium is that, there is no pillar holding it from the
top downward, with a manifold wisdom God’s servant Bishop David Oyedepo
explained that the idea came from the perspective of how God created the
heaven and earth without a pillar and the heaven never fell on the
earth, Faith Tabernacle was dedicated on September 18, 1999.In Addition to Faith Tabernacle, Winners chapel as been recorded to have church branches across villages, towns, cities in over 4,000 Locations in Nigeria as well as 60 other Nations, spread across 5 Continents of the world.
In 1984, The Ministry had a Little car as the only official Car of the ministry but today at the head quarter (Faith Tabernacle) they run nothing less than 5,000 buses conveying people from church to their various destinations in the city and bringing them back to church next Sunday.
All workers and staffs are entitle to personal vehicles.
As part of the administrative skills of bishop oyedepo, he as gone from a work load and staff of 3 to thousands including co-ministers, pastors, administrators, I.T Specialists, technical workers, and army of teachers and non teaching staffs in the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions respectively , and over 2000 skilled and unskilled laborers in the construction industry alone.
Bishop’s Dominion Bookshop
As a potent and impactful writer, Bishop Oyedepo as authored and publish so many anointed and impactful books that as brought many to lime light with their destiny and led to so many breakthroughs and testimonies.
Dominion bookshop is the label of the ministry’s book selling store that is always at the church state headquarters.
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