CHURCH OF THE WEEK:
The story of indigenously established Nation-Churches in the 20th century will not be complete without the story of Christ Apostolic Church. Whilst it is true that the Nigerian Pentecostal revival was led mainly by university staff and students, the first major revival in Nigeria, the Oke Ooye revival of 1930 which led to among many things, the birth of this indigenous establishment, was mainly manned by non-academics and in fact primary school leavers.
This first apostolic movement in the 1930s heralded what has now become "Nation-Churches" reaching out of Nigeria.
What exactly is a Nation-Church and when does a church institution become one?
The three million Israelites led by 'Pastor' Moses, who marched out of Egypt towards Canaan can be considered the first Nation-Church scripturally. The term Nation-Church is therefore thus defined:
A church, numbering over a million members, which has grown into a major group or conglomerate several Mega-Churches and with a reach and spread internationally, such that she is now a veritable source of influence within and outside her foundational Base and as such is now respected the world over.
Such a church in Nigeria must fulfill several requirements such as:
*Physical presence in terms of membership, structures, and facilities in all Nigerian states and her capital (100 percent local coverage).
*Physical presence in at least 4 continents (more than half) of the world and not less than 58 foreign nations (a quarter of the countries of the world) spread over these continents.
*Online presence in at least 120 nations (about half of the countries of the world).
*Membership of not less than 1 million people.
*Facilities and infrastructure to administer followers and organise large gatherings.
*Minimum of a thousand branches in Nigeria and another 500 branches cumulatively in other nations of the world.
*Self funded: No sponsorship or funding by any external agency or organisation.
*Annual budgets running into multi-million dollars or the same size with several other nations.
*An established international headquarters with functional administrative structures.
*Numerous other organisations such as welfare organizations, schools, colleges, media houses and other institutions, established for the goal of the "Nation-Church" and which have inherent power to influence nations in which she has been domiciled.
*An organised system of succession.
The Christ Apostolic Church is distinctly an indigenous African Church. By its structure, belief and practices, it is an independent Pentecostal Church.
The history of the Church is traceable directly to her fore-fathers, namely Oba/Pastor Isaac Babalola Akinyele (Former Olubadan), Pastor David Ogunleye Odubanjo, Joseph Sadare, Miss Sophia Odunlami and Evangelist (late Apostle) Joseph Ayodele Babalola who was called to the ministry by the Lord on 11th, October, 1928. Apostle Babalola’s call subsequently led to the great revival of 1930.
Before then, there was the 1918-28 Faith Tabernacle era characterized by the formation of praying groups’ such as the Precious or Diamond Society found in small pockets all over Nigeria. The brethren in control were Joseph Sadare (a.k.a. Esinsinade), D.O. Odubanjo, I.B. Akinyele (late Olubadan of Ibadan) and Miss Sophia Odunlami. The majority of the members of the first group of Diamond Society were worshipers at St. Savior’s Anglican Church, Ijebu-Ode, where they began meeting regularly for prayers and spiritual guidance in 1918. Mr. D. O. Odubanjo soon developed contact between members of the ‘Praying Band’ and Pastor A. Clark, the leader of Faith Tabernacle in Philadelphia, USA. through correspondence and receipt of tracts and magazines such as ‘The Sword of the Spirit’.
Soon, tension rose between the group and the Anglican Church over such practices as divine healings, opposition to infant baptism, reliance on dreams and visions, abstention from dancing, drumming, debt-owing, drinking of alcohol, gambling and mixing with non-Christians. Mr Joseph Sadare was compelled to give up his post in the Synod and others were forced to resign their jobs and to withdraw their children from the Anglican School.
But in less than a decade, branches of the group had been established in Lagos, Ibadan, Ilesa, Oyan, Ile-Ife, Minna, Jos, and Zaria. Their members had also imbibed reliance on the power of prayer, divine healing and the All Sufficiency of God.
The Oke Ooye Revival
Joseph Ayo Babalola joined the Faith Tabernacle Church in November 1929 where he was baptized in Lagos lagoon in December the same year. The revival of his mission began with the raising of a dead child in September 1930 at Oke Ooye . What followed this in three weeks was the healing of about 100 lepers, 60 blind people, and 50 lame persons. This also resulted in the desolation of Churches in Ilesa because their members transferred their allegiance to the revivalist and that all the patients in Wesley Hospital, Ilesa, abandoned their beds to seek healing from Babalola.
This divinely kicked off The Great Revival of 1930, which saw people coming from diverse places such as from parts of Africa and the diaspora without posters, handbills or Television adverts to receive healing.
The Great Revival of 1930 with Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola as its medium thus emerged in July 1930 at Oke Ooye, Ilesa. Those who assisted him during the Revival included D. O. Odubanjo, Oba I. B. Akinyele, and J. A. Babatope as well as Babalola’s followers such as J. A. Medayese, A. O. Omotoso, John Oye, J. B. Orogun, and Philip Mabigbade among others. Prophet Daniel Orekoya, later on, came to the scene.
The Great Revival did not only embrace all the beliefs accepted by the Faith Tabernacle group but also went further by embracing the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual manifestation of seeing visions, prophesying, speaking in tongues and dreaming. Consequently, upon this, people with diverse deceases were healed in thousands and, in turn, they spontaneously rejected their “juju” and other medicines. Massive revivals hitherto unknown in Nigeria ensued. Thousands of people surrendered their lives to Jesus.
Meanwhile, the Church leaders were subjected to avoidable intimidations, harassment, and humiliation at different levels of the society. So, on their behalf, Mr. D. O. Odubanjo sought co-operation with The Apostolic Church Brothers in Bradford, England. Thus on 23rd September 1931 three missionaries, viz. Pastor D. P. Williams, A. Turnbull and W. J. Williams arrived in Nigeria as guests of the Church. In November 1931, the visiting missionaries ordained the first seven Pastors of the Church who had earlier on been ordained by proxy by Pastor A. Clark in America. Three of the new Pastors namely, Pastor J. B. Sadare, D. O. Odubanjo, and Oba I. B. Akinyele later came to play important roles in the growth of the Church. After the return of the white Missionary delegates to Bradford, Pastor George Perfect and Prophet Idris Vaughan came to Nigeria on 22nd June 1932 to strengthen the bond of fellowship between the two religious bodies. For a time, the religious activities of the white brothers complemented the religious exploits of Joseph Ayo Babalola.
From the side of Nigeria, the hope that the partnership would mitigate, if not totally eliminate, their untold sufferings and persecutions became an illusion. The partnership, however, staggered for a decade before it crumbled during the 1939/40 crisis.
As a result of the disagreement over the issue of “Divine Healing” as well as issues of finance, trust, and betrayals, two groups had emerged. The pro-European group was led by Pastor S. G. Adegboyega while Apostle Joseph Babalola, Pastor D. O. Odubanjo, and Pastor (Oba) I. B. Akinyele led the Nigerian Group.
Over time, God revealed to Apostle Ayo Babalola to name the Revival Group “APOSTOLIC CHURCH”. About 1939, the Church changed its name to NIGERIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH. This name was again changed to UNITED APOSTOLIC CHURCH until 1942 when God specifically revealed according to Joseph Ayo Babalola that the name of the Church should be CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH. It was thereafter that the name was registered as No. 147 of May 4, 1943, under the Lands Perpetual Succession Ordinance.
During the decades 1940-1960, the CAC was subjected to a series of strain and stresses. Stiff opposition came from the detractors of the Church including some of the orthodox churches, most government officers, some Obas, and high chiefs and even evil forces. There were also problems with internal administration, inadequate training, recruitment of unqualified Church personnel and weak finances.
However, the following factors later tilted the pendulum in favor of the Church; political power had then passed to the Africans who were free to embrace the Gospel; the church had produced literate children; prominent men and women who had directly or indirectly benefitted from church then gave it their support; the oil boom of the 1960s provided money for better church personnel throughout Nigeria. The golden era of the Church ended in 1959 when Pastor D. O. Odubanjo and Apostle Ayodele Babalola died.
The history of the church witnessed remarkable developments such as the establishments of a Bible Training College, Ede (1952) (the Bible Training College moved to Erio Ekiti in 1954, to Efon Alaaye in 1958 and to Akure in 1969), Pastoral Training College at Ibadan (1946), School of Prophets and Evangelists at Ilesa (1949), defunct Teachers’ College at Efon Alaaye (1955), Faith Home at Ede (1959). Grammar Schools at Ibadan, Efon Alaaye and Iperu (all in 1960), Ilesa (1962), Akure (1964) and Odo-Owa (1970), Press and Publications Department (1966-67), Sunday School Department (1977), Theological Seminary at Ile-Ife (1979) by merging the Bible Training College and Pastoral Training College, and the formation of Societies, Associations and Fellowship groups. All these organs soon helped the Church to firmly establish religious practices and liturgy peculiar to it.
The teaching of the Church had grown out of many sources, namely the Bible, the remarkable soul-searching sermons of the founding fathers; borrowing from Europeans and American kinds of literature especially tracts and magazines; the lessons produced by the various tensions within the Group over the prophylactic use of medicine and other issues of administration. Besides the belief of C.A.C. members in prophecy, visions, divine healing and holy living, the focal points of all tenets and practices of the Church are prayers which when accompanied with fasting, it could accomplish the impossible.
The C.A.C. has a strong belief in the efficacy of prayer and that no divine healing could be achieved without FAITH and TRUST in Jesus Christ. These two religious virtues are the bedrock of the Church’s spiritual power.
As a Pentecostal denomination, the Church, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is administered by the orders of Apostle, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and teachers. Ultimate power rest with the Authority of the Church; but it involves elders/deacons, women leaders (deaconess) and leaders of recognized organizations as finding appropriate in the process of administration (Eph. 4:11-13).
In sum, for a little over seven decades of its existence, the C.A.C. has grown from groups of persecuted and inconsequential Christians to a church denomination that today claims some five million adherents residing in different parts of the world. The Church possesses its uniqueness and identifies in liturgy hinged on praying and singing of hymns, anthems, and choruses. It had an impelling message of worshiping in a truly African pattern for all Nigerians. The most distinctive feature of the Church attractive to people of different faiths is the tenacious belief in, and practice of, divine and Christian healing.
The church still considers the era of Babalola as her golden age.
In the 90s, 2 major factions went to court. The Supreme council as well as the General council. After about 20 years, the much larger General Council got judgment in her favour and administers the church today. Also, in 1989, a Sunday School teacher, Dayo Olukoya led a prayer group, a number of whom were academicians out of CAC to start the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM ). MFM is now a Nation-Church.
The history of Christ Apostolic Church has witnessed remarkable developments in education. Such developments include:
1946 - Establishment of Pastoral Training College, Ibadan
1949 - Establishment of The School of Prophets and Evangelists, Ilesa
1952 - Establishment of Bible Training College, Ede (the Bible Training College moved to Erio Ekiti in 1954, to Efon
Alaaye in 1958 and to Akure in 1969)
1955 - Establishment of Teachers’ College, Efon Alaaye (defunct)
1979 - Establishment of Theological Seminary, Ile-Ife, with 13 satellite campuses
Later, the Bible College and the Pastoral College were merged to establish the CAC Theological Seminary in 1979, Ile-Ife with 13 satellite campuses.
The church has established, several secondary grammar schools, teacher training colleges, bookshops, and the printing press.
The church has also established a Nigerian Christian University at Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State where Joseph Ayo Babalola was called to the service of the Lord. The University (JABU) was approved in February 2006.
High Schools of CAC are:
CAC Grammar School, Ibadan (1960)
CAC Grammar School, Efon Alaaye (1960)
CAC Grammar School, Iperu (1960)
Babalola Memorial Girls Grammar School, Ilesa (1962)
CAC Grammar School, Akure (1964)
CAC Grammar School, Odo-Owa (1970)
CAC Grammar School, Ogbomoso
CAC Grammar School, Osogbo
CAC Commercial High School, Ilesa
There are over 300 nursery and primary schools
Tertiary School:
JABU - Joseph Ayo Babalola University
Seminary school:
Theological Seminary
CAC despite all odds has continued to increase on every side and has remained a pacesetter in Christendom in Nigeria.
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