The MAN called ENOUCH ADEJARE ADEBOYE

Pastor E.A Adeboye

In this detailed story by Church Gist, Oluwaleke Beecroft tells us about the man Enoch Adejare Adeboye. Born on March 2, 1942 in Ifewara, Osun State, located in the South-Western part of Nigeria, Enoch Adeboye had a strong desire to attend school in spite of his poor background. Church Gist. As a child, his parents were so poor that the whole family once celebrated the purchase of an umbrella by his father. Says Adeboye.....my family was so poor that even the poorest of the poor called us 'poor'. His poor parents had four children including Enoch An illiterate farmer, his father did not believe in educating any of his children. In fact, the family was so poor that they could not afford to pay the school fees.


Enoch was however very particular about receiving a formal education and when his requests to be sent to school were dismissed by his father, he went on a hunger-strike in a bid to persuade him. His mother panicked and appealed to his Dad. Church Gist.
His father eventually gave in and sold his goat in order to pay for his son’s school fees. Thus Enoch was enrolled at the only missionary school in their village.
Even though he started school quite late, he soon realized that he loved to read. He was admitted into the Ilesha Grammar School, Ilesha, Osun State, Western Nigeria in 1956 at the age of 14.
Young Adeboye soon discovered he had an aptitude for science and in particular mathematics, which he chose to pursue at the university level. He badly wanted to pursue a higher education but the Nigerian Civil War and his family’s dire financial condition threatened to thwart his ambitions. Yet he chased his dream relentlessly He was soon admitted to a leading Nigerian university, The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to study mathematics. Church Gist.
He was there a while but had to move to the University of Ibadan, Nigeria to continue his education, due to the Nigerian civil war which erupted at the time. Ultimately, he obtained not only a Bachelors (BSc.) degree in Mathematics from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria between 1964 and 1967, but also a Masters (MSc.) Degree in Hydrodynamics and a Doctorate Degree (PhD) in Applied Mathematics, both from the University of Lagos, in 1969 and 1975 respectively.
He served as a lecturer in mathematics at both the universities of Lagos and Ilorin. As a young man, his greatest ambition was to become the youngest Vice Chancellor (University Executive) of any one of the frontline Universities in Nigeria. Given his brilliant academic records, it seemed like he would achieve this dream soon.

Bishop David Oyedepo, Past. (Mrs) Folu Adeboye and PAst. E.A Adeboye

He married Foluke Adenike Adeboye (nee Adeyokunnu) at the age of 25 in 1968. He was a fresh graduate and thus the couple had a very simple marriage. The couple faced considerable financial challenges in their initial years together even though they were very much in love. Adeboye and his wife were facing some problems in having children. They had two children through caesarean surgery and the doctors had advised them against having more. Church Gist. The couple however desperately wanted more children and thus embarked on a spiritual journey to seek a solution. They consulted herbalists and spiritual homes to seek solution. In one of those instances, the herbalist or 'babalawo' he was consulting to protect him and his car against death from accidents ended up dying. He also had 3 accidents within two weeks of using a particular charm.
Even though he had always known that God existed in heaven, it was not until he was a young man that he actually realized the truth about God. He had a revelation in 1973 and received the Lord Jesus as his personal Lord and Saviour. Church Gist. As a born-again Christian he realized that the purpose of his life was to spread the teachings of Christianity and thus he eventually gave up his prestigious university position to become a full-time preacher.
After joining the RCCG in 1973 and becoming born again in the same year, 29th July, 1973, he began working to translate the sermons of its founder and then Pastor, Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi, from Yoruba into English. Pastor Adeboye was subsequently and formally ordained a pastor in 1977. Church Gist. Akindayomi acknowledged later that God had instructed that a 'young learner's man was to lead the church to the next phase after his departure.
He became actively involved with the small church and began propagating the gospel. He soon started organizing Bible Study meetings, Crusades, Revivals, Outreaches and eventually the CRM. As time went on the 'Lets Go a Fishing ' programs came to be and other evangelistic programs like 'Digging Deep. Most prominent of all however, a program known as the Congress which takes place every December was instituted in 1999 and which has proved to be very successful.
In October 1980, Pa Josiah Akindayomi went to be with the Lord and made it clear before his departure that Adeboye was to succeed him as General Superintendent based on divine instruction and knowledge. The Supreme Council of the Church kicked against it but in fear of the consequences of decrees made by Akindayomi before his departure amongst other reasons, they eventually succumbed. In January 1981, Pastor Adeboye was appointed General Superintendent of the church. Immediately he removed the title of Reverend from the Church by deciding to remain as 'Pastor ', he also changed his title from General Superintendent to General Overseer. Church Gist. For three years he filled the role part-time, still lecturing at Ilorin, until giving up his university position to preach full-time. At that time, RCCG was not formally taking offerings and it was said that the whole monthly income of the Church was half the size of Adeboye 's salary. Things did not particularly look bright then. With his undying devotion towards the Lord and his commitment towards helping the common man understand the nuances of Christianity, he helped to expand the church which had 38 parishes including one in Ghana on his assumption of office to branches in over a hundred and ninety countries today.
The church, which was not well known prior to Adeboye becoming the General Overseer, currently has over 40,000 branches globally in about 192 nations (as at August 2016) including more than 25,000 in Nigeria and about 600 in the USA. Adeboye has stated that his aim is to put a church within five minutes walk of every person in the developing world and three minutes drive of every person in the developed world. He intends to have at least a member of RCCG in every biological family of the world.
He is the National President of Redeemer's Christian Fellowship (RCF), an interdenominational fellowship in almost all the campuses in Nigeria which is under the umbrella of Christ the Redeemer's Ministry (CRM) where he is a founder and president. CRM is an independent ministry under the RCCG. Pastor Akindayomi had stated that RCCG should never own schools. CRM is therefore playing that role and a good number of members have benefited from the over 200 Redeemer's Nursery and Primary Schools plus over 10 secondary schools as well as one university, The Redeemers' University for Nations (RUN). Church Gist.
Enoch Adeboye is a now a famous Nigerian pastor who rising to national and international prominence as the General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) now commands the largest followership among pentecostals not only in Africa but all over the world. He hosted the famous Lekki 98 which had 7.2 million in attendance and supervised the building of the enormous 3km by 3km Arena, a pavilion at the Redemption Camp which gathers 3 million people. The largest such structure in the world. Church Gist. As the leader of the church he worked hard to expand the organization’s outreach and today the church has branches in 192 countries all over the world from Haiti to Germany, from India to the UK, and also in the US. Pastor Adeboye is today considered to be one of the most influential pastors in Nigeria and all over the world.
Nicknamed 'Daddy G.O', he has four children, Bolu Adubi (female), Leke (his Personal Assistant and Special Adviser), Adeolu and Dare, all of whom are now pastors. Church Gist. He is also a proud grandfather to several grandchildren.
University endowments
Pastor Adeboye has endowed 4 Nigerian universities:
*Obafemi Awolowo University
*University of Lagos
*University of Ibadan
*University of Nigeria
Awards and recognition
1 of the 50 most powerful people in the world by Newsweek (2008)
One of the centenary awardees of Nigeria in 2014.
Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR) (2008).
He is the recipient of several honorary degrees including an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Lagos and an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
He was presented with the Spiritual Pillar of Nigerian Sports, a National Sports Honor in 2010.
For more on the man, Enoch Adejare Adeboye, watch out for 'The African Apostles ' Volume 1 by Oluwaleke Beecroft.

By Leke Beecroft