COPIED AND EDITED; Happy Birthday Bishop Oyedepo!!; Bishop of Bishops..... Bishop Oyedepo The founder and Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church World Wide David O. Oyedepo, affectionately called “Papa” by members of his church congregation clocks 58 today. He was born on September 27, 1954. The Nigerian Christian author, Preacher and founder is also the senior pastor of Faith Tabernacle, a 50,000 seat church auditorium reputed to be the largest church auditorium in the world by the Guinness Book of Records. Bishop Oyedepo has been seen as one of pioneers of the Christian charismatic movement in Africa and has been referred to as one of the most powerful preachers in Nigeria. He was named in 2011 by Forbes magazine as being the richest pastor in Nigeria, worth around $150 million. Biography On September 27, 1954 David Olaniyi Oyedepo was born in Osogbo but is a native Omu Aran, Kwara into a religiously mixed family: his father, Ibrahim, was a Muslim healer and 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 inculcated into him the virtues of Christian life via the early morning prayers which she attended with him. She also taught him the importance of tithing. David was “born again” in 1969 through the influence of his teacher, one Ms. Betty Lasher, who took special interest in him during his high school days. He studied architecture at Kwara State Polytechnic and worked briefly with the Federal Ministry of Housing in Ilorin before resigning to concentrate on missionary work. Oyedepo also gained a Ph.D in Human Development from Honolulu University, Hawaii, United States of louvain lakasi America. Bishop David received a mandate from God through an 18 hour long vision in May 1981 to liberate the world from all oppression of the devil through the preaching of the word of faith. This is the inaugural vision that led to the founding of the Living Faith Church World Wide (LFCWW), first called Liberation Faith Hour Ministries, in 1981. Two years after, on 17 September 1983, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, ordained David and his wife, Florence Abiola Akano (now known as Faith Abiola Oyedepo) to become pastors also officially commissioned the newly started church of Oyedepo. Five years after, Oyedepo was ordained a Bishop. Faith Tabernacle, December 2005 Living Faith Church (AKA Winners Chapel) started in Kaduna, but moved to Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria in September 1989 to start a new branch of His Church, after receiving an instruction from God to reach out to the population in Lagos. This Church in Lagos grew to become the International headquarters of Living Faith Church,with a constantly increasing flow of crowds spilling over to adjacent roads, and on decks of uncompleted buildings nearby,compelling people to stand for hours to listen to His teachings.This led to the building of the renowned Faith Tabernacle, as instructed by God. Oyedepo is the wealthiest preacher in Nigeria with a net worth of over USD $150 million. The church he pastors, owns four private jets and they own buildings all around the world, including London and the United States. Oyedepo is an acclaimed author and publisher who has written over 70 titles apart from periodicals. He is also Chairman/Publisher of Dominion Publishing House (DPH), a publishing arm of his ministry. DPH has over 4 million prints in circulation to date. Through him, Covenant University, Landmark University, Faith Academy and Kingdom Heritage Schools have been established to equip the youth for impact.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 16:55:04 +0000
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