A Church Passionate About Jesus, Rooted in Kassel

He became married in 1941. He continued to worship with the Cherubim and Seraphim. In 1947, he started to become concerned that the church was departing from the true Word of God in some of its practices. By 1952, he felt totally persuaded to leave the church. He started at Willoughby Street, Ebute-Metta, Lagos a house fellowship called the Glory of God Fellowship. Initially there were nine members but before long the fellowship rapidly grew as the news of the miracles that occurred in their midst spread.

Akindayomi also had a vision of words that appeared to be written on a blackboard. The words were "The Redeemed Christian Church of God." Amazingly, Pa Akindayomi who could not read or write was supernaturally able to write these words down. In this visitation, God also said to him that this church would go to the ends of the earth and that when the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in glory, He would meet the church.

The Lord then established a covenant with Pa Akindayomi, synonymous to the Abrahamic covenant in the Bible. He said that He the Lord would meet all the needs of the church in an awesome way if only members would serve Him faithfully and be obedient to His Word. It is upon this covenant that the Redeemed Christian Church of God was built.

Thus, the Redeemed Christian Church of God was born in 1952, destined by the Lord Himself to take the world for Him. The church continued to meet at 9 Willoughby Street until they were able to acquire some land, witnessing a relocation to the present site of the Headquarters at 1-5 Redemption Way, Ebute-Metta, Lagos.

Sometime in the early 70s, God had spoken to Pa Akindayomi about his successor. The Lord told him that this man, who was not a member of the church then, would be a young educated man. Thus when a young university lecturer joined the church in 1973, Papa was able to recognize him in the Spirit as the one that the Lord had spoken about. This man, Enoch Adejare Adeboye, was then a lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Lagos. He became one of the interpreters translating Pa Akindayomi's sermons from Yoruba to English. He was ordained a pastor of the church in 1975.

Papa was preparing to meet his Creator. He sent for Pastor Adeboye and spent several hours sharing with him details of the covenant and the plans of the Lord for the church. Pa Josiah Akindayomi was 71 years old when he died. Amidst controversy, Pastor Adeboye's appointment was formalized by the reading of Pa Akindayomi's sealed pronouncement after his burial.

Since 1981, an open explosion began with the number of parishes growing in leaps and bounds. On the international scene, the church is present in nations across Africa, Europe, the Americas, and beyond. Today, God is still doing marvelous deeds through the Redeemed Christian Church of God, worldwide. One of the well-known programs of the church is the Holy Ghost Service, an all night miracle service that holds on the first Friday of every month at the Redemption Camp. The Holy Ghost Service now holds in different parts of the world including the United Kingdom, India, USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Dubai, Ghana, Philippines and many more.