CAC UNIFIED BIBLE STUDY UNVEILED

The President unveiling speech goes thus:

 “Beloved Christ Apostolics. We are gathered here (today) to re-establish one of the three landmarks upon which Christ Apostolic Church was founded.

 That is, in-depth study of the Word of God, prevailing prayer and spiritual worship.

The revival of 1930 was ignited by the fire of the revival of the word which started in 1918 when our forebears were inspired to seek the Word of God through correspondence as far as Philadelphia in America and later Europe.

This robust foundation of the Word has helped in no small measure to sustain the Church against strange doctrine and guide our leaders to this day.

We are generally known as “A People of Prayer” but we are also a people of The Word and of Worship.

The Mission of our Church clearly brings this to bear:

“Leading people into the knowledge of God through in-depth study of the Word, prevailing prayer and spiritual worship”.  

I am specially grateful to God that our long-expected desire for a structured and co-ordinated Bible Study program is coming to pass today.

On behalf of the Authority, I commend the Christian Education Department for working assiduously to get these high-quality study manuals out in record time.

The efforts of the immediate past Director (Pastor S.O. Aluko) who began this project and that of the Acting Director (Pastor Samuel Falade) who completed it are hereby acknowledged.

We trust that God will use the centralised Bible Study to revive and bless us, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, I unveil and dedicate the Christ Apostolic Church Bible Study Manual for centralised study, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”.

MRS. VICTORIA AKINOSUN LAID TO REST

PROFILE – MRS. VICTORIA ADEYOOLA AKINOSUN

Madam Victoria Adeyoola Akinosun was born to Pa Solomon Adeyi, a tailor by trade, by Madam Comfort Atinuke Adeyi, a trader, on 24^th October, 1946 at Ore’s compound, Oke Agbede, Ogbomoso, Oyo state.  She was the last child of the family and her mother was said to have had many live births but only three survived.

Her father hailed from Oke Are, in Ogbomoso while her mother hailed from Abuubuu compound at Ita-Alaro, Ogbomosho.  She lived with her parents and was helping her mother in her trading until she was seven years old.

According to Madam Esther Awero Ayantoye, Mama Akinosun’s eldest sister, with whom she lived until she got married.  Mama Akinosun and her parents moved to Jos, Plateau State in the year 1953 when she was seven years old and they lived in Baba Onilu’s house in Jos.  Madam Awero said her sister finally moved to her house in Jos when she was 14 years old.  She continued to help her sister in her trading activities until she became an adult.

The Adeyi family were committed Baptists member right from the time they were in Ogbomosho.  When they moved to Jos, all the family members continued to worship in the Baptist Church.  But as fate would have it, Madam Awero said she loved the Shiloh programme being held at Christ Apostolic Church, Haliru Street in Jos and she used to take her younger sister along whenever she was going.  That was how Mama began to attend the Church.

During a revival organized by the Christ Apostolic Church, Haliru Street in 1970, Mama Akinosun was so constant in the programme that a Prophet noticed her fervency in prayer, her promptness in attending the programme and her heart of worship and prophesied to her that she would be married to a minister of God.  As fate would have it; this was the same Church being attended by young Mr. Akinosun, a plumbing technician then working with a foreign firm of contractors in Jos.

Not long after Miss Adeyi joined the Church, Mr. Akinosun was linked with her and he proposed marriage to her.  As it was the custom of those days, they had an (alarina) that was somebody who would guide both the man and his proposed wife right until their marriage was consummated.  The marriage was finally consummated in July, 1971.

Madam Adeyoola Akinosun, since that marriage was coronated had gone through thick and thin with her husband. But in all salutation, she remained a strong pillar of support and a prayer warrior behind her husband.  When her husband decided to resign his job to go into gospel ministry, she first opposed it because according to her: “there was nobody to help the family”.  But she soon accepted the decision of her husband and decided to return to the South with him when he went for ministerial training at CAC Bible College, Akure.

Apart from her initial opposition to her husband once she had accepted her husband’s ministerial calling, she turned 360 degree to become the greatest defender of the work of the ministry for her husband.  In all the stations where her husband was posted after his training, Madam Akinosun proved to be the ideal minister’s wife.  She was reputed to be the only woman that was cooking his husband meals even when she could afford the services of cooks and other household helps.

Mama Akinosun was her husband’s Personal Assistant in a very unusual manner in that she often assisted him recalling dates of past events, the days they took place and even the hours such event took place.  Most people who noted Mama’s intellectual bend often call her Professor, First Class scholar because she was very brilliant.  She never forgot any issue she was involved in.

Mama’s managerial skills came to the fore when she was the Leader of the Christ Apostolic Church Ministers’ Wives’ Fellowship.  As the wife of the Church’s President, she naturally became the Leader of the ministers’ Wives Fellowship.  It was during her tenure that the Fellowship built the 90-room Guest House at Ikeji-Arakeji Camp.  She was said to be painstaking and very meticulous in ensuring probity in the financial transactions of the Fellowship.  The achievements of the Fellowship during her tenure also include sponsorship of missionaries, assistance to the needy and support for widows.

In all their tributes, the children kept repeating the chorus

HISTORY

The Christ Apostolic Church, Oke lsegun, Alagbagba was established by lay ministers who had accepted the Apostolic faith as members of the Faith Tabernacle and at the revival of 1930 in Oke Bola Ibadan. Since embracing the new Apostolic faith from the Anglican Church, they had been walking long distance to Ibadan to worship on Sundays and whenever there were special revival services. As time went by, they decided to plant a branch of the Church in Ilaho land.

All sources pointed at two men who were the brain behind the establishment of the Church at Ilaho now commonly referred to as Alagbagba. They were Pa James Ogunlolu and Pa Gabriel Oladele. In the absence of resident minister of God, both Pa Ogunlolu and Pa Oladele were the lay ministers who taught the people and occasionally preached at services. Pa Ogunlolu was a native of Alagbagba but he was resident at Aretu. Pa Oladele was the one on ground. Obviously Pa Oladele was the Church’s first secretary as we found records of the activities of the Church were meticulously kept by him.

There were records of Sunday services, the amount realised and the expenditures incurred on building projects and records of the significant developments like laying of the Church’s foundation and that of the mission house. From Pa Oladele’s records we gathered that the foundation of the mission house was laid in 1958.

According to Elder Sunday Joseph, a farmer and an elder of CAC Alagbagba, (he was born in the faith home of the Church), Pa. Ogunlolu with like minds, especially Pa Oladele established the Church some 80 years ago. He was born an Anglican but had accepted the Apostolic faith. He and other faithful had been travelling to Omi Adio in Ibadan for Sunday Service. Mrs Olufunke Olujemilehin added that for regular Sunday service, they usually went to CAC Omi Adio, but for monthly Holy Communion service they would go to CAC Olugbode, Itabaale. Mrs Olujemilehin, who had followed her father to the service at Olugbode on several occasions said on returning to Alagbagba, she would be so tired for several days without being able to stand up.

Obviously this stressful situation must have informed both  Pa Ogunlolu and Pa Oladele to decide on planting a branch of Christ Apostolic Church at Alagbagba in 1941, so that they would able to meet regularly for prayers and sharing of the word of God. At first, they built a tent with palm frond at the spot where the Church stands today. As time went by, they built a standard mud church and a mission house.

Madam Olujemilehin said that the establishment of the Church was a divine arrangement. She said since the Church was planted, God had proved His abiding presence in there through miracles of healing, deliverance and victories to His people. She recalled a year when there was outbreak of smallpox epidemic in the town and even in the adjoining villages. It was a real epidemic which resulted in several deaths in the township. According to her, all that Pa Oladele and Pa Ogunlolu were doing was to go into the Church to lie down and pray.  Later on, it was Pa Oladele that would lie down in the Church, while Pa Ogunlolu would take a hand bell, go to town to preach to people to turn to Jesus for deliverance from smallpox. Unfortunately, they turned deaf ear and several people died from the epidemic, but God spared all members of the Church, their children and everyone under their abode. Those from outside Alagbagba who saw the miracle of this great deliverance were bringing their sick people to the mission house for healing and every one of them was healed. Unfortunately the natives of Alagbagba who refused to turn to Jesus fell victim of the disease. But those outside the town saw this great miracle and they became members of the Church. This incident resulted in exponential growth of the Church.

CAC PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Church later established the Christ Apostolic Church Primary School, which most children of the town attended. In his own view Chief Adedayo Aremu Abati the General Baale in Ilaho land, said Alagbagba derived its name from the fact that plantain fruits were plenty in the town which he said is the capital to over 70 villages. He said the Christ Apostolic Church, Alagbagba has contributed to development of the town through the establishment of the CAC Primary school.

The story of the establishment of the school began on a young girl, then Miss Olufunke Oladele now Madam Olufunke Olujemilehin. She was schooling at Lerin Methodist School and she was advised to supplement what she was learning in school by attending a private lesson being conducted by a young man in his private home at Alagbagba. Pa Ogunlolu then called Pa Oladele to advise him against allowing a growing, young girl to be attending a private lesson in the private home of the young man. The young man was advised to move his lesson to the CAC Church premises in order to allow Olufunke to be taught and he obliged. Meanwhile as the lesson began in the Church premises, more students joined Olufunke and the population of lesson attending students grew. The organiser of the lesson was arrested for running an illegal private school. At that stage, both Pa Ogunlolu and Pa Oladele then resolved to establish the CAC Primary School.

She recalled that before the establishment of the school, children used to walk very long distance to get education. The Methodist School at Lerin was the nearest to Alagbagba; it was about five kilometres distance from the town.

This statement was corroborated by Pastor Michael Lawal who added that what existed before then was something like private lesson organised by an individual. But with the establishment of the Christ Apostolic Church, Alagbagba proper standard education which followed the curriculum of free primary education established in 1955 by the Western Regional government took place in Alagbagba. Both Pastor Lawal and Chief Abati were students of the school established by Christ Apostolic Church in Alagbagba. While Pastor Lawal was among the first set of students of the school in 1955, Chief Abati began schooling in 1958. The President of Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas, Pastor Samuel Olusegun Oladele was also educated in the school. He graduated in 1968.

MISSION HOUSE

Mission house was a necessity in the early days of the Church because the Church in those days not only existed to meet the spiritual needs of the people, it must also meet their physical needs. Foundation of the mission house was laid in 1956. Part of the mission house was used as Faith home for the delivery of pregnant women and another part was used as a place to care for the sick, the mentally disturbed and those that were hurting by one life’s challenge or the other. With their strong faith, most of these people were healed or restored before they were allowed to leave the mission house.

CHURCH MINISTERS

As the Church was growing, there was need for regular Church workers. Since church workers were very few in those days, what the authorities of the Church did was to appoint a circuit minister some of them rode on bicycle from Ibadan to take care of several such Churches by going to conduct services, conduct naming of the newly born children and minister in words to the Church members.

Since the Church kept growing, it reached a point when the volume of work was too much for a circuit minister. At that stage, it was expedient for the church to have its own minister. CAC Alagbagba began to have full time minister to shepherd the sheep of the Lord, a long time ago. No one was able to tell the exact date. All we know is that the following men of God have had their time in the services of the Church at one time or the other. Some of them were prophets, teachers, evangelists or pastors.

The list includes:

1. Pa Bankole Aiyegbusi;
2. Ogundejo J. O;
3. Baba Peter;
4. A. Ale; Ogunkanmi
5. Oluyi
6. Akinyemi
7. Pa Ogunniran;
8. Evang. Akorede
9. E. O. Tunase;
10. Oladosu M. K
11. Akande P.O
12. Evang. Paul Akinola
13. Jomooye
14. Pastor M. O. Ojedele
15. Akande J. O
16. Evang. Orunmoluyi;
17. Ogunmuyiwa J. A;

Some of the visiting Area Pastors were:

1. Late Pastor J. O Bankole;
2. Late Pastor D. A. Ademisoye;
3. Late PastorJ. O. Akinwole
4. Late Pastor S. A. Ope
5. Late Pastor J. O. Ogundiran

CHALLENGES

The Church has faced some of its daunting challenges. According to Elder Sunday Joseph, “there was a time some so called prophets were engaging in spiritism. Somebody was said to be in spirit for several days and was seeing visions and asking people to bring salt, coconut and other things for spiritual works. Since this was a strange practice to me and other members of the Church, I wasted no time in reporting to Pastor M. B. Ogunlolu, who happened to be the son of one of the planters of the Church, and who was the District Superintendent in charge at the time. He came to drive the heretics out of the Church. The people and their followers left to go and found their own church somewhere nearby. But the Holy Spirit intervened to convict some of them. More than half of them returned to the main Church after several months while the rest left, never to come back.

Pastor Gideon Oluropo Aluko, the current Pastor in Charge was transferred to the Church in 2008 from CAC Temitope Revival Centre. He said the main challenge he had faced was some elders who had the mindset of driving away ministers of God. Two of his predecessors had been so driven but with prayer, soft persuasion and counselling, they either left or began to soft-pedal.

Today, apart from the general infrastructural deficit like absence of electricity, good road, mobility, erratic GSM network and the rural nature of the Church’s location, it has continued to match on to victory. The major groups that are found in all CAC Churches are present in the Church. They have CACMA, GWA, CACYOF. The women group have societies and all of them are fulfilling their obligation to the Church at district, zonal, regional and national levels.

Pastor Aluko said the Church owed its survival to the steadfast membership many of whom are active in various areas of ministry. He mentioned Deaconess Oriyomi, Deaconess Shodiya, Deaconness Taye Salako, Mrs Aluko, Mrs Titi Akinrinola, Brother Akin Olugbade and several others who have remained steadfast and are lifting high the banners of Christ in the Church.

The Church has a Mountain on which they hold their retreats anytime they are led by the Holy Spirit so to do.

The Christ Apostolic Church Authority led by the indefatigable President, Pastor Samuel Olusegun Oladele rose from her General Executive Council Meeting (GEC) Meeting today with the creation of six more regions as follows:   Orekoya Region with her headquarters in Jos; (Sofia – headquarters at Ado-Ekiti; Orogun Region – headquarters at Osogbo; Essien Region – Headquarters in Abeokuta; Pears Region – headquarters at Mushin and Akilling Region – Headquarters at Agege (Shiaba). 

 The President urged men on the spot at various places where Regions have been created to work assiduously to prepare for the smooth take-off of the new Regions.  He said Regional Superintendent would soon be appointed for the new Regions.

The 2021 Pastor’s Conference of Christ Apostolic Church (Worldwide) comes up between Tuesday 21st – Friday 24th September, 2021 at Joseph Ayo Babalola International Camp, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State Nigeria.  The theme for this year’s Conference is THE CHRIST CENTERED CHURCH.  The Conference shall be aired live on our social platforms; Facebok (@Christ Apostolic Church worldwide), Youtube (@OFFICIAL CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH WORLDWIDE).

The theme for this year’s Conference is THE CHRIST CENTERED CHURCH.  The Conference shall be aired live on our social platforms; Facebok (@Christ Apostolic Church worldwide), Youtube (@OFFICIAL CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH WORLDWIDE).