CHURCH HISTORY

Considering my unworthiness, and incapability among other factors, I refused the call of God at the initial stage, He called me. After I eventually accepted the call, I earnestly desired to go to a Bible school. Consequently, I made appropriate preparations but was shocked to the marrow of my bones and got worried when God abruptly told me He had not called me to go to any Bible school. To this instruction, which seemed ‘unreasonable and unprofessional by human consideration, I objected. I’m not qualified for the work, was my angry response. 

My haughty and stubborn feathers were broken when the Lord enumerated His reasons. Indeed, no one is Wise but God. He said, if you go to Bible College you will lose the assignment I am going to give you because of the understanding of the people you will meet there. The message I am sending you to give to the world is greater than what your teachers will teach you.

Though I was not happy with God’s decision at the moment, I had to obey Him. He then later asked me to buy two plastic chairs, six big notebooks, a pen, and a pencil, to get prepared for school. I was then very happy, thinking I was going to school indeed. I bought everything He commanded me to buy, waiting for His next order. (God deals with me like a commander to a soldier). At the time, I was at Ipa Eniyan Koto (Pakoto) Prayer Mountain, Ifo, Ogun State. On a faithful day, an elderly man whose hair was completely grey drove a white Mercedes car into the premises. He wore a white native dress (agbada). After parking at the designated place on the mountain, he immediately came looking for me. On arriving where I was, he asked ‘Where are the chairs, table, and books you were asked to buy? I was flabbergasted because what he asked me was only an instruction I was given in my dream, which I have not even discussed with anybody, how come, a man I did not know is now physically relating it with me? The whole episode to me was a big surprise. I could not argue with or ask the man any questions but just went straight to the place I kept them, arranged them under a Bamboo tree and we sat on the chairs. The man then said, ‘Start writing!

He said, ‘ You want to go to Bible College, this is your own Bible College’. Hearing him say that brought a feeling of disappointment because I was the only student under the bamboo tree at the mountain. I was sent to be your lecturer; to teach you all that you need to know about your ministry. I was initially displeased as I thought, is this a school, only me and you under a Bamboo tree’! That was how my lectures started. the lectures would last for six months. At the end of six months, the man said my graduation is coming soon.

While on the mountain, something bothered me. It is a fact that if they wanted to pray for people who have problems, there will be an announcement that all anointed ministers of God should Come and pray for the sick. Nobody had anointed me physically; I did not go to any Bible college. The only anointing I received was all in the dream but not physical. Since I was therefore not recognized as a minister when they called for anointed ministers, I would not be able to go out and that was troubling to my mind. One day somebody came to inform me that I had some visitors. On getting there, I Was told that the visitors were sent by prophet Babajide of blessed memory, renown, and leading Prophet in Christ Apostolic Church (C.A.C). When he arrived, I was asked to come to see him on hearing that, several thoughts ran through my mind, I had never been to llesha, how come Prophet Babajide from llesha would now call for me? He does not know me, I only heard testimonies about him: I have never seen him before. Since Pakoto was a C.A.C mountain, all the pastors there encouraged me to go with the visitors.

Therefore, I followed them to llesha. When got there, the prophet was busy with two visitors. On being informed that I was around, he suspended his meeting with the visitors and called for me. I got into his office and knelt to greet him. ‘Ungrateful child, you complain too much! The Lord said you arecomplaining that you were not anointed. He said I should call you and anoint you, was his introductory comment. That was the first day I saw a big bottle of anointing oil. Prophet Babajide opened it and poured its whole content on me. My clothes were soaked in oil. He further said, As of today: do not ever complain that you are not anointed. God has anointed you more than four times in the dream; yet, you were not pleased. That is the reason I was asked to do it physically. God has chosen you and through you, many people will be chosen. He said several other things. By that time, I was very poor. The aged prophet then said, go to Lagos and start working for God. I looked at him and said ‘you brought me here with a car, I do not have the transport fare to return home: give me some money to journey back home. The elderly man looked at me and said, ‘this lady is very stubborn’. He then gave me two thousand naira (N2,000) with which I journeyed back to Pakoto mountain.

After living in Pakoto Mountain for three years and seven months, I was divinely permitted to work in a ministry in Aboru Lagos. The church was a branch of a ministry owned by a woman and had been abandoned for a while, as no minister who worked there was able to grow the church. The church was facing battles from a neighboring pastor (and congregation) who did not want any church around him to grow. The pastor wanted his church to be the only church in the area.

On my resumption on the premises, I started with 21 days of marathon fasting and prayed for the revival of the church. The fasting ended on a Sunday morning. On that particular Sunday morning, something very strange happened. After I was dressed up for my first service there though there were no members, not even one – I jingled the bell and did the opening praying, after which I began to sing. To my utter surprise, people began to Come in one after the other. Within, I was wondering where they had come from and who invited them before the time. The Lord brought members (men, women, youth, and children) without publicity and campaign. That was how the wave of revival began and the church grew in the neighborhood. Praise God!

Suddenly, on the very day, my stay there completed six months, I saw the woman who owns the church with some policemen on the church premises. That’s her, arrest her,” the Woman told the police. Before I could say anything, I was handcuffed and publicly shamed by the officers and was taken to the police station for questioning. On the way to the station, I then remembered the Lord had early instructed me not to stay beyond Six months in that church. I had forgotten that instruction and did not make plans to leave. At the station, I was accused of attempting to take over the land and the church. I denied the charge to no avail. While at the counter, the Lord began to open my eyes, giving me new messages for the police officers. They Were very surprised and grateful to God, as God was using me to give solutions to their problems. In no time, the news got to the D.P.O. and he demanded I should be brought to his office. On -getting there, the Lord also gave me a message for him.

Meanwhile, the landlords in the area of the church were very unhappy with the embarrassment and had started summoning each other to come and rescue me. They were already on their way to testify of my character and integrity at the police station.

The whole thing turned out in my favor. The accusation of the woman was baseless, she had no proof, and even people in the neighborhood knew such a thing did not happen. One of our members whom I have often helped was the one who went behind and lied to the woman that I had taken over the church. Instead of enquiring to confirm whether or not the piece of information was true, she went straight to the police station. I explained myself and told the woman that I had been faithful to her duties. I also told her I had all the financial records of all offerings and tithes of all the months I had been working for her.

Everyone was surprised! The police officers discovered that the accusation was wrong. Moved by the way God had used me to settle issues in their lives by my prophetic gift, they asked me to go and get a temporal place to start my ministry (their advice was not the reason l started RAPEC though). They even donated some money and gave me to make benches in appreciation to God for what he did for them through me.

I was released from the station after a few hours. The woman who wanted to have me locked up was in turn arrested for leveling a false report on me. I had to hustle to get her bail and from there on I left her ministry to begin mine. I felt the whole saga was part of the Lord’s dealings with me because I had overstayed my welcome at the church. 

Later I was taken to an abandoned building in Dada Avenue, Aboru, Lagos, to begin my own Ministry. I started with a series of revival programs and new members began coming into the church to my surprise without any publicity team, although I go out regularly for public evangelism. On the first Sunday of the service, I was asked to write the name of the church on a signboard of notice and I had to use plank and charcoal to write out the name of the church, then it was Rapture Proclaimer Evangelical Church (RAPEC) now (Rapture Proclaimer Evangelical Church of God). The name of the Church had been given to me a long time before I started working with the woman who arrested me on false ground. I told the Lord then that I don’t want to found a Church and that moreover, I am a woman. The Lord said He wanted me to found a church for the sake of the kind of messages and ministry He has given me, and as regards being a woman, He said He will bring men who will assist me just as He did in the case of Deborah.

After using that uncompleted building for church services for up to a year, the original owner came and told me to move within a short time. I had to start looking for a place for worship again. A member told me of a place at 10, Odushola Street, Akinola Road, Iyana Ipaja Bus Stop, and I decided to check out the place. Thankfully in 1999, we were permitted to use the place for a while until we were blessed by God and had to relocate to our permanent site at 31/33, Adeyefa Street in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, Nigeria.

Time and space would not permit me to list and explain all the challenges and testimonies we encountered in Adeyefa where we are now where we faced a court case that lasted years and the church had to stay in a plank building for more than 15 years before the Lord settled the court case totally and we had the final legal permission to build the church without hindrances from the landlord association, landowner, and local land gang (omo oni le).

RAPEC as a church was founded in the year 1998 and the journey has been full of many trials, tests, and testimonies. The Lord has kept His church standing, not minding all the many issues arising and diverse battles from the kingdom of darkness. All the devil wants IS to silence me and close up the church. But he has failed and will continue to fail woefully.

Finally, the most important thing to me is not the building but the members and the Shepherds over the flock in various branches. Hope we all remember that we shall give an account of the flock God has set us over. We are not just a church, we are running a recruitment center where we train souls for everything on genuine salvation, eternal life, the rapture, the second coming of Christ, and the new Jerusalem. As ministers let us recall what Apostle Paul says in

 1 Corinthians 5:9-11: Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor me his prisoner: but be thou, partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. (I Timothy 1:8-9)

Shalom!