THE INFLUENCE OF
PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION. LIVING FAITH CHURCH
(WINNERS CHAPEL) AS A CASE STUDY
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
A
global study and research on Pentecostal churches is an on-going assignment
because of its impact on the religious, political and socio-economic life of
the people. A survey of the available number of Pentecostal churches in Nigeria
as shown that they are emerging daily in the nooks and crannies of the country.
The emergence of Pentecostal churches is daily challenging the existing
Mainline and Aladura Churches in national development. It has therefore
become a fundamental concern for scholars of Church History, History and
Sociology in Nigerian Universities to devote much time to study such churches.
Essien (1998) opines that “this situation calls for continuous research of
their forms, the socio-religious and economic conditions that necessitate their
emergence and their relevance to the social life of their adherents and to the
society at large”. This has necessitated the need for this study on the
influence of Pentecostal churches on the development of education in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, some of the established Pentecostal Churches are Church of God’s
Mission, founded by the late Arch-Bishop Benson A.Idahosa in Benin City, Edo
state, Household of God’s Church, being led by Rev. Chris Okotie in Oregun,
Lagos, the Redeemed Christian Church of God founded by the late Pastor Josiah
Akindayomi and presently under the leadership of Pastor Enock Adejare Adeboye
with International headquarters at Mowe, Ogun state. The Deeper Life Christian
Church founded by Pastor Williams Folorunso Kumuyi and based in Lagos.Rev.Gabriel
Oduyemi’s Bethel Ministry at Wonder City, Lekki Peninsular, Lagos, Pastor
Patrick Anwuzia’s Zoe Ministries, and Pastor Tunde Bakare’s Latter Rain
Assembly in Lagos, Rev.Tunde Joda’s Christ Chapel International, Lagos and
Bishop Wale Oke’s Sword of the Spirit Church based in Ibadan. Others are the
Victory Life Church International established by Pastor Mike Bamidele at Ilesa,
Osun state, New Testament Church based in Ilorin and established by Pastor
M.R.Popoola, Mountain of Fire and Miracles, founded by Pastor Daniel Kolawole
Olukoya with its headquarters in Lagos, the Synagogue of All Nations,
established by Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua in Lagos, Rhema Chapel, Ilorin
established by Rev.George Adegboye, the Word Assembly being led by Rev Isaac
Omolehin and of course the Living Faith Church (a.k.a Winners Chapel) founded
by Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo. Many Nigerian scholars have researched on
Pentecostal churches in the country. For instance, Deji Ayegboyin, Matthews
Ojo, Michael Ogunewu, Richard Burgess, Hannah Ishola, and of course Rotimi
Omotoye. Generally, Pentecostal churches are “Christians seeking deeper
experience of God beyond regular church attendance. They rely on the new birth
and the power of the Holy spirit” (Ojo, 2004). In other words the churches
are seen emphasizing the importance of the Holy spirit in daily worship. This
research is focused on the Living Faith Church a.k.a Winner Chapel and its
contributions to education development in Nigeria.
Pastor David Oyedepo in
Ilorin started Living Faith Church with about 48 members in 1980 and within
nine months of its existence, membership rose to about 128. He eventually
established the Living Faith Outreach Centre in May, 1981.Pastor Oyedepo then
relocated to Kaduna. It was from Kaduna that he went to Lagos in September 1989
before he moved to Ota, Ogun state which is now regarded as Cananland and
International headquarters of the church. The church has over three hundred
branches in Nigeria alone (Opoola, 2010). The church building at Ota is assumed
to be the biggest auditorium in Nigeria seating fifty thousand and four hundred
congregation as at September 2000. Living Faith Church has however contributed
to education development in Nigeria in several ways (Omotoye, 2006).
Western
education was introduced to Nigeria by the Christian missionaries in the 19th
century. It was a strategy adopted by the early missionaries to get converts
into Christianity. The Living Faith Church went into the establishment of
schools early, unlike some other Churches that ventured into education. The
Living Faith Church has to its credit a conglomerate of Nursery, Primary,
Secondary and Universities. The nursery and primary schools are under the name
Kingdom Heritage while the Secondary section is named Faith Academy. These
schools are found in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. The first
University of the Church was named Covenant University and was established in
Ota in 2002.The second University was named Landmark and was established in
Omu-Aran, the native town of Pastor David Oyedepo in 2010. The Universities as
also complemented the efforts of Federal and State Governments in providing
admission to many applicants who are seeking admission to the Universities in
Nigeria. We also believe that that the missionary orientation of the schools
would minimize cultism and moral decadence in the Nigerian Universities. Apart from providing jobs for teaming Nigerian
populace, scholarships are usually provided by Pastor Oyedepo for indigent
students, most especially in the Covenant and Landmark universities. He was
once quoted saying that “All school age children, not in school, due to
inability of parents, will be fully taken care of by the church”.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The
Pentecostal Churches was introduced at a time when Nigerians were experiencing
economic depression, poverty, un-employment, corruption and sicknesses. The
education sector is in the poorest state. These are socio-economic problems
being witnessed in Nigeria because of bad leadership in the country. The Living
Faith Church has been able to provide schools that offer quality education
services from Nursery to tertiary level nationwide. The cost of education in
Nigeria is very high. Odumuyiwa (2006) observed in his study that the tuition
fees being paid in the Christian Universities are too exorbitant and beyond the
reach of the common man in the society. He opines “A situation in which
churches establish private universities, charge exorbitant fees should be
replaced with technical colleges that can be maintained within the resources of
the church. However, this study is examining the influence of Pentecostal
churches on the development of Education.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The
following are the objectives of this study:
1. To
examine the influence of Pentecostal churches
on the development of Education
2. To
examine the educational activities of Pentecostal churches in Nigeria.
3. To
identify the factors that can contribute to rapid development in education in
Nigeria.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
is the influence of Pentecostal churches
on the development of Education?
2. What
are the educational activities of Pentecostal churches in Nigeria?
3. What
are the factors that can contribute to rapid development in education in
Nigeria?
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
following are the significance of this study:
1. The
outcome of this study will educate the general public on the influence of
Pentecostal churches on education development in Nigeria.
2. It
will be a useful guide for the management and the authorities of Living Faith
Church Worldwide and their academic institutions on how to improve on their
services in a bid to contribute to educational development in the nation.
3. This
research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers
interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if
applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic.
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS
OF THE STUDY
This
study on the influence of Pentecostal churches on the development of education
in Nigeria will cover all the educational activities and contributions of
Living Faith Church A.K.A Winners Chapel.
LIMITATION OF STUDY
Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the
efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature
or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire
and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will
simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently
will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
REFERENCES
E.
Ade Odumuyiwa, “Christianity, Governance and Development: A Case Study of
Nigeria in the 21st Century” in R.A. Raji (eds) et al Religion,
Governance and Development in the 21st century, A publication of
the National Association for the study of Religions, Ilorin Decency, 2006 p.
211
Rotimi
Omotoye, “Christianity and Educational Development, A Case Study of
Christian Missionary Universities in Nigeria in the 21st Century,
R.A. Raji (eds) et al in Religion, Governance and Development in the 21st
Century. A Publication of the Nigerian Association for the Study of
Religions, Ilorin, 2006. p.141
S.O.
Abogunrin, “Jesus’ Pronouncement on Wealth in the Context of Health and
Wealth Gospel in Nigeria” in S.O. Abogunrin (eds) et al, Biblical
Studies and Corruption in Africa, Ibadan: Aloge Nig. Enterprises, p. 239.
E.O.
Opoola, “The Living Faith Church and Sustainable Development in
Nigeria”. A Ph.D 1st Seminar Paper Presented at the Department
of Religions, University of Ilorin,Ilorin,on 1th August, 2010 p.5
A.
Essien, “Dynamics of New Religious Movements in Nigeria” in the
Journal of Religious Studies, vol. no1 1998, Department of Religious Studies
University of Uyo pp. 93-94.
Matthews
A. Ojo, Inaugural Lecture Series 227 titled “Of Saints and Sinners:
Pentecostalism and the Paradox of Social Transformation in Modern Nigeria,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife p.4.