Living Faith Church Worldwide Explained
Living Faith Church Worldwide (also known as Winners' Chapel) is an international Evangelical charismatic Christian denomination. The headquarters is located in Ota, Nigeria. The organization has since become a global network of churches with over 6 million members in 147 countries.[1]
History
The beginning of the church manifested on May 2, 1981, when David Oyedepo (aged 26) had a spiritual encounter while lodging in one of the rooms within the International Hotel located in the Omi-Asoro Quarters of Ilesa city, in the present day Osun State of Nigeria.[2] He claimed to have an eighteen-hour supernatural encounter which was a vision from God. God spoke to him saying, "Now the hour has come to liberate the world from all oppressions of the devil, through the preaching of the Word of faith; and I am sending you to undertake this task".[3] In 1983, the church began operating with four members on December 11.[4]
Faith Tabernacle
Canaanland was procured in 1998 and was initially 560acres. It is in Ota, Ogun, Nigeria. The church's international headquarters, Faith Tabernacle, was built in Cannanland between 1998 and 1999, taking twelve months to complete.[5] The foundation laying took place on August 29, 1998.
In 1999, the Faith Tabernacle was inaugurated with 50,400 seats.[6]
On Dec 11 2013, Oyedepo's first son, David Oyedepo Jnr, ministered for the first time at the church's annual Shiloh gathering.
In December 2015, Oyedepo Jnr became the resident pastor of the Faith Tabernacle.
The Ark
In 2019, Bishop Oyedepo announced the commencement of the construction of a 100,000 capacity sanctuary called "The Ark" (It was formerly called Faith Theatre).[7] The Ark will specifically include a 20 Floor Mission Tower (International Headquarters Facility). In 2021, it began construction of a temple called The Ark with 109,345 seats, next to Faith Tabernacle.[8]
Organization
As of 2014, the Church was in 65 countries.[4]
Dominion Publishing House
The publishing house that grew out of Winner's Chapel was founded on 5 December 1992.[9] Dominion Publishing House has published over 120 books, most of which have been written by Oyedepo.
Beliefs
The Church is founded upon twelve core emphases called the 12-Pillars.[10] The theological position of the church is Pentecostal.[11]
The association has a charismatic confession of faith.[12] [13]
Education
Several educational institutions are linked to the chapel, including Covenant University,[14] Landmark University,[15] Faith Academy[16] and over 150 Kingdom Heritage Model Schools.[17] [18] In addition, there is a ministry training college called The Word of Faith Bible Institute.[19]
United Kingdom
In 2014, the church applied to open a Kingdom Heritage Model School in Kent. Concerns were raised by the National Secular Society about the church linking disobedience to witchcraft. The application was later withdrawn.[20] [21]
Shiloh
Every year in December, the church hosts a global event called Shiloh. The church says the mandate for this event is drawn from the Bible books of Joshua 18:1 and 1Samuel 1:3.[22] [23] The event is held mostly in the first week of December.[24] [25]
The church sees the purpose of the event as being to usher the visitation of God to his people. It also marks the end of the Church's calendar year.[26]
As of 2012, there were millions in attendance. The Presiding Bishop also said up to 160 nations hooked up to Shiloh 2015, with nationals from 55 nations present at the Canaanland, Ota, Ogun State.[27]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: 2014-12-27. Winners Chapel has six million members spread across 147 countries -- Oyedepo. 2022-02-16. Vanguard News. en-US.
- Web site: This is the Building Where God Called Bishop David Oyedepo. YouTube.
- Web site: About Us | David Oyedepo Ministries International . June 6, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120602142147/http://domi.org.ng/about . June 2, 2012 .
- Martin Lindhardt, Pentecostalism in Africa: Presence and Impact of Pneumatic Christianity in Postcolonial Societies, BRILL, Leiden, 2014, page 115
- Web site: Bishop David Oyedepo Profile . June 7, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120428040226/http://www.africanpastors.net/Pastors%20Webpages/David%20Oyedepo.html . April 28, 2012 .
- Web site: Church of the 50,000 faithful . News.bbc.co.uk. 5 November 2014.
- Emmanuel Leke, Living Faith begins construction of 100,000-seat capacity auditorium, theeagleonline.com.ng, Nigeria, December 12, 2015
- PM, Adeboye visits Oyedepo's $200m Ark Legacy Project, pmnewsnigeria.com, Nigeria, 13th March, 2022
- Web site: 12 Pillar Messages. Domionlinestore.org. 5 November 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141102232504/http://domionlinestore.org/12-pillar-messages-of-the-commission. 2 November 2014.
- Web site: Living Faith Church Worldwide - Official Website . 2022-02-16 . faithtabernacle.org.ng.
- Web site: Winners Chapel Faith Tabernacle HQ . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141106094824/http://www.lgtnigeria.com/viewListing_page.php?id=2941 . 6 November 2014 . 5 November 2014 . LGTNigeria.
- Living Faith Church Worldwide, 12 PILLARS, faithtabernacle.org.ng, Nigeria, retrieved February 18, 2020
- Cecil M. Robeck, Jr, Amos Yong, The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2014, p. 40
- Web site: C.U | David Oyedepo Ministries International . June 6, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120502042201/http://domi.org.ng/education/c-u . May 2, 2012 .
- Web site: University. Landmark. Landmark University. Lmu.edu.ng. 5 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141025173345/http://www.lmu.edu.ng/. 25 October 2014. live.
- Web site: Faith Academy | David Oyedepo Ministries International . June 6, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120429235203/http://domi.org.ng/education/faith-academy . April 29, 2012 .
- Web site: Education Commission, LFCWW. 2022-02-15. www.eclfcww.org.
- Web site: KHMS | David Oyedepo Ministries International . June 6, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120501183932/http://domi.org.ng/education/khms . May 1, 2012 .
- Web site: WOFBI | David Oyedepo Ministries International . June 6, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120502053701/http://domi.org.ng/domi-network/wofbi . May 2, 2012 .
- News: 'Witchcraft' church in school bid. BBC News. 2014-11-06. 2019-02-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20190202054745/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-29937091. 2019-02-02. live.
- Web site: Church of 'witch-slapping' pastor withdraws application to open UK school. 2015-08-25. 2019-02-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095200/https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2015/08/church-of-witch-slapping-pastor-withdraws-application-to-open-uk-school. 2019-02-02. live.
- Web site: Shiloh 2020: More Prophetic Declarations Released ... . 2022-06-21 . allnews.ng . en.
- Web site: BP-Pub-3 . 2019-12-01 . History Of "Shiloh" - Winers Chapel, Living Faith Church . 2022-06-22 . Believers Portal . en-US.
- Web site: Winners' Shiloh 2019 begins Tuesday. 2019-11-30. The Nation Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers. en-US. 2020-02-10.
- Web site: Shiloh 2019: Oyedepo Charges Nigerians To Embrace Righteousness. November 13, 2019. Independent. February 10, 2019.
- Web site: BP-Pub-3 . 2019-12-01 . History Of "Shiloh" - Winers Chapel, Living Faith Church . 2022-06-21 . Believers Portal . en-US.
- Web site: PICTURES: Bishop Oyedepo begins construction of 100,000-seat capacity auditorium. Nigeria News Today. 21 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170922002429/http://www.nigerianeye.com/2015/12/pictures-bishop-oyedepo-begins.html?m=1. 22 September 2017. live.