Part 1: HISTORY
Every great ministry on the Earth starts with God’s dealings with a man. Church of God Mission International was birthed by divine instructions of the Holy Spirit to Benson Andrew Idahosa of blessed memory. The Lord told him precisely “Raise an army for me, to go with the gospel to all Nations. Gather together those whom I have called and I will send them with the fire of my Spirit. Give my word and your example to many who will go to teach, preach and heal.”
Benson Andrew Idahosa was born in Benin City on 11th September, 1938 to an Edo family, the Idahosa – Ezomo family. He was a sickly infant who was always fainting. As a result of his constant illness, his father ordered the mother to throw him in the dustbin. When he was eighteen months old, he was left on a rubbish heap to die. He was rejected by his father, sent to work on a farm as a servant and was denied education until he was fourteen years old. His education was irregular due to the poor financial status of his parents. He later took correspondence courses from Britain and the United States while working in Bata Shoe Company as a salesman.
He was born again on the 1st of January, 1960 in an Assemblies of God Church in Benin City, Nigeria. In 1962, after a period of discipleship and with a passion to be an instrument in God’s hands, Benson Idahosa started a prayer group known as the Calvary Fellowship, which metamorphosed into the Church of God Mission International (CGMI). The Calvary Fellowship was a coming together of young men and women who were also passionate about the things of God and hungry for the Word of God for times of prayer and Bible Study. Meetings were held at a shop on Ivbizua Street, off Mission Road, Benin City of Western Region (present day Edo State), Nigeria. The fellowship was officially inaugurated in 1965 by Rev. Edgar Perkins, a veteran missionary to Nigeria.
On October 26th 1968, Rev. Perkins approached the Assemblies of God to release Benson Idahosa, who was a Church Elder and Sunday School Superintendent to pastor the prayer ministry as an autonomous ministry. After his release, Rev Edgar Perkins laid hands on Pastor Benson Idahosa and the Church of God Mission International was founded. The Church started with seven adults and five children at No. 26 Forestry Road in Benin City. The membership of the Ministry grew numerically within the first few years and Pastor Benson Idahosa decided to build a church. The Iyaro Church which is referred to as ‘The Mother Church’, a 500-capacity auditorium which was rare among Pentecostal churches at that time, was completed in 1972 and was dedicated by Rev Gordon Lindsay and Pa S.G Elton. The Iyaro Church was the first Church building built by the Church of God Mission International and is still standing today. It was renovated and rededicated by Archbishop Margaret Idahosa in June 2019. It is the current place of worship for CGMI Gospel House, Iyaro, Benin City.
Further growth in membership and the need to accommodate the great influx of new converts led the ministry to build another headquarters, The Historic (Faith) Miracle Centre, Airport Road with a seating capacity of 4000 persons in 1975. In 1983, While Archbishop Benson Idahosa was in Australia, he heard God tell him to build Him a building that will bring honour and glory to His name. Church of God Mission commenced the building of Faith Arena, a dome-shaped auditorium which seats between 7,000 and 10,000 persons. Faith Arena was the largest Church building in Africa at the time of its dedication on the 2nd of November, 1986.
Coinciding with the growth of CGMI Churches in Benin City was the planting of branches across Nigeria. Evangelism is the primary ministry of the Church of God Mission International, her motto is ‘Evangelism, Our Supreme Task.’ Church of God Mission International engaged in street evangelism and open-air crusades. Through these activities, several souls were added to the Church and other branches were planted across Nigeria. Church of God Mission International was the first Church to plant branches in every state in Nigeria. A powerful crusade in Ghana in 1977 saw the Church expand outside the shores of Nigeria. By the time of Archbishop Benson Idahosa’s consecration as the first Pentecostal Archbishop in Africa in 1981, CGMI had planted over 650 branches within ten African countries with 11 of those branches in Benin City alone. At the time of the Archbishop’s coronation in 1998, the Church of God Mission had over 6,000 branches across the world. In 2018 at the 50th Anniversary of the Church, it was announced that Church of God Mission International had over one thousand branches.
Church of God Mission International led by Archbishop Benson Idahosa started the trend of ‘Reverse Missions’ which is Churches from Nigeria sending missionaries to countries which had brought the gospel to Africa originally. Today, Church of God Mission International (CGMI) still has presence in at least three continents outside Africa – Asia, Europe and North America.
Sources:
Church of God Mission International Global Website
The All Nations For Christ Bible Institute International (ANFCBII) Website
Church Gist Archives
The Man of Fire: The Life Story of Benson Idahosa by Oke Joshua O.
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