Word of Life Bible Church is a Bible-believing Church founded on 15th November 1987, by Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor inside a warehouse in Plot 12, Enerhen, Uvwie, central district of Delta. Pastor Ayo started ministry as a Pastor at the Church of God Mission International, Sapele having been ordained as a Pastor in 1972 by Archbishop Benson Idahosa of blessed memory but after receiving a mandate from God, he founded Word of Life Bible Church.
Pastor Ayodele Joseph Oritsegbubemi Oritsejafor was born on the 10th of November 1945 to Joseph Monday Oritsejafor and Roli Durojaiye Oritsejafor in Lagos State, Nigeria. His mother was a very devoted Christian who sought for a male child for years and vowed to God that she will bring him up in the way of the Lord, without allowing the things of the world come near him. God answered her prayers and Ayodele was born. After his birth, he could not speak until his fifth birthday when he spoke to the amazement of everyone. He spoke fluently and maturedly like a normal child. It was revealed that his mother who was a devoted member of Christ Apostolic Church, would take him to the church altar for hours praying for God to bless and use him. His father died while he was young. This ushered changes in young Ayo’s life. He was left at the mercy of relatives who didn’t treat him well while his mother remarried and travelled to the United Kingdom with her new husband. Ayo grew up on his own and got involved in drugs and became violent.
On a certain day, in 1972, Ayo got an invite to a crusade while on his way to see a relative in Sapele, Nigeria. He went to the crusade ground half drunk in the company of a friend. This was the day he gave his life to Christ after hearing the word preached with so much depth and clarity by Archbishop Benson Idahosa. At that moment, he observed that he immediately felt joy, peace and so much love. Right there, he made a commitment to serve God for the rest of his life. He bought a Bible and began preaching about the love of Jesus to anyone he came across. His closest encounter with Archbishop Benson Idahosa was during an evening service in Benin where Ayo led on a song after which Archbishop Benson Idahosa asked to see him and his mother. After this encounter, Ayo visited Archbishop Benson Idahosa severally and was over time made an assistant Pastor.
Ayo decided to go to Bible School and enrolled in the New Covenant Bible Institute, Benin City, Mid-Western Region, Nigeria (now Edo State) owned by Church of God Mission International in 1972. While in Bible School, he was finding it difficult to cope. He often escaped classes and couldn’t even stand in front of people. He found it difficult to preach. He decided to pack his bags to leave Bible School, concluding that the school was not for him but fate had other plans. He saw a vision of himself in suit preaching to thousands of people. He heard a voice saying; “This is what you are going to be doing for the rest of your life, take my word to the world”. Receiving this instruction, he stayed in the Bible School and further enrolled with the Nigerian Baptist Seminary, Ogbomosho in Oyo State, Nigeria. Later, in 1979, he proceeded to the United States for further studies at Morris Cerullo’s School of Ministry (El Cortez), San Diego, California.
He hosts “Hour of Deliverance”, a television program which had its debut in 1980. He often says he owes his life’s accomplishments to God, and his success in ministry to the influence of Archbishop Benson Idahosa, Dr. Morris Cerullo, Evangelist Robert W. Schamback, and Evangelist Tommy L. Osborn amongst others.
He became the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) on the 7th of February, 2005 till 2010. Afterwards, he was elected as the President of the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN), the apex body of all Christians in Nigeria, becoming the first Pentecostal leader to assume such position and served from 2010 to 2016.
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s Ministries was the first to launch a Miracle crusade (Lagos Miracle Crusade) from Africa to world audience, via satellite, in 1987 with Evangelist Joe Martins. He also set up African Broadcasting Network (ABN), an international satellite Christian television station intended to serve as a voice for the gospel of Christ from Africa to the world. It is a satellite channel broadcasting from London, with a coverage that spans across the whole of Africa, parts of Asia and parts of Europe. It is currently viewed in 75 countries world-wide and online via WebTV. As a keynote speaker, he has ministered in crusades with well over 2,000,000 souls in attendance. He has also ministered and still ministers in various international and local Conferences and seminars which has taken him to well over 50 countries and every continent of the world.
Sources:
Believers Portal
Church Gist Archives
Ayo_oritsejafor.org
Interview with Pastor Awani
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#WordOfLifeBibleChurch
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