The Journey so Far
At the beginning, in a unique vision-sharing meeting of the Power House (a team of men and women that stood in the gap interceding for this great ministry at the onset), precisely on April 10, 1982, God gave Brother David, as he was known at that time, the following profound prophetic verdicts, which were declared to the people:
God said,
"This ministry is not out to debate over doctrines, but to prove the power of the Holy Ghost."
That is a power ministry connoting a flow of Signs and Wonders. Today, signs and wonders have become the trade mark of this ministry worldwide. Testimonies of the supernatural acts of God are shared in all our meetings everywhere.
"The work of this ministry shall not be limited to this country alone, but to other nations. And Church establishment on the mission field shall be the goal, where the living Word will be taught."
Today, we have mission stations in about 68 cities and towns spread over 30 nations on the continent of Africa, where great Churches have been built with large followerships. We have also established Churches in Britain and United States of America.
"At the base of the ministry a tent shall be built to contain 50,000 people."
Today, the 50,000 seat capacity sanctuary, Faith Tabernacle, located in Canaan Land, Ota, stands as a proof of God's faithfulness and commitment to His word.
"A telecast shall be used to put on screen the gospel across nations."
Today, church services at Faith Tabernacle are broadcast live via the Internet to all nations of the earth. Please note that at the time of this prophecy, internet technology was not in view.
"The printing press shall operate at an industrial scale."
Indeed, the Dominion Publishing House operates at an industrial scale, with about five million books printed to date.
I saw wings passing across nations. This is interpreted to be an airplane flying to other nations, carrying the gospel of liberation.
To date, the ministry has acquired two aircrafts, one in exchange for another newer and faster, within a short period.
Church Operations
After the ministry was commissioned on September 17, 1983, church operations commenced in Kaduna the same year. Church services started with four members. Within a period of three years, the church multiplied greatly and attendance grew to thousands. Today that same church in Kaduna has well over 25,000 worshippers, holding multiple services on a 13-acre facility called the Garden of Faith in Kaduna, northern part of Nigeria.
In September 1989, Bishop Oyedepo moved to Lagos in obedience to God's instruction to: "Get down to Lagos and raise Me a people." The Lagos church started in a rented hall at 1A, New Era Road, Iyana Ipaja. From there, it moved to its own acquired 2.7 acre facility at 38, Raji Oba Street, Iyana Ipaja. There, a 3,000 capacity auditorium was built, which soon became inadequate for the ever-increasing worshippers at the Church. In January 1995, while praying in England for a larger space to accommodate the people, Bishop David Oyedepo received this word from God: "Why are you asking me for another land when you have not used the one I gave you?" So, the existing bungalow structures were pulled down and a four-storey L-shaped overflow facility and seven-storey office complex were built in their place. The buildings were all dedicated on Saturday, December 30, 1995.
These facilities were still not adequate to accommodate the people and canopies were erected to create more room for people. Yet, in no time the people spilled over to adjacent streets. To cater for them, multiple services grew up to five on Sundays and two on week days.
The force behind the phenomenal growth of the ministry is epitomized in the anointed, proof-producing and life-applicable messages. This is in fulfillment of the instructions given to Bishop David Oyedepo early in ministry when he was bothered about the slow pace of the church growth. The Lord told him, "Keep sowing the seed, (the word), and keep the grass green and the sheep will come to lie down there, for he maketh me to lie down in green pasture."
By divine direction, the ministry established a number of outreaches in Lagos to spread the Word of Faith to liberate men, as God commanded in 1981. These multidimensional outreaches have made a lot of impact on the body of Christ worldwide. Such outreaches include publishing of books and other periodicals such as The Winners' World, Signs & Wonders Today, and training through the Word of Faith Bible Institute (WOFBI) that is committed to ministry and leadership training and through the church network in the home and foreign missions.
Due to the increasing flow of people into Winners' Chapel, Lagos, with crowds spilling over to adjacent roads, and on decks of uncompleted buildings nearby and people standing for hours to listen to God's word, it became necessary to search for a larger place.
This was what led to the acquisition of the 530-acre facility, known as Canaan Land, which serves as the headquarters of this global ministry. It is the home of the 50,000-seat capacity sanctuary, the Faith Tabernacle, which is reputed to be the largest Church auditorium in the world and a living testimony to the awesomeness of God.
The speed of the construction of Faith Tabernacle was breath-taking, considering the size of the building. Construction of this gigantic project was completed within twelve months, which experts claim could only have been a miracle, because such a project should normally take a minimum of three years to complete. It is important to note that the massive facilities that make up the Canaan Land estate were built absolutely debt-free, to the glory of God. These facilities include the well-renowned Faith Tabernacle, the church secretariat, the Youth Chapel, the Kingdom Heritage Nursery and Primary School buildings, the full boarding mission secondary school called Faith Academy, with over 1,500 students, the Covenant University with about 6,000 students, fully resident in ultra-modern hostel facilities, with fully equipped faculty buildings and numerous staff housing facilities.