Missiological Impact of the Redeemed Christian Church of God

Introduction

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Protestant Pentecostal evangelical denomination that celebrated its diamond jubilee in 2012. The church was established in Nigeria Lagos in 1952 under General Superintendent Josiah Akindayomi (Adedibu, 2016). The church has its foundation on a covenant of the Lord that the founder had in his vision. In His visitation, God suggested that this church would extend to all parts of the world. The church believes that the entire Scripture was authored and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore the church believes that the Bible is written and reveals the will of God (Oluminu, 2020). By 1981, the church leadership was taken by Pastor Enoch A. Adeboye, who became the General Overseer of the church (Nwadialor & Agbo, 2021). His ascension came after the death of the founder. The pastor was selected based on the vision received by the founder several years earlier. By this time, the church had less than 50 branches in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Pastor Adeboye, the church witnessed the significant expansion and phenomenal growth. Moreover, under this new leadership, the church reached 6000 parishes in Nigeria and expanded to over 140 nations on all the continents of the World (Adedibu, 2018). The church motto is "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." This motto is derived from the Bible's book of Hebrew (13:8) (Adedibu, 2016). The church has advanced to the United Kingdom, which proves its transnational networks of African Pentecostal churches globally (Adedibu, 2016). Therefore the church has enhanced the missionary agenda. Therefore, this paper will explore the missiology of the RCCG.

History of the RCCG

The RCCG church has undergone tremendous growth since 1952 after Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi founded it. From 1980 to 1989, Pastor Enoch Adeboye restructured the church, which was the basis of its global expansion. Reverend Akindayomi converted to Christian in 1927 under the Anglican Church, which was represented by the Church Missionary Society (CMS). He studies in the CMS School, where he acquired Western education though later became frustrated with the doctrines and teachings of CMS, which condemned most elements of the Yoruba culture. Therefore, he was forced to drop out of the CMS School and joined the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (Atkinson, 2020). Later, he lived in logos and worked for C&S Headquarters under Prophet Abraham Onanuga, who led him spiritually. While working with his movement, he acquired the title of a prophet due to his ability to heal the sick and heightened spirituality. By 1952 the leadership of C&S accused Akindayomi of creating a church within their church, thus expelling him and his prayer members. This group expanded into a full-blown church known as the RCCG. In his church, Akindayomi renounced all the cultural practices and traditions linked to his old church. These practices include liturgical burning of candles, polygamy, singing, and wearing long white robes. Therefore, due to his church customs, he divorced his two junior wives and remained with one wife, and made his church members follow his example. Moreover, he assumed the Bible's focus, including divine healing, prayers, bible studies, speaking in tongues, sacrifice, obedience, and faithfulness to God (Jemirade, 2017). All these aspects, among others, form the basis of the doctrine of the church. Moreover, based on the church constitution, the church founder had unlimited powers to remove and appoint individuals as directed by the spirit of the Lord. Under Akindayomi, the RCCG church remained a conservative church populated by the poor and uneducated lower-middle individuals from Nigerians, particularly the Yoruba ethnic group (Adewale, 2020). While in the leadership of the church, Akindayomi limited the number of offerings made to the church and instead preferred that members donate money based on their free will and as guided by the Holy Spirit (Jemirade, 2017). Until his death on November 2, 1980, Akindayomi successfully started a full-fledged church that had forty branches in Nigeria.

After the death of the church founder, the church came to the second part of its growth. This period was from 1981 to 1989 under the leadership of Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. Pastor Adeboye became a member of the RCCG in 1973 after being introduced to the church by his uncle, Reverend Chris Fajemirokun (Freeman, 2020). Adeboye has a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lagos. Therefore, he came to the denomination due to health-related problems which impacted his family, thus resolving to seek the intercession of Akindayomi. Later he trained as a pastor in the church and was ordained in 1975, which marked the rise of his power. Due to his education, he organized the church differently compared to his predecessor. His leadership attracted educated elites into the church, thus being successful in expanding the church globally. Moreover, he modernized the church and made it more attractive to the educated elites, wealthy, and upper-middle class. Moreover, Adeboye came up with other concept musical instruments, clapping hands, and singing. This was different from the old church, which performing services in the old traditions, particularly interpretation of English with Yoruba. Currently, the church conducts most of its business in English without necessarily interpreting in Yoruba.

Besides, Ayantayo often taught of prosperity and the need for Christians to be victorious on the earth. Moreover, Adeboye suggested that the Lord established a covenant of prosperity in theRCCG. Adeboye preached that poverty was a curse since, based on him, Satan placed poverty on man and that the Almighty God could remove the yoke of penury. Therefore he regularly preached on breaking the yoke and chains of poverty and the significance of prosperity and wealth. Therefore church members believed that individuals should make an effort to acquire wealth. For the church, wealth was a sign of blessings from God, while poverty was a sign of the curse. Also, the church believed that when you give to the church, you give to Lord, who gives his people abundant financial blessings in return (Eriksen et al., 2020). Due to the acquisition of wealth, the church has advanced globally; most RCCG pastors are university graduates. Since the 1990s, Adeboye has focused on expanding the church globally to fulfill its founder's vision that the church would spread to all parts of the earth. Therefore the key objective of the church remains to be spreading the gospel to all parts of the world.

Redeemed Christian Church of God Faith

The RCCG church believes in the whole biblical Scripture and that the bile was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Therefore all the Bible teachings are holy. Besides, the church believes that God's laws should be observed and remain unchangeable. Moreover, the church believes in one God who is the creator of the world and everything in it- visible and invisible creatures. Likewise, the church believes in Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God and who, through his death, humankind's sins were forgiven. He is the savior of the world (Burgess, 2017). At the same time, RCCG believes that the Holy Spirit is the third personality in the TRINITY and has similar power and glory with God the son and father. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is one with the son and the father. Likewise, the church believes that the Holy Spirit has significant work to perform on the earth, especially teaching and speaking to his people. Furthermore, He empowers all believers in the Lord. Additionally, the church believes in repentance unto God and His grace which wholly and progressively cleansed human sins. Another grace is Jesus Christ's blood, which justifies and sets free humans from their wickedness or regeneration (Burgess, 2017).

At the same time, the church believes in baptism in the name of God, the father, son, and Holy Spirit. Through baptism, souls are automatically saved. All baptized individuals are joined with Christ in His death and resurrection, thus making an individual born again. Individuals who are saved are given the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift. In the church, apostles put prayer first in their life and most of their time is spent in prayer. The church believes that all people should pray to receive what God promised and heavenly treasures. It also believes in divine healing through prayer. At the same time, the church recognizes the authority, and all Christians should obey the country's law and abide by the government's rules. Moreover, children are taught to obey authority and their parents (Burgess, 2017). The church forbids any of its members from entering into any debt which becomes difficult to pay. Furthermore, the church believes in the marriage institution and holy matrimony. Therefore marriage is honorable, and all members who wish to marry are advised to do so in the church. On the other hand, divorce is permissible after one life partner commits adultery. At the same time, the church forbids polygamy. Moreover, the church believes in the Holy Communion, which the Lord Jesus Christ instituted before his death. The church also has many other doctrines and procedures which are observed globally.

Redeemed Christian Church of God Prayer

The RCCG has mastered the art and practice of prayer. The church defines prayer as "a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God. The church believes that God answers prayer. Moreover, God answers the prayer of His children. Some principles should be met for prayer to be answered. One such principle includes being a child of God. Therefore, when individual prayers are not answered, they are encouraged to look inward and probably repent (Burgess, 2017). Moreover, the church also believes that for prayer to be answered, one has to review their relationship with the Lord. When individuals have sins to confess, members are encouraged to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness. Moreover, prayer in the church is guided by Jeremiah 29:13, who suggest that the key to answered prayers is whole-heartedness. Similarly, the church prayer is guided by John 15:7, which suggests that when individuals abide by God's word, they can get whatever they need, and it shall be done. Moreover, the church holds that faith is the most critical factor needed for prayers to be answered as per Mark 11:24 (Osinulu, 2017). The church reveals that to get anything from the Lord, one must believe they have already received what they asked for. Another key to answered prayer is righteousness (John 9:31), where one should act based on divine nature and be free from sin's guilt. When an individual is righteous, they abstain from all appearances of evil. Some of the critical aspects that characterize RCCG prayer include thanking God for provisions to the church, families, and individual Deut 8:10, thanking the Lord for salvation and our heavenly inheritance as per Col 1:12 and thanking the Lord for forgiving of sins as per plasms 103: 3. Moreover, the church thank God for divine health (Ex 15: 26) and for fighting all battles as per Exodus 14: 14. Moreover, the church prays for mercy and freedom from any physical, emotional and financial bondage, Exodus 2: 23, - 25; Exodus 20: 2.

Redeemed Christian Church of God Evangelism

The church is deeply involved in evangelism, and everyone is welcome regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and age. The church aims to build a Church family by constantly breaking down barriers relating to society. Moreover, the church is concerned with the great commission where Jesus in Mathew 28:18-20 commands his followers to preach the good news to the world. Therefore, the church in the UK reaches out to the lost through evangelistic activities (Oluwadoro & Mepaiyeda, 2017). These activities include reaching out to the lost and needy with the transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ. Moreover, the church often reaches out to prisons, children's homes, and hospitals and gets involved in Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Similarly, the church also involves individual evangelism through person to person evangelism. More importantly, the church in the United Kingdom is working hard to establish and reach out to institutions of higher learning. During its evangelical mission, the church focuses on living a holy life that demonstrates God's love, thus making it easy to bring more people to Christ (Oluwadoro & Mepaiyeda, 2017). The study also reveals that Adeboye introduced evangelism to reach out to all segments of society, particularly the elite and the rich. Moreover, under the old system, members contributed from free will. At the same time, in the new leadership, there was an emphasis on financial contributions with a focus on paying ten percent tithes and other contributions. These contributions were meant to bring blessings from God (Kuponu & Talabi, 2021). At the same time, the church emphasizes holiness, though the gospel prosperity remained paramount. These trends were not limited to RCCG but also other Pentecostal churches in Nigeria.

Global Expansion 1990 to the present

After consolidating his power, Adeboye started to expand the church to other countries. Since the 1990s, to present the church has successfully expanded to the five continents. However, the worldwide expansion was not by accident since it was a deliberate effort by the church leadership. Moreover, the expansion was based on the vision of its founder; thus, the church purposed to create parishes in Nigeria, particularly the southwest and the Lagos area. The proliferation of parishes by the church in the region where elites lived and near universities made the church more successful and popular, thus acceptable among the populace. The significant expansion in Nigeria led to the spread to various parts of the world, especially the UK. By 1981 the church was established in Ghana, which signaled a global expansion (Burgess, 2017). After the church establishment in Ghana, the church later spread to other countries in Asia, Africa, New Zealand, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and the Middle East. This incredible expansion was termed as re-evangelism of the UK or reverse flow or reverse mission. The church expansion to North America is part of the overall globalization vision of the mother church in Nigeria (Osinulu, 2017). The study also reveals that African Christianity and Pentecostalism are located in Africa and visible in North American and the UK, which is now becoming a new global trend. The expansion of African Pentecostalism is primarily linked to the forces of globalization, declining fortunes of western Christianity, and migration into what is termed as ‘private space’ ( Animante & Akussah, 2021). Moreover, the spread of African Pentecostalism in the West and especially the UK is associated with the lost glory of Western Christianity. The west has lost its religious, social, and political sphere of influence in the Christian world. In Britain, most African Pentecostal churches are located in the Old Kent Road in South East of London. These churches in the UK have emerged through support from mother church branches in Africa. An example of a church that has grown in this procedure is the RCCG (Burgess et al., 2010).

One of the areas where the church has experienced the most significant expansion in the UK. Though the church is present in almost 164 countries, it has dramatically expanded in the UK after four students created an RCCG house fellowship in 1988 (Asamoah-Gyadu, 2010). The fellowship became a church along the Hones Road before later being moved to Larch Road, London. In the UK, it was registered as a charity by 1990 under Pastor Abatan. Moreover, the church established a second parish in South East London led by Pastor David Jimmy Olumuyide by 1992. Further expansion of the church in the UK occurred in 1994 after Pastor Tony Rapu, a medical doctor from Lagos (Akhazemea & Adedibu, 2011).

The Concept of Reverse Mission

The reverse mission is a concept that African-based churches are now preaching and reintroducing Christianity to North America and Europeans, where Christianity originated before spreading to the rest of the world, especially Africa. Therefore, the RCCG is characterized by uniformity in its branches' beliefs, doctrine, and liturgy (Adesanya, 2011). Though the RCCG’s globalization strategy is deliberate and planned, Pastor Ishola is responsible for establishing the first, second, and fifth church in Canada. According to Oluwadoro and Mepaiyeda (2017), migrants played a critical role in expanding RCCG globally. The church's expansion was promoted by Nigerian migrant workers who settled in various parts of the world. Other individuals who helped establish the RCCG were students who started house fellowships, which later transformed into churches and received support from their headquarters in Africa (Adesanya, 2011). Moreover, the church began as a small fellowship in the foreign lands before becoming a vast church. Though the church globalization was the church founder's vision, its expansion to the UK and American world was due to individuals who came for a different reason. These people were only encouraged to start the church after they settled in these foreign lands. Also, the church has a slogan that starting a church is necessary when a member of the RCCG settles in other parts of the world due to job transfer (Adedibu, 2016). Therefore the church begins as a fellowship before becoming a church.

Christianity has been a migratory faith. The RCCG emergence as a significant transnational missionary player is based on the ethos of the church. The spread of the gospel by the church is promoted by its objectives which states that the denomination is created to evangelize the world in the name of Jesus Christ (Oluminu, 2020). Another aim of the church was to convert pagans and heathen to the Christian faith by establishing Missions and churches globally. Therefore over the years, the church has been involved in missions and church planting in almost every city in the world. The church also pays pastors salaries from the logos headquarters, and a similar trend has been observed in Britain. The payment of salaries facilitates the mission of the RCCG leadership. Therefore, due to the various church mission in the UK, there is a reverse flow of resources from developing states to the UK and America (Klair, 2020). The church has transitioned from mission to missional communities, which has made the church most successful in the world.

Conclusion

For the last 25 years, the RCCG has expanded in Britain and other parts of the world. The church has been able to translate its missionary drive to membership among non-African population. Most of the growth by the church is inspired by migrants who challenge the marginality within the British landscape and African diaspora Christians. Over the years, the church action has been referred to as reverse mission, where African Pentecostal churches reconsider their mission to approach and preach the gospel in the UK world. Moreover, regardless of its founder's vision to expand globally, the church expansion is not deliberate, though it is part of an intentional plan orchestrated by church leaders in Nigeria. The church encourages its member to start new fellowships wherever they go and later plant a church. Therefore, migrants have a great job in the church mission. The church has remained to be an immigrant church dominated by the Yoruba people globally. Currently, it is acquiring more followers of the non-African race. The church has successfully catered to the civil, spiritual, and social needs of migrant workers who seek religious identity in the world. Moreover, due to its fast growth, it can be a dominant church in the world regardless of its roots in Nigeria.

Continue your exploration of Migration and Transitional Justice with our related content.

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