Heaven's Gate, Cape Town

Rccg History

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Nigeria-based Pentecostal Holiness ministry.

Contents


 History

The RCCG was founded by Pa Josiah Akindayomi, who came from Ondo State in the Western part of Nigeria. He was born in 1909. He grew up as an idol worshipper but he later converted to Christianity out of a yearning to know “The God who created the earth and everyone on it”. He was baptized in 1927 by the Church Missionary Society (CMS). He joined the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) church in 1931 because he was not fulfilled as a Christian in the Anglican Church. He left the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) church in 1952 and started a house fellowship called, the Glory of God Fellowship at Willoughby Street, Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
Pa Akindayomi, who was an illiterate, one day proclaimed that he got a revelation from God about the renaming of the church the Redeemed Christian Church of God, which is now a household name in many countries. Thus in 1952, the Redeemed Christian Church of God was born.
Sometime in the early 70s, Pa Akindayomi claimed that God had spoken to him about his successor. He claimed that The Lord told him that this man, who was not a member of the church then, would be a young educated man. Thus when a young university lecturer joined the church in 1973, Papa was able,as was claimed to recognize him in the Spirit as the one that the Lord had spoken about in the past. This man, Enoch Adejare Adeboye who was then a lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Lagos soon became involved in the church. He became one of the interpreters translating Pa Akindayomi's sermons from Yoruba to English. He was ordained a pastor of the church in 1975.
As Papa was preparing to meet his Creator, he sent for Pastor Adeboye and spent several hours sharing with him details of the covenant and the plans of the Lord for the church. Even though a year before this, the Lord had revealed to Pastor Adeboye that he would be Papa's successor, it was still too difficult for him to fully contemplate such an awesome responsibility.
Pa Josiah Akindayomi was 71 years old when he died. Amidst controversy, Pastor Adeboye's appointment was formalized by the reading of Pa Akindayomi's sealed pronouncement after his burial.
Since 1981, an open explosion began with the number of parishes growing in leaps and bounds.
One of the well-known programs of the church is the Holy Ghost Service, an all-night miracle service that holds on the first Friday of every month at the Redemption Camp at KM. 46, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The Holy Ghost Service also holds in London twice a year and in other parts of the world. Another major service is the Holy Ghost Congress which holds in the second week of December every year at the Redemption Camp.
Some of the said promises of the Lord to the RCCG are as follows:
  • That He will meet this Church on His return.
  • That this Church will become a model to the whole world.
  • That other Churches from all over the world would come to learn and worship in this Church.

Church doctrine

The Statement of Faith of the reveals belief in the Divine inspiration of the Bible; the Trinity; the deity, virgin birth, sinless life, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and return of Jesus; man, by voluntary disobedience and transgression, falling into sin; salvation being through repentance and faith; the baptism of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues; that Divine healing is provided through the atonement; the pre-tribulation rapture of the church; the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ; the final judgment of all the wicked; eternal heaven and eternal hell being literal final places of destiny; water baptism by immersion; in Lord's as a memorial; and restitution of Christians righting wrongs they have committed.

 Church mission

The RCCG’s Mission Statement is:
  • 1. To make heaven.
  • 2. To take as many people as possible with us.
  • 3. To have a member of RCCG in every family of all nations.
  • 4. To have a parish in every 5mins walking distance and 5mins drive in every city of the world
Or put another way, the mission of RCCG is to propagate the message of the Christian Scriptures around the world and to proclaim the salvation found in Christ. As a church, it seeks to convert lost souls and reconcile them with their Creator.

 Church status

There are thousands of parishes of The Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria, with the Headquarters located in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, Nigeria. The church is present on the continent of Africa in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
In Europe, the church has a presence in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland, where it has parishes in County Dublin, County Cork, County Limerick., and almost all the other counties in the republic.
In the United States, there have opened parishes in Illinois, Texas, Florida, New York, New England, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland (one is called Jesus House DC), New Jersey, Georgia, Oregon, California and other states in the last six years.
In Canada there are parishes in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta and in other provinces. In the Caribbean, the church is in Haiti and Jamaica. Together, the United States and Canada parishes form RCCGNA, which is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
In Australia and in the Oceania, it has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide and Perth and is looking to extend its ministry. Also there are now parishes in New Zealand, Fiji, Malaysia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Singapore. The Central Office for the Oceania (Australia/Pacific) Region is based in Jesus House Melbourne. In India it is in [mumbai,bangalore,chennai,kolkata]. RCCG Hong Kong(where three parishes are currently active- Joy, Glory & Christ Vision Centres) reached out to Baguio City in the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

 The Holy Ghost Service and Holy Ghost Congress

Holy Ghost Service is an all-night miracle service that holds on the first Friday of every month at the Redemption Camp at km 46, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State, Nigeria. Attendance at this service is between 800,000 to 1,200,000 people. Word of Knowledge, prayers, miracles, praise and worship, with powerful ministration led by Pastor E. A Adeboye and other anointed men and women of God.
The Holy Ghost Service also holds twice a year in London at Excel Exhibition Centre and in other parts of the world. Another major service of the church is the Holy Ghost congress which holds in the second week of December every year at the Redemption Camp and is usually attended by millions of people from Nigeria and abroad.

 See also

External links


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