By Leshi Adebayo
Founder and President of the Living Faith Church Worldwide aka Winners’ Chapel, Bishop Dr David Olaniyi Oyedepo, on Monday, celebrated his birthday anniversary.
In this piece, BlackBox Nigeria highlights nine things you should know about the renowned clergyman as he clocks 67.
1. He is a native of Omu-Aran, Kwara State. Though, he was born in Osogbo, Osun State on September 27, 1954.
2. He became a born again Christian at the age of 15 in 1969, thanks to his missionary teacher, Ms Betty Lasher who identified him in secondary school.
3. He was ordained a pastor alongside his wife, Pastor Mrs Faith Oyedepo by Pastor EA Adeboye (his Spiritual Father) in 1983. Five years after, in 1988, he was ordained a Bishop by Late Archbishop Benson Idahosa.
4. He studied Architecture at the Kwara State Polytechnic. He also bagged a PhD in human development from Honolulu University, Hawaii, U.S.A.
5. His church’s 50,000-seat capacity auditorium, the Faith Tabernacle, was reported as the World’s Largest Church Auditorium, according to the Guinness Book of Records in 2005.
6. He is currently the richest pastor in Nigeria. In 2011, the Forbes Magazine declared him the richest pastor in Nigeria with a net worth of over $150M.
7. Bishop Oyedepo and his ministry have awarded over 100 scholarships across primary, secondary and tertiary levels. He is currently the Chancellor of Covenant University and Landmark University.
8. The clergyman has authored over 70 books comprising of christian, inspirational and motivational ones.
9. In July 2021, he was dragged on social media for sacking 40 pastors as blogs, critics claimed he sacked them because they could not generate enough income. In response to the backlash, Bishop Oyedepo said the sacked pastors were unfruitful in winning souls into the church.
