Bishop Davido Oyedepo is the Founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide. This servant of God was born on 27 September 1954 in Osogbo, Osun state in Nigeria.
Profile
| Real name | David O. Oyedepo |
| Date of birth | 27 September 1954 |
| Country of Origin | Federal Republic of Nigeria |
| Net worth | $200 million |
| Wife | Faith Abiola Oyedepo |
| Children | Isaac Oyedepo, David Oyedepo Jnr., Love Oyedepo, Joyce Oyedepo |
Early life
On September 27, 1954, David Olaniyi Oyedepo was born in Osogbo, Nigeria, but is a native of Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State. He is 67 years old. He was raised in a mixed religious family. His father, Ibrahim, was a Muslim healer. His mother, Dorcas, was a member of the Holy Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church (C&S), a branch of the Aladura movement in Nigeria.[2] He was raised by his grandmother in Osogbo, who introduced him to the virtues of Christian life via early morning prayers which she attended with him. She also taught him the importance of tithing.
Education
Oyedepo studied architecture at the Kwara State Polytechnic Ilorin. He also received a PhD in Human Development from Honolulu University, Hawaii, US.
Career
Oyedepo worked briefly with the Federal Ministry of Housing in Ilorin before resigning to concentrate on missionary work
Ministry
Oyedepo was “born again” in 1969, through the influence of his teacher, Betty Lasher, who took an interest in him during his high school days.. According to him, he received a mandate from God through an 18-hour vision in May 1981, to liberate the world from all oppression of the devil through the preaching of the word of faith.This is the inaugural vision that led to the founding of the Living Faith Church World Wide (LFCWW), first called Liberation Faith Hour Ministries, in 1981.Two years later, on September 17, 1983, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, ordained David and his wife, Florence Abiola Akano (known as Faith Abiola Oyedepo) to become pastors and officially commissioned the new church. Five years later, Oyedepo was ordained as Bishop.
Living Faith Church (AKA Winners Chapel International) started in Kaduna but moved to Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria in July 1989, to start a new branch of the church after Oyedepo claimed to have received instructions from God to reach out to the people of Lagos.
Oyedepo is the wealthiest preacher in Nigeria with a net worth of over US$150 million. The church owns four private jets and several buildings, including in London and the US. Oyedepo is an author and publisher who has written over 70 titles apart from periodicals. He is the chairman/publisher of Dominion Publishing House (DPH), a publishing arm of the ministry. DPH has over 4 million prints in circulation to date. Through Oyedepo; Covenant University, Faith Academy and Kingdom Heritage Model Schools have been established to equip the youth for global impact. The construction of a third university named Crown University is already underway, located in Calabar, Cross River, Nigeria.
In 1998, Oyedepo claimed he was instructed by God to build a new base for the Commission to accommodate the increasing number of worshippers. This resulted in Oyedepo’s church’s acquisition of the initial 530-acre (2.1 km2) facility, known as Canaanland, which serves as the headquarters. It is the home of the 50,000-seat capacity auditorium, the ‘Faith Tabernacle’. This was a feat also recorded by the Guinness Book of Records.
Construction was completed within 12 months. Reports also claimed that this building was built debt free. This 50,000-seat edifice was dedicated on September 18, 1999, under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Canaanland is in Ota, Ogun state and is the 5,000-acre (20 km2) estate and campus, that houses The 50,000 seat auditorium, the church secretariat, the church’s youth chapel, a primary school called Kingdom heritage model school, a full boarding mission secondary school called Faith Academy, with over 1,500 students and the Covenant University facilities. which accommodates over 7,000 students, fully resident in ultra-modern hostel facilities – with fully equipped faculty buildings and numerous staff housing facilities. Canaanland campus also has for-profit establishments operated by the church such as a bakery, a bottled water processing plant, a petrol station, various restaurants and shopping stores, several residential houses that provide for the over 2,000 church employees and guesthouses. Four banks are also present on this Estate, three of which are branches of external commercial banks and one which is a community and micro-finance Bank and operated by the Church. The whole of Canaanland which includes a proposed 15,000 housing estate known as Canaan City had increased to 17,000 acres as at 2012.
The Ministry’s biggest annual meeting Shiloh, holds every December in the same Faith Tabernacle and often welcomes thousands of congregants across the world.
Family
In 1982 he married Florence Abiola Akano (now known as Faith Oyedepo).
They have four children together (David Jr, Isaac, Love and Joyce). David Oyedepo Jr and Isaac Oyedepo were ordained as Pastors in May 2007 by Kenneth Copeland. David Oyedepo Jr formerly pastored the London Branch of the Church with his wife, Kemi but is now the resident pastor of the Ministry’s headquarters church (Faith Tabernacle) while Isaac Oyedepo pastors Winners’ Chapel International, Maryland, in the United States of America with his wife Ayomitide. His first daughter Love is married to Stephen Ogah, who also pastors in Winners’ Chapel. Joys Priscilla is the last child and second daughter. She married Abimbola Abodunrin in 2020
Cars
The Bishop of the Winner’s Chapel has in a real sense many vehicles available to him every minute of every day. This is expected mostly to the affinity of chapel individuals to give vehicles namelessly to the congregation. From these vehicles, appropriate vehicles are added to Bishop Oyedepo’s own armada.
In a huge foundation occasion that occurred in 2013, it is accounted for that there were 700 vehicles given to the congregation. The vehicles were costly models of Toyota, Mercedes Benz, BMW, and even outlandish vehicles. David Oyedepo’s carports are generally renewed after such occasions. In another huge gift in 2014, the congregation got many SUVs. Among those vehicles, some Toyota Land Cruiser Prado models turned out to be essential for the individual armada of the directing cleric.
1. Toyota Landcruiser:
The Toyota Land Cruiser has an unbelievable resume as a rough terrain driver, yet the ebb and flow model appears to be more extravagant than courageous. Its standard 381-hp V-8 motor isn’t especially exceptional, and it’s absolutely not eco-friendly, yet it moves the apparatus with power. The Land Cruiser is unfathomably fit, but at the same time it’s staggeringly costly, particularly when contrasted and other huge non-extravagance SUVs. The Land Cruiser is controlled by a 5.7-liter V-8 motor matched with an eight-speed programmed transmission. This arrangement creates 381 drive and 401 lb-ft of force.
2. Mercedes-Benz:
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class has 1 Diesel Engine and 4 Petrol Engine on offer. The Diesel motor is 1950 cc while the Petrol motor is 1950 cc and 1991 cc and 2996 cc and 3982 ccs. It is accessible with Automatic transmission. Contingent on the variation and fuel type the C-Class has a mileage of 9.6 to 12.6 km. The C-Class is a 5 seater roadster and has a length of 4686mm, a width of 1810mm, and a wheelbase of 2840mm.
Private Jets
Gulfstream V stream esteemed at US$30m. His own airplane assortment incorporates a Bombardier Challenger Aircraft and two Gulfstream planes. Bishop Oyedepo and Winners Chapel have four private jets, together worth about ₦25 billion. These are:
- Gulfstream I
- Gulfstream IV
- Bombardier Challenger 604 (N664D)
- Gulfstream V Jet
Houses
Bishop David Oyedepo lives in Canaanland, the headquarters location of the Winners Worldwide Church. He has several church branches and houses located in Nigeria, London, Africa, and the USA.
Net Worth
Oyedepo is currently the richest Pastor in Nigeria with a net worth of over US$200 million. The congregation claims four personal luxury planes and a few structures, remembering for London and the US. Oyedepo is a writer and distributor who has composed more than 70 titles separated from periodicals. He is the administrator/distributor of Dominion Publishing House (DPH), a distributing arm of the service. DPH has more than 4 million prints available for use to date. Through Oyedepo; Covenant University, Faith Academy, and Kingdom Heritage Model Schools have been set up to prepare the adolescent for worldwide effect. The development of a third college named Crown University is now in progress, situated in Calabar, Cross River, Nigeria.