FIFTEEN REASONS WHY FAITH OYEDEPO FOLLOWED BROS DAVE

Inspirational…

FIFTEEN REASONS WHY FAITH OYEDEPO FOLLOWED BROS DAVE

*Celebrating a very honourable man for being a most responsible bachelor and faithful husband-a first class role model for this generation.

By Leke Beecroft

We have often celebrated Mummy Faith Oyedepo, we still do. However, this time, we bring focus to the man in that 37 year old marriage, Bishop David Oyedepo known back in his school days as ‘Bros Dave’.

*This will help men appreciate some reasons Faith Oyedepo stayed through all the challenges.
*It will also help women understand the qualities she looked out for before committing to him.

1. Flexibility-David Oyedepo was attentive to God and flexible-Faith Oyedepo was not the first person he approached for marriage. However, when he realized he had made a wrong choice, he went back to God asking for the woman to refuse his request. The woman declined his request. Today, that woman is no longer a Christian.
2. Visionary-Very early after they began courtship, he took her into a church and asked her to sign a small article titled ‘Sailing Under Sealed Orders’. The demands weren’t flattering but she signed because she could see that he knew where they were going.
3. Giver-He was and still is a giver-Ever before he thought of building a house , the first time he bought landed property (1983), he did so with the aim of building a hospital for his community. Today that property is a small part of Landmark University, Omu Aran. He also gave to her generously. Some years back, I heard Bishop Oyedepo say-I have given (materially) to my wife more than any human being but I have not given to her close to what I have given to God.
4. Faithful-A Faithful man. David Oyedepo stayed by his fiancée like an Eagle. He often says-I married my wife (as) a virgin. Above all, he was a man of Faith. He shared with her the name of the ministry-Living Faith-in 1982 and eventually had her name changed from Florence to Faith. Many major structures of the Church today are also named Faith, Garden of Faith, Faith Tabernacle, Living Faith Goshen and the upcoming Faith Theatre.
5. Frugal-He was a frugal man. Never wasteful. On the night before their wedding, he slept in his Volkswagen rather than pay for a hotel room as he was not very buoyant financially. After marriage, he conducted the naming ceremony of Isaac Oyedepo with chin-chin and water and refused to touch church money. He once had to feed on cereals with his wife for a few days as they could not afford to buy food. He believed in cutting his coat according to his cloak.
6. Doggedness-A very dogged man. He fasted so much after he began ministry in 1984 that he was coughing blood. He persisted until the results came.
7. Reader-An avid reader of books. He has read all books written by a number of authors including Kenneth Hagin. His wife asked him once ‘what else’ he bought apart from books he had gotten on a trip abroad. He replied ‘that is all else’ because he would rather read books and produce the things he would have bought. Today he has produced among other things, 2 of the best universities in Nigeria and one of the best in the world. Church Gist.
8. Hardwork-He was a hardworker. As early as 16, he would go to partake in manual labor during holidays and through that was able to buy his grandmother a chair while buying himself a pair of shoes known as ‘Apollo’.
9. Planner-Very meticulous and a planner of time and resources. Living Faith Church is one of the most time conscious churches today. A departure from the Pentecostal culture of indiscipline couched with ‘being led by the spirit’. David Oyedepo is also known to plan within resources so much that he does not borrow to do anything including his child’s naming ceremony. Today, the Church he pastors executes projects with the fastest speed and more than any other organization in this part of the world.
   A. Faith Tabernacle-12 months
   B. Goshen City-15 months.
   C. Covenant University-7 months.
10. Loves Family-David Oyedepo loves and honours his family from his parents to children. He took care of his parents and in-laws till they all died at ripe old ages (all above 90). His children also were taught in the way of the Lord and are all doing well.
11. Loves People-Many people who have been sent on scholarship or reside in his house are not known to him. Church Gist. On an invitation to his mansion in 2000, I saw a dining area in the house at Iyana Ipaja that could sit about 150 people at once.
12. Gives to the Poor-As early as 1984, the whole church offering was N10 and on his instruction was given to a man who had not eaten that day. Today, hundreds of thousands have benefited from his givings while the Church also gives at a large scale-from Ikeja bomb incident to Koma Hills, from Rwanda to Haiti and from Sierra Leone to IDPs in the North East of Nigeria.
13. Develops Self-True that he went to Polytechnic and it is said that he was not among the brightest of students then. However, he didn’t ignore self development. He went ahead to university despite his busy schedule and today has a masters as well as a doctorate degree.
14. Submits to Mentors and keeps accountable friends-David Oyedepo has submitted to a number of people from adolescence till date. As early as 1979, he was in touch with Pastor Kumuyi who came to minister in the fellowship he served as president. He was in touch with Pastor Adeboye, General Overseer of the RCCG who came to commission the Church at commencement. He was also mentored through books by Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland-You might remember his often declared statement after meditating on their books and scriptures -Yeahhhhh, I can NEVER be poor!
15. Zealous for God-His mates usually said of him-Brother David, ‘o ti le ka lara ju’ (it is shacking him too much), is he the only one? See what ‘Over zealousness’ in the things of God has caused today?

These are by no means inexhaustible. They however stand as an example for us to follow as men and women aspiring to either get married or stay in marriage-successfully.

Hebrews 13:7

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.