The popular Oke Ooye in Ilesa, the Osun state of Nigeria in 1930 witnessed an event that would ever continue to be that which would be indelible in the wise of the apostolic move of God and the beginning of deep pentecostalism in Nigeria. The 1930 revival is renowned as the event that sparked the beginning of pentecostalism and the main apostolic move of God in Nigeria. As the popular Azusa Street Revival of 1909, was to the United States of America, with William J Seymour, as the man at the centre of it, and the Welsh revival of 1904, with Evan Roberts at the centre, so also was the revival of 1930 in Oke Ooye, Ilesa Osun State of Nigeria, with Apostle Ayo Babalola at the core of it.
The Aladura Movement of Nigeria was established through the vision of one Daddy Ali, a sexton attached to St Saviours Anglican Church, Ijebu Ode in Ogun State in 1918. Pa Shadare later became the leader of the group, as a prayer group. It was during the 1918 global pandemic of influenza, which wiped out several people. The movement was later carved out of the Anglican church to be established as a denomination on its own after a series of castigations being witnessed in the Anglican Communion.
(Apostle Ayo Babalola, sited, second from left. Pa Akinyele, later the Olubadan, sited, third from left, and other ministers of the Christ Apostolic Church; Formerly Faith Tabernacle)
Their activities which were predominantly fervent prayers, the manifestation of the holy ghost signs, most especially the speaking in tongues were disapproved as illusional and unbiblical and hence, must be stopped. The new fold was named the Precious Stone Society. After several years, that the Aladura group had experienced a series of metamorphoses in their activities, ranging from the affiliation with an international organization in The Faith Tabernacle, and its change from the Precious Stone Society to Faith Tabernacle, the year 1930 was a spectacular one for the society.
Apostle Ayo Babalola was received into the midst of the Faith Tabernacle church at a time when the group was going through a series of hitches and problem, most significantly on the doctrines and certain beliefs in the ministry. Upon this, a meeting was called to be held at the Oke Ooye, Ilesa branch of the faith Tabernacle to deliberate on the differences before it dents the image of the ministry. At the helm of the faith Tabernacle then were Pa Sadare (Eshinsinade), the leader, Pa Isaac Akinyele, (later the Olubadan, and the first President of Christ Apostolic Church), Joshua Medaiyese, Daniel Orekoya, and others. Also among them was young and newly converted Ayo Babalola.
He was put in another room at the venue of the meeting while the meeting was being held (being a new convert, he could not be allowed in their midst). As the meeting was going on, suddenly there was an uproar from outside. A woman cried out as a result of the death of her child. Ayo Babalola came out and requested the child be brought, according to the information on the Revival, He rang his bell and called the name of Jesus, the child was resuscitated and that was the beginning of the revival. The Revival of 1930 at Oke Okoye was never a deliberate move, neither was it a planned revival to gather people to be ministered to. There was never a record of any revival done by the group before the event. The woman whose child was raised called on people all around, testifying of the miracle that was done.
(A collage of the ministers, by the left, and Apostle Ayo Babalola, ministering in one of their several crusades of then)
This was similar to the miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ in the book of Mark 7:36. The people went on and testified of the goodness of God on the miracle done. As a result of this, many people were gathered to also witness the goodness of God. The same was repeated at the 1930 revival. Diverse miracles of strange forms were recorded, people were converted to Jesus Christ in their thousands. Those who were herbalists, those in occults surrendered the fetish materials they believed in and gave their life to Jesus Christ. Instantly, the incident generated an unprepared blast of crusade that went down memory lane. The lame walked, the blind received their sight, and lives were transformed and to date, the 1930 crusade was a point of reference as the beginning of the Apostolic move, and the beginning of pentecostalism in Nigeria.
Right from there, the revival, the first of its kind in Nigeria started. It birthed fervent ministers of the gospel and apostolic move in which Daniel Orekoya was among. He went on to work another revival in Oke Bola, Ibadan, in that a woman who died with her pregnancy for four days was raised. The 1930 revival was it that birthed the renowned Christ Apostolic Church, founded by Apostle Babalola, and some other ministers of the Faith Tabernacle Church.
Sources:
The Apostolic Church Nigeria (Formerly Faith Tabernacle)
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