Joseph Ayo Babalola (25 April 1904 – 26 July 1959) was the first General Evangelist of the

Christ Apostolic Church Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) is the first Aladura Pentecostal church present in Nigeria and other countries. It arose in the first half of the 20th century, in the then-British empire. It was formally established in 1941 after a split from the Apo ...

, popularly called CAC in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He was credited with healing powers.

Early life

Babalola was born of Yoruba parents at Odo-Owa, Kwara State, Nigeria. He was brought up as an Anglican. He was registered at an elementary school at Oto-Awori on

Badagry Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...

Road,

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Ben ...

, in 1914. He got to standard four, before he became a blacksmith's apprentice and he learned it for two years, before he became a steamroller operator under the PWD (Public Works Department), then under the control of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, learning to become a steamroller driver. After 15 days of learning to drive the caterpillar, he was able to drive it without any assistance. After nine months; he became a master in his class. A steamroller was first given to him on 1 April 1928 to work on the Osogbo – Ilesha road. On June 14, 1928, he was transferred to Akure – Ilesha road. Babalola was baptized in Lagos lagoon in December 1929.

Ministry and healing

In 1931 Faith Tabernacle affiliated with The Apostolic Church with general headquarters in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(and not British Apostolic Church, as erroneously called by some authors). Then following a schism in The Apostolic Church about 1940, Babalola went with a group led by Pastors J.B. Akinyele and D.O. Odubanjo to form a new independent church,

(CAC), where he continued his healing and revivalistic activities until his death. The CAC regards Babalola as an apostle, while in actual sense by real church ordination he was not at any time historically ordained into that office. A CAC retreat center was built at Ipo Arakeji,

Osun State Osun State (; yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun), occasionally known as the State of Osun by the state government, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Og ...

where Babalola was first called in 1928. However, Babalola was not the sole founder of CAC as many claims today but one of the trio of CAC Founding Fathers.(3)S.E.A. Oludare (1999), "The Trio of CAC Founding Fathers", M.A. Dissertation, Department of Religious Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The Christ Apostolic Church has not died along with Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola in 1959. In fact, it has grown rapidly over the years, with many churches under the Christ Apostolic Church name but each church with a specific branch name. The Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU) a private Nigerian university located in Ipo Arakeji and Ikeji-Arakeji, two neighbouring communities in

, established by the

(CAC) Worldwide is named after him, located at the place where he says he was called by God in 1928. He was buried at Erekesan street at the Mausoleum in Efon Alaaye town in Ekiti state.

Early life

Ministry and healing

References

Further reading