Enoch Adejare Adeboye (born 2 March 1942) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, and the present General Overseer of

Redeemed Christian Church of God The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a holiness pentecostal megachurch and denomination headquartered in Ebute Metta, Lagos, Nigeria. With presence in 197 countries and territories of the world and more than 5 million members in Nigeri ...

. He served as the second national president of the

Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) is a Christian organisation in Nigeria. It was founded in 1985 and serves as an umbrella body for several Pentecostal churches in Nigeria, promoting unity and cooperation among them. The organisation r ...

Early life

Enoch Adejare Adeboye was born on 2 March 1942 in Ifewara, near Ife, in the then Southern Region,

British Nigeria Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1st of October 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. British influen ...

.Christine Chisha
Pastor Enoch Adeboye: Trademark of humility
daily-mail.co.zm, Zambia, 16 November 2014 He was born into a very humble family, and often tells the story of wearing his first shoes at the age of 18.

Education

Enoch Adejare Adeboye started his education at

Ilesha Ilesa () is a historic city located in Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of the capital of a historic state-kingdom(also known as Ijesha) centred around that town as the capital . The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the ti ...

Grammar School Ilesha

Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...

in 1956. Enoch Adejare Adeboye then proceeded to the

University of Nigeria The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal and public research university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, South-east Nigeria. Founded in 1955 by Nnamdi Azikiwe who was Governor-General of Nigeria between 1960 and 1963 ...

Nsukka (UNN) in

Nsukka Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo. The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively, re ...

, but because of the

Nigeria Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from N ...

, he completed his first degree in the

University of Ife Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

(now Obafemi Awolowo University), graduating with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

in 1967. In 1969, he obtained a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Hydrodynamics In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in ...

from

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

, and in 1975, he obtained a Ph.D. in

Applied Mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

from the

Ministry

Adejare Adeboye joined the Redemed Christian Church of God in 1973 and served as an interpreter before he was ordained a

in the church by Pa. Josiah Akindayomi in 1975. He became General Overseer of the church in 1981. For three years, he filled the role part-time at

Unilorin University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) is a Federal government of Nigeria, federal government-owned public research university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The university's main campus sits on an expansive area of land, about 5,000 hectares in the a ...

before giving up his university position to preach full-time.Lisa Miller
The Newsweek 50: E. A. Adeboye
''Newsweek.com'', 20 December 2008African instituted churches
Rufus Okikiolaolu Olubiyi Ositelu. LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster In 2017, Adeboye announced his resignation as General Overseer, but he retained the role. The church, which was not well known before Adeboye became the General Overseer, has branches in about 198 nations as of (March 2017), including more than 14,000,000 worshipers in Nigeria. Adeboye has stated that he aims to put a church within five minutes' walking distance in developing cities and five minutes' driving distance in developed cities. Adeboye is considered a preacher of the

prosperity gospel Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, seed-faith gospel, Faith movement, or Word-Faith movement) is a belief among some Charismatic Christians that financial bl ...

, a claim he does not deny. He says "

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term ''Pentecostal'' is derived ...

have such an impact because they talk of the here and now, not just the by and by… while we have to worry about heaven, there are some things God could do for us in the here and now." He celebrated his 80th birthday in 2022. Adeboye's foundation donated eight dialysis machines to Wuse District Hospital, together with a

reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane, semi-permeable membrane to separate water molecules from other substances. RO applies pressure to overcome osmotic pressure that favors even distribu ...

medical water purification system and an electrical generator.

Publications

Adeboye has written several books, including: * ''Open Heavens Daily Devotional'' * ''Lessons from the Sower'' * ''Christian Moderator'' * ''Deadly Enemy of Man'' * ''Divine Favour'' * ''Kingdom Prosperity'' * ''Fruits of the Spirit'' * ''God of Wonders'' * ''God’s Remembrance and Deliverance'' * ''Prevailing Prayers'' * ''The Wonder Working God'' * ''Transitions'' * ''Mathematics & Greatness'' * ''Behold, He Cometh! Are You Prepared?'' * ''As Pure as Light'' * ''Last days: A Study of the Book of Revelation'' * ''Workers in Training Manual'' * ''In His Presence'' * ''David'' * ''Signs and wonders'' * ''Are you working with God: Are you a partner?''

University endowments

Adeboye has

endowed A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are ...

four Nigerian universities, including

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

and the

Awards and recognition

*''1 of the 50 most powerful people in the world'' by ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' (2008) *Adeboye was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by

New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as well ...

magazine in 2019.

Honorary doctorates

He has received several

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

. * 2009 : Honorary doctorate,

* 2009 : Honorary doctorate,

* 2009 :

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

Canada Christian College Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies, also known as Canada Christian College, is a private evangelical Bible college in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. , over 6,500 people have graduated from Canada Christian College. Hi ...

* 2011 : Honorary doctorate,

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

* 2015 :

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

* 2016 : Honorary doctorate,

* 2017 :

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

* 2022 :

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a Private university, private Evangelicalism, evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian preacher Oral ...

Personal life

Adeboye married Folu Adeboye on 17 December 1967. He is a father to four children (three sons and a daughter) and several grandchildren from the marriage. Pastor Enoch Adeboye lost his son Dare Adeboye on 4 May 2021, who died at the age of 42. In May 2023, a film titled "Enoch" was aired, the movie gives a biopic on the life of Pastor Adeboye to celebrate his 81st birthday and Adeola Emmanuel Abolaji starred as the lead actor.

Controversies

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Enoch Adeboye, recently come under several controversies over the years related to his doctrines, and public statements * Supremacy of RCCG members:In 2021 during a conference held by the redeemed Christian church of god (RCCG), the general overseer Enoch Adeboye made a controversial prayer, making a declaration that Christians from other denominations will “bow” before members of the RCCG. The declaration resurfaced in the year 2024, and the prayer generated serious criticism from users of different social media platforms. So many people saw the statement or declaration as inappropriate as a Christian spiritual, as this kind of statement could bring disunity. * Tithing and Financial Teachings: Enoch adeboye spoke at the April edition of the monthly Holy Ghost Service at the Redemption Camp, along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, the cleric advised pastors of the church to warn their parishioners about the danger of ignoring tithing “I want to give every one of you pastors an opportunity to repent tonight. And then to go back, immediately after this convention, to restitute your ways with your congregation. Make it clear to them…Anyone who is not paying his tithe is not going to heaven, full stop”, he said. The cleric letter tendered apologies for making the statement that Christians who don’t pay tithe might not make it to heaven, in his words he said “I apologies for saying ‘If you don’t pay tithe, you might not make it to heaven.’ I’m sorry, that’s wrong, and it’s not in the Bible. What the Bible says is ‘Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God’,” * Restrictions on Guest Preachers in parishes: A memo released in January 5, 2024, titled “Invitation of guest ministers in RCCG” which wrote “no external preacher, speaker or minister should be permitted on any of our altars or platforms.” They stated that any speaker that will be invited to preach will have to undergo prior clearance. The church made it clear that this was done in other to ensure teachings align with the doctrines and beliefs of the RCCG, this sparked reactions on the social media.

References

External links

*
Pastor E. A. Adeboye
at RCCG Winners Chapel Detroit {{DEFAULTSORT:Adeboye, Enoch 1942 births Living people Nigerian Pentecostal pastors People from Osun State Yoruba Christian clergy University of Lagos alumni Academic staff of the University of Lagos University of Nigeria alumni Yoruba–English translators Academic staff of the University of Ilorin Prosperity theologians