Introduction
Enoch Adejare Adeboye (born 2 March 1942) is a Nigerian pastor, General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God in Lagos.
Biography
Enoch Adejare Adeboye was born on 2 March 1942 in Ifewara, near Ife, in Osun State, Nigeria. Born to a very humble background, he humorously recalls that even poor people called them (his family) poor.
He went to the University of NIgeria (UNN) in Nsukka but because of the Nigeria Civil War, he completed his first degree in the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) graduating with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics in 1967. That same year, he married Foluke Adenike. They have four children namely: Adeolu Adeboye, Bolu Adubi (nee Adeboye), Leke Adeboye and Dare Adeboye.In 1969, he obtained a master's degree in hydrodynamics from University of Lagos. He joined the Redeemed Christian Church of God in 1973 and began interpreting Yoruba to English by Pastor Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi. In 1975, he obtained a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Lagos. He holds a position as Professor of Mathematics at University of Lagos.
Ministry
He was ordained a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in 1977. He became General Overseer of the church in 1981. For three years, he filled the role part-time at Unilorin before giving up his university position to preach full-time.
The church, which was not well known prior to Adeboye becoming the General Overseer, currently has several branches globally in about 196 nations (as at March 2017), including more than 14,000,000 in Nigeria. Adeboye has stated that his aim is 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, a claim he does not deny, saying that "Pentecostals 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."
University endowments
Pastor Adeboye endowed four Nigerian universities, including Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Nigeria
Awards and recognition
- 1 of the 50 most powerful people in the world by Newsweek (2008)