History
RCCG was founded in 1952 by Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi (1909–1980) after he had been involved in several other churches. Pastor Akindayomi then chose Enoch Adeboye, a lecturer in mathematics at the University of Lagos, who joined the church in 1973. Adeboye initially became one of the interpreters translating Akindayomi's sermons from Yoruba to English. He was ordained a pastor of the church in 1975, and his appointment as leader of the church was formalized by the posthumous reading of Akindayomi's sealed pronouncement.Andrew Rice, writing in The New York Times, calls the RCCG "one of [Africa's] most vigorously expansionary religious movements, a homegrown Pentecostal denomination that is crusading to become a global faith".[1] The church's leaders preach that in the future "In every household there will be at least one member of Redeemed Christian Church of God in the whole world."
Fundamental beliefs
The official RCCG website outlines its beliefs in the Bible and the Holy Trinity, that the Devil exists, that God formed man in his image, in repentance, in cleansing from sins by God's grace, in sanctification, water baptism, Holy Spirit baptism, restitution and the possibility of healing without medicine (by divine intervention through prayer). The church forbids debts, "worldliness" (such as dancing halls and reveling) and rebellion against church authority. It encourages abstention from all evil and reverence to parents and authorities.[Church status
The church headquarters is located in the Ebute-Metta suburb of Lagos, Nigeria. The churches are now segmented in regions, with 23 Regions in Nigeria. Elsewhere in Africa, it has a presence in Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.In Europe, the church has a presence in Austria, England, Scotland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Serbia and Switzerland.
In the United States, it has a presence in Arizona, Michigan, Mississippi, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, New York, New England, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Georgia, Oregon, Minnesota, Oklahoma, California, North Carolina, Connecticut and Colorado. In the Caribbean, it has a presence in Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. In Canada it has a presence in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The RCCG in the United States and Canada together form the RCCGNA, which has its headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
In Asia and the Pacific it has a presence in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle, Adelaide and Perth), New Zealand, Fiji, Malaysia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Singapore and in the Philippines.
In India it has a presence in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. It also has a presence in Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
In Pakistan it has a presence in Lahore, Kasur, Sahiwal, Mureed Ke, Mian Chanu.
In the Middle East, the church has parishes in Qatar (two parishes), Kuwait, Lebanon and in all the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates.
Most popular of the church's activity is the monthly Holy Ghost services attended by millions of people from many states of Nigeria and beyond at the popularly known Redemption Camp on the outskirts of Lagos in Ogun State,Nigeria.The Redemption Camp's present auditorium that hosts the attending millions of overflowing population covers an area of 1 km2. Due to the huge number of worshipers that attend services at the Redemption Camp, especially during the church's annual convention that holds in August and Holy Ghost Congress in December, a bigger auditorium measuring 3 kilometres by 3 kilometres is under construction.
The RCCG runs bible colleges and school of disciples headquartered in Nigeria, Africa with many campuses in the UK, Europe Middle East (Qatar) and a few other continents.
Pastors' Seed Family (PSF)
There is a relatively new movement in The RCCG called the Pastors' Seed Family (PSF). It is a forum for the wards/children of Pastors and Ministers in the RCCG to come together as a body to share areas of common interest, encourage and develop one another in all spheres.It commenced in 2008 during the Annual Convention of the church and since then, holds its meetings at the International Youth Centre of the Redemption Camp during the Special Holy Ghost Service in March, Annual Convention in August and the Holy Ghost Congress in December every year.
With awareness programmes and inaugurated chapters in Nigeria, United Kingdom, Ireland, North America, Canada, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa, the UK chapter already have their annual conference which held in April, 2015.[5]
The coordinator of RCCG PSF International is Leke Adeboye, a child of Enoch Adeboye and the Senior Special Assistant to the General Overseer of the church.
