If there is one ministry in the country currently that is silently making waves and increasing in membership every single day, that church has to be the Grace Nation International aka Liberation City. You cannot be a Christian and not know about the enigmatic Pastor Chris Okafor, the founder and head pastor of Grace Nation International. His exploits as one of the vineyard’s outstanding ministers have continued to astonish many. Once the church has a programme coming up, you will see their posters everywhere. Just like the Harvest of Babies Conference that was held recently. In nearly every major axis in Lagos, there were posters of the Grace Nation International staring straight at you from both the regular and giant billboards erected by the roadsides and on pedestrian bridges around Lagos. Truth is, except you only just came into Lagos hours ago, there is no way you would not have known or heard about the church
called Liberation City and it’s charismatic pastor/founder, Pastor Chris Okafor. That is how big and popular this Pentecostal Church regarded as possibly the fastest growing ministry in the country today has become. It is the church where the young, the old and the rich now attend.
Let us tell you a bit about the founder of Liberation City, Pastor Chris Okafor. He is also the president of the Chris Okafor World Outreach Ministries
(COWON). From the distance, what many only see about this good looking man of God is the fact that he is charming. Many are attracted to him by his handsomeness, spotless skin and his charming personality. But that is not all there is to the man. Members of his congregation will readily tell you their pastor is a firebrand preacher, prophet and a fearless servant of God. He is a consummate preacher of the word of God and his prophetic abilities are uncanny. It is said
that once Pastor Chris reveals to you revelations of events that would take place in your life in a matter of days, weeks or months to come, do not risk doubting his prophecies or spiritual advice, it will happen just as he has said. This is why he was given the name, ‘The Oracle.’ because he will see it and say it exactly as it will happen and also pronounce spiritual solutions where necessary. This is perhaps Pastor Okafor’s biggest strength, which is also one of the reasons why the church has been growing
exponentially in leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. Many Christians often seek men of God who are not just gifted in teaching the word of God, but also those who are gifted with prophetic abilities. Pastor Chris Okafor is one of such men of God.
Ask those who have been following closely the progress of the church and they will tell you for free that it appears Liberation City has experienced it’s biggest growth in the last couple of years. Unknown to many, the fast-growing church has been around for a while. It didn’t just spring out of nowhere like many tend to believe. It was founded by the pastor in November 2003 in his apartment where he held regular services for a period of time before moving to Prismoni Primary School in Ojodu when his apartment could no longer contain the rapidly increasing number of worshipers. At first, the church made use of a classroom before moving into a hall. As time progressed, the hall could no longer contain the growing congregation, and the pastor soon found land on Oshofisan street where the church was built and commissioned in August 2010.
But still, today, even with its new massive auditorium, the church often resorts to making use of canopies outside the building to accommodate the multitude of worshipers who couldn’t find space inside. Yes, believe it or not, that same ministry that started inside a modest apartment almost 20 years ago with just a handful of members had grown into a 15,000 member now hitting 30,000! How have they been able to achieve this? What magic has the pastor done to make this happen? Why are more and more Christians rushing to worship at the Liberation City? Let’s share with you what inside sources told us.
City People was reliably informed that the last couple of years have been like a rebirth for the man fondly called ‘The Oracle.’ Sources say that though it is a well-known fact that Pastor Chris Okafor has always been a spirit-filled man of God with an unquenchable thirst to liberate people and deliver them from the clutches of poverty and demonic bondage, but he has since taken his thirst to a whole new level for some years running now. His crusade programmes have become bigger and richer in content, recording massive turnouts during highly publicised crusades such as the recently held Harvest of Babies which has recorded astounding testimonies over the years. Now, more than ever before, Liberation City’s crusades parade some of the biggest and respected clergies in the land as guest pastors. And consistently too, they have been parading the largest assemblage of Naija’s finest and biggest gospel singers. Name that big and popular gospel artist and we’ll tell you he or she has performed at some of Liberation City’s crusades. And trust us when we tell you that these gospel artistes no longer come cheap. Hardly will a month roll by and there won’t be a major programme taking place with hundreds of incredible testimonies accompanying each one of them. As we speak, the ministry is just rounding off it’s International Visitors Impartation Conference, a week long programme in which thousands of foreigners attended.
Now, another dimension these crusades have taken is that, unlike in the past when the church only held its programmes within its axis in Ojodu, they have also started taking them beyond Ojodu to the Police College ground in Ikeja and also to the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos. These are the venues that can now conveniently take its members and the multitude of new members that will join them. Many have also noticed that lately, Liberation City now spends a lot on publicity, the intent being that they want to attract more and more people to the church and ultimately win more souls for Christ. This explains why they have their posters and billboards visible in most parts of Lagos. Inside sources revealed that Pastor Chris’ renewed hunger to win more souls for Christ through his many successful crusades plus his uncanny prophetic abilities that have transformed the lives of many are the reasons the ministry is growing in leaps and bounds every day and now boasts of nearly 30,000 members who gather to worship with Pastor Chris Okafor.
But, like they say, many do not know the story behind the glory, they only see the glitz and the glamour and begin to envy. It was not a bed of roses for Pastor Chris. He did not become a popular man of God with a respected and flourishing ministry overnight. Like he has shared with his members time and time again, things were pretty tough for him at the start. Hear him: “I grew up mainly in Edo state. I was born and brought up in Benin. I attended my primary and secondary school then gained admission into Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. When I finished, the Lord asked me to go to Lagos. It was like the case of Abraham who was asked to leave his father’s house for an uncertain future. I relocated to Lagos even when my family had never been to Lagos. I had no relatives in Lagos. I didn’t know where to stay. I came to Lagos with a polythene bag. I dropped at Ojota not knowing where to go. I strolled up and down the streets and slept inside a secondary school for about nine months.”
All of this has become history now. Pastor Okafor has become a man of immense means to the glory of God, even though he tries to be modest about this. But despite his modesty, it is clear to see that the Lord has been kind to him and his ministry. This should come as no surprise, his humble beginning has had a very strong influence on his lifestyle and overview of life as a whole. This is why he rarely makes any noise about his financial status. To him, all of these is inconsequential, what matters to him more than anything else is his relationship with God and what impact he has made in winning more souls for the kingdom of God.
He was born on April 14, 1970, in Benin city into the family of Mr and Mrs Stephen Okafor, a family of five in Ihite, Orumba South Local government Area of Anambra state and was raised in the Anglican Communion. Before his birth, it had been foretold that a child that would be a great man of God was coming. And shortly after he was born, it became apparent that the prophecies were starting to manifest as he began to prophesy at the age of eight. Prophet (Dr.) Chris Okafor holds a B.Sc in Business Administration. In his family, both male and extended, he was the first male to graduate from a University.
Without a doubt, this hugely respected and globally acclaimed man of God has distinguished himself from the rest. He has proven to every discerning Christian that he is one of the most profound ministers of God whose love and passion for God remain unquestionable. And it shows in his exploits. No doubt about it, this is just the beginning of the accomplishments of the ministry called Grace Nation International…
——Wale Lawal (08037209290)
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