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The Lady Who Runs One Of Christ Embassy’s Biggest Parishes
Pastor Deola Phillips name is a big name at Christ Embassy. She is the Pastor in charge of Christ Embassy Zone 5 Lagos, Lekki branch. She is regarded as the right hand to the founder of the church. She is one of the eyes and ears of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. The founder entrusted the running of one of the biggest zones into her care, Lekki Branch. The zone where the rich and mighty in society worship. Her name, Pastor Deola Phillips, is a popular name at Christ Embassy church. She became more popular a few years ago when she gave out 50 cars to her fellow pastors and workers in the church. This act of kindness was well praised and acknowledged around the world. She is a woman who has a large heart. Giving is second to her skin. She is well-loved by her members, and her service in the church and the things of God endeared her to the heart of the church founder, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. The right-hand woman to the founder of Christ Embassy or Loveworld Inc., Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, has been one of his most trusted and accomplished partners in the ministry for almost fifteen years. As the CEO of Christ Embassy, the Lagos Zone 5 director, and manager of both the ISM and the annual IPPC, Pastor Deola Phillips has played an integral part in the fortification of Christ Embassy and also continues to be a key contributor to its ever-expanding influence. The CEO has been awarded the most notable award of the Christ Embassy ministry at the IPPC of 2018, the award for the Top Partnering Zone. Recently, she has been honoured with one award or the other around the world.
A while ago this loveable female Pastor shared her salvation story. How she accepted Christ in her tender age and how she has been blessed by that single decision.
According to her: “I gave my life to Christ on March 15th, 1985 at the International School Ibadan (ISI). I remember standing at the gate of the girl’s dormitory where I lived as a boarding student knowing that something had happened and my life would no longer be the same.
I was born into a ‘Christian’ family though no one at home ever talked about being born again or even a relationship with God. It was just a church thing. However, at an early age, I had become conscious of God in a way I really couldn’t explain. I certainly didn’t get it from home but I was awakened to the love and presence of God. Still, I didn’t have a personal relationship with Him and I didn’t really understand spiritual things.
When I became a student at ISI, the things of God were last on my mind as I engaged in all the usual activities of student life. ISI then wasn’t a place to ‘find God’, but things were soon going to change.
In my 3rd year of school, a young youth corper joined the school staff as a mathematics teacher. He was a good teacher, but beyond that, he took an interest in us students and became quite influential among us. I marvel now to think how young he must have been as a mere youth corper, but he was quite respected in our eyes. While he taught us mathematics in the classroom, outside of class, he began to plant seeds in us about the love of God and God’s plan for our lives.
Suddenly, the Bible stories I had heard in Sunday School in my parents’ Anglican Church began to take on a new meaning… Christ died for me and I needed to respond. There had to be a relationship… Over the course of his stay in our school, our maths teacher spread the Gospel through his love and interest in us.
Finally, on the ‘ides of March’, that year, a senior girl in the dormitory called us to her room and led me and my classmates (14 of us boarders) to Christ. It was a simple transaction: I said the ‘sinner’s prayer’ and asked Jesus to become Lord of my life, but I knew I wasn’t the same.
Later that night, some friends invited me to go with them after hours to the main school area. Some older students were fooling around and we should just go see. We weren’t permitted to go out that late as boarders and it was when I refused to go with them, as I stood at the gate that I realized, something had happened. It didn’t end there, the next day, the senior girl got us filled with the Holy Spirit and so simply, I felt as though a communication channel had been opened straight from my heart to heaven.
I was home… this was the personal relationship that had been missing. At the end of the term, I approached my mum standing near her car when she came to pick up me and my brother for the holidays. ‘Mummy, I’m born again’, I said. She turned, looked at me queerly and answered, ‘you’ll get over it’. I was puzzled by her lack of enthusiasm, but I knew I wouldn’t ‘get over it’.
Today, I’m serving God in the ministry and helping others know Jesus. It’s been almost 28 years and there’s no sign of me ‘getting over it’.
Pastor Dr. Adeola Phillips holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S) from the University of Lagos, Akoka. She has C-Level Executive management experience with expertise in Strategic, Operational & Financial Planning, Creative Branding, Product Innovation, Competitive Analysis & Market Planning/Development, Crisis Management and Organizational Restructuring. Dr. Philips is a dynamic and accomplished executive, effective at translating conceptual organizational goals into specific growth strategies.
Pastor Adeola is highly skilled at cultivating corporate entities and ministry models that generate excellent results as well as build productive relationships within the local and international community. A member of the Institute of Directors (IoD), Pastor Deola sits on various Boards where she leads the formulation of policies at the highest corporate level. For one, her tenure as Chairman of Parallex Microfinance Bank (MFB) yielded significant growth for the bank, transforming the MFB to a regional commercial bank as a testament to her visionary and leadership acumen. Her professional, executive leadership and governance experience spans several roles.
Isaac abimbade (08155107955)
