Praise the Lord! First of all, I want to give all glory and all honour to God the One who defines the purpose of a man before he is born. Jeremiah 1:5 says “before I formed you in the belly, I knew you and I had a purpose for you.” I also want to deeply appreciate my father Bishop David Oyedepo who is here seated today and my mother as well, Pastor Mrs. Faith Oyedepo and every member of the family, Pastor David Oyedepo Junior and his wife, Pastor Steve Ogah and his wife, Pastor Moses and his wife and every member of the family and of course my dear wife who is also here. Very importantly – we are grateful to God. To all the men of God, all our fathers of faith that are here, all the sons of the Prophet that are here, we are sincerely grateful that you would take time to be a part of this vision sharing and commissioning.
With the few minutes allotted to me, I will just run through a few things regarding the Vision that the Lord has given to us.
This began in the year 2020 that the Lord began to speak to our hearts in very clear terms about what He has assigned for this generation (I’m talking about my generation in particular). On the 14th anniversary of my full time ministry assignment (pastoral assignment) in Living Faith Church Worldwide aka Winners Chapel International, just in a sweet time of fellowship with the Lord, thanking Him for 14 years of full time pastoral work, Galatians 2:1-2. He said “14 years after, I went up.” He said “there is something new, a phase I’m launching into. While you are thanking me for what I have done in 14 years, I have a new chapter, a new phase that awaits you.”
He went on by saying “the pastoring phase which was for the first 14 years, I helped you but now I’m moving you from that pastoring phase to the next phase which is an evangelistic phase.” 2 Timothy 4:5, John 15:16.
He said “your new phase will now be to the now and to the next generation – talking about those who are in your age bracket and those who are in the University setting.” Very specifically the millennials and the ‘Gen Zs’ as popularly called. Because there is an urgent call to pull my generation out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light, the great Commission validates our foundation as I have documented here. The evangelistic commission moves us into action and authentic compassion for the lost has driven us into an emergency phase (emergency mode) to see their rescue.
There is also such an unusual thirst and hunger in this generation (my generation now being referred to) for the fire of revival. There is a cry to know the God of our fathers. He says “stand ye in the way and look for the old path.” There is also a cry to discover ancient paths. There is a cry to know Him and the power of His Resurrection. There is a cry for God to walk a walk in our days that even if it were told us, we will not believe.
This is what the Lord has called us into the next phase of His purpose for our lives and this will all be under the umbrella of the ‘Isaac Oyedepo Evangelistic Ministries’ which is an evangelistic ministry saddled with the mandate to “reclaim, restore and to revive this generation.”
2 Timothy 4:2,5 came very strong in us as we began to cry unto the Lord for direction. He said “preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season, do the work of an evangelist and make full proof of your ministry.”
So as this mandate implies, the Ministry’s focus is threefold among others:
- To reclaim a generation. The core of this Ministry mandate is the urgent rescue of souls – urgent rescue of souls! Emphasis will be placed on salvation, holiness and the miraculous.
- To restore the fire. It’s (a) common occurrence in this generation (my generation) that many who were once on fire for the Lord have lost the fire as spiritual complacency has suddenly replaced intimacy.
- To revive a people. While every revival work is the Ministry of the Holy Spirit, we have been mandated to partner with the Holy Spirit in igniting hunger and thirst in this generation for revival.
So the threefold will be:
– Reclaim a generation
– Restore the fire and
– Revive a people
Even though this Vision has been received a few years ago with clear instructions, we want to emphasize that the role of the Church cannot be over emphasized. The Church has done a great job in stirring revival over the years. All we are doing is not sidelining the Church but collaborating with the Church to see that the souls out there in this time of harvest are not left. So the role that the Church has played can never be over emphasized, can never be sidetracked or sidelined but as an evangelistic ministry partnering with the Church and the Church Universal, we will see the end time harvest as a reality.
3 core expressions that ‘The Isaac Oyedepo Evangelistic Ministries’ will commence with, include:
- The Kingdom Come Crusades. This will be a major thrust of The Isaac Oyedepo Evangelistic Ministries. Major evangelistic campaigns will be held across Nigeria, across Africa and the World to reach the unsaved with the Gospel of the Kingdom.
- The second core expression that we will be commencing with as directed by the Spirit of God will be what we call ‘Ignite.’ These crusades will be held on university campuses to rescue the lost, restore lost fires and ignite a new hunger for revival. Ignite is a campus campaign tour that moves from one university campus to the other.
- The third core expression is what has been called ‘Awaken’. These are periodic meetings targeted at this generation (my generation) that are saved but asleep. These meetings will be held in partnership with Churches of all denominations to see that those who are asleep come awake to the times that we are in, in God’s agenda.
In summary, the above described expressions and registered organizations alike would come under one entity or umbrella regarded as offshoots or extensions of ‘The Isaac Oyedepo Evangelistic Ministries’.
It is important to note that this is not being commissioned today as a Church but as an evangelistic ministry with a clear vision and mission for this generation. As this mandate is being commissioned today, it’s also important to note, being that it is not a Church, would also connote that I remain a member of the Living Faith Church Worldwide aka Winners Chapel International where I will continue to fellowship, be fed and be covered.
I pray that all that the Lord has spoken to us concerning this Vision, many more as He said in private, that our eyes will see them come to pass in Jesus name. Thank you.