Foremost Nigerian clergyman and General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has renamed the famous Apapa Family Parish of the church in Lagos, as The Favoured Family.
Adeboye unveiled the new name during his second visit to the Trinity Tower on Sunday 30 March. The Tower is the home of the RCCG City of David Parish, which serves as the headquarters of Apapa Family.
The revered clergyman, accompanied by his wife, Folu, explained that his decision to rename the Family was based on a divine instruction.
“If I talk of the old Apapa,…the new Apapa is great oh, but we need a new one. I had prayed before I came here this morning. I had prayed that the Almighty will give me the grace not to cry because I know the old. I am grateful for the new, but there is a lot of diffference, which is why God asked me to come.
“There are many families in the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The first model parish is Ikeja. It started very well. In less than one year, we had a congregation of a thousands people. In those days, that was a miracle. But then something happened and the congregation of 1,000 was reduced to 15. The one day, because somebody decided to do something, then I cried to God – what have I done wrong? What do I do now? And then He asked me to do something. He told me that Ikeja, the name has something to do a little bit with fighting.
“You know God knows all your history. And He asked me to change the name of Ikeja to First Born Family, which I did. And today, all over the world you have First Born Family behaving like first born.
“The Lord has sent me here this morning to change your name. From today on, you will no longer be called Apapa Familiy, you will be called the Favoured Family,” Adeboye said.
He prophecied to the congregation that whereever they go and whatever they do, they shall be favoured.
The Apapa Family
The Apapa Family came into focus in 2024 when the pastor of the City of David Parish, Idowu Iluyomade, was suspended and transferred over some local issues in connection with the death in a plane crash of one of its prominent members, Herbert Wigwe.
Wigwe, a popular banker and CEO of Access Holding Plc, was killed in a plane crash in the United States on February 9 alongside his wife, Chizoba, son, Chizi, and others.
While the fatal incident was still fresh, Pastor Iluyomade’s wife, Siju, organised a lavish 60th birthday party on February 18, triggering allegations of insensitivity on the part of the couple.
Iluyomade has since left the RCCG to float his own church.
The Apapa Family was started in 1991 with just one parish located at Roxy Cinema, Apapa. It had about 50 members. It has, however, grown to over 45 parishes within and outside Nigeria with a workforce of over 900 people.
At its founding, Tony Rapu was its pastor and was succeeded by Pastor Eskor Mfon. Pastor Iluyomade was appointed after Pastor Mfon’s passing. Pastor Kayode Pitan was named head of the Family on September 1, 2024, following Ilyomade’s suspension and subsequent removal.
New Grace
During the service, Pastor Adeboye, who anchored his sermon on 2 Kings 2: 19-24, said the Apapa Family needed a fresh outpouring of grace, symbolised by the reintroduction of salt and a new cruse.
According to him, salt represents God bringing back taste and seasoning, removing bitterness, keeping away demonic influences and ushering in rapid progress.
The clergyman also said the new cruse signifies a fresh start, a restoration of lost glory, and a renewed determination to rekindle the fire of spiritual fervency.
“If anyone had once been hot and had grown lukewarm, they would now burn brightly again,” Adeboye said.
