CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
A global study and
research on Pentecostal pentecostal churches is an on-going assignment because
of its impact on the religious, political and socio-economic life of the
people. A survey of the available number of Pentecostal pentecostal churches in
Nigeria as shown that they are emerging daily in the nooks and crannies of the
country. The emergence of Pentecostal pentecostal churches is daily challenging
the existing Mainline and Aladura Pentecostal churches in national
development. It has therefore become a fundamental concern for scholars of Pentecostal
church History, History and Sociology in Nigerian Universities to devote much
time to study such pentecostal churches. Essien (1998) opines that "this
situation calls for continuous research of their forms, the socio-religious and
economic conditions that necessitate their emergence and their relevance to the
social life of their adherents and to the society at large". This has
necessitated the need for this study on the influence of Pentecostal pentecostal
churches on the development of education in Nigeria. In Nigeria, some of the
established Pentecostal Pentecostal churches are Pentecostal church of God's
Mission, founded by the late Arch-Bishop Benson A.Idahosa in Benin City, Edo
state, Household of God's Pentecostal church, being led by Rev. Chris Okotie in
Oregun, Lagos, the Redeemed Christian Pentecostal church of God founded by the
late Pastor Josiah Akindayomi and presently under the leadership of Pastor
Enock Adejare Adeboye with International headquarters at Mowe, Ogun state. The
Deeper Life Christian Pentecostal church founded by Pastor Williams Folorunso
Kumuyi and based in Lagos.Rev.Gabriel Oduyemi's Bethel Ministry at Wonder City,
Lekki Peninsular, Lagos, Pastor Patrick Anwuzia's Zoe Ministries, and Pastor
Tunde Bakare's Latter Rain Assembly in Lagos, Rev.Tunde Joda's Christ Chapel
International, Lagos and Bishop Wale Oke's Sword of the Spirit Pentecostal
church based in Ibadan. Others are the Victory Life Pentecostal church
International established by Pastor Mike Bamidele at Ilesa, Osun state, New
Testament Pentecostal church based in Ilorin and established by Pastor
M.R.Popoola, Mountain of Fire and Miracles, founded by Pastor Daniel Kolawole
Olukoya with its headquarters in Lagos, the Synagogue of All Nations,
established by Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua in Lagos, Rhema Chapel, Ilorin
established by Rev.George Adegboye, the Word Assembly being led by Rev Isaac
Omolehin and of course the Living Faith Pentecostal church (a.k.a Winners
Chapel) founded by Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo. Many Nigerian scholars have
researched on Pentecostal pentecostal churches in the country. For instance,
Deji Ayegboyin, Matthews Ojo, Michael Ogunewu, Richard Burgess, Hannah Ishola,
and of course Rotimi Omotoye. Generally, Pentecostal pentecostal churches are
"Christians seeking deeper experience of God beyond regular pentecostal
church attendance. They rely on the new birth and the power of the Holy
spirit" (Ojo, 2004). In other words the pentecostal churches are seen
emphasizing the importance of the Holy spirit in daily worship. This research
is focused on the Living Faith Pentecostal church a.k.a Winner Chapel and its
contributions to education development in Nigeria.
Pastor David Oyedepo in Ilorin started Living
Faith Pentecostal church with about 48 members in 1980 and within nine months
of its existence, membership rose to about 128. He eventually established the
Living Faith Outreach Centre in May, 1981.Pastor Oyedepo then relocated to
Kaduna. It was from Kaduna that he went to Lagos in September 1989 before he
moved to Ota, Ogun state which is now regarded as Cananland and International
headquarters of the pentecostal church. The pentecostal church has over three
hundred branches in Nigeria alone (Opoola, 2010). The pentecostal church
building at Ota is assumed to be the biggest auditorium in Nigeria seating
fifty thousand and four hundred congregation as at September 2000. Living Faith
Pentecostal church has however contributed to education development in Nigeria
in several ways (Omotoye, 2006).
Western education was
introduced to Nigeria by the Christian missionaries in the 19th
century. It was a strategy adopted by the early missionaries to get converts
into Christianity. The Living Faith Pentecostal church went into the
establishment of schools early, unlike some other Pentecostal churches that
ventured into education. The Living Faith Pentecostal church has to its credit
a conglomerate of Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Universities. The nursery and
primary schools are under the name Kingdom Heritage while the Secondary section
is named Faith Academy. These schools are found in all the nooks and crannies
of Nigeria. The first University of the Pentecostal church was named Covenant
University and was established in Ota in 2002.The second University was named
Landmark and was established in Omu-Aran, the native town of Pastor David
Oyedepo in 2010. The Universities as also complemented the efforts of Federal
and State Governments in providing admission to many applicants who are seeking
admission to the Universities in Nigeria. We also believe that that the
missionary orientation of the schools would minimize cultism and moral
decadence in the Nigerian Universities. Apart
from providing jobs for teaming Nigerian populace, scholarships are usually
provided by Pastor Oyedepo for indigent students, most especially in the
Covenant and Landmark universities. He was once quoted saying that "All
school age children, not in school, due to inability of parents, will be fully
taken care of by the Pentecostal church".
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The
Pentecostal Pentecostal churches was introduced at a time when Nigerians were
experiencing economic depression, poverty, un-employment, corruption and
sicknesses. The education sector is in the poorest state. These are
socio-economic problems being witnessed in Nigeria because of bad leadership in
the country. The Living Faith Pentecostal church has been able to provide
schools that offer quality education services from Nursery to tertiary level
nationwide. The cost of education in Nigeria is very high. Odumuyiwa (2006)
observed in his study that the tuition fees being paid in the Christian
Universities are too exorbitant and beyond the reach of the common man in the
society. He opines "A situation in which pentecostal churches establish
private universities, charge exorbitant fees should be replaced with technical
colleges that can be maintained within the resources of the pentecostal church.
However, this study is examining the influence of Pentecostal pentecostal
churches on the development of Education.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The
following are the objectives of this study:
1. To
examine the
influence of Pentecostal pentecostal churches on the development of Education
2. To
examine the educational activities of Pentecostal pentecostal churches in
Nigeria.
3. To
identify the factors that can contribute to rapid development in education in
Nigeria.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
is the
influence of Pentecostal pentecostal churches on the development of Education?
2. What
are the educational activities of Pentecostal pentecostal churches in Nigeria?
3. What
are the factors that can contribute to rapid development in education in
Nigeria?
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
following are the significance of this study:
1. The
outcome of this study will educate the general public on the influence of
Pentecostal pentecostal churches on education development in Nigeria.
2. It
will be a useful guide for the management and the authorities of Living Faith Pentecostal
church Worldwide and their academic institutions on how to improve on their
services in a bid to contribute to educational development in the nation.
3. This
research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers
interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if
applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic.
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This
study on the influence of Pentecostal pentecostal churches on the development
of education in Nigeria will cover all the educational activities and
contributions of Living Faith Pentecostal church A.K.A Winners Chapel.
LIMITATION OF STUDY
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher
in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the
process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint- The researcher will
simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently
will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.