Enoch Adejare Adeboye (born 2 March 1942 in Ifewara, Osun State, Nigeria) is a Nigerian pastor. He was ordained General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in 1981, taking over from Papa Akindayomi, who had died the previous year.
A recent regulation in Nigeria by the financial regulations council affecting all registered churches, mosques and Civil Society Organizations was put in place, placing a twenty-year cap on the leadership tenure of these organizations. Consequently, on January 7, 2017 Pastor J.O. Obayemi was appointed to head the church in Nigeria, while Pastor E. A. Adeboye still remains the General overseer of RCCG globally.
Born on March 2, 1942 in Ifewara, Osun State, located in the South-Western part of Nigeria, Pastor Adeboye had a strong desire to attend school in spite of his poor background. He was admitted to Ilesha Grammar School, Osun State, Nigeria in 1956. Young Adeboye had an aptitude for science, particularly mathematics, which he chose to pursue at the university level. He was admitted to a leading Nigerian university, The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to study mathematics. He was there a while but had to move to the University of Ibadan, Nigeria to continue his education, due to the ongoing Nigerian civil war at the time. He obtained his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the university of ibadan between 1964-1967 [3] and subsequently got his PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Lagos, and worked as a lecturer in mathematics at the universities of Lagos and Ilorin; After joining the RCCG in 1973, he began working to translate the sermons of its founder and then Pastor, Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi, from Yoruba into English.
In 1981, pastor Adeboye was appointed General Overseer of the church, taking over from Papa Akindayomi, who had died the previous year. For three years he filled the role part-time, still lecturing at Ilorin, until giving up his university position to preach full-time.
The church, which was not well known prior to Adeboye becoming the General Overseer, currently has several branches globally in about 196 nations (as at March 2017), including more than 14,000 in Nigeria. Adeboye has stated that his aim is to put a church within five minutes of every person on Earth.
He is the national president of Redeemed Christian Fellowship (RCF – an interdenominational fellowship in all the campuses in Nigeria) which is under the umbrella of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministry (CRM) where he is a founder and president.
Awards and recognitions1 of the 50 most powerful people in the world by Newsweek (2008)Among the centenary awardees of his country (2014)
My humble pastor
A man of grace.