Life of God's General; Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa
Benson Andrew Idahosa (11 September 1938 – 12 March 1998) affectionately called PAPA or BA by many Christians, was a Charismatic Pentecostal preacher, and founder of the Church of God Mission International with headquarters in Benin City, Nigeria. As the first Pentecostal Archbishop in Nigeria, he was renowned for his robust faith. T. L. Osborn called him the greatest African Ambassador of the apostolic Christian faith to the world.
Personal Life
Born to non-Christian parents in a predominantly non-Christian community, he was rejected by his father, John, for being frail and sickly. He constantly had fainting spells as a child, and on one of his spells, his mother, Sarah, was instructed by his father to abandon him at a rubbish heap presuming him dead. Hours later, he came to, and began wailing and was rescued by his mother. He grew up in a poor household. Like most of the surrounding houses, his family home was a mud house. This reality denied him access to education until he was fourteen years old, when he was able to attend a local government school.
Early Ministry
As a youth, he got converted to Christianity by a certain Pastor Okpo, and joined his fledgling congregation as one of its first members. He was very active in proselytising and converting many to Christianity. After experiencing a revelation from God calling him into ministry, he began to conduct outreaches from village to village, before establishing his church in a store in Benin City.
By 1971, he had established churches all over Nigeria and Ghana. Known for his boldness, power and prosperity-based preaching, as well as an enormous faith in the supernatural, he was instrumental to the strong wave of revival in Christianity and marked conversions from animism that occurred between the 1970s and 1990s in Nigeria. He is regarded by Christians folks as the father of Pentecostalism in Nigeria, and was the founding President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN). Many prominent Nigerian pastors like Ayo Oritsejafor (current President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)), David Oyedepo, Felix Omobude, Fred Addo, Bishop Mike Okonkwo and Chris Oyakhilome were his protégés.
Ministry Growth
The headquarters of his ministry, Faith Miracle Center, is a cathedral that seats up to 10,000 people. Church of God Mission has branches the world over, from Europe to Africa to Asia to America. With his main task being evangelism, he launched Idahosa World Outreach television ministry (IWO TV), which was a broadcast reaching a potential viewing audience of 50 million people.
He was used by God to perform many miracles, including healing the blind, and raising up to twenty-eight people from the dead at different times in his ministry.
He was known for many notable quotes including “my God is not a poor God”, “your attitude determines your altitude”, “it is more risky, not to take a risk”, “I am a possibilitarian”, “A big head without a big brain is a big load to the neck”, “If your faith says yes, God cannot say no”, amongst others. Many of his messages on faith, miracles and prosperity remain a classic among Pentecostals.
He had strong links with international gospel ministers like Billy Graham, T. L. Osborn, Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Reinhard Bonnke, Morris Cerullo, Oral Roberts, amongst others; and took the gospel to 145 nations in his lifetime. At the time of his death in 1998, he had preached to more whites than any black man, and to more blacks than any white man.
His desire to meet the needs of the total man led him to establish several other arms of the ministry apart from the church. They include the Faith Mediplex, All Nations for Christ Bible Institute, Word of Faith Group of Schools and Benson Idahosa University which is currently under the leadership of his son, Rev. F. E. B. Idahosa. His wife, Margaret Idahosa is the current Archbishop of the church.
In 1952, through a dramatic incident, Idahosa turned into a Christian in an Assemblies of God Church in Benin. After his change, he read the entire of John’s Gospel and chosen he needed to an observer to his companions.
This was the start of Idahosa’s proclaiming the Gospel. He later sought after the experience of Baptism in the Spirit and he requested the Pastor at the Assembly from God to appeal to God for him. He was loaded up with the Spirit and spoke in tongues.
After this experience, Idahosa started to preach in the various towns organizing open-air meetings.
He did this in the evening while he worked for a shoe organization (Bata) during the day. He was additionally a functioning and submitted a member of the Assembly of God Church where he was changed over.
Archbishop Benson Idahos. with white men.
The open-air meeting witnessed individuals being mended of epilepsy and numerous different disorders. Different supernatural occurrences were additionally occurring in these meetings.
The report about the outdoors gatherings began to spread to different towns and this prompted more evangelistic exercises. To contact more individuals with the Gospel he purchased a bike to help him travel to far-off towns to direct Gospel gatherings.
In June 1967, Idahosa lost his father during the Civil War riots. After a year, during one evening, his room was loaded up with God’s quality and he was awoken from rest by a voice. It was the Lord addressing him about his future mission; “I have considered you that you may take the gospel throughout the planet in my name, lecture the gospel, and I will affirm my assertion with signs.”
After this experience, he started to accomplish more evangelistic gatherings and efforts. He would ask the Chiefs who head the towns for consent to direct an evangelistic gathering in their town.
To fabricate this new church building members of Idahosa’s church contributed a great deal of money, time, and work.
Later he met one of the Apostolic Church evangelists, S.G. Elton and they turned out to be old buddies.
Elton turned into Idahosa’s coach and it was him that acquainted Idahosa with Gordon and Freda Lindsey (one of the recuperating evangelists of the Latter Rain Movement).
Both Elton and Lindsey appointed him into ministry in 1971. He has conceded a grant to learn at Gordon Lindsey’s Bible College, Christ for the Nations Institute in the Texas United States. Gordon Lindsey likewise helped him monetarily to construct the new church.
Archbishop Benson Idahos
While Idahosa was reading for a Diploma in Divinity, he read T.L Osborn’s book on evangelism and he became extremely worried about evangelizing Benin his hometown.
He later asked authorization from Gordon Lindsey to return to Nigeria. Consent was allowed and he returned in 1972 not finishing his Diploma in Divinity.
He additionally spearheaded a TV ministry, ‘Recovery Hour’ which made him turn into the principal TV evangelist in Africa. His Bible College has had semblance to Bishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams of Christ Action Faith Ministries, Bishop Charles Agyin-Asare of Word Miracle Church International, Bishop James Saah, Bishop Christianah Doe Tetteh of Solid Rock Chapel International, and numerous others.
A significant number of the present Nigerian Pentecostal priests can follow their roots straightforwardly or by implication back to Idahosa’s ministry and impact.
Men like Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel, Bishop Francis Wale Oke of Sword of the Spirit Ministries, Bishop Mike Okonkwo (previous leader of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria), Ayo Oritsejafor, the current leader of CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria), and some more. He was the establishing leader of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).
Top 5 Unbelievable Miracles Performed By Archbishop Benson Idahosa
Archbishop Andrew Benson Idahosa of the Benson Idahosa Univesity, and of the Church of God Mission International is widely known for his gospel crusades, miracles performed, and his various demonstrations of faith.
He forecasted that DANGOTE would be one of the favored men on earth “the world will get up for you” he said due to his nice thought towards him (Idahosa and his companions) and to date, Dangote is known as perhaps the most well off man alive.
8 people were raised from the dead by Idahosa on various occasions.
Idahosa transparently tested and halted the overall gathering meeting by witches that should have been held in Africa, Benin to be précised.
On one event he accumulated a cracked skull of a kid that had tumbled off a three-story building, asked and the skull joined back without the kid being taken to the emergency clinic.
Before his demise, he instructed building materials for his college Benson Idahosa and it was so. The materials genuinely increased.
How Did Benson Idahosa Die?
Benson Andrew Idahosa kicked the bucket in 1998. He was brought into the world by a helpless family and was considered unfortunate since the time of his youth.
Idahosa was so exceptionally wiped out as a little child that his mom was advised by her other wife-mate to discard him, which she did. His folks isolated him for a brief time frame when she took him back into the house.
Benson Andrew Idahosa is viewed as the father of Nigerian Pentecostalism and lectured in 125 nations during his lifetime.
At the point when he lectured, he regularly discussed how he was poor to such an extent that he could just bear the cost of his first pair of shoes at 18 years old
Margaret Idahosa, Archbishop Benson’s Wife
Archbishop Benson Idahosa's wife
Margaret Idahosa (conceived 29 July 1943) is a Nigerian evangelist, creator, and the Archbishop of the Church of God Mission International. She is the principal African female Archbishop.
She is the spouse of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa. She is the Chancellor of Benson Idahosa University. She was conferred with the Officer of the Order of Niger (OON) by the government of Nigeria in 2008.
Archbishop Benson Idahosa's wife
Growing up
Idahosa was brought into the world on 29 July 1943 to an illustrious family in Benin Kingdom of Edo State, Nigeria.
She acquired a Diploma in Home Economics from Leeds Polytechnic in the United Kingdom.
She acquired a graduate degree in Divinity from Friends International Christian University. She additionally has Masters of Education degree which she procured from Oral Roberts University, Oklahoma, USA.
She was drafted into the ministry on 24 May 1983 and turned into a priest on 5 April 1998. She was hitched to the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, the originator of the Church of God Mission International.
She is the creator of The Womb of gather, Tearing the cover, The Female priest, and Expansion without Limit. Idahosa is the principal Nigerian lady to be appointed as ecclesiastical overseer and the main female chancellor of a college in Africa (Benson Idahosa University). She turned into a diocese supervisor in November 2009.
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