• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Adefarasin at 60 – Encomiums for the ‘builder of nation builders’

Adefarasin at 60 – Encomiums for the ‘builder of nation builders’

The world watched as abstract became concrete. 10 years ago, the cathedral and headquarters of all House On the Rock churches was commissioned. Established 29 years ago, House On The Rock is a vibrant multi-ethnic church and a home for all. The founder and metropolitan senior pastor, PAUL ADEFARASIN recently clocked 60, and the events to mark the day included a variety of programmes, speeches, a trip down memory lane and accolades from which invaluable insights were gleaned, writes Associate Editor, KEMI AJUMOBI.

Paul Adefarasin is the founder and metropolitan senior pastor of the burgeoning House On The Rock, a multiracial, multi-tribal, and multifaceted church with several daughter churches and ministries throughout Africa and in Europe. He is a thought leader, author, TV host, Founder and President of The Rock Foundation, a charity committed to social reformation, education, provision of healthcare and relief work within Nigeria.

He is also the convener and host of ‘The Experience’, an interdenominational gospel concert that features some of the best globally known musical talents. The event, which debuted in December 2006, now enjoys audiences of millions of people attending the concert each year with a live global footprint from 196 nations.

A conference speaker, Paul Adefarasin is one of the most respected and sought-after ministers in Nigeria. His weekly television programme ‘Something is about to happen’ is broadcast into millions of homes across Africa and Europe. Paul Adefarasin is well known for his clear message of hope, healing and empowerment.

He is widely regarded as a visionary leader and bridge-builder. His ability to transcend race, tribe and creed with his unique approach to ministry has seen to the forging of many strategic relationships between the church and secular communities in Africa.

My mother (of blessed memory) loved to encourage made-in-Nigeria products, she was also quite passionate about anything and anyone from her state, Ogun state, and would support their causes whether she knew them or not. Till her death, she used her Globacom line. I would ask her to get another one so she could alternate, and she would say “Adenuga is from my state, I need to support him”.

The same thing she did with Adefarasin. Back in the 90s in Abuja when the programme ‘Something is about to happen’ would air, though a staunch CAC member, she would say “I want to listen to Paul” and I remember teasing her back then and saying “But mum, he doesn’t even know you” and she would say “It doesn’t matter, he is from my state, I want to hear what he is saying”.

Timi Dakolo had me go down memory lane in my thoughts when he was singing some soul-lifting songs at the celebration in honour of Paul Adefarasin’s 60th birthday celebration, and right before he started, he told a story of his journey in House On The Rock, and how positively influencing Pastor Paul has been, and as he shared on how the programme ‘Something is about to happen’ had inspired him, I reminisced on same programme because I watched it in the 90s, hence the story of my mother.

Ok, I snapped out of that quickly, it was a day of fun and rejoicing, so no sad tears remembering my mother, it’s Adefarasin’s 60th!

Oh! Did I mention it was ‘The Open Cathedral- Afternoon Tea with Paul Adefarasin?’ Yes, you read that right, in celebration of his 60th, we were invited to an ‘Afternoon Tea With Pastor Paul’, he alone could pull that off and had many people attend. It was beyond ‘tea’ though because we had a lot to nibble on and drink.

From L-R: Pastor Ifeanyi Adefarasin, Co- Pastor of All House On The Rock churches, Alexander Adefarasin, Pastor Wale Adefarasin, General Overseer, Guiding Light Assembly, Alvin Adefarasin, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, The Metropolitan of All House On The Rock churches.

Ok, I am back on track, no digressing, not even the memory of the food ‘offerings’.

One after the other, gospel ministers took the stage and sang soul-lifting songs and Ik Osakioduwa did a fantastic job compering.

Ik’s story was inspiring. He shared how, back then, he intended to paint the campus “red” in waywardness but somehow encountered The Rock Foundation Mission where Adefarasin had sent people to reach out to people like him.

“The first time I entered House on the Rock in 1996, everything spoke about excellence. A young boy that I was with a lot of energy, walking into church and listening to good music impacted my life. I joined and later became a pastor. While pastoring back in school, I met my wife and the rest like they say is history. We have been married for 15 years.” IK stated.

It was time to see a video of how far Adefarasin had come, so with lights dimmed, we faced the screen. The 90s saw the professional class swept into ministry, doctors, lawyers, engineers and more, were called to ministry and free from stringent ways of serving God. Things changed when Adefarasin came on the scene.

In Kike Mudiaga’s words “I remember when I walked into House on the Rock, I wanted someone to pinch me, this cannot be people singing live, they are definitely playing a cd here. It was excellent music which had become mainstream in House on the Rock. It was the liberty in expression for me ” Kike is a lead music minister at HOTR.

From L-R: Apostle Folorunsho Alakija, Paul Adefarasin, Olori Abimbola Subomi-Balogun, Otunba Subomi Balogun, The Otunba Tunwase of Ijebuland.

 

“Pastor Paul made the bible come alive. From his early years in the ministry in Nigeria, he had the grace to impact not only upon his listeners but affected the church at large. He was able to disrupt the monotony that gave some form of remuneration to music ministers.

He created an industry for music ministers and international artistes till date are calling Nigerian music ministers for collaborations.” Adegoke Coker, Director Africa Missions and Conferences at The Rock Foundation, said.

Adefarasin’s manner of preaching, depth of the word and way of faith leaves a mark in the hearts of many, even his style.

“It was from him we learnt how to knot a tie and wear suits, we all used to wear ‘coats’ back then, we learnt fittings from him” Adeola Adeyanju, MD Cinalt Resources Ltd said.

For Wole Oshin, Chairman, Custodian Group, “Despite being in the corporate world, if I walk into the board room of House On The Rock, I am inspired. How many corporate organisations can put together such a boardroom talkless of the church itself and how things are put in place?”

Adefarasin’s daring qualities certainly inspire many. One who clearly attests to this is Segun Agbaje, CEO Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc. He said “When you look at the scale of how we do the food and drinks event, how we do fashion, your boldness and vision to do ‘The Experience’ greatly inspires me as to how doing things on scale was very possible.

You are 60 and you have gathered so much experience that I believe the rest of your life will be even more meaningful” Agbaje revealed.

One major event that kept coming up during the speeches was ‘The Experience’. “17 years on, it is now the standard for organising large events and the established format for such events. It has opened the door for many” Olugbenga Oluwole, MD/CEO Greenhouse Limited affirmed.

Even the award-winning gospel artiste, Nathaniel Bassey agrees when he says “The platform called ‘ The Experience’ has showcased talents from this part of the world. Pastor Paul has been deliberate on mentorship.”

“Hearty congratulations on your diamond Jubilee. It’s great to see you grow to be the man that you are, the husband, father, uncle that you are.” Wale Adefarasin, General Overseer, Guiding Light Assembly said.

Obviously, when HOTR started, many didn’t think it would stand the test of time. It was called a flash in the pan, a church for the youths and even if it did survive, no one expected much from it but they were wrong, for whatever God does is forever. Almost three decades later, the church under Adefarasin’s leadership has continued to grow, break new grounds and push new frontiers.

Listening to several people share their stories on how Adefarasin and HOTR had influenced their lives was heart-stirring.

The story of the lady simply referred to as Sis Winnie had us all in tears. She shared amidst tears on how she had suffered for over twenty years since she and her siblings lost their father.

She moved to Lagos in 2021, living depressed and suicidal and nursed the idea of taking her life, but she told herself in 2012 that she was going to be active in church, so she joined the ushering department and then moved to media.

Every time she heard Adefarasin preach, hope leaped. Though she got to Lagos earning N30,000 as salary with her family dependent on her, her sister also had brain damage. Talk about trying times. “I sowed in faith. What I earn now is way more than I ever imagined. I never in my entire life thought I would get jobs in the UK and US and my family is doing well and everything is turning out well. Thank you Pastor Paul for your consistent words of encouragement”.

From L-R: Pastor Ifeanyi Adefarasin, Co- Pastor of All House On The Rock churches, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, The Metropolitan of All House on The Rock churches, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, The Executive Governor of Lagos State.

 

Another touching story was that of Yusuf Akila, Regional Director, House On The Rock, North-East.

His path crossed that of Adefarasin 29 years ago. Something later happened that changed the course of his life, he lost two of his children in 5days. One died on Monday and the other on Saturday. He later met Adefarasin who gave him a warm hug without knowing what he was going through. He visited HOTR and Adefarasin asked that he be given 50 tapes. He encouraged him to get back to ministry and though he was hesitant,Adefarasin encouraged him to start a church and said he would be supported. He said to him “Though you are bleeding on the inside, one day, God will take your pain, put His anointing on it and it will become a powerful message.” Today, Akila has three more children after the loss of two.

Reaching out to the ‘area boys’ now referred to as ‘Jesus boys’ is another ministry that is dear to Adefarasin. This ministry has been in existence for over two decades (and counting). He launched an outreach to the often feared and misunderstood. This relationship now forms a part of the security structure of ‘The Experience’.

One of the ‘Jesus boys’ named Daniel, had his story to share.

He began with gratitude for being given the opportunity to share his story and how HOTR has for the past 20 years, had him doing what God intended for his life, be a soul winner for people like him and to draw them to God.

From being a security man, he was one day falsely accused of stealing, so he made up his mind to live the life of a miscreant. He became an ‘area boy’ and later decided to end his life. While walking along the beach to do as his thoughts misled him to, there was a crusade organised by HOTR around the area, the coordinator began to say “Someone is about to commit suicide, Jesus loves you”.

Shocked to hear those words, he began to look around for the person they were speaking of. “Something caught me and I stood still. The spirit of suicide disappeared. Thank you for the good leadership Pastor Paul. Today, the same ‘area boy’ has become ‘Jesus boy’ and now a zonal assistant pastor spreading the good news to other ‘area boys’ to bring them to God.” Daniel testified.

For 25 years, HOTR has been feeding over 500 ‘Jesus boys’ every week and their church gatherings have over 650 people in attendance.

Bolaji Orederu, a senior military officer and Rear Admiral also shared how Adefarasin has influenced not only his life but that of his family. From when he was at the lowest rank of the officer’s cadre to where he is today as Rear Admiral. When his wife was 5 months pregnant, her water broke, he took her to the hospital and doctors said they had to put the baby in the incubator. After Sunday service, he told Pastor Paul and he held his hands and prayed. “Today, he is a vibrant 16-year-old studying abroad. He is even on a scholarship and now teaches other children when he is free. It is a form of scholarship because the school is going to pay him.”

He narrated how, for every rank he had to cross, Adefarasin was there for him and several others in the military.

Next to speak was Alvin Adefarasin, the pastor’s first son, and he spoke from the heart about his father. He hasn’t always been around because of school, but he remembered a few years ago, before the edifice called HOTR was done, how the place wasn’t how it is today, how he came there fishing and caught one fish.

So, through the years, because he had not always been around, he has seen different levels of development of the church. “Getting into the hall and sitting down there, I nearly came to tears several times when I heard the impact my father has had on everybody’s life, and that impact is from God and I thank God for you, Dad”.

Alvin shared how his dad would take out time despite being busy to call him at 3:30 am to check on him on a Sunday morning.

“Indeed dad, you get better with time. My dad is a perfectionist. Someone good at something practices until they get it perfect. A professional practices until they can’t get it wrong. He is a professional. When you attend a service with my dad, one must not forget to bring your bible, a dictionary, scroll of Latin derivatives and a book on etymology.

Many will come and go, history is an unforgiving friend, history will have no space for most people, but dad, history will have a space for you. Fear’s greatest friend is unrealised potential. I wrote a quote and didn’t understand why I wrote it until now. Hell is when the current version of yourself meets the version you could have been. My dad has inspired us to tell the best version of ourselves and tell hell No!”.

It was time to listen to the celebrant. He begins by saying “Brevity is my challenge. It has been Niagara falls for me in terms of the gratitude, thankfulness and stories of impact told that I began to wonder, who are they talking about?” He continues “I am really grateful to all of you and for all of you. I know I can be tough in demanding excellence but it is in the best interest of the kingdom. God loves order and when He sees order, He sits down. Disorder infuriates Him, it is why He quickly changes chaos to order. Read 2 constraints 4:6. May God give us long life to see our children and children’s children.”

The celebration extended to Sunday and it was even more phenomenal. The dignitaries that graced the Sunday service included Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos state, his uncle Otunba Subomi Balogun, Abah Folawiyo, Tonye and Sylvia Cole, Folorunsho Alakija, Sarah Boulous to mention a few.

Of course his mentor T.D Jakes brought his goodwill message which was shown to all.

“It is indeed an honour and a privilege as a spiritual father to welcome my son Pastor Paul Adefarasin into his 60s. You have earned the right to sit by the fire with the elders, you have endured hardness as a good soldier, you have been valiant in battle, consistent in integrity and motivational in developing the saints of God and disciplining not only House On The Rock but the church of God worldwide. I thank God for your life, for what you have done with your ministry but most importantly, I thank God for you”

Referred to as his still water, his wife and co-pastor at HOTR, Ifeanyi Adefarasin walked up the stage to celebrate her husband, thanked everyone present including the governor of Lagos State, and invited him for his speech.

In his speech, Sanwo-Olu revealed that he has known Pastor Paul as a big brother, and a friend. “We would come to his living room over 20 years ago to pray for our country and our state every Thursday in the morning and those were times I cannot forget. I remember those days at Muson centre where you started and moved to Eko Hotel, and I watched this sanctuary being built. What God has given to you, you have shared with all. You are the epitome of what real life should be.

“Pastor Paul, I sat down there listening to everyone this morning and I want to say without any contradiction that all of the kind and strong words used to describe your person today, you have earned it. These are true words that describe your person. You are indeed a nation-builder. The first nation was the church.”

The governor certainly wasn’t done. “I remember two sermons from you. First is that, no matter what life throws at you, you must never give up and secondly, you taught us we can never give up now. You are my elder brother, my critic, my adviser and my cheerleader. I have seen you build up men who have become nation-builders. You have a lot to give to the world and I can assure you, God will continue to speak truth through you,” the governor said.