Archbishop Obembe memorial
Son of late Archbishop Olanrewaju Obembe; Pastor Senior Olanrewaju Obembe, has said the church he left behind and his family have continued to keep faith alive and nurture his legacies.
He made the disclosure in a phone interview with Church Times this morning even as the family holds a memorial service online today.
Until his death on May 1 2019, Archbishop Obembe was the Presiding Bishop of Elshadai Bible Church. He was reputed to have pioneered the printing of Amplified English Bible for the first time in West Africa in 1987. He had three distinctive degrees in Missiology, Systematic Theology and Christian Education.
He was the Apostolic Prelate of International Communion of Charismatic and Apostolic Ministries. He was the first charismatic Cardinal and Archbishop of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria. He was also at a time, the Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.
His death on May 1, 2019 at 63 came as a shock to the Church community. But his son told Church Times that the church he left behind has continued to keep faith and uphold his legacies.
He said, “We are keeping faith and holding to his legacies and pursuing his lifelong vision as God gives us strength. The last one year has been a year of many firsts for us. We’ve had a first Christmas after him. We have had a first Easter after him. It’s simply difficult to put into words what we miss about him. He was a great leader with unique qualities.”
While disclosing that there will be an online memorial service for him today starting from 10 a.m via zoom, he said, his departure on May 1 was unexpected. “His death came as a shock. But the Lord has been keeping us. We all miss his presence because of the uniqueness with which he approached issues and the way he relates with people who came his way.”
On how Archbishop Obembe would reacted to the present pandemic, he said, “He would have had a unique perspective to the present global perspective if he was alive” noting however that he was law abiding person. “Though he would have had a perspective to the pandemic, he would have kept to the law of the land on social distancing. He would have obeyed medical instructions. That is why we are holding the memorial service online.”
On the many projects his father left behind, Senior Olanrewaju Obembe said, “The projects he was doing when he was alive were lifelong projects. They are projects that will still be on for years to come. So we are following up on them and carrying on with them as God supplies us the grace.”