US-based Nigerian pastor, Henry Odeneye, who passed away on August 8, will be buried on September 4 in Texas, US.
His media manager, Mr. Sunday Odeleke, informed in a statement that the funeral service will take place at Grace International Church in Houston, Texas.
Odeneye, who died at the age of 73, was the President of Harvest Point Ministry in the US. He was a strong advocate for the use of the Yoruba language in places of worship.
He was also passionately involved in promoting other indigenous languages across Africa, running a school of ministry aimed at training pastors across the continent using their native tongues.
Ironically, Odeneye was not raised as a typical Yoruba man. He was born in Jos, Nigeria, and spent his early childhood there before his parents migrated to Ghana, where he completed his early education.
He did not have the privilege of living among his kinsmen during those years and could not speak the Yoruba language fluently. Up until he returned to Nigeria from Ghana, he still could not string together a proper sentence in Yoruba. However, he could speak Hausa, two Ghanaian languages (Twi and Fanti), and English.
A professional marketer by training and a consultant to many organizations, Odeneye also served as a pastor in The Apostolic Church Nigeria alongside his independent ministry efforts.
That was where his proficiency in Yoruba was first put to the test: the church would not allow him to preach from the pulpit in English. His wife, Deaconess Clara Odeneye, came to his rescue by teaching him the basics of the language.
Pastor Odeneye also attended a Bible school in Ota, Nigeria, where one of the lecturers—a former herbalist who had become born-again—further exposed him to the nuances of the language.
Unknown to Odeneye, God was preparing him for a greater task. In 2000, he relocated to the United States with his entire family. It was there that God called him to begin a ministry where Yoruba would be the primary medium of communication. It was a tall order, but for close to 25 years, he executed the vision with clinical precision.
Odeneye had a PhD from Christian Leadership University in New York, USA, and was a certified and licensed counselor with a Master’s Degree in Missions and Indigenous Church Planting.
He was best known for his annual programme called Dagunduro—a Yoruba word meaning “stop the raging battle.” The programme began as a three-day monthly prayer warfare event that addressed the spiritual, mental, and physical struggles faced by African immigrants in the US.
Demand from attendees led the Dagunduro Prayer Family to launch the Yoruba Christian Fellowship, holding Sunday services conducted entirely in Yoruba without English interpretation. The ministry integrated traditional Yoruba musical elements, such as Bata drumming and traditional attire, into Christian worship to preserve African cultural heritage abroad.
The Dagunduro movement expanded beyond spiritual gatherings to become a support network platform for African immigrants in Texas. This impact led to the official designation of December 6 as Yoruba Dagunduro Day by the State of Texas and the City of Houston.
Pastor Odeneye was deeply passionate about non-English-speaking elderly immigrants, ultimately helping convince authorities to allow US citizenship examinations to be administered in the Yoruba language. During major crises like COVID-19, the ministry translated critical health and civic information into Yoruba and provided transportation to medical services.
For his civic contributions, Pastor Odeneye and his ministry received Congressional Recognition and the US Presidential Gold Volunteer Service Award.
Till he breathed his last, his desire was to see the Yoruba language gain prominence globally and harvest more souls to God’s Kingdom.