Pastor Oluleke Akinola served as the General Overseer of Upper Room Baptist Church with headquarters in Ketu, Lagos from January 2004 till date. He will be retiring voluntarily as the G.O. on December 31, 2024, just like his predecessor, Pastor Abiodun Longe who led the church successfully till December 31, 2003. He will hand over the baton to Pastor Rufus Dada
A graduate of Social Sciences from the University of Lagos, Pastor Akinola also holds a postgraduate diploma in theology and trained at the Haggai Institute Maui, Hawaii, and the Christian Community Development Association [CCDA]: Chicago, United States of America.
Pastor Akinola until recently served as Deputy Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria. He is a dynamic pastor, teacher, role model, and leader. In this interview with Church Times Nigeria, he shares his experience as General Overseer of the Upper Room Baptist Church and the lessons learnt from pastoring the church for 21 years. Find below excerpts from the interview.
Looking back to when you became the General Overseer of Upper Room Baptist Church, what are your early recollections and dreams as the G.O. of the church?
When I became the General Overseer of the church in January 2004, I inherited a church that was somehow in a crisis which was a fallout of some problems in the leadership of the church. Part of it was the succession issue. Eventually, I became the church’s general overseer. So when I came in as G.O., my first assignment was to stabilise the church and bring the opposing camp back to the fold.
I thank God today, I am leaving a church without rancour. I am leaving a church that is peaceful and united. Through the help of God, I was able to bring the different factions together Today there is unity and love in the church. That has allowed for the growth that we have experienced over the years.
My predecessor gave the church a sound foundation spiritually. I was also able to continue with that and have been able to improve on what I met on ground. Many of the parishes I inherited were either in a rented apartment or makeshift venues. But today by the grace of God all of them are in their property. We had about 14 parishes when I came in, but today we have 31 parishes. We have a branch in Kenya and communities in the UK, the US, and Canada. It is to the glory of God that we have been able to achieve all these dreams.
What were the practical steps you took to stabilise the church?
Our church is peculiar. 17 families came together to start it. Some of these families left the church in the heat of the crisis. The first thing I did was to meet with those who left. I had to travel as far as Abuja to be able to meet some of them. I discovered that many of them did not see a complete picture of what happened before they fell out with the church. I was able to explain to them and some of them came back while some did not.
But what I think helped to hasten the reconciliation was that I made up my mind to have a large heart and was ready to take what was thrown at me by the aggrieved members. I decided to forgive in advance before I started the reconciliation moves. I was dealing with everybody with love. I did not allow what people say to get into me. Within a short time, many came back and the church stabilised and they began to see my sincerity. Those who stayed on the fence soon joined. Today, we have a strong united church.
For any pastor trying to reconcile aggrieved members, the first thing is to exhibit the spirit of love and forbearance. The pastor must have a large heart and a forgiving heart. If you keep malice, the hurt and anger will not allow you to make progress. Today, those who did not want me then as their G.O. are now close friends. I discovered that some of them did not understand certain things. Some did not come back. But we are still in touch with them and they have remained friends of the house. Upper Room membership now is not limited to just to those who attend the church. Some of those who have left are still considered part of the family even when they don’t attend service in the church again. They only come once in a while when we have special programmes. They are also in our WhatsApp group.
Drawing from your experience, what are the reasons people leave after spending many years in a particular church?
People leave the church for various reasons. It could be due to relocation of residence. Some could be because of doctrine. They may feel what is being preached in the church is no longer meeting their expectations. Some leave because what they are receiving from the church is not enough to help them navigate life. People have itching ears these days and they go where their itchy ears will be satisfied. This is common among young people.
Some feel a particular church may be too strict. Some leave because of inexplicable differences. In our time, the main issue was doctrinal. Some leave for selfish ambition. They may desire some positions and when they don’t get it, they leave. Some are just cantankerous. Some don’t just like the pastor. Some may leave because they feel the church is no longer comfortable for them. They look out for churches with air-conditioning systems and want to be comfortable anytime they go to church. People leave for many reasons that can’t be exhausted in this interview.
You have been G.O. since 2004 and you will be retiring December 31 2024. What personal sacrifices have you had to make to keep the church one?
The life of a leader is a life of sacrifice. A leader should not be selfish. He must be ready to give his time, money and even give up his sleep. In the early years, there were things I wanted to do that I had to spend my money just to get the church going. I had to sell family property for the sake of the church because the church had a need. I had to sell my car to meet the needs of the church. My phone was always on. Every member of the church had direct access to me. I have had to leave my house in the dead of the night to attend to members in crisis. I remember having to visit a family that lost the father of the house around midnight. It was that night we had to look for where to keep the corpse. That day I came back to my house around 4 am. Many families have had to come to stay with us and my children would have to leave their beds to accommodate them. The sacrifice is for the entire family. We had to pay school fees for many and buy GCE forms for many indigent students. I don’t sleep more than 4 hours for many years now. I am trying to get more sleep but it is impossible because my body is used to that lifestyle.
Jesus is our perfect example. Many things had to be given up so that we could have a stable church. My wife would travel from Abuja where she was working every week to Lagos; by road at a time and later by air so she could play her role in the church. But I did not see all these things as a problem. I was enjoying myself. I was supported fully by my family. That is what has made the assignment a successful one.
Upper Room does not have a particular founder. What is the trick in running the church?
As stated earlier, 17 families of young vibrant men and women found themselves in Shepherdhill Baptist Church, Obanikoro, Lagos. They disagreed with the church leadership on some issues and they had to leave. The families started a fellowship. They used to meet for Bible study and prayers. From there they prayed and God asked them to start Upper Room Baptist Church. One of them was made the leader. A church council of people selected from among them was established. The council consisted of the prayer secretary, counselling, finance, evangelism and Bible study secretaries.
Today, we have 11 people in the council, each responsible for different ministries in the church. Eventually one of the founding fathers had to leave his secular work to be pastor of the church. The national council of the church became the policy making body of the church and we also have the trustees and then we have the general assembly.
The trustees and General Council are in charge of the daily running of the church. The general assembly meets once a year. They can upturn the decision of the General Council. So far, we have not had any crisis. The crisis I spoke about earlier was surmounted within a short period. Different parishes of the church have their family meetings. They have parish councils that help them in the running of their parishes. God has helped us to run the church. It is not a one-man church. I was not even a member of the founding families. The beauty of the church is that we have had a smooth transition from one leadership to another.
The first general overseer voluntarily retired. I am also stepping down though I am not up to the statutory retirement age of 70 years. I am praying that the pastor who will take over from me will continue from where we stopped and take the church to greater heights
Read also the story of Upper Room Baptist Church: https://churchtimesnigeria.net/thirty-years-in-the-upper-room-the-story-of-upper-room-baptist-church/#google_vignette
God has helped the church to do the transition twice. We have a constitution that guides us but what guides us is the spirit of God. We have men who defer to the spirit of God first before any other thing.
Some people believe a pastor is not supposed to retire from God’s work. But here you are retiring, what are your thoughts about this?
One cannot retire from the work of a pastor because it is a calling. But one can retire from an office. The position of the G.O. is an office which I am retiring from come December 31. But I am still a pastor and I will be a pastor till Jesus comes or he takes me home. My calling to be a pastor is for a lifetime. By the grace of God, I have a marriage ministry that I will concentrate more on after retirement. The ministry has been on for almost 6 years. We have an online marriage clinic. It’s on YouTube, X, and Facebook. We counsel people on marriage issues. I also want to be involved more with missions. Before I became G.O. I was into missions. I want to work with pastors in villages to support their efforts.
What would you consider the lessons you have learned as G.O. for 21 years?
I think the first lesson is to understand that as pastor and leader, you must love everyone and don’t expect anything from anybody. I have witnessed betrayal and treachery. I have encountered people who repaid evil for the good done to them. But I have learnt not to be distracted by those things We have a goal and we have to keep our focus on the goal. If Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, we must be able to love people unconditionally.
One of the major lessons is not to trust anybody. The people you trust most may be the ones that will betray you. That is why your trust must be in God not in people. You must not harbour anger and resentment against people as well. People will always be people. Be what God wants you to be. Don’t let what people do determine what you become. I have a free mind by the grace of God after serving the people for 21 years. I say what I want to say and I do not repay evil for evil. These lifestyles have helped me for these 21 years of being G.O.
What will you consider the high point of your 21 years as G.O.?
If not for God, 21 years as G.O. would have been wasted. God gave me the grace to accomplish so many things I never thought was possible. I came into the church as a young man that many did not give any chance. But God released his grace on me. I am now able to thank God for what he has done.
Upper Room Baptist Church was a relatively unknown church. But today it has become a household name. It may not be as big and popular as some other churches. But God has announced the church by himself. When I came in, we had about 15 pastors. But today we have about 40 pastors. God also gave me the grace to bring together young men, about 16 of them about 10 years ago but they have grown to 36 in number. They now hold strategic positions in the church today. We have different programmes dedicated to raising godly and committed youths and teenagers who are doing exploits all over the world today
We hold regular retreats for young people to build them in leadership. We started a programme in 2004 that brings leaders in CAN and PFN together. Today we have 19 centres all over Lagos where the revival programme is being held. We have branches across the world as stated earlier. The high point is that God has helped us to put the church on sound footing. All our parishes are growing. The next G.O. will continue from where we stopped. One of the causes of my joy is that we have vibrant youths who have been able to impact many other churches. We always say the Upper Room is a gift of God to our generation. Building people is the high point of my service as G.O. The first thing I started doing was to focus on some people in the church and building them up. That has paid off over time. These people have become strong armies making impact and also building lives.
But then like I keep saying, all these would not have been possible without God. He is the one who has been our strength and inspiration. We would not have succeeded without people in the church who have been quite supportive of what God is doing through us. My deep appreciation goes to them and God in particular.. I am also grateful for the family God blessed me with. My wife, Boade has been so supportive. We give God all the glory.
