The recent announcement by the Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel of the valedictory services for Bishop David Abioye and Bishop Thomas Aremu, both first Vice President and Vice President of the Church, has finally put paid to speculations about the exit of the duo from the Church.
Their retirement which reportedly comes up on October 15 for Bishop Aremu and October 18 for Bishop Abioye is in line with the commission’s operational manual. Both have clocked the mandatory 60-year retirement age for pastors. Bishop Abioye is 63 while Bishop Aremu is 67.
Bishop Thomas Aremu’s valedictory service will take place at LFC Basorun, Ibadan, Oyo State on Tuesday, 15th of October while that of Bishop David Abioye’s will take place in Durumi, Abuja on Friday 18th October 2024.
But beyond their retirement, Church Times findings reveal that the church has five opportunities lined up for them if they wish to take any of them.
The opportunities are contained in The Mandate also known as the operational manual of the church published in 2012
They are:
(1)They could be assigned to a local assembly, not beyond a zonal church as resident pastors.
(2)They could be assigned oversight responsibility over a given location within or outside Nigeria.
(3)They could be appointed to serve in any of the church’s educational institutions or any department where they may choose to apply for such vacancies.
(4)They may also be appointed to serve in any of the departments in the headquarters where they have expertise.
(5) The final option is for them to be appointed revivalists, or as pastors in the Revival Mission Initiative Department.
There is however a caveat. The appointments provided are not permanent. It would be renewable annually.
It is not clear if the duo will want to take any of the options available to them. But they had already been given missions’ supervisory roles long before now.
Bishop Abioye, a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Ilorin first met Bishop Oyedepo in 1979 and has been quite close to him since then. He was consecrated Bishop in 1993 in the Garden of Faith, Barnawa, Kaduna at the age of 32.
Bishop Aremu an accountant by profession, joined the ministry full-time after working in some secular organisations. He is the only remaining bishop of the seven bishops of the church consecrated in November 1999 at Garden of Faith, Kaduna
‘Devil will rejoice if Abioye leaves Winners’
Founder of the church, Bishop David Oyedepo was reported to have said hell will rejoice if Bishop Abioye leaves Winners Chapel during the 2023 Shiloh in Canaanland. He was quoted to have said, If this man leaves Living Faith one second the devil will celebrate in hell, he’s solid with me day and night by genuine passion for souls to be saved as a lifestyle.
“He can tell you more stories; he’s been with me on borrowed motorbikes in the valleys and on the mountains.
“He follows me so hard; some occultic powers said if you can’t get the church, get the man,” but they testified that he was far above the sky, where they couldn’t locate him.
Oyedepo’s statement may be an indication that Bishop Abioye may take one of the available options in the ministry after retirement instead of leaving the church.
1 comment
I really don’t get it. There is a retirement age for other pastors and bishops, but there’s none for the general overseers and the presiding bishops.
Clearly, even in the church, some are above the church constitution or churcch mandate!
I feel very sorry for those so called believers who are still members of the churches of men instead of the church of Christ. I feel sorry for those who are still serving the gods of men.