Christian Oyakhilome, more popular as Pastor Chris, is a Nigerian pastor, author, and television host. He is the founder and president of Love World Incorporated, also known as Christ Embassy, with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.
Biography
Chris Oyakhilome was born to his parents, Tim and Angelina, on December 7, 1963.
His father was one of the founding members of the Assemblies of God Church in Benin City, Edo State.
His parents had two additional kids – Ken, his brother, who serves as the branch pastor of the Christ Embassy in Houston, Texas, United States. He is also a member of the Christ Embassy Central Executive Council.
He attended Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria, after completing his elementary and secondary education, and there he earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree.
AAU also gave him an honorary Doctor of Science degree. In addition, Benson Idahosa University awarded him an honorary degree in divinity.
Career
He started his Christian ministry as a student at Ambrose Ali University in Ekpoma, Edo State. The ministry was initially named Believers’ Loveworld Fellowship before it was changed to the Believers Loveworld Inc. There are millions of members and associates of the ministry today. His claims of faith healing have become less contentious over time. His assertions that he could use faith to treat diseases like HIV/AIDS have stirred much debate and drawn harsh condemnation worldwide.
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Ministry
He started his ministry while still attending Ambrose Alli University (AAU). Believers’ LoveWorld Fellowship, now known as Believers LoveWorld Incorporated, was formerly Youths For Christ (YFC).
YFC expanded and eventually surpassed other university fellowships in size. Alongside Christ Embassy, Chris Oyakhilome founded Believers LoveWorld Incorporated (BLW) in 1989. The church’s main office was located in Lagos.
Meetings are held by Oyakhilome’s ministry in the United Kingdom, the United States, Ghana, and South Africa, as well as healing school workshops in South Africa, Lagos, and Canada. He was also the first African to introduce a Christian television network to the rest of the world. In addition, he hosted Good Friday Miracle Night, which drew 3.5 million spectators, as Nigeria’s biggest single-night event ever. In addition, Oyakhilome organises the Night of Bliss South Africa event at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg and hosts Higher Life conferences in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
He also runs an International School of Ministry, which hosted a Ministers’ Network Conference in 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with 5,000 ministers attending from 145 nations.
Oyakhilome runs a social media-based online prayer network that communicates with Christians in many nations. In 2013, he had more than 1.2 million Twitter followers, 1.9 million Facebook fans, and he runs a mobile messenger called KingsChat.
Oyakhilome is also the creator of Rhapsody of Realities, the top-selling daily devotional in the entire world.
He received an honorary doctorate in 2015 from Benson Idahosa University and Ambrose Alli University. In 2017, Oyakhilome founded the Christian cable channel, LoveWorld USA, in collaboration with Benny Hinn.
Oyakhilome has organised several online events, including five Global Days of Prayer with Pastor Hinn, which drew participants worldwide. People from many different countries attended the first edition on March 27, 2020. Other shows include “your Loveworld Specials with Pastor Chris,” with various seasons and phases.
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Church
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome established Christ Embassy, also known as LoveWorld Incorporated or Believers’ Loveworld, as a megachurch and Christian denomination in 1987. The church, with its global network of churches and congregations in numerous nations, with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, has around 13,000,000 adherents worldwide.
The church has ministries in Canada, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Net worth
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is one of the richest pastors in Nigeria. He has a net worth of $75 million. His net worth is gotten from his television station, magazine, and many of his other franchises.
Family
Oyakhilome married Anita Ebhodaghe in 1991. His wife filed for a divorce at the Central Family Court in London in 2014.
They decided to divide custody of their two kids after the divorce in February, 2016.
Sharron Oyakhilome, Oyakhilome’s first child, married a Ghanaian man, Phillip Frimpong, on October 6, 2018, with her mother absent.
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Teachings
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has many teachings to his name. Some of which are:
- Cultivating a spirit of prayer.
- 5 facts for spiritual effectiveness.
- 7 factors for a healthy spiritual life.
- The ministry of the Holy Spirit.
- Christianity is not a religion.
- Fulfilling your purpose.
- How to pray effectively.
- Use your faith.
- Understanding the five levels of relationship.
Conclusion
The Inner City Mission Project, run by Oyakhilome, aims to help orphaned and impoverished children in inner cities throughout many nations.
The Chris Oyahkilome Foundation, which strives to aid the underprivileged and people living in inner cities, is in charge of the organisation. It works with government parastatals to increase social wellbeing and offers aid to troubled nations.
The Chris Oyakhilome Foundation is one of the main funders of the African Inner City Orphanage Homes run by pushaboo, an organisation that leads the globe in caring for mothers and infants.
The Volunteer Medical Corps, Trauma Care International Foundation, Inner City Mission for Children, Future Africa Leaders Foundation, and the Bible for All Mission are more organisations that receive funding from Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International (COFI).
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