A few weeks after the homegoing service for the founding pastor of The Fountain of Life Church, Taiwo Daniel Odukoya, his children, Jimmy and Tolu Odukoya, were officially installed as the senior pastor and associate senior pastor respectively of the church.
The official installation service was held at the main auditorium of the church on Saturday, September 30, 2023. The event saw the presence of prominent figures, including Bishop Mike and Peace Okonkwo, the presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), and Bishop Francis Wale-Oke, the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).
Other ministers of God in attendance were Pastor Clem Esomowei of Triumphant Church International, U.K; Rev. Yomi Kasali of the Foundation of Truth Assembly; Pastor John Odukoya of The Fountain of Life, Grace Springs Church, Maryland, U.S.A; Arch Bishop John Osa-Oni of Vineyard Christian Churches Inc; Bishop Humphrey Erumaka of Wordbase Assembly; the Pastorate of The Fountain of Life Church, as well as members and well-wishers.
Ministering at the official installation service, Bishop Francis Wale-Oke commended the resilient spirit of the church in the face of the storm, especially the recent demise of their founding Pastor, Taiwo Odukoya, whom he described as a genuine man of God.
Speaking from Revelation 21:5-6, the National President of the PFN noted that God is the Alpha and Omega and the owner of The Fountain of Life Church, adding that Pastor Taiwo Odukoya was just a tool He used.
“The Fountain of Life Church is the Church of Jesus Christ; human beings are only the instruments He chooses to use. He chose Pastor Taiwo Odukoya to start the church, and now that He has taken him home, the same Lord is still present in the church,” said the clergyman.
Bishop Wale-Oke continued, “Pastor Taiwo and Bimbo Odukoya lived well and were humble in serving the Lord until the end; therefore, there’s no surprise that the mantle has fallen on their offspring, Pastors Jimmy and Tolu Odukoya.”
Citing Deuteronomy 34:7-9, Bishop Wale-Oke noted that the time for mourning is over, urging the church to give their undiluted support to their new senior Pastor and his associate.
In his words, “It is not Pastors Jimmy and Tolu Odukoya who will do this work, but the same Holy Spirit that worked with their father and mother. Look beyond the vessels, look at the Doer of the work.”
Bishop Wale-Oke noted that just as God uses people with their idiosyncrasies to show forth His glory, in the same way, He will use Pastors Jimmy and Tolu Odukoya with their unique and individual idiosyncrasies to show forth His glory.
He continued, “Honour whom God has honoured and respect whom God has respected. Watch out for how God would use these vessels. He makes all things new. Welcome to a new world.”
He concluded his message by encouraging the new Senior Pastor from Joshua 1:1-2 to be courageous in the new assignment commissioned to him. “Arise and lead these people of God to where God is taking them,” he urged.
The official installation was conducted by Bishop Mike Okonkwo. While performing the installation, the Spiritual Grandfather of the house reminded the church that they should not expect the new senior pastor and his associate to be like their predecessors, as that would be tantamount to counterfeiting, which doesn’t attract the anointing of God.
He urged them to support them and let them be themselves because that’s what God expects. He thereafter consecrated, prayed for, and anointed Pastors Jimmy and Tolu Odukoya as the Senior Pastor and Associate Senior Pastor of the church.
In rounding off the installation service, the officially installed Senior Pastor of The Fountain of Life Church, Pastor Jimmy Odukoya, and his sister, the Associate Senior Pastor, Tolu Odukoya, led the church in a session of worship and prayers.
Other ministers of God that graced the event included Pastor and Mrs. Oladele Balogun, representing the Assistant General Overseer Administration of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG); Reverend Edate of Calvary Kingdom representing Arch Bishop Ojo; Pastor Omar and Jane Pella of The Grace Trybe.
Other ministers included Bishop Emma Omon of The Radiant Church International; Rev. Dr. Janet Onaolapo, General Overseer of the Abundant Life Bible Church, and a host of other ministers of God from within and outside of the country.
Reported by Becky Olorunpomi
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