I STARTED MY MINISTRY WITH 50 KOBO--BISHOP IDAHOSA

In every way, the growth of the Pentecostal ministry headed by Bishop Isaac Idahosa is a sure proof of the scripture that if a believer has faith as small as a mustard seed, the person can certainly move mountains. The ministry he heads, which started from a jinxed and abandoned property in Minna, Niger State has grown and is impacting lives. In the same vein, his marriage that has lasted for 21 years is a study in marital harmony based on the solid word of God. In the run up the 21st anniversary of his marriage, Bishop Idahosa took out time talk about the journey in ministry.


How did your journey into ministry happen?
My surname ‘Idahosa’ means to hear from God. I had this strong urge to know God right from a tender age. That was what took me to the bible school in 1985. I went to bible school just to acquire knowledge not because I wanted to become a pastor. Before then I was working, and leaving with one of my mentors, Bishop Solomon Akapyen in the north. We were born and brought up in the north. After attending bible school I went to complete my education on Niger State government scholarship. After school I felt no peace; I didn’t seek paid employment. There was a divine urge to go and work in the vineyard but the problem was that I wanted to go to Jos. The weather was nice and there was no religious upheaval at the time. But God said I must return to where I was brought up. So I went back to Niger State; I didn’t have any money. In fact, when I got to Minna I had only 50k. But I told God that I would the 50 kobo to showcase Him to the world.

50 kobo?
Yes, 50 kobo was the amount I had when I got to Minna with an intention to start a ministry. We had family friend called Idowu Maya and his wife. They offered to give me their boy’s quarters. I got to Minna with my bass guitar because I love to sing. In the evenings I would just be playing my guitar and singing. This attracted the youths to me. Gradually, the boy’s quarters filled up and I told them I needed a bigger space. We went in search of accommodation for the ministry; they never knew I had just 50 kobo. That 50 kobo I didn’t have reason to spend it. God was just bringing money from here
and there. We saw a four bedroom flat and they said I should pay N6000 to rent the apartment. This was in 1989. I didn’t have the N6,000 but the people I was living with thought I had the money. I told them we were coming back to pay. On our way back home we saw an abandoned building that had an inscription, ‘Gospel House’ and the Holy Spirit just ministered that it was where I should start the ministry. The land swampy and nobody lived there. I told my hosts that the ministry would take off from there. They thought something was wrong with me. We went in search of the owner of that property and learnt that one Justice Shadare who presided over the case involving the house ran mad. The other person who lived there also ran mad. For this reason, it was abandoned. The place had no louvers and no doors. I went to look for the person in charge of the place and heard that it was Justice Awoniyi.  He was the then chief judge of Niger state. He was shocked that a young man like me wanted to run mad too. I told him what God said to me; he said if I was   convinced about what I said, I should go and take the place for free. We went to clear the place and took possession on August 25, 1989. This year will be 24 years since we moved into the place. That was how we got the name God First Ministry (aka Illumination Assembly). We started with so much zeal. We had students and news started spreading about the church and within one month we had over 60 members. We had people coming to church for different reasons and God was enlarging our coast.

culled from sun newspaper