Redeemed Christian Church of God
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Redeemed Christian Church of God
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| The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) | |
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| Classification | Protestant |
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| Theology | Pentecostal |
| Governance | Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer (1981–) |
| Geographical areas | Worldwide |
| Founder | Pa Josiah Akindayomi |
| Origin | 1952 Lagos,  Nigeria |
| Official website | http://rccg.org |
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Pentecostal Holiness denomination based in Nigeria.
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Contents
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History
The RCCG was founded in 1952 by Nigerian pastor Josiah Akindayomi (1909–1980) after he had been involved in several other churches. In the early 1970s Akindayomi started to look for an educated successor who was not at that time a member of the church. He chose Enoch Adeboye, a lecturer in mathematics at the University of Lagos, who joined the church in 1973. Adeboye initially became one of the interpreters translating Akindayomi's sermons from Yoruba to English. He was ordained a pastor of the church in 1975, and his appointment as leader of the church was formalized by the posthumous reading of Akindayomi's sealed pronouncement.
Andrew Rice, writing in The New York Times, calls the RCCG "one of [Africa's] most vigorously expansionary religious movements, a homegrown Pentecostal denomination that is crusading to become a global faith".[1] According to Daniel Ajayi-Adeniran, a pastor of the church, "In every household there will be at least one member of Redeemed Christian Church of God in the whole world."[2]
Church mission
The RCCG’s Mission Statement is:
- to make it to heaven
- to take as many people as possible with them
- to have a member of RCCG in every family in every nation
To get to heaven, they say, "holiness will be our lifestyle". To accomplish the other two, they will "plant churches within five minutes walking distance in every city and town of developing countries and within five minutes driving distance in every city and town of developed countries". The church intends to pursue these objectives "until every Nation in the world is reached for the Lord Jesus Christ".[3][4]
Fundamental beliefs
The church believes in the Bible and the Holy Trinity, that the Devil exists, that God formed man in his image, in repentance, in cleansing from sins by God's grace, in sanctification, water baptism, Holy Spirit baptism, restitution and healing without medicine. The church forbids debts, "worldliness" (such as dancing halls, cinema halls and reveling) and rebellion against church authority. It encourages abstention from all evil and reverence to parents and authorities.[5]
Church status
The church's headquarters are located in the Ebute-Metta suburb of Lagos, Nigeria. Elsewhere in Africa, it has a presence in Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
In Europe, the church has a presence in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic and in almost every ccounty in the Republic of Ireland.
In the United States, it has a presence in Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, New York, New England, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Georgia, Oregon, Minnesota and California. In the Caribbean, it has a presence in Haiti and Jamaica. In Canada it has a presence in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. The RCCG in the United States and Canada together form the RCCGNA, which has its headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
In Australia, it has a presence in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide and Perth. It also has branches in New Zealand, Fiji, Malaysia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Singapore.
In India it has a presence in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. It also has a presence in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
In the Middle East, the church has parishes in Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and in nearly all seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates.
The RCCG has a bible college and school of disciples in Africa, with campuses in several continents.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Rice, Andrew. "Mission from Africa". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/magazine/12churches-t.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
- ^ Betty Rollins (8 January 2010). "Reverse Missionaries". PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/january-8-2010/reverse-missionaries/5359. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- ^ http://www.rccgsa.org/?q=statement-of-faith
- ^ http://www.rccgsa.org/?q=our-mission
- ^ RCCG website page on its beliefs
- ^ http://www.rccgsa.org/?q=bible-college
External links
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