William Kumuyi

Abiodun Kumuyi

​

​

(m. 1980;died 2009)​

Esther Folashade Kumuyi

​

​

(m. 2010)​

William F. Kumuyi Ed.D.
Convener of Global Crusade with Kumuyi and General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry
Incumbent
Assumed office 1973
Children	2
Education	Mayflower School
Alma mater	University of Ibadan (BSc) University of Lagos (PGCertEd)
Occupation	Pastor author televangelist
Known for	Holiness movement
Website	https://gckhq.org/about-the-convener/

William Folorunso Kumuyi (born 6 June 1941) ^{[1] [2]} is the convener of Global Crusade with Kumuyi (GCK), ^[3] and the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry situated at Gbagada, Lagos, Nigeria. ^{[4] [5]} He is the author of several Christian books and devotionals. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}

Background

Kumuyi was born into a Christian family in Erin-Odo Ijesa, ^[11] Osun State, western part of Nigeria. He completed his secondary school education in 1961 at Mayflower School in Ikenne, Ogun State, from where he proceeded to the University of Ibadan and in 1967 graduated with a first-class honours degree in mathematics where he graduated as overall best graduating student in that year. He subsequently took a post-graduate course in Education at the University of Lagos. ^{[12] [13] [14]} He became a born-again Christian on Sunday, April 5, 1964 at the age of 23. ^{[11] [15] [16] [17]}

On his upbringing, Kumuyi was quoted to have said

We would get up in the morning, read the Bible, sing hymns, and go to church regularly. When I went to secondary school I lost interest in the church because our principal taught us atheism. But after a while, I thought again and started going to various churches in town. Eventually, in 1963, a group of singers and preachers from a Gospel church got permission to come to the school. I understood the Gospel message and was born again on April 5th, 1964. I read John Wesley, Charles Finney, Spurgeon, and lots of other books. I got involved with the Scripture Union, and I grew. ^{[12] [18] [19]}

Kumuyi was influenced by John Wesley, Charles Finney and Charles Spurgeon. ^[20] His father was a member of the Anglican Church. ^[21]

Teaching career

Kumuyi began teaching mathematics in 1962 at Mayflower School, his alma mater. ^[18] He went on, in the early 1970s, to become a lecturer of mathematics at the University of Lagos. ^{[12] [22]}

Christian ministry

In 1973, while being a lecturer of mathematics at the University of Lagos, Kumuyi began a Bible study group with 15 students who had come to him for Bible training. ^{[12] [18] [23]} This Bible training birthed the foundation of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. ^[24] In 1975, Kumuyi was expelled from the Apostolic Faith Church for preaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. ^[21] He continued his independent ministry, which in 1982 became the Deeper Life Bible Church. ^[25] As at 2005, the Christian ministry is said to have over 800,000 affiliates. ^[26]

Place of worship

The Deeper Christian Life Ministry founded by Kumuyi has the international headquarters of its church in Gbagada, Lagos. ^[27] The church auditorium at the international headquarters could sit up to 30,000 worshippers; it was described by experts as the fourth largest in the world. ^[28] The auditorium was inaugurated on 24 April 2018; the Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, and some other dignitaries attended the inauguration . ^[29]

Other notable places of worship of his Christian ministry include: the Deeper Life Conference Centre in Ogun State at Kilometer 42, Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and the International Bible Training Centre (IBTC) at Ayobo, Lagos. ^[30]

Published books

• The Hour of Decision, 1990, ISBN   978-2367-70-2
• How to Know God's Will in Marriage, 1990, ISBN   978-9-78236-713-6
• Have Compassion on Them, 1991, ISBN   978-9-78236-700-6
• The Spirit Controlled Family: W.F. Kumuyi, 1996, ISBN   978-9-78236-742-6
• The Lord's Prayer, 1997, ISBN   978-1-85424-370-6
• The Truly Liberated Woman, 2000, ISBN   978-978-2908-25-4
• Supernatural Supply in All Situations, 2009, ISBN   978-0-88144-416-2
• Daily Manna, Volume 1, 2011, ISBN   978-1-90549-379-1
• Daily Manna: A Daily Devotional Guide, 2014, ISBN   978-1-46759-809-5
• Higher Everyday: A Daily Devotional Guide for Successful Youths, 2014, ISBN   978-1-46759-810-1978-1-46759-810-1
• Kumuyi: Defender of the Faith ^[31]

Personal life

Kumuyi met Abiodun Olowu in September 1972. She became one of his Bible study students and a member of his fledging Christian ministry. They got married on 13 September 1980 in Lagos, and they have two children, Jeremiah and John. Mrs Abiodun Kumuyi died on 11 April 2009. ^[32]

On 13 October 2010, exactly 18 months after the death of his first wife, Kumuyi married Folashade Adenike Blaize in London. Folashade was the Administrator of the Deeper Life Bible Church, London. ^[32]

Awards

In 2013, Foreign Policy magazine listed Kumuyi among the "500 most powerful people on the planet". ^[33]

In 2018, Kumuyi received an honorary PhD from the University of Abuja. ^[34]

Global Gospel Crusades

Pastor Dr. W.F. Kumuyi recently started conducting a series of Global Gospel Crusades since April 2021 in Abuja, Nigeria. The June, July, and August 2021 series in Abuja, Calabar and Enugu in Nigeria respectively, were conducted as Global Crusades. There were participants connecting to the Crusade both on social media and dedicated Zoom connections. The August 2021 edition just concluded featured Don Moen ministering along with him. ^[35] These crusade series was branded Global Crusade with Kumuyi (GCK) in July 2022 with former president of Nigeria and former vice president of Zambia, Olusegun Obasanjo and Nevers Mumba respectively among others in attendance at the brand launch. ^{[36] [37] [38]}

Biography

The first ever book-length biography of Pastor Kumuyi was written and published in 2021 by Banji Ojewale. The biography of 325 pages is entitled, Kumuyi: Defender of the Faith. The foreword was written by Pastor Enoch Adeboye. ^[39] Former Nigeria's vice president, Yemi Osibanjo and Lagos state governor BabaJide Sanwo-olu were among prominent world leaders that launched the book. ^{[40] [41] [42]}

References

1. Ojewale, Banji (6 June 2011). "Kumuyi: 70 years of sacrificial service". Nigerian Tribune . Ibadan, Nigeria. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
2. Iwuchukwu, Francis (13 August 2009). "Kumuyi Speaks for the People". AllAfrica.com . AllAfrica Global Media . Retrieved 27 February 2011.
3. admin (19 April 2023). "Remarks By Heads Of Churches In Ghana On The Convener Of GCK, Pastor Dr WF Kumuyi". TheLeader. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
4. "Deeper Life unveils billion naira headquarters" . Retrieved 28 October 2021.
5. "How Deeper Life's 30,000 capacity hqtrs was built, by officials". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
6. Kumuyi, William (1997). The Lord's Prayer. Lion Hudson plc. ISBN   978-1-85424-370-6.
7. Kumuyi, William F. (1990). The Hour of Decision. Zoe Publishing. ISBN   978-2367-70-2.
8. Kumuyi, William (2009). Supernatural Supply in All Situations. Yorkshire Publishing. ISBN   978-0-88144-416-2.
9. Kumuyi, William F. (2000). The Truly Liberated Woman. Life Press. ISBN   978-978-2908-25-4.
10. "Pastor W.F. Kumuyi @80: God's General Who Led Me to Calvary". Vanguard News. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
11. "Biography of Pastor W.F.Kumuyi".
12. Banji Ojewale (12 June 2016). "W.F Kumuyi at 75: As It Was On Day One…". Vanguard (Nigeria) . Retrieved 4 October 2019.
13. "Kumuyi: tomorrow belongs to Africa". Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA: The Gale Group. 1 August 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
14. Fasehun, McNezer (13 April 2009). "Of Private Jets and Lot's Wives". AllAfrica.com . AllAfrica Global Media . Retrieved 27 February 2011.
15. Ankomah, Baffour (1 October 2006). "This is Deeper Christian Life: an outsider's view through the eyes of Baffour Ankomah who travelled to four West African countries in August to see how the Deeper Christian Life Ministry is affecting lives". Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA: The Gale Group . Retrieved 27 February 2011.
16. "Pastor Kumuyi Remarries". AllAfrica.com . AllAfrica Global Media. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
17. Ankomah, Baffour (1 October 2006). "I don't want anything fake". Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA: The Gale Group . Retrieved 27 February 2011.
18. "W.F. Kumuyi Reveals Shocking Secrets about Himself". Daily Family. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
19. Isaacson, Alan (1990). Deeper Life: The Extraordinary Growth of the Deeper Life Bible Church . Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN   978-0-34052-342-1. Alan Isaacson Deeper Life.
20. Chika Abanobi (15 April 2018). "Revealed: Men of God who mentored Pastor Kumuyi". The Sun (Nigeria) . Retrieved 4 October 2019.
21. Stephen Gyasi Jnr. (25 February 2013). "The Kumuyi I know". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
22. Siobhan Downes (9 August 2014). "Pastor cancels trip to NZ amid Ebola crisis". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved 4 October 2019.
23. Peter Clarke, Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2004, p. 156
24. Laurent Fourchard, André Mary et René Otayek, "Entreprises religieuses transnationales en Afrique de l'Ouest", Karthala Editions, France, 2005, p. 254
25. J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 876
26. Koschorke, Klaus; Schjørring, Jens Holger (2005). African Identities and World Christianity in the Twentieth Century. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 74. ISBN   3-447-05331-3.
27. Kazeem Ugbodaga (24 April 2018). "Deeper Life unveils billion naira headquarters". P.M. News . Retrieved 5 October 2019.
28. Yemi Adebisi (29 April 2018). "Deeper Life New Auditorium: Demonstration Of Unlimited God". The Daily Independent . Retrieved 5 October 2019.
29. "Osinbajo graces inauguration of the Deeper Life Bible Church headquarters' new auditorium". Encomium Magazine . 25 April 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
30. Baffour Ankomah (October 2006). "A Church in Transition: Deeper Life Is a Church in Transition-In the Sense That It Is Currently Replacing All Its Temporary Buildings for Cathedral-Type Edifices. Baffour Ankomah Went around West Africa to See the Work in Progress". New African . Retrieved 5 October 2019. Kumuyi is also noted to have contributed to the new translation of the Bible in to the Yoruba language
31. "Kumuyi's autobiography for presentation Sept 17". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
32. "Complete story of how Pastor Kumuyi married 65-year-old Folashade Blaize in UK". Encomium Magazine . 4 January 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
33. "The FP Power Map". Foreignpolicy.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
34. "Pastor Kumuyi Bags PhD Award From The University of Abuja".
35. "Kumuyi to hold 5-Day 'Divine Solution Global Crusade' in Abuja Sept 24-28". Vanguard News. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
36. "Obasanjo, Zambian ex-president, others grace Kumuyi global crusade launch". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
37. Salau, Seyi John (31 July 2022). "Kumuyi launches GCK global brand, commits to reaching all nations". Businessday NG. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
38. "Global Crusade with Kumuyi becomes worldwide brand for liberation The Nation Newspaper". 7 August 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
39. "Why Kumuyi's biography took so long to write –Deeper Life". Punch Newspapers. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
40. "Why Kumuyi deserved to be celebrated - Osinbajo, Sanwo-Olu - P.M. News" . Retrieved 22 October 2021.
41. "Kumuyi: I want to raise those who will go beyond me". The Nation Newspaper. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
42. "Kumuyi: Defender of the faith Archives". TheCable Lifestyle. Retrieved 22 October 2021.

Further reading

• Korieh, Chima Jacob (2005). Religion, History, and Politics in Nigeria: essays in honor of Ogbu U. Kalu. University Press of America. p. 242. ISBN   0-7618-3139-8.
• Melton, J. Gordon (2005). Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Sonlight Christian -M. p. 181. ISBN   0-8160-5456-8.
• Anderson, Allan (2001). African reformation: African initiated Christianity in the 20th century. Africa Research & Publications. pp. 172–173. ISBN   0-86543-884-6.
• Neumann, Mikel (1999). Home Groups for Urban Cultures: Biblical Small Group Ministry on Five Continents. William Carey Library. p. 9. ISBN   0-87808-281-6.

• Evangelical Christianity portal