Bishop Tom Samson, the founder and
general overseer of Christ Royal Family International Church went through
school without textbooks or handouts but managed to scale through the hurdles
and challenges of life.
The bishop revealed this while
narrating his experience and journey into ministry. ‘Violent Tom’ as he was
fondly called in school, eventually graduated from the then Bendel University
(Ekpoma University) and bagged a degree in biology education
The revered man of God who is set to
hit the golden age in a few weeks plans to celebrate it in a spectacular way.
At a press conference held at the church’s auditorium on Thursday,
8 October, 2015, Bishop Samson outlined the series of activities billed
for his 50th birthday celebration that comes up on Saturday, 12
December, 2015, inside his 100-hectare Royal City in Otta, Ogun State.
Addressing the press, the bishop
gave an insightful account of the journey of his life at 50. He said, “I was
born into the family of Pa Enweliku Samson, a mason, and Madam Eunice Enweliku
Samson from Delta State. I grew up in poverty. My parents were poor and couldn’t
afford to pay my school fees. But this did not stop my determination and focus
of becoming a success. It was indeed an experience that molded me and made me
the person I am today. People see me now as a success and think I just stumbled
into it; it is not so. I didn’t become a success overnight. I didn’t stumble
into success; it was a long process that I went through with focus, zeal and
hard-work before I was able to attain this position.”
He continued, “About 50 years ago in
the ancient town of Ife, poverty was so tough in our family that we couldn’t
afford my father’s medical bills of just N2000, and this led to his death.
Following this unfortunate incident, I cried unto God and I said ‘father if you
ever bless me, I would give back.’ This led to the establishment of my charity
foundation, “Tom Samson Foundation.”
Bishop Samson gave his life to
Christ in 1985 and in 1986 he joined the Campus Youth for Christ, a Christian
fellowship in Ekpoma while at 100 level. Hence, he moved to the Abraka campus
of the same university and started Christ Royal Family Campus Fellowship. He
said, “In my zeal to serve God and carry out his mandate of preaching the
gospel to everyone within my reach, I decided to go to every hostel and even as
far as pasting my posters in the toilets of all hostels in school then. I was
so radical and ready to carry out this job not minding the temptations and
challenges that might come with it because I know ministry is not juicy at all.
But by God’s grace and favour, I am what I am today.”
At Abraka, he was known as Violent
Tom because of his zeal, energy, and aggression in soul-winning especially with
the way he went on evangelism to the hide-outs of cult groups and some
hinterlands in the Niger-Delta region.
After graduation, his desire was to
become a businessman, but he admitted that man proposes while God disposes. God
told him to preach the good news and that he should move to Lagos. He obeyed,
and this gave birth to the ministry Christ Royal Family Church with the mandate
to set the captives free and teach them to reign over life’s circumstances.
The church’s international headquarters is at Ota, with branches in Lagos
(Egbeda, Ikeja, Festac, Ojokoro, Ikorodu) Abuja, Port Harcourt, London (U.K)
Manchester, Dublin Ireland, and Atlanta (USA). The bishop advised Nigerians to
promote the good name and exploits that have been done by great individuals
wherever they go. And that they should be hopeful in the change transformation
that is on-going in the country, using prayer to support those in authority to
achieve one common goal to the glory of God.
When asked if he’s fulfilled with
his life now at 50, he said, “I won’t say I am successful now because when I
look at the lives I have saved and touched at every given opportunity, I tell
myself there’s more work to do. I hate poverty and I wish every successful man,
woman or those in authority would rise up to do the things I do, then poverty
would be eradicated completely from our system. When this is achieved, then I
would say I have achieved a lot in life and I’m content with my acquisitions.”
The bishop also commended the
contributions of his wife to his success. According to him, his wife possesses
all the good qualities a virtuous woman should have and he is blessed to have
such a great woman of vision, wisdom, and understanding always by his side. He
further described her as a good administrator, preacher, mother, lover and a
woman who’s supportive of all decision he takes.
Highlighting activities for the
birthday celebration, the head of the organizing committee for the occasion,
Deacon Iyke Kanu said, “Because it’s the 50th birthday of our great
bishop, we have put in place several committees to work effectively to make the
day a glorious one. The plan is to have a carnival-like birthday party that
will continue to reverberate many years after. We will be using the occasion to
reveal the body of Christ, to let the world know what Christ can do, using the
celebrant as a case study.
“Bishop Tom Samson came to Lagos as
nobody but he held onto Christ and today the world is celebrating
him. His life has been one amazing, inspirational tale that will
definitely give hope, and we are leaving no stone unturned in making it a good
avenue to touch lives and showcase God’s wonder,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Bishop Tom Samson is also
the visitor/founder of Royal City College of Education, Ota, and the proprietor
of Royal City Colleges in Ota, Ikeja and Egbeda. He is the CEO of Royal City
Medical Centre Ota; Royal City Water Factory, Royal City Printing
Press, Ota. Presently, his brain-child project, Monarch University is
awaiting approval from the government.
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