I see myself as someone who did not started big. I always have a flash back seeing this our street named after Adebola Tom Samson Street, I used to trek this street, 27 years ago, trek down to Egbeda to preach the gospel, because I stayed in one uncompleted building back then. So when I left University 1991, I came into Lagos as a young man with only one trouser without a bearing or direction all I know then was that I have a call because I started church on Campus. I finished from Bendel State University 1991, and I started my ministry 1986 on campus, as a campus fellowship, basically noted for deliverance, because God surrounded me with so much cultists group like Buccaneer, Black Axe on Campus, and many gave their lives to Christ. That is why they named me Violent Tom. I went round villages; Iweka, Okpila, Okpoji I moved from Bendel State University to Abraka Campus and we were the last set of Bendel University, after us it was Edo or Delta. We did so much on campus, we impacted lives in communities so when I came down to Lagos, I came in alone, one shirt and one trousers, and moved round Egbeda, Akuwonjo, street to street, preaching everywhere, trekking round, and today we are all over the world, impacting communities, so our story is a story of salvation, destiny, transformation. So it has been amazing, though it was rough, but our God is a consistent God, he lifts up the downtrodden, he raised the poor from the dunghill; that is the story of my life. I am a testimony of a man lifted up from nowhere.
One of the major problem we have today, even with young ministers, and the youth; patience, endurance, and again discovering yourself. You see I have a ministry but I am also a proprietor of schools, I am a Chancellor, I have hospitals, you see, you can discover yourself, but when you don’t have God it is very painful. One we need to encourage our youth, we must teach them values, integrity. Now, get rich quick syndrome is there, I tell my children that I give you pocket money doesn’t mean you cannot work on your own, make money and have your own saving. Even though it is a laborer job do it and save that money. So we need to let our youths know that, it doesn’t come so quick, it takes time. Some pastors might see people like us, I drive Rolls Royce, and this one, and they want to get that done, but it has taken me 30 years in Lagos, of struggling, touching lives, transforming destinies. I trekked on this street 27 years ago, down to Egbeda. We need to be encouraging our youths, because our God is an amazing God. When he sees your commitment and dedication he brings a reward.
I could vividly remember when I put the church up at Egbeda, and that is why I don’t play with Egbeda people, for almost five years we were struggling, because people will send their children to us while the adults would go to orthodox churches, they see us as children, mushroom church, but we kept moving, we were winning souls. At what point God began to give me breakthrough? the people I was praying for. When God began to answer their prayers, they began to give back to me. Let me tell you something, every multi millionaire you see in this church today, they did not come as a big man. I drive Rolls Royce they gave it to me; Limousine, they gave it to me, but they were not like that yesterday.
Let me quickly tell you this; When the Glory of God comes upon man or comes into a place, there is a transformation. Isaiah 60 says arise and shine for your light is come, the glory of the lord is risen upon you. When the glory comes, now what begins to happen? Hre says you doors shall be open day and night… a lot of people have been struggling in this nation, young graduates, people looking for jobs, people doing business, they are not going well, when the grace of God comes, let me give you an example, for 430 years the Israelites were in labour, they toiled, but they were not appreciated. There are many people working in establishments, their bosses are not appreciating them, there are those doing businesses, but the environment in our nation did not empower them to get money to do business, when God’s glory comes favour comes. He said I will give you favour before the Egyptians, when the doors of His glory comes, one, your helper remembers you. One of the things that really brought transformation to my life is connection to international world, that is favour. When I did my programme it is war, the lord told me to use military camouflage, I did, then the posters, flyers were everywhere, do you know, four Americans, they missed their flight and they put them in Airport Hotel, when they saw my flyers on the floor they picked it. Talking of Dawn of His Glory, I have been toiling, laboring, that favour welcomed me to the world, as they picked the flyer God told them bring this young man to America. You see, that is a shift in my life. I have been popular in Lagos, Egbeda, but God wanted to give me a shift. I believe a change is coming to this country after this programme, as many that will be connected to it, they will expect a change.
Do you know what? I would like to tell you little about Nigerian Youths Endsars Protests which may eventually reform Nigerian police forces and other institutions, I remember my early days in the ministry, I was using a Volvo car, and these policemen stopped me and said my car is a stolen car, I said sir, I know where I bought this car, but they said it is a stolen car. Eventually they said they would help me do one document, you could imagine. Do you know one of my sons said Dad anytime I am going out I am afraid. Because police must stop him because he is a young man and he has a little Toyota car he is driving. I have two sons like that, each time they must call me and I call them hei, Oga that is my child, so almost all our youths are scared to move on the road.
I believe so far, all we have done is good, because it is when you are a victim you will know what all this thing is all about. But meanwhile I must appeal to government and to our youths, our voice has been heard, all over the world, they know that there is EndSARS project, they know. And let us now look at Government, if government does nothing, a man like me will carry placard. I must tell you.
If we give this government between now and first quarter next year and nothing happened may be you guys will hear that Tom Samson is arrested. I gonna go out there too carrying placard because can you imagine two of my sons telling me that when they are going out they are scared. If a police stop you even you as an adult you can imagine and many times they say you would follow them to station and once you enter station you must be bailed, so I want to believe let us maintain peace for now, our government has spoken, we will hold them by their word and if nothing is done between now and first quarter of nest year I think we adults we have to turn to youths, because we have to fight for our children.
Gentle men of the press, I can not do without briefly chip-in into our forthcoming events by December and what our members followers Should be expecting by the grace of God in this environment apart from this royal Tower, there is a school property right behind us here, but the major one, God gave us the former Pavillion Hotel, which sits on acres of land and a lot of property there, we pulled it down, we are building a Cathedral, it is amazing, work is going on there, one it is going to speak so much of revival in the land, it is gonna give youths a lot of opportunity to receive the word and for transformation. And even the presence alone we have beauty. Many a time we travel abroad to look at some cathedrals, this one is another place people will say come there is something in Lagos, in Lekki, Otta, work is going on. it goes to show the revelation of God’s glory in or lives.
The convention, one of the special events in this convention apart from where I stopped, the down of his glory, another thing is my birthday. I will be 55; you know 55 is a double grace. Again I look back, he has been awesome. At this age, to have gone this far, it can only be God. When we impacted communities, the world, ministry wise, it has been enormous, As per million, you see if you look at my life I might tell you I am a man that doesn’t have cash, you know why, I am a builder. I invest. All our churches and schools they are on their property. We pay so much, the television, the media people, this things are very expensive, putting a church in different places are very expensive, as it comes we spend, we have almost over 1000 staff, so you can imagine to pay people on monthly basis, touching families, if you have about 1000 staff, how many families have been impacted? So if you give me 100million today it can’t last one week.
But when my first 1million came, it came in a Ghana must Go and I couldn’t sleep, and immediately we started building our church, and since that time till now we have never stopped building.
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