As Mercy Tabernacle celebrates its 30th anniversary, its General Overseer, Bishop Bank Jefferson, reflects on an extraordinary ministerial journey marked by faith, sacrifice, and divine direction.
Long before founding Mercy Tabernacle, Bishop Jefferson played a historic role as the one sent by Bishop Oyedepo to pioneer the Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) in Lagos.
In this exclusive interview with Christian Benefits Magazine, he shares fascinating accounts of the early days of Winners Chapel Lagos, the individuals who supported the work, the divine call that led him away from a thriving ministry assignment, and the vision of mercy that birthed Mercy Tabernacle.
He also speaks on God’s faithfulness over the past three decades and the significance of the church’s 30th Anniversary celebration themed Festival of Glory in the interview below with Christian Benefits Magazine. Excerpts:
Congratulations on the 30th Anniversary of Mercy Tabernacle. How do you feel seeing the church attain this significant milestone of three decades?
I feel happy and appreciative. I appreciate God Almighty for taking us through. I also appreciate all those who have stood with us over these three decades. Considering the circumstances under which we started the church, it is evident that God has truly helped us. Looking back, the hand of God is clearly evident in our lives.
As the ministry marks 30 years of existence, what is the one thing you are most grateful to God for?
The fact that I am alive today is a strong indication that God is great. I shouldn’t be alive today. I have had several near-death experiences over these 30 years. But through it all, God pulled us through, and we are standing today only by the grace of God.
How did you arrive at the name Mercy Tabernacle, and what specific mandate did God give you for the ministry?
I was somewhere before. I have been in ministry for much longer than 30 years. I was the one whom Bishop Oyedepo sent to start Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) in Lagos. I started the Lagos church from day one.
God specifically told me, “With your Christianity, stand on the side of mercy.” The message was clear: be merciful. I began showing mercy to people. From there, I received mercy and began to speak about the character of God, particularly His nature of mercy. That is how it began to grow from Mercy Chapel to Mercy Tabernacle. It has been growing from glory to glory, and we are growing into Mercy World!
What informed the theme of this anniversary, Festival of Glory, and what should participants expect from the celebration?
We always pray for God’s message for the year, especially the annual word. This year, being our 30th year, God directed that He wants to restore people’s glory. Many people are glory-stolen, glory-lost, glory-broken, glory-sleeping, and glory-stagnated. He said, “Wake them up. Tell them I am fully coming to restore their glory.” And the latter glory is usually greater than the former according to the Scriptures.
In Lagos, the late Rev. Gabriel Oduyemi of Bethel Church once gave me N300 as a gift. I ran back to Living Faith Church Kaduna and told the church, “We must go to Lagos.” I told them what was happening in Lagos and that Lagos was fertile ground to plant Living Faith Church. Why should we remain in the North like the Sahara Desert?
Of course, one advantage of Northern Christians is their seriousness about avoiding sin compared to many people in Lagos. In Lagos, one can hardly distinguish the born-again from sinners. But in the North, you either get born again or you are destroyed. So, born again is truly born again in the North. My own born-again experience in the North came with fire.
I became a pastor seven months after my new birth. So, I was posted to Lagos to start Winners Chapel. That was how I shared my conviction with my home church, Living Faith Church, after which our Bishop, Dr. David Oyedepo, directed me to Lagos to establish Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) there.
Can you recall the humble beginnings of Winners Chapel in Lagos as its pioneer pastor?
In the early days of Winners Chapel in Lagos, the K.C. Price team had a book launch in Lagos. Then Pastor Dare Osowo, now a bishop, embraced my vision because I shared it with him. He gave me all the drums and other musical instruments from his church to help start Winners Chapel in Lagos.
These people supported and contributed immensely to the birth of Winners Chapel in Lagos. I cannot even remember whether we eventually returned all the drums and instruments Pastor Dare Osowo released to us. The sound system from his church was the very first one we used in Winners Chapel Lagos.
The group of people with whom I started Winners Chapel in Lagos came through the family of Pastor Ola Olatunbosun and his wife. Ola had attended the Kaduna Trade Fair and visited our church in Kaduna, even though he and his wife were members of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC).
When I arrived in Lagos, I sought him out, and both he and his wife warmly embraced me. I told him that the kind of church we had in Kaduna was coming to Lagos. He exclaimed, “Wow, that would be great!” and embraced the vision immediately.
I assured him that I would ensure the Bishop came to Lagos and stayed. He said it wasn’t possible. I replied, “That is my mission in Lagos.”
At his wife’s tailoring centre, I believe the Lagos State Government had sent some students for vocational training. There were probably about 200 young and middle-aged people learning tailoring there.
One major problem among the female trainees was pregnancy. Many of them were getting pregnant and committing abortions. That was the complaint Mrs. Ola Olatunbosun brought to me.
I told the family, “I have the solution. I will solve this problem.”
They asked, “How?” I replied, “Don’t worry, we will pray.”
Mrs. Olatunbosun was delighted because she genuinely cared about the young women.
My Believers’ Class trainees were with me. So, I assembled all the trainees at Mrs. Ola Olatunbosun’s tailoring centre and informed them that every morning, before they resumed training, I would spend one hour with them.
I began conducting daily Bible studies and exhortations with them. Through the Believers’ Class curriculum I brought from Living Faith Church Kaduna, I taught them how to be born again and how to be filled with the Holy Spirit after salvation. I systematically taught them every aspect of the Christian faith.
Subsequently, I announced my vision to them. I told them, “I came to Lagos to start a church, and all of you are my members. Whether you are Muslims or whatever your background may be, you are my church members.” They loved it. Most of those young people later became my first set of evangelists in Winners Chapel Lagos.
The Ola Olatunbosun family and those trainees were delighted to become part of Winners Chapel from its inception in Lagos. Pastor Ola Olatunbosun later moved from the CCC and became a pastor in Winners Chapel Lagos.
When the Bishop eventually arrived in Lagos, I presented him with a list of all the people who had stood with me and worked alongside me. I explained how they had supported the vision and what each individual contributed to the establishment and growth of Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) Lagos before his arrival.
Ola was chief among them. That was when he was recommended and eventually ordained as a pastor in Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) Lagos.
I recall that his first offering in the Lagos church was N100,000. You can see how much he embraced the vision. Like wildfire, Living Faith Church Lagos grew in leaps and bounds to where it is today, to the glory of God.
Share with us how you first settled down in Lagos when the Bishop directed you to establish Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) in the state.
When he directed me to start the church in Lagos, he specifically instructed me to find a suitable location. Upon arriving in Lagos, I carried out a survey. I discovered about five major estates around Iyana Ipaja area, each with not less than 5,000 residents. I concluded that the area would be an ideal location for the church.
In addition, the volume of people converging daily at Iyana Ipaja was remarkable. Every morning during prayer walks, I saw crowds of people and prayed, “Lord, give me a place here.”
The first property I found was said to belong to a friend of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. I began searching for estate agents and eventually met one in Surulere who helped secure the property.
He explained all the complications surrounding the property, but I insisted on renting it. It was a vacant three-storey building located just a stone’s throw from where I was staying.
Eventually, we secured the property and designated portions of it as the Bishop’s Quarters, Pastors’ Quarters, administrative offices, and the church auditorium.
With the little money I had, I rented the building. I remember the rent was N5,000 per floor, making a total of N15,000 per annum.
We then started making long wooden benches for the auditorium. I recall Ola taking me to a carpentry workshop in Mushin to have the benches made.
That was how Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) Lagos began at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos.
How long did you serve as the planter and pioneer pastor of Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) Lagos before your exit from the church?
My service there was not very long. When the Bishop arrived in Lagos, he saw the work and was impressed. He asked me, “How did you do it? Then he remarked, “We are proud of you.”
I replied, “Sir, we have not even scratched the surface of the work here.” I told him, “The work here is massive.” I believe he returned to Kaduna and mobilised more people to join the new work in Lagos. About 15 additional staff members were sent from Kaduna, and the work expanded rapidly.
How did you feel leaving so early a work you laboured so much to pioneer?
My exit from Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) Lagos came through divine direction. Before leaving, I had already obtained a United States visa. The church’s plan was that since I had successfully planted the church in Lagos, I could do the same in America. However, I received a call from God saying, “I called you to a mercy work. I have called you to show mercy to people.” At that time, my interpretation of the assignment was that I should begin doing outreach programmes.
(To be continued)