Biography of Late Archbishop Benson Andrew Idahosa (September 11, 1938 - March 12, 1998)
Benson Andrew Idahosa was a Charismatic Pentecostal preacher, the founder of the Church of God Mission International with headquarters in Benin City, Nigeria.
He was the first Pentecostal archbishop in Nigeria, renowned for his robust faith in the possibilities available in the realms of God.
Benson Andrew Idahosa was Born to a non-Christian parent in a predominantly non-Christian community, he was rejected by his father, John, for being frail and sickly. He constantly had fainting spells as a child, and on one of his spells, his mother, Sarah, abandoned him at a rubbish heap presuming him dead. Hours later, he revived, and began wailing and was rescued by his mother. He grew up in a poor household. Most of the surrounding houses, his family home was a mud house. This reality denied him access to education until he was fourteen years old, when he was able to attend a local government school.
In 1952, He got converted to Christianity in Assemblies of God Church by Pastor Okpo, and joined his fledgling congregation as one of its first members. He was very active in proselytizing and converting many to Christianity, making sure many come to the light of Christ. He later sought for the experience of the Holy Ghost baptism and asked the pastor to pray for him. After which He was filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in new tongues! After receiving a call from God into ministry, he began to conduct outreaches from village to village, before establishing his church in a store in Benin City.
Afterwards, he met one of the Apostolic church Missionaries, S.G Elton and they became good friends, Pa Elton later became ArchBishop Idahosa's mentor. ArchBishop Benson Idahosa is the founder of Benson Idahosa University in Benin City, he also pioneered a TV ministry tagged 'Redemption Hour'. This made him become the first TV evangelist in Africa.
By 1971, he had established churches all over Nigeria and Ghana. Known for his boldness, power and prosperity-based preaching, as well as an enormous faith in the supernatural, he was an instrument to the strong wave of revival in Christianity and marked conversions from animism that occurred between the 1970s and 1990s in Nigeria. He is regarded by Christian foes as the father of Pentecostalism in Nigeria, and was the founding President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN). Many prominent Nigerian pastors like Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Bishop David Oyedepo, Dr. Felix Omobude, Pastor Fred Addo and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome were his proteges.
The headquarters of his ministry, Faith Miracle Center, is a cathedral that seats up to 10,000 people. Church of God Mission has branches the world over, from Europe to Africa to Asia to America. With her main drive being evangelism.
He launched Idahosa World Outreach television ministry (IWO TV), which was a broadcast reaching a potential viewing audience of 50 million people .
He is reported to have been used by God in performing many miracles, including healing the blind, and raising up to twenty-eight people from the dead at different times in his ministry. A claim made by Idahosa that he had raised eight people from the dead was dropped when challenged by the Advertising Standards Authority, who sought evidence that the individuals concerned had truly been dead.
He was known for many notable quotes including “my God is not a poor God”, “your attitude determines your altitude”, “it is more risky, not to take a risk”, “I am a possibilitarian”, “A big head without a big brain is a big load to the neck”,”If your faith says yes, God cannot say no”, amongst others. Many of his messages on faith, miracles and prosperity remain a classic among Pentecostals.
He had strong links with international gospel ministers like Billy Graham, T. L. Osborn, Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Reinhard Bonnke, Morris Cerullo, Oral Roberts, amongst others; and took the gospel to 145 nations in his lifetime. At the time of his death in 1998, he was reputed as having preached to more whites than any black man, and to more blacks than any white man.
T. L. Osborn remarked on him as the greatest African ambassador of the apostolic Christian faith to the world.
His desire to meet the needs of the total man led him to establish several other arms of the ministry apart from the church. They include the Faith Mediplex, All Nations for Christ Bible Institute, Word of Faith Group of Schools and Benson Idahosa University which is currently under the leadership of his son, Rev. F.E.B. Idahosa. His wife, Bishop Margaret Idahosa is the current presiding Bishop of the church.
In 1981, he earned a Doctorate of Divinity from the Word of Faith College in New Orleans.
In 1984, he earned a Doctorate in Law at the Oral Roberts University.
He was the founding president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN)
He was a member of the College of Bishops of the International Communion of Christian Churches.
He was once the President of All Nations for Christ Bible Institute.
List Of Books Written By ArchBishop Benson Andrew Idahosa
- Faith Can Change Your Destiny
- Faith and Works and Success
- Faith for all life’s storms
- Power for Your Zero Hour
- Faith to change the world
- Strangers to Failure
- I Choose to Change
- Fire in His Bones
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