By Ishola Balogun

Forty years down the lane, The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), has made remarkable progress both in the lives of people and the entire sphere of the church; changing the face of theology, re-establishing the proper Christianity thoughts in the country and beyond.

The seed planted in an uncompleted building in 1981 by Dr. Bishop Mike Okonkwo at 14, Afolabi Brown Street, Akoka, Lagos, has grown to a household name with over 160 branches spreading to no fewer than ten nations of the world.

Today, the testimonials are coming in torrents, praising and magnifying the lord for the wonderful achievements. When the joy and grief of the people become that of the shepherd, it does not only show the concern for human and socio-economic development, it is in real sense, the pragmatic way of delivering the divine message.

A peep into the history and development of the TREM will reveal how the Septuagenarian top man of God turned around the ecclesiastical society as well as the life of his followers.

According to Dr. Okonkwo, “From a very humble beginning some fathers and friends encouraged us like the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa of blessed memory, Late Dr. Odunaike, Dr. Boyejo of the Foursquare Church who later became the 1st President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Dr. Bisi Orebayo also of the Foursquare Church, Dr. O. Ezekiel, late Bishop Harford Iloputaife, Late Bishop N. E. Moses, Dr. Jerry Wolcson from USA, Pastor E. A. Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Dr. Sam Ukaegbu and Bishop Sam Fadeyi. These men stood by us and believed in us when we had no form or comeliness that men should desire us. We also appreciate the contribution of Rev. Dr. Mac Nwulu the founder of Trinity College of Ministerial Arts who later became a Senator before passing on to glory. Also noteworthy is the contribution of Late Rev. Dr. Iloh who was a member of the Board of Advisers of TREM and who is now the Presiding Steward of Soul Winning Ministries in Lagos and Rev. (Mrs.) Edith Iloh.

“God by His grace took us step by step and the Church began to grow in leaps and bounds. In 1988, I was consecrated the Bishop of the ministry by a team from National Christian Fellowship Conference (NCFC), in Philadelphia, USA led by Bishop James McNeal Jr.

It was not all rosy afterall, but it takes the intervention of God at every point when anyone is engaged in the divine assignment and for Dr. Okonkwo, God makes a way where there seemed to be no way. He weathered the storm and broke yokes to achieved a

“When we look back today and remember the times when the ministry could not afford to buy a plot of land that was selling for as little as N5,000.00 but see what the Lord has done. When the church in Akoka was completed, we thought we had achieved a feat Napoleon could not dare, within a few years, we began to hold two services and the need to relocate stared us in the face. The first land we possessed was just across the road which did not work out.

“Then the Lord gave us an opportunity to buy over this place (the Headquarters). Everyone that came here wandered what we were doing in a marshy land. It was so bad that no one could step in. The Presiding Bishop will stand on the road and point into this place. No one wanted to touch this place with a 10-foot pole. But inch by inch, trip after trip of sand, we made a road into this place and held a land possessing service under a canopy with sawdust as the red carpet.

“When the current building was put up, it was so massive that we were like a drop of water in a bucket. Twice we had tornadoes that blew the better part of the roof off, damaging cars and equipment and some people were wounded, but to the glory of God, no life was lost. The roof was not only replaced, the ceiling and flooring were completed and then we could shout Ebenezer “thus far the Lord has helped us”.

“In November 2003, the Lord spoke to the heart of His servant to put up another structure and the project “Cathedral of His Glory” was born. So far over N300 million has been spent from the drawing stage through the approval stage to where we are now. We thank God for His divine provision.

The blessings did not stop at the headquarters, it cascaded down and more branches were springing up. What started as a mustard seed has grown to over 200 branches with a staff strength of more than 240 people.

The Bishop said: “It has not all been about the Headquarters, as the Lord was taking us step by step at the Headquarters; the same anointing was flowing in the branches. Today, we have lands of our own across the nation, most of our branches are no longer tenants in rented halls, cinema houses and restaurants, but we have our own buildings. Even outside the country, many of our branches are worshipping in their own facilities.

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“In achieving this feat, the Lord has surrounded us with faithful men and women who see a need and promptly fill it. It was the need for a newsletter that will tell the world about the great things happening in this ministry that gave birth to the Word Ambassadors. These are professionals who took it upon themselves to develop the newsletter that grew into the Power in the Word Magazine. From production of the magazine, The Word Ambassadors teamed up with the Young Men Christian Fellowship and began city-wide crusades popularly called the Power Crusades. These crusades gave birth to several churches.

Apart from The Word Ambassadors, which I mentioned earlier the Young Men and the Young Women put in all it took to make the Ministry grow in leaps and bounds. In addition to the crusades, the Young Women organized breakfast outreaches which were very successful at a time when such were not popular. We also recognize the input of the choir in the growth of the ministry. The evergreen Evangel Voices have remained ever green and ever fresh. Many joined the church in order to always partake in the praise and worship led by this anointed choir.

From a few ministering arms, the ushers, the greeters, counselors and The Word Ambassadors, today we have other ministering arms reaching out to the world with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In these 40 years, the Lord has enabled us to make a formidable impact in several areas amongst which are: ‘Power Crusades’, ‘Television Evangelism’, ‘African Mission’, ‘Communion of Covenant Ministers International’, ‘We Care Kitchen’, ‘We Care Ministry’ and ‘Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture’, ‘Mike Okonkwo Essay Competition’, ‘Mike Okonkwo Football Competition’’, ‘Empowerment for less privilege’, ‘Prison Ministry’, Jesus in the Community Ministry’ and ‘Rural Evangelism’.

People have continued to give testimonials on each of all these areas, touching their lives and making them better persons both spiritually and economically. For instance, the Care Ministry reaches out to members and non-members alike with counseling, interest free loans for small scale businesses, free medical attention and food supply for less privileged members and non members at festive periods. Members who God has blessed financially also give out scholarships to indigent students through the We Care Ministry.

As at today, many people have enjoyed either full scholarships or one time donation towards their educational advancement.

Another massive area of note is the ‘Empowerment for the less privileged’ which has left enduring impact in the lives of people.

This is a non-profit organization which is committed to lending a helping hand to the less privileged runs vocational schools, free of charge to youths in remote areas to give them the opportunity to acquire skills for survival, development and participation in community life. Currently there are two of such centers in Lagos (Agege and Mushin). Graduates of the vocational centres are also assisted where feasible to establish small scale businesses in a bid to make them responsible citizens of this great country thereby reducing the menace of “Area Boys” and other youthful delinquencies.

It also has adult literacy classes and free WAEC/JAMB/NECO preparatory classes. Proven teachers are employed to teach core subjects including Mathematics, English language, English Literature, Government and Economics to these students free of charge.

The foundation awards scholarships to students in tertiary institutions throughout the beneficiary’s course of study. The Foundation currently has 14 students on her scholarship scheme.

In other to capture the whole segments of the society, it also give a One-time assistance to institutions like the old people’s home, and handicapped children’s home; as well as donation of medical equipment to government hospitals: the first in the series was the donation of 10 wheelchairs each to 4 institutions: National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and General Hospital Lagos.

As part of its social responsibility, TREM is giving succour to dejected women, pregnant teenagers and grounded ladies who would have easily become societal nuisances. At Rehoboth Home, a three-storey facility in Ketu, Lagos, these people not only get accommodation but also learn skills that turn themselves into venture owners and wealth creators.

Yet, the Home, which has been adjudged as one of the best in the nation with serious reduction in victims of human trafficking, started as just a vision after a woman was found dead in a toilet where she lived; it has since received supports from the Netherlands Government with a Memorandum of Understanding with The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

Rehoboth Home has taken off in Ogbunike in Anambra State with a state-of-the-art facility for vocational training. The centre is established to empower women in the South East region. Rehoboth Home is just one of the numerous initiatives under the Women of Global Impact run by Bishop Peace Okonkwo to rescue womanhood, support the orphans, give free cervical screening and host of others support to the needy in the society.

Lending a voice to topical issues that affect the nation, the Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture which started in the year 2000 has continued pulling those that matters in Theology to interrogate religious and socio-economic issues with a view to proffering solution pathway to the multi-dimensional issues bedevilling the country. The Inaugural lecture was held in 2000 at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).

The 32nd edition of the annual convention of TREM with the theme “Exceeding Glory” will hold from the 21st of November to the 28thof November, 2021 as one of the major highlights to mark the 40 years of TREM as a ministry.

The event which will take place at the TREM Headquarters, along Gbagada Expressway, Anthony Oke, Lagos, will start from 5pm to 8pm and morning session 9a.m and evening session 5pm daily throughout the duration of the week.

Notable men of God that has graced the conference as speakers over the years include Pastor Tunde Bakare, Pastor Sam AdeyemI, Late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, Pastor E.A Adeboye, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Dr. Felix Omobude, Bishop Simon Okah, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, Dr. Uma Ukpai, Rev. George Adegboye, Dr. Tunde Joda, Bishop Charles AgyinAsare From Ghana, Bishop Tudor Bismark, From Zimbabwe, Bishop Joe Imakando From Zambia, Pastor Tim Storrey, Dr. Richard Ford, Dr. Greg & Cyndi Romine, Dr. Jerry Wolcson, Bishop Oyedepo David, Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo and many more anointed men of God.

Surely, with these copious achievements in the last four decades of TREM and the unfolding developments, a new generation of ecclesiasticism has arisen.