By BENJAMIN NJOKU
A fire brand preacher of the Word, and man of many parts, Isaac Idahosa is the presiding Bishop, Illumination Assembly, Lekki Light Centre(LLC), Ajah, Lagos. He was recently decorated by the Lagos State Government as one of the few LASTMA Mayors.

Earlier, Idahosa received a United Nations Peace Ambassadorial award, for his immense contributions to the growth of humanity and peaceful co-existence through evangelism and pentecostalism. He is also a gospel musician and has three albums to his credit. Through thick and thin, Idahosa has found his voice in the Christendom.

I’m Bishop Isaac Idahosa, presiding Bishop of God First Ministry and the Senior pastor of the Illumination Assembly, Ajah, Lagos. I’m married to Christy and we are blessed with two loving children ,Christabell and Osagie.I was born into the family of six children and I happened to be the third child in that order.

Idahosa...the Lord spoke to me about pioneering a work for Him.

My parents settled in the north, precisely in Minna, Niger State capital before the civil war broke out in 1967. My siblings and me grew up in the north and also, had our formal education there. We enjoyed scholarship up to the university level in Niger State.

I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 1979, and in 1985, I went to the Bible College called Soul Clear Bible College to acquire knowledge , not necessarily because I had any calling from God. But because I needed to know Him deeply. I began to serve God at a very tender age. While I was growing up, I had the privilege of being influenced by those great men of God who were then coming to the north to preach the gospel of salvation to the people in crusades and seminars. I read Mechanical Engineering, and after my graduation, I lost my peace absolutely in the sense that I had all it requires to secure a lucrative job. But that wasn’t what I was destined to do.

Shortly, the Lord spoke to me about pioneering a work for him. At that point, I went into fasting and praying to get more directive from God. When I started my ministry, I had nothing on me. And it was my desire to relocate to a place where I could get help to facilitate the vision God gave to me. But He wouldn’t allow me to do so, instead he said I should give back to the society that made me.

That was how I returned to Minna, to start off my ministry called God First Ministry. While in Minna ,I had no money, nor did I have anybody to run to. The only money I had on me then, was 50k .And the Lord told me ,he wanted to establish my ministry with 50k .

I remembered approaching one of our family friends then called Idowu Maya. I shared my vision with him and he offered to give me his boys-quarters to begin my ministry. I was there with my guitar and I was playing this guitar everyday to the point where I started attracting the attention of neighbours and students in that area. After a while, the boys-quarters could no longer contain the congregation and the Maya’s family decided to give me their living room. But despite the gesture, our population was increasing by the day.

At that point, I told Mr Idowu Maya that I was going to rent a two-bedroom apartment .He thought I had enough money to pay for the accommodation, not knowing that I had nothing on me. Eventually, we found one, and I was required to pay the sum of N6,000 .Remember , I had only 50k ,so I left to look for how to raise the money.

On my way, I saw an abandoned building with an inscription on the wall “Gods own house.” Immediately, the Lord told me this is where I want you to start your ministry. I hesitated a bit but God said to me clearly, when people misunderstand you, don’t try to misunderstand yourself and when they laugh at you, don’t laugh at yourself. I said to Him , but I’m left with only 50k and he replied ‘whom I called I will equip.” Thereafter,I narrated my experience to the Maya’s family and they laughed at me. Yet I was left with no choice than to obey the Lord’s command .While I was trying to contact the owner of the property, I discovered that it was owned by one Barrister Shadare who died mysteriously in connection with a case he handled in court. He ran mad and thereafter died mysteriously.

I learnt equally that the next person that occupied that house also died in the same manner. As a result, when I indicated my interest in moving into the apartment, the people were full of apprehension. Moreover, I was not in doubt of the words of God because my name Idahosa implies hearing from God.

I was directed to see the then former Chief Justice of Niger State who was in charge of the property .I met him, and he obliged me the request to move into the building free of charge. Immediately, I gathered my student-members and neigbours who helped me to clear the area. I moved into the building with a single-spring-bed given to me by Mr Maya in 1989. While living in that apartment, I used to go to the farmland to take my bath as well as ease myself. You may want to ask, were there nobody to come to my rescue? The Lord said to me, if anybody should come to my rescue, he or she would lay claim to my success in future. And that’s why He was making me pass through a process where people would laugh at the process, but would not laugh at the end product.

But He warned me that I should not allow what I was passing through today to undermine my journey to greatness. According to Him, I may have started off, on a small note, but small beginnings do not signify small destines.

Armed with these words of encouragement, I assembled my student-members on the 25th of August, 1989 and publically preached to them. I preach faster today because of the way I started. Then, I had no money to procure a microphone or a speaker. I used to preach, using a microphone that was connected to a stereo-cassette.

Soon, my ministry started flourishing, and before I knew what was happening, I was everywhere. The first time I got an invitation to come and preach in Republic of Benin, it was like an open door for me. I came all the way from Minna to Lagos, with the intention of boarding a flight to Cotonou. Unfortunately, I didn’t know I could travel to Cotonou by road. A tithe of N7,000,00, which was paid by one of my members then, who is now a pastor in one of the churches in Minna, actually helped in setting up my ministry. Even though, God later told me that the money was not meant for me. Also, during that period, I was invited to come and preach in Zaria where many souls were saved.

After some years, God directed me to move to the South-West. That’s how I came to establish my church in Lagos. I first established my church in Surulere, before I later moved on to Ajah area of Lagos. I remember the first overseas country I travelled to, as a minster of God was Jamaica, courtesy of one of the daughters. But today, I have travelled far and wide places, spreading the gospel of salvation. In God’s words, he gave me anointing, grace and favour, but he warned me to beware of love of money, opposite sex and pride. According to him, these three things can destroy a man any day. It has been my watchwords, and I thank God for his mercies and grace upon my life.

I didn’t know while I was growing up that I would be a servant of God. Even when I was in the Bible College, I was running away from serving God. But when the call came to me, it was obvious, I didn’t struggle with it. Sometimes, people fail to understand that being a man of God does not remove the human aspect of that person. My father used to say to us, “you can control nature but you can cheat nature.” If I decide to go to the beach today with my family, people will raise eyebrow. They forget that I’m also a human being like them. There was a time I visited one of the fast foods in Ikeja, with my family. Instead of enjoying myself there, I ended up praying for people who gathered round me. Serving God comes with a lot of challenges and denials.

I’m also a musician. I have three albums to my credit. I released my debut album titled “Don’t give Up” in 1998, in Germany, followed by second and third albums. I didn’t attend any school of music. Music runs in the blood of my family.