General Reverend Apostolic Mother Modupe Soyebo is a retired civil servant and a consummate school administrator, who is passionate about the work of God and preaching the gospel of Christ. With her husband, General Superintendent Apostle Taiwo Ajibade Soyebo, she has been instrumental to the planting and growth of the Grace International Church in Lagos. She tells DARE OKANLAWON how it all started among other sundry issues
During your school days abroad, did it ever occur to you that you would one day run a church?
I went to Britain in 1972 to study the Montessori Method of education, after which I proceeded to study Business Administration, which made me work with the Board of Internal Revenue in Nigeria in 1981. I had my National Youth Service at the Board of Internal Revenue in 1981 and then I was employed in 1982.
Before I left Britain, I used to attend Aladura International Church in London under the leadership of His Grace The Most Rev. Father Oluwole Abiola, the founder and General Superintendent of the church.
When we came back to Nigeria, we continued attending the Aladura International Church at the Gbagada area of Lagos. From there, I received a prophecy that we were going to start a church; that was in 1994 and I didn’t believe the prophecy initially. My spiritual mother, the late Mother Abiola, was always telling me that I should hold on to the prophecy; she said she knew I would make a good leader.
Later, we left the Aladura International Church and we started worshipping in a church that was using our facility at the Babcock University School, Ogba in Lagos. We later decided to part ways with the church and stand on our own feet and that is why we are here today at the Grace International Church.
So, what were you doing before the church started?
As I said earlier, I was a civil servant at the same time the Proprietress of Babcock University (Secondary)School, Ogba. That is what I do for a living. I retired from the civil service in Lagos in 2008 and I have since been in the school business.
How long have you been running the church and were you born into the C & S Church?
I have been running the Grace International Church since 2012 and the Lord has been very good to us. However, I wasn’t born into the C&S fold. Both my parents and my husband’s parents were Muslims. They were not Christians but that didn’t deter us from joining a church and it’s a decision we have no regret whatsoever over.
So, how did you come about being a member of a white garment church?
I decided to join the Aladura International Church willingly. I was invited to be a god-mother to a child in 1975. So, I was given some prophecies but I didn’t believe the prophecies then. The Prophet of that church then told me that the Lord was going to surprise me, that I was having a problem with one of my courses and that whether I believed it or not, the Lord was going to surprise me. He said I would get the highest score in that very course. Having realised that I did not believe in the prophecy, the Prophet said whether I believed it or not, I would come to the church to give a testimony. Alas! It happened. So, I became convinced by that event and I decided to join the church. That was how I joined the Aladura International Church with my husband.
Was there any resistance from your husband when you invited him to the church?
He didn’t resist; he said if the church could give me a prophecy and it came to pass, then we were in it together. That was how we joined the church. We give God the glory because it has been a decision we are grateful for.
Did it ever occur to you that you would run a church?
No, we were not really interested in running a church; we were just interested in serving the Almighty God. We wanted someone to run the church for us initially after we left the Aladura International Church in 1996. However, we were not satisfied with the way the woman that was running the church was going about it. So, as I said earlier, we pulled out of the church and they moved out of the space we gave them and we started afresh.
So, why weren’t you interested in running the church initially?
The reason being that I was in the civil service full time and I thought the woman that was meant to run the church was more experienced than I. Though she was my subordinate and my foundation was quite different from hers; my foundation was English-oriented and hers was not.
I came from England to another English speaking church in Nigeria. The man who trained me was General Superintendent Apostle Bayo Abiola. I learned faster when I was under him, and when God wanted me to move, I moved.
So, what challenges have you been facing in the course of running Grace International Church?
We have been facing a lot of challenges, but to the glory of God, everything is going on smoothly. The Lord has been good to us particularly with regard to the youth of our great church.
At the Grace International Church, we have lots of youths and we encourage them; we give them a lot of responsible tasks to carry out. We do bible studies with them and they have responsible elders that mentor them and put them on the right track. The youth in the church know that there is nothing they can do without the word of God, which is paramount to everybody. As believers, our youths have been made to understand the power of prayers and walking right with God.
We teach righteousness in the church. We teach our youths so that they would know that if they don’t do things right, they would not enter the kingdom of God. But once you believe in God and His word, and you do the right thing at the right time, whatever you lay your hands on will prosper.
We also organise monthly seminars where we teach the youth everything they need to know about entrepreneurship, business and startup strategies. Particularly, we engage them on how to build and sustain their businesses as well as grow on their chosen careers. We want them not just to be grounded in the Word of God, but to be able to stand on their feet in society and be a blessing to their generation.
But you don’t allow trousers for females in your church. Does God look at our dressing or our heart?
God looks at our heart but at the same time, it is not written in the bible that women should wear trousers. So, as a result of that, I don’t believe our women should put on trousers to the church. For example, the MFM (Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries) women don’t put on trousers. It is capable of causing distraction among men in the church. We do not also encourage the use of jewellery inside the church. We want every member, male or female, to focus on God and His Words and not the outlook or dressing of others.
Christians in other denominations have a level of bias for white garment churches. What do you think about this?
I usually tell people that once you don’t go in there, you won’t know how they (white garment churches) worship. The Pentecostal churches think they know more than the white garment churches and I make people believe that this is far from the truth. Even some members of the Pentecostal churches come to seek prayers and advice from the Ministers of God in the white garment churches.
What affiliation do you have with the C&S Unification Church?
We are not affiliated with the C&S Unification Church, though I have known the Supreme Head of the C& S Unification Church, His Most Eminence Dr S. A. Alao, and his wife since 1981. I know them through Abiola, who used to be the head of my former church in Gbagada. I am not against the church or the head of the Unification Church. I love them, but we just don’t want to be affiliated to anybody. We are affiliated to Jesus Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega.
In fact, very soon, we will be moving out of the school premises because our members are increasing and the place is getting choked. It is also the will of God for the church to move on. The Lord already told us. So, very soon, we will be moving out of the school premises to another place but still around our current location in Lagos.
How do you cope with being a church leader, a school owner, a wife, a mother and a grandmother? So how do you manage to put everything in place and still maintain sound health?
I will say it’s not my strength or power; it’s the grace of God so far; it’s just God. He has been the one leading me so far, without Him and His grace, I am nothing. So it’s just God’s grace so far.
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