Decross IKJ Marks 30th Anniversary, Dedicates New Auditorium

DANIEL OLUWATOBILOBA POPOOLA 

Decross Gospel Mission, Ikeja (Decross IKJ), marked its 30th anniversary with the dedication of a new auditorium, an event chaired by former House of Assembly members, Dr Oluyinka Ogundimu and featuring the mission’s General Overseer, Prof. Evang. Ebenezer Obey (MFR), as guest preacher.

The dedication and thanksgiving service held on Sunday, 30 August 2026, at the Church Auditorium, 13, Michael Akinola Street, Onipetesi Estate, Mangoro, Ikeja, Lagos, with worshippers turning out in all-white attire for the 12noon programme.

Also in attendance was the Deputy General Overseer of Decross, Bishop Folarin Obey. The programme opened with a prayer, followed by praise and worship from a white-robed choir, before Ogundimu took the podium to chair the service.

Ogundimu called the occasion more than the celebration of a building, describing it as a testament to thirty years of God’s faithfulness to the church.

The vision for the church, he recalled, was planted 30 years earlier by the General Overseer, premised on faith, sacrifice, commitment and perseverance, and had since grown into the edifice standing before the congregation.

Ogundimu commended the leadership and members of Decross IKJ for working as a team to actualise the project, singling out the resident pastor, Pastor Odofi, alongside Pastor Tunde, Pastor (Mrs) Odofi and other members of the pastoral team.

“When you take ownership of a project, then it becomes something that is your own. And that is what happened at D-Cross IKJ. I can tell you for free that they worked as a team,” he said.

He also paid tribute to those who started, sustained and sacrificed for the project over the years, a history he said had earlier been recounted by Bishop Folarin Obey, calling their contributions unforgettable in the church’s history.

Securing regulatory approval for the building, Ogundimu recounted, had not been straightforward, given that the church sits on a single plot in Lagos State, where authorities typically withhold approval for religious buildings on single plots over parking space requirements and the proximity of other already-approved churches nearby.

The church, he disclosed, had to invoke the name of its General Overseer to secure the necessary approval.

“This is never an illegal building, it’s an approved building,” he said. Approval, he noted, was obtained strictly in line with the submitted architectural drawings.

Midway through construction, the building team had proposed making the auditorium fully soundproof, a plan Ogundimu said he rejected on cost grounds.

Drawing from experience at another branch, he explained that a fully soundproofed hall would require air-conditioning to run continuously through every service, a cost he described as significant.

“I told them that drop the soundproof. You can always do the soundproof when you are ready,” he said, noting that the decision saved the project both time and money.

A shortage of funds for church chairs, he disclosed, was resolved just days before the dedication, after a friend, prompted by a phone call, offered to supply custom-branded seats for the auditorium at no cost, a development he called evidence of divine involvement in the project from start to finish.

He also recounted that the scheduled guest singer for the event had initially indicated he would be unavailable, owing to a prior international engagement, but reversed the decision following a conversation initiated at his wife’s insistence, going on to perform live at the event.

In his remarks, Evangelist Obey opened by giving thanks to God for making the anniversary and dedication possible, describing the gathering as a testimony to the person of Jesus Christ rather than a mere show.

His own transition from a career in music to ministry, he recalled, came through obedience to God’s call, a decision that positioned him to witness the testimony being celebrated at the event.

“God called me from my music business to the ministry. I didn’t want to come to the ministry, but if I didn’t come to the ministry, I would not have the testimony of what is happening today,” he said.

Evangelist Obey paid tribute to pioneers of the church who had died over the years, singling out the late Pastor Akibwe and the late Reverend JP Odominfe, and prayed for their families.

He recalled that God had spoken to him about the potential of Pastor Akibwe wife when she served as choir leader early in the church’s history, telling him she would help take the church to greater heights, a prophecy he said had since been fulfilled.

He urged the congregation to commit fully to whatever assignment God gives them, citing the biblical account in Exodus 33:12–14, where Moses insisted on God’s presence accompanying him, as a guide for depending on divine guidance in all undertakings.

Evangelist Obey thanked Bishop Folarin Obey for allowing God to use him, and commended Ogundimu for his role in the project, noting that anyone examining the building could tell how much had gone into its construction.

He prayed for all who contributed before concluding his address, then ministered in song, drawing an enthusiastic response from the congregation, many of whom danced along.

The event closed with the cutting of a cake to mark the church’s 30th anniversary and the dedication of its new auditorium.