A former RCCG Senior Pastor, Idowu Iluyomade, has floated a new church, ‘The Family Fellowship,’ in Lagos; it is a modest gathering compared to the City of David Parish, which he oversaw alongside his wife, Siju, from 16 September 2007 until he was reportedly suspended in June 2024.
At the passing of Pastor Eskor Mfon, he was appointed the pastor in charge of the City of David and the Head of the Apapa family.
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The Iluyomades’ suspension followed the elaborate 60th birthday celebration of his wife, Siju, on 18 February 2024.
This celebration stirred up more controversy than just a mere celebration, as it was held in the wake of the death of the then Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, a prominent member of the church.
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They were initially replaced by Pastor Charles Kpandei of the church’s Resurrection Parish Region 11 with immediate effect.
However, Pastor Kayode Pitan and his wife, Femi Pitan, now head the City of David Parish of the RCCG.
After the play out of these, the pastor and his socialite wife Siju had been off social media for months but returned in August 2024 as he paid tributes to his father.
This was followed by successive appearances at other events, including the 80th birthday party of Nigeria’s first minister of industry, Nike Akande, in Lagos in November 2024.
The Family Fellowship
The Family Fellowship’s inaugural Sunday service was held amid pomp and elaborate social media coverage. The sermon was precise and soul-stirring, touching on popular biblical themes of favour and mercy.
Delivering his sermon, Mr Iluyomade said, ‘‘I have had challenges, but I also have testimonies because I understand the importance of the word of God’’.
He then elaborated on the preachings of faith and God’s mercy by sharing the story of the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his paralysed servant, as documented in the Bible in Matthew 8:5-13. In this story, the famous pastor drove home his teachings on faith.
Afterwards, a church member testified about how the inaugural service idea was conceived in less than two days.
He said, ‘‘ This church is where everybody who matters in this country will be. We’re talking of a church coming to Eko axis, and we will be the first active church. It’s one thing for you to build; it’s another thing for you to have a presence online. By God’s grace, we’ll be the first active church here, and it’ll come to pass in the next three months.
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‘‘By God’s grace, we will be extremely comfortable here for our stay. By the time the news starts going around, I am sure the pastor has prophesied that there will be two services by next Sunday.
”But coming here was a decision made on Friday, and I told the pastor, ‘‘You need to go back to your old self; you don’t know who you are and the grace you carry. ‘‘ The pastor asked where the money was coming from. We will say one thing, and the pastor will say, “Are you sure?” But God is bringing everything together”.
His wife, Siju, was conspicuously absent from the service.
Aside from his pastoral calling, Mr Iluyomade also has a flair for music. He and his wife released the single ‘No One Can Thank You Enough’ in November 2024 across all streaming platforms.
Mr Iluyomade posted on his social media handles that he got the inspiration for the song from heaven while asleep.
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