First Baptist Church Okitipupa Celebrates 60th anniversary

– Steve Ovirih.
Songs of praise and worship, rythmic dance steps and danceable music all rent the air as the parishioners of The First Baptist Church, Fortunate chapel, Apata Okitipupa rolled out the drum to celebrate the 60th founder anniversary and Award of Honour at the church auditorium on Saturday, the 14th of December, 2019.

The church auditorium was filled up as both church members and distinguish guests were on ground to appreciate God for the six decade journey and growth of the First Baptist Church in the Okitipupa region.

A book “A Brief History of First Baptist Church Okitipupa” was also launched in the course of the programme as donations by invited guests and members of the the laity were taken.

In his sermon, the guest minister who is also from the Baptist conference, Dr. Zacchaeus Ayokunle congratulated the clergy and the laity for deeming it fit to celebrate the anniversary of the church with a loud fanfare, noting that sixty years of existence is a milestone.

Dr. Ayokunle who titled his sermon “the church in the mind of Christ” quoted copiously from the Book of Timothy Chapter 3 verse 14 to 16 . He stressed that Jesus asked his disciples people’s opinions about him because He really wanted to know their understanding about who He really is. He noted that Jesus said to Peter upon “this rock” will I build my church and the gate of hell shall not prevail” because he saw in Peter’s reaction the real knowledge of whom the Christ is. He said the church in the mind of Christ is the church where the truth is preached and not where insincerity is pampered so as not to hurt the congregation, noting that the church that doesn’t want to hear the truth from their priest is lost in the world and does not exist in the mind of Christ. “Church is not the edifice as so many people are mislead into believing, but the church is a sincere gathering and congregation whose mind is fixated on Christ , the author and finisher of our faith.

” The church should be a family binded together by love , so a bonafide child of God does not stir crisis , rather he or she works to seek the cooperation of the house of clergy for the growth of God’s work.,” Dr. Zacchaeus Ayokunle said. He maintained that the church that God Celebrates is the church peopled by godly people who do not compromise the truth no matter what.

There was thanksgiving session as members of the church filed out in a celebration dance.

An elder in the church, Chief Wole Iroaye while speaking with thepolity.net expressed appreciation to God for sustaining the First Baptist Church Okitipupa in the past sixty years. He saluted the thoughtfulness and forthrightness of the patriach who came together to ensure Baptist Church sprung up in Ikale Land through the establishment of the First Baptist Church Okitipupa in 1959.

Chief Wole Iroaye said he saw the church growing from strength to strength by His grace.

The First Baptist Church Okitipupa came into existence through the self help gesture of Pa J A. Awotula , a staunch member of the Baptist Church who having being posted to the Okitipupa division as a Post Master felt the need to continue to worship on Sundays at a Baptist Church. The absence of such denomination in the then Okitipupa division prompted him to nurse the idea of starting a preaching station at Okitipupa. He alongside Pastor D. O Kehinde , Evangelist Owanoye, and Mr Ogunji resloved to establish a preaching station in Okitipupa and on the 5th of June 1959, the first congregation of Baptist preaching station held their maiden service at Pa Awotula’s house. To the glory of God, since then the church had not looked back , growing in strength; their resolve sixty years ago is the success story being celebrated today at the huge auditorium of the First Baptist Church, Okitipupa in Ondo south senatorial district.

The early members of the church are Pa Jaleyemi Awotula, Mr Joshua Akande, Mr. Okunrinmeta and Pastor D.O Kehinde.

The rest are Pa R O Arogundade and Pa. T O Akinseloyin (who is still alive till date).