A church founded in 1952 by a man who could barely read now fills a city of its own. The Redeemed Christian Church of God

The founder of one of Africa’s largest churches had little formal education. Josiah Akindayomi started the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Lagos in 1952.

Today the RCCG has parishes across Nigeria and in many countries around the world, and its Redemption Camp, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, is large enough to be described as a city in its own right, hosting some of the biggest Christian gatherings on earth.

Akindayomi

Akindayomi had been a member of the Cherubim and Seraphim church before leaving to start his own fellowship, which grew into the RCCG. He was a man of prayer with limited schooling, and he chose as his successor a young university lecturer in mathematics, Enoch Adejare Adeboye, who had joined the church in the 1970s.

Adeboye

After Akindayomi’s death in 1980, Adeboye became General Overseer in 1981. Under his leadership, the church expanded dramatically. He introduced a strategy of planting “model parishes” close to where people live and work, including in cities and near universities, and encouraged educated professionals to join and lead. Parishes spread across Nigeria, then to other African countries, Europe, North America and beyond.

Adeboye, known to members as “Daddy G.O.”, became one of the most influential religious figures in Africa. Nigerian politicians of all parties attend RCCG events, and his words carry weight in national life.

Redemption Camp and the Holy Ghost Congress

Redemption Camp grew from a large piece of land into a settlement with churches, homes, schools, banks, shops and roads. Its main auditoriums host the monthly Holy Ghost Service and the annual Holy Ghost Congress in December, which draws huge crowds, as well as the church’s annual convention.

The gatherings are known for all-night prayer, worship and preaching, and for the scale of their logistics, including traffic on the expressway that can stretch for many kilometres.

Family and milestones

Adeboye and his wife, Pastor Foluke Adeboye, have been married for decades. In September 2026 they celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary, marked by messages from church members around the world.

The couple also experienced deep loss when their son, Pastor Dare Adeboye, died in 2022, a grief that the General Overseer spoke about publicly.

Influence and criticism

The RCCG runs schools, a university, hospitals and social programmes. Like other large churches, it has also faced criticism, including over wealth, politics and the influence of pastors in public life.

The RCCG abroad

The church’s growth outside Nigeria has been one of its most striking features. RCCG parishes now meet in cities across Africa, Europe and North America, often started by Nigerian migrants and later drawing members from other communities. In Ghana, RCCG congregations are part of a wider wave of Nigerian-founded churches in Accra and Kumasi. In the United States, the church has built a large campus in Texas for its North American conventions, mirroring the model of Redemption Camp.

A church founded by a man who could barely read now runs a university. Its annual congress fills a camp that did not exist when he started preaching.