It was by sheer providence that Pastor Samuel Olusoji Ogundare — one of the oldest pastors in the mission today — began a small fellowship in the Ikosi area of Ketu and named it Oke-Igbala. While based in Maroko, he was led by God to reach rural places like Ikosi with the gospel, travelling there with four or five companions to hold programmes, distribute tracts and minister to farmers and artisans on the construction sites.
Along the way, Pastor Ogundare met Mr. Sokoti, a retired soldier who offered a small shop by his house for fellowship meetings, and Evangelist Moses O. Olorungbaniyan, then training under Pastor/Evangelist D. O. Babajide at Ilesha, who volunteered to join the work whenever he visited Lagos. Personal trials later meant Pastor Ogundare could not continue the Ikosi project himself, but the seed he planted would not die.
What began as a rented shop in Ikosi has grown, under Pastor J. A. Olasehinde and his successors, into a thriving assembly popularly known today as “Akehinde Gbegbon” — Ketu I. The Church now occupies a multi-storey building on land graciously donated by Pastor A. O. A. Olutimehin and expanded by Late Engineer Oladapo.
Prophecies once declared that though the assembly was known as Ketu II, God had ordained it to become Ketu I — “Akehinde Gbegbon.” Under Pastor J. A. Olasehinde, who took over in April 1981, that word began to come to pass, turning a 136-member gathering on 6th January 1980 into one of the most prominent assemblies in the mission.
None of this would have been possible without the sacrificial faith of fathers like Pastor A. O. A. Olutimehin, who freely donated the Church’s land, and Late Engineer Oladapo, who added to it out of love for the growing congregation. Their example of heavenly-mindedness continues to inspire the CAC Oke-Igbala family today.
