‘Leaving RCCG was leaving my comfort zone for the unknown’

Recently, Pastor Olaitan Aromolaran received a divine mandate to leave the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) to begin a fresh ministerial assignment. Six months after he founded Joy Cometh Ministry, the Ikorodu, Lagos based ministry now has thousands of worshipers as members. Aromolaran talked with journalists on the operations of the new Church and his passion for evangelism. DAYO EMMANUEL was there and he reports.

 

You left the Redeemed Christian Church of God to begin this fresh work, what can you say you have missed in the RCCG?

I was so much in love with the Redeemed Christian Church of God. I’m not a hypocrite I have never seen where I was that celebrated and loved. Every person I worked with gave me a chance to grow. I have been hearing about persecution but I couldn’t feel it. I just believe my leaving was like leaving reality and my comfort zone to an unknown terrain. RCCG was for me a work that is already made.

Three years ago I held a program, as I was rounding off, we were here I was praying and suddenly a big stone was coming from nowhere towards my head and a force moved my head away from it’s direction. Then I heard God say to me ‘I can kill anybody within a second.’ Nobody could understand but you know most time I have seen again and again if you are going to walk on water you must leave the boat. It is those that leave the boat that walk on water.

Till Christ comes I know Deeper Life is not sufficient to do the work, Joy Cometh is not sufficient to do the work, RCCG, CAC are not enough to complete the work. Most of the time when I go out on Sunday and see people who didn’t go to any Church I would know all the Churches put together have not done any work. There are people even in this area where we have the Church who don’t go to any church.

What do you see about the persecution of Christians around the world and the spread of Islam?

When I hear that Islam is taking over, I always laugh. The persecution you are talking about is one of the prophecies that must come to pass. Jesus already said it that a time will come people that kill you will think they are working for God. Either we like it or not the prophecy will come to pass. All the terrorists think they are killing for God. If we all join hands we can’t pray against them but in the midst of all these darkness, it cannot overpower light. Light will keep shining. Several people have risen in the past to attempt to shout the name of Jesus down but you can’t fight against the truth.

Irrespective of the fact that people are working hard to spread the gospel, some members of the society have also lost respect for men of God. How do you see this development?

It is something that has stayed with us. It is not a new thing even when Jesus was here not all believed him but that does not mean every man of God is doing the right thing. The fact that the fake exists means the original is somewhere. Till Christ comes, we have not even seen anything. That is one of the things if we read the scriptures well all these Jesus already predicted. We have not seen anything yet. But in the midst of these things those that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. I am advocating that people should give to God but that is not the real gospel. The issue is get the heart of the people and it won’t be difficult to get their purse. Once God gets the heart of a man it won’t be difficult for the person to give to God.

What is God saying about President Muhammadu Buhari?

I believe so much in our President. I believe everything happening is not behind God. When King Nebuchadnezer was in the wilderness for seven years, I believe the government was going fine. There was no protest, no economic depression, the system was working perfectly even probably more than when he was there. So I believe the government of this nation belongs to God and there is no mistake. God does not make mistake. If God has given us Buhari the only thing we can do is to pray for his speedy recovery which we are doing. I believe God knows how to take us out of where we have found ourselves let us be kind to ourselves.

Coming to your immediate environment, Ikorodu lately has been disturbed by activities of cultists. What is your ministry doing to salvage this situation spiritually?

Ikorodu people generally are wonderful people. They love strangers. The town is big and any for any growing society there is no way you won’t see bad people. We are praying God should expose the evil people. Light does not beg darkness. Immediately light comes, darkness leaves.  I know it is a phase and I know we are going to come out of it and be better for it.

Do you still attend RCCG?

You can’t cut me off from the RCCG. Now I even listen more to the General Overseer, Pastor E. A. Adeboye than when I was there. Till Christ comes people will continue to move. If God doesn’t use this our little place to raise leaders it means we have failed. God called Abraham to leave his father’s house, it means the work must continue and spread. I am not going to be the first or the last to leave RCCG except Jesus comes tomorrow. My leaving RCCG has not disconnected me from the ministry.

Six months of Joy Cometh what are the plans for the next six months when the ministry would mark first year anniversary?

It is about telling more people about Jesus Christ which has become the brand. I go out for evangelism myself and many people don’t know that I am a pastor here. We go to the street because we have a program called ‘Church in the street,’ which is an outreach ministry. The gospel must be preached. So I believe in the next phase we are more prepared to preach the gospel.

 

What informed the program ‘While men sleep,’ which is your vigil program?

This is the first of its kind on this ground but we have been doing it. Every one that wants to grow in this life there is always a time of retreat that must precede it. We come together to pray for Nigeria. If the occult people come out in the night to do evil how do we stop them? We must pray in the night.

What price are you paying as a man of God?

Definitely every man that will be great will pay a price. It is like a big supermarket, every item there has a price tag and when you pay the price you go with the item. When you go with an item you have not paid for, they will call you a thief. So also everything from God too has got a price. I have gone through so many things that I believe is not time to say now. God told me at the beginning if you are ever going to be successful you must be three things: you must be deaf, dumb and blind. It was strange to me until I saw it in the scripture. So I believe everyman must go through sacrifice. It is not everyone that will embrace what I am doing. One of our active members today some months ago was was busy going round telling people not to come here that we must have buried something in the ground. Later she came back crying after realizing her fault. She is an evangelist here now. It is normal and part of the sacrifice. It must not distract you. If you want to explain everything and answer everybody it means you don’t know where you are going. I have never hold anything against anybody because I don’t have the time. I am either in the office reading the Bible or praying. I don’t have time because I know these things are part of the package.

 

Do you do any other thing like business?

Yes. Before now I was into one or two things. I was selling cars but now some of my friends handle that. I can’t be available again for that because the time is not there. We must maximize the time. One or two of my friends run the business while I am fully into ministry work.