Apostle Ayo Babalola of CAC preaching in the 1930s

See this photograph of the founder of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Apostle Ayo Joseph Babalola during one of his charismatic crusades at the inception of his evangelism ministry in the 1930s.

He did not wear jacket and tie in the tropical sunlight. Another noticeable feature of his work was the usage of water for healing as the containers in the picture show, prompting the song then: “Babalola Olomi Iye re o. Omi Iye, Iye, Iye, re o. Omi Iye…”

Here is his life story by Wikipedia:
Babalola was born of Yoruba parents at Odo-Owa, Kwara State, Nigeria on 25 April 1904. He was brought up as an Anglican. He was registered at an elementary school at Oto-Awori on Badagry Road, Lagos State, in 1914. He got to standard four, before he became a blacksmith’s apprentice and he learned it for two years, before he became a steamroller operator under the PWD (Public Works Department), then under the control of Great Britain. He knew how to drive it nder 15 days.

Babalola’s popular photograph

After nine months; he became a master in his class. A steamroller was first given to him on 1 April 1928 to work on the Osogbo – Ilesha road. On June 14, 1928 he was transferred to Akure – Ilesha road. On 9 October 1928 at about 12 o’clock, he was by his steamroller by the river Ariran, it was here he heard a loud voice from above like the roar of thunder which called his name thrice saying “Joseph! Joseph!! Joseph!!! Leave this job you are doing; if not, this year you are going to be cut off from the earth.” Again On 11 October 1928, while trying to repair his machine, he heard an audible voice from the Lord to abandon the job and start preaching. That is how he received the call and he went into fasting and prayer.

He later joined the Faith Tabernacle Church in November 1929 where he was baptized in Lagos lagoon in December the same year. The revival of his mission began with the raising of a dead child in September 1930. What followed this in three weeks was the healing of about 100 lepers, 60 blind people and 50 lame persons. This also resulted in the desolation of Churches in Ilesa because their members transferred their allegiance to the revivalist and that all the patients in Wesley Hospital, Ilesa, abandoned their beds to seek healing from Babalola.

This divinely kicked off The Great Revival of 1930, which saw people coming from most parts of Africa and diaspora without posters and TV adverts. In 1930, Faith Tabernacle affiliated with the British Apostolic Church. Then following a schism in the Apostolic Church about 1940, Bablola went with a new independent church, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), where he continued his healing and revivalistic activities until his death on 26 July 1959.

The Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU) a private Nigerian university located in Ikeji-Arakeji in Osun State, established by the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide is named after him,