Celebrating the worthy life of a reliable helpmeet
By Femi Anjorin
The wife of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Mrs Foluke Adenike Adeboye, nee Adeyokunnu, is 70 years today, Friday 13 July 2018.
Aside God, Mummy G. O, MGO, as she is fondly called by the church faithful, has been the pillar behind the success and great feat her husband, the mathematician turned preacher is experiencing in the eternal assignment he has chosen since becoming the head of the church.
Speaking with the reporters of Redemption Light, the church official magazine, the revered man of God confessed that she, Mrs Adeboye, is his prayer partner. He further explained that there are times he had burdens he could not share with anyone “except the one that knows that if you sink, you sink together and if you float, you float together.”
MGO is a woman with many attributes. She is a missionary, great women leader, a giver, an educationist, mentor and a worthy role model.
She is the initiator of a yearly Female Ministers Conference, FMC, a program meant for women leaders, Female Ministers, heads of women group and wives of Ministers both in RCCG and other ministries. This program holds every second weekend in the month of February. This same program has been taken to other nations of the world. Just like FMC, God has used her to put together another yearly program called Feast of Esther. This is basically for women who are into ministry, wives of General Overseers and other church leaders as well as wives of Pastors in RCCG. She started it in 2002. Today, Feast of Esther holds in very many nations of the world as well.
Her passion for lost souls has taken her to many countries of the world even when it was not convenient. She was one of those to visit Koma Hill in Adamawa State when the hill was discovered some years ago. Her visit to Koma has changed the lives of some children as she brought some of them to live with her in the Redemption Camp, where they were enrolled in schools. She equally led in establishing “a Redeemer’s Academy and a Skill Centre” there.
As an educationist, her passion for education made her to start the first RCCG owned Nursery and Primary School at Ebute Metta shortly after her husband became the physical leader of the church. She headed the school for 12 years before relinquishing the headship. This is to ensure that the school had a solid foundation. Her quest for the children of the church’s pastors to have stable education led her to establish a Nursery and Primary, and later Secondary Schools in Redemption Camp. Her objective was that since the full time pastors of the church are frequently on transfer, for their children to have stable, quality and less expensive education, the pastors can easily enrol their children in the school on Camp.
Anyone that visits MGO, no matter what will not go empty handed. A senior pastor of the church once told the congregation how he travelled home and just bought some little things for Mama. The man of God said, to his surprise what Mama gave her was used to put finishing touches to the house he was building then.
Pastor Mrs Foluke Adenike Adeboye was born to Pa Jacob Adelusi Adeyokunnu and Mrs Morounfola. She’s the eldest of the ten children. Her father was a text and catechist at Methodist Church, Ilesa. She had both her primary and Secondary education at Methodist, Ilesa. She later went to the popular United Missionary College, UMC, Ibadan where she graduated in 1966. She also had Associate Diploma in Education from University of Lagos; Diploma in Religion Studies and Certificate in Directorate of School Studies. She wedded Pst Adeboye on 17 Dec 1967.