We would get up in the morning, read the Bible, sing hymns, and go to church regularly. When I went to secondary school I lost interest in the church because our principal taught us atheism. But after a while, I thought again and started going to various churches in town. Eventually, in 1963, a group of singers and preachers from a Gospel church got permission to come to the school. I understood the Gospel message and was born again on April 5th, 1964. I read John Wesley, Charles Finney, Spurgeon, and lots of other books. I got involved with the Scripture Union, and I grew.[12][18][19]
Kumuyi began teaching mathematics in 1962 at Mayflower School, his alma mater.[18] He went on, in the early 1970s, to become a lecturer of mathematics at the University of Lagos.[12][22]
Christian ministry
In 1973, while being a lecturer of mathematics at the University of Lagos, Kumuyi began a Bible study group with 15 students who had come to him for Bible training.[12][18][23] This Bible training birthed the foundation of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry.[24] In 1975, Kumuyi was expelled from the Apostolic Faith Church for preaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit.[21] He continued his independent ministry, which in 1982 became the Deeper Life Bible Church.[25] As at 2005, the Christian ministry is said to have over 800,000 affiliates.[26]
Place of worship
The Deeper Christian Life Ministry founded by Kumuyi has the international headquarters of its church in Gbagada, Lagos.[27] The church auditorium at the international headquarters could sit up to 30,000 worshippers; it was described by experts as the fourth largest in the world.[28] The auditorium was inaugurated on 24 April 2018; the Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, and some other dignitaries attended the inauguration .[29]
Other notable places of worship of his Christian ministry include: the Deeper Life Conference Centre in Ogun State at Kilometer 42, Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and the International Bible Training Centre (IBTC) at Ayobo, Lagos.[30]
Kumuyi met Abiodun Olowu in September 1972. She became one of his Bible study students and a member of his fledging Christian ministry. They got married on 13 September 1980 in Lagos, and they have two children, Jeremiah and John. Mrs Abiodun Kumuyi died on 11 April 2009.[32]
On 13 October 2010, exactly 18 months after the death of his first wife, Kumuyi married Folashade Adenike Blaize in London. Folashade was the Administrator of the Deeper Life Bible Church, London.[32]
Awards
In 2013, Foreign Policy magazine listed Kumuyi among the "500 most powerful people on the planet".[33]
Pastor Dr. W.F. Kumuyi recently started conducting a series of Global Gospel Crusades since April 2021 in Abuja, Nigeria. The June, July, and August 2021 series in Abuja, Calabar and Enugu in Nigeria respectively, were conducted as Global Crusades. There were participants connecting to the Crusade both on social media and dedicated Zoom connections. The August 2021 edition just concluded featured Don Moen ministering along with him.[35] These crusade series was branded Global Crusade with Kumuyi (GCK) in July 2022 with former president of Nigeria and former vice president of Zambia, Olusegun Obasanjo and Nevers Mumba respectively among others in attendance at the brand launch.[36][37][38]
^Peter Clarke, Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2004, p. 156
^Laurent Fourchard, André Mary et René Otayek, "Entreprises religieuses transnationales en Afrique de l'Ouest", Karthala Editions, France, 2005, p. 254
^J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 876