Chris Oyakhilome

Ministry and theology

His ministry runs several arms including the Healing School, Rhapsody of Realities, LoveWorld Books, and an NGO called the Innercity Missions for Children as well as three Christian television channels: LoveWorld TV, LoveWorld SAT and LoveWorld Plus. Oyakhilome's television programs feature what are claimed to be faith healings and miracles, in large meetings which his ministry organises in several countries, with gatherings of over 2.5 million people in a single night's event.

In 2015, Oyakhilome was given an honorary doctorate from Ambrose Alli University, and Benson Idahosa University.

Oyakhilome's ministry holds meetings in the United Kingdom and the United States, and has "healing school" sessions in South Africa and Canada. Oyakhilome also hosts Higher Life conferences in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, UK, US and Canada, and organized the Night of Bliss South Africa event at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Oyakhilome also operates an International School of Ministry, which held one of its Ministers' Network Conferences in 2016 with 5000 ministers in attendance from 145 countries, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Oyakhilome runs an online prayer network using social media to send messages to Christians in several countries. He had over 1.2 million followers on Twitter in 2013[1], over 1.9 million followers on Facebook[2], over 30 million followers on his own social networking website called Yookos and operates a smartphone messenger called KingsChat. Oyakhilome is also the author of the daily devotional "Rhapsody of Realities".On Rhapsody website the "Rhapsody of Realities" devotional is only available for download in over 143 languages either on Apple or Android. Oyakhilome also hosts Higher Life conferences in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, UK, US and Canada.

Oyakhilome's Future Africa Leaders Award is an initiative aimed at identifying, awarding and supporting young Africans who have demonstrated exemplary leadership through education, youth empowerment and mentoring, and through other projects aimed at helping young people to prepare for the future. Over 40 Africans have been awarded since 2013.

Personal life

According to his official Biography, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome was born on December 7, 1961. He was the eldest son of the family of Tim Oyakhilome.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome family started with his marriage in 1991 to the head of UK agency and fore-runner Rev Anita Ebhodaghe.

Pastor Chris and Pastor Anita Ebhodaghe have two children Sharon and Charlane.

After 25 years of marriage, Anita Ebodaghe filed for divorce on April 9, 2014 at the Central Family Court in London. They divorced in February 2016. After the separation, they also decided to share custody of their two children.

Mission

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, is known for his philanthropic works, which include aiding the poor, the sick, and the dispossessed, both materially and spiritually. Over a ministry career spanning more than 30 years, he has raised men and women from poverty, healed the sick, and provided a message of hope which has been broadcast to every nation in the world.Pastor Chris’s Inner City Mission Project declares that “every child is your child”; this project saves and assists orphaned and indigent children in inner cities across the globe.

Future Africa Leaders Award is a initiative of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome PhD, DSc, DD to explore, educate, mentor, highlight and empower intelligent and genuine Leadership Potentials deposite in the lives of young Africans.

Honors

Benson Idahosa University announced it is honoring Pastor Chris Oyakhilome with an honorary doctorate degree in divinity.

In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ernest B. Izevbigie, described the occasion as historic, in that; the University was honoring a man whose life has impacted people both locally and internationally.

He noted that there were many striking similarities and homology between the graduand being honored and Benson Idahosa University adding that Rev. Dr. Chris Oyakhilome worked as a staff with the Church of God Mission International (CGMi) after his secondary school days where he was opportune to study the ministerial works of the late Archbishop B.A. Idahosa. For a man whose life has been the epitome of the manifestation of a call of divinity, nothing could have been more exemplary. This was much highlighted by Vice Chancellor Izevbigie who aptly noted that the University is in recognition of the achievements and great works of a man whose evangelistic strides transcend the globe, particularly in translating the widely read “Rhapsody of Realities” into 837 languages. Pastor chris proceeded to Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, where he obtained a degree Architecture. He also has a Ph.D. in Theology and Pneumatology and has received numerous awards/honors .

Controversy

Oyakhilome's statement about marriage has been a subject of controversy. As the General Overseer of Christ Embassy, Pastor Oyakhilome has come under strong criticism from Nigerians on social media over his religious views on gender equality.

A Facebook post on the official page of the church’s online ministry, cited an excerpt of the clergyman’s message titled ‘Who is a husband and what is his role?’, in which husbands were defined as “masters” as opposed to “male partners.”

Oyakhilome’s ex-wife, Anita, had on February 8 finalised her divorce from the pastor and dropped his last name for “Obhodaghe.”

Oyakhilome has also been a target of criticism by the Treatment Action Campaign for his support of faith healing as a supposed cure for HIV/AIDS.

Writings

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome penned many books, including "Rhapsody of Realities,", distributed monthly around the world.