The heavenly race and all spiritual battles are serious businesses. That is why Muslims go on thirty (30) days fasting during Ramadan period and thirty days outing for the Haj in Saudi Arabia while Christians also embark on thirty (30) days of lents and weeks of pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
In the Christian community, the Redeemed Christian Church of God observes fifty (50) days of fasting annually while some denominations go on 100 days fasting and prayers. All of these are serious business heavenly race and the strive for salvation and eternal life.
There is this saying that if you do the same thing all the time, you are most likely to get the same results, but if you do an extra-ordinary thing, you will get an unusual (extraordinary) result.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God located at …………….. street, off Haruna Bus Stop (Lowa Estate Ikorodu), for about five (5) years, has been observing an uncommon spiritual exercise annually. Headed by Pastor Olaitan Aromolaran, this branch holds thirty (30) days of vigil, which attract thousands of worshippers.
This robust, energetic, articulate and humble man of God, with his wife and workers, have upheld the spiritual and physical standards of the Redeemed Church, building up this branch (also known as Covenant Church of Peace) to a gigantic vineyard of God in the past seven years.
A mighty sanctuary, an extension church building almost completed and a compact premises that shelters over one thousand (1,000) worshippers each session of service, are some of the physical features of this vineyard of God.
Ask a night guard (a vigilante person) what it takes to be awake all night for one week or one month and you will appreciate the enormity of the spiritual sacrifice and enrichment (gains) members of this Redeemed Church, (many of whom are professionals, workers, students, etc.) made in attending every day the thirty (30) night vigils, which coincided with the period of the muslim Ramadan fast.
Oriwu Sun crew was at the Church premises on June…..2016 as members trouped in for the programme, every one of them in a serious mood. Church workers, mainly the pastors, deacons, ushers, choir members, technical department members, prayer warriors/intercessors, security personnel and others, were on ground to play their roles.
Having heard so much about the great work this man of God, Pastor Aromolaran, is doing, Oriwu Sun decided to feature this event.
We had heard the background story of this priest, who like many great servants of God, was at one time or the other in his lifetime like the Biblical Saul, who not only persecuted Christians but was neck deep in the things of the world. However, at the appointed time, God turned these great servants to Paul and used them to do wondrous things for mankind in the propagation of the gospel.
As these journalists watched proceedings in this branch of the Redeemed, we noticed a wonderful blend of love, friendship and seriousness among members in the work of God. They radiated enthusiasm and excitement as they came for the watch and pray session every night for thirty (30) days. Each member was full of great expectations and ready to sacrifice the pleasures of sleep and the flash.
These findings motivated us to engage the shepherd of the branch, Pastor Aromolaran, in this exploratory /expository interview with the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Chuma Adichie and Assistant News Editor, Waleola Kolawole.
Oriwu Sun wanted to know the essence and the significance of this marathon vigil by this branch of the Church and its flock.
Pastor Aromolaran explained that the scripture says as many that are led by the spirit of God are the children of God. 
“This is another proof of God’s leading. Some years ago, when we were thirsty for revival, God told us to begin to do something that is not common. We deliberately asked for something like this and since then, we have been doing revival programmes. We had another one in January that attracted thousands all over the world and this one is called thirty (30) days vigil. We started five (5) years ago; it is God’s leading, it was God that requested for the reunion when we were asking Him to restore the revival we read about in the Bible and God has been faithful.”
Oriwu Sun asked the servant of God to confirm or disconfirm a popular notion among many Christians that the Kingdoms (nations, empires, enclave/territories) governed by men have failed mankind and that only the Kingdom of God can guarantee peace, Justice, equity for all.
According to the Redeemed Pastor,. the Kingdom of men will keep failing. “Just yesterday, United Kingdom voted out of E.U. This is just to tell you that everything is working according to the scriptures and God is in a hurry to use all things to bring us back to Him, and the scripture says, “Woe unto a man that puts his trust in the hand of flesh.” So, even before we were born the kingdoms of men had been failing; it has failed in our presence and it will continue to fail in the future.
It will keep failing but the Kingdom of God is quite different. The kingdoms of men are set up to meet personal needs; they are set up for purpose best known to them, but the Kingdom of God is different. That is why the Bible says, The Kingdom of God is settled in heaven; if it was settled on earth, it could be changed. That is why there are prescriptions in the Bible; there are rules in the Bible so that kingdom of God will remain forever.”
These writers wanted to know from Pastor Olaitan his calling, that spiritual gift which God gave him as empowerment to serve him on earth. He replies that his calling was by the grace of God. “I was called as an Evangelist and I hearkened to the call. All the five (5) ministries began to show up and God is so committed that He backs everything I do with signs and wonders in the power of the prophecy and by His grace, it is no longer a news for the blind to see and the lame to walk, for things to happen. We are used to it by the grace of God. So, it’s not signs and wonders that is really the cardinal thing as you have asked, it is the kingdom of God. You can receive healing and still go to hell without the kingdom of God. God uses signs and wonders to attract people in order for Him to give them the kingdom, and by doing so, we have enjoyed such a privilege in our midst.”
Oriwu Sun brought up the issue of division Christendom; the problem of not speaking with one voice; the tendency of different Christian denominations dish out different doctrines and wanted to know if God is One, who tolerates confusion and if these Christian arms are indeed working according to the will of God.
Pastor Aromolaran replied, “Anyway, Apostle Paul says it is not the delivery of message that matters to him but the fact that the message is delivered. That will still take me back to the kingdom of God. Christianity is not a religion, religion is to say this is how we will do it. We serve one God and He can express himself in different ways. It is same God that told Mountain of Fire Ministry to ask your enemies to fall down and die.
The same God told the CAC and said Babalola should use water; and this same God showed up in Redeemed Christian Church of God and said use holiness. He got to Deeper Life Bible Church and said, ‘Declare my righteousness.’ God introduced a way of expressing Himself in different ways; the most important thing that should be acted upon in the midst of Christians is that Christ should be exalted above everything we do and if that is done, it means we are following the word. Some Christians call themselves Pentecostal and so on, but all we care about is that Jesus is the centre of what we are doing then we are on the right track.
Oriwu Sun asked him to amplify this Holiness because that seems to be the core value of Redeemed Christian Church of God, the one he belongs to. “Tell us more about it because in a country, where people preach a lot of prosperity, we are being criticized by comedians and social media that Pastors have deviated from preaching salvation to signs and wonders or miracles and therefore, leaving righteousness, holiness and so on”.
Pastor Aromolaran calmly responded. “Anyway, criticism and gospel are like twin brothers. Right from the birth of Jesus Christ, there were people that rose up to criticize him; even up to the time He was on the cross, He was criticized. Even when He was in the grave, he was criticized. Holiness is a complete obedience to God’s word. God says you should not commit sin and you abstain from it. It’s a total adherence to God’s instruction; that is holiness. Now, I will talk about the question you asked concerning prosperity. Prosperity is a tool in the hand of God. I was at the airport and some journalists decided to ask me a question about some men of God that bought private jets. The only criticism I have for those men of God is that some of them did it late because I have gone to the scripture and I realized that the best things of the world belong to the children of God. These private jets are being used all over the world by kids that sing, even to glorify the devil. If a preacher will need it to preach and enhance the Gospel, to me it is a good thing and to me if the preacher is criticized, the people criticizing him are just wasting their time. I believe that whatever you don’t believe in you won’t have it. It is stated in the scripture that the end time will re-echo by the force of prosperity but prosperity without holiness will take the carrier to hell. So, when prosperity and holiness meet then the will of God will be done.
Oriwu Sun noted that every branch of every church shows a characteristic of difference, this 30 days vigil seems to be one of the unique areas of your church, and asked what other areas have you also distinguished yourself as an uncommon branch of Redeemed Christian Church of God?
According to Pastor Aromolaran: I believe that in this work there is actually no individual that can distinguish himself/herself, the scripture says that every one of us has been given a duty and the scripture enable us to stay in our office. It is the offices that distinguishes us. We have been a praying ministry in our own way and we pray every day, there is no day we do miss to pray either as a body or in unit, there is a prayer meeting going on every day, and this I believe God has used me in a way to distinguish us. We always hold a prayer at the Town Hall, first Friday of December every year call it God convocation to praise Him.
The last one we held, I remember, He told us to pray so that He will come and visit us and in the midst of the prayer, he told us to make fifty (50) thousand seats available. I remembered the Ikorodu town hall could not even accommodate fifty (50) thousand people but we heeded to the word of God. Before we started the programme there was no vacant seat, every seat was filled up, so, it is God that distinguished man and He won’t distinguish a man that is not available. As soon as you submit yourself unto Him, whatever men are saying should not be relevant. When I was coming into this ministry they said to me, if I even want to serve God I should do three things. One, I should be blind, two be deaf and dumb that is you should see and look as if you have not seen anything, and you should hear and behave as if you heard nothing. So, when God dictates your focus there is no way he will not distinguish you.
Since everyman of God has a beginning we reminded Pastor Aromolaran that he must have come from somewhere, some were like Saul before they become Paul, so let us know how you came to this place?
Pastor Aromolaran mused and said I was born in Igbode, Ekiti State and my past was a misery. I can remember my mother told me how I was born; my elder brother is seven years older than me. I can remember how my mother told me that in the process of looking for a fruit of the womb, she visited several herbalists. According to her, until a woman, her friend visited her and invited her to a revival going on in Ilorin. My mother said that from there a C.A.C woman was praying and she told her that she is going to give birth to a baby boy and he is going to became a Pastor; so when the pregnancy become seven months she gave birth to me. As I was growing up I became contradictory to that prophecy, I was so wayward, became a smoker. I smoked Indian hemp, I graduated to cocaine, I remembered I was in a cult, I did so many things.
Severally my mother would call me to her room and cried and I remembered she would tell me the story behind my birth and I eventually went into the university and it became worse and it was a terrible situation.
Until one day when I went to a meeting on my way back, I was holding cigarette and all these happened to me between the age of fourteen (14) and twenty three (23) as I was coming back with my friends I heard a voice and it said, I am Jesus. He said, serve me and I will use you and I was holding the cigarette. So I was crying and my friends were just laughing at me. As I got home, I met my sister, Yemisi, I went to her, I asked that if one wanted to give his life to Jesus what are the steps? And she began to laugh, everybody was just laughing at me.
I later went to my room, I knelt down and I started praying, I prayed for more than three hours; that I have never prayed for thirty minute before in my life. My being born again no body believed me, people said it was fake and since then I have being preaching and doing things for God, in my little way until God began to amplify what we are doing in the corner and said okay begin to do it in a city.
I came to Ikorodu to squat with my brother; in this particular church I remembered whenever the church closed for services then I would remain there without food. I was the person that used to handle their drum set, I had nobody to go to. That was how the journey started and that is why I love my mother at that time of contradiction, I remembered how she used to pray and call my name and all those prophecies.
Oriwu Sun asked if she is still alive?
Pastor Aromolaran confirmed She is alive, about my father he is late.
Oriwu Sun wanted to know how long Olaitan had led this Church?
Pastor Aromolaran said it is for seven years now.
We reminded the servant of God that a church is supposed to be relevant within the community it exists so how has this branch sow unto the community?
For Pastor Aromolaran, there is no single individual that can meet the needs of the people, all we can do is to impact people’s lives. As we started, by the grace of God several people are in the higher institutions, through our assistance, several people have had what to do today courtesy of what God has asked us to do.
There are people we are paying their school fees not just in Lagos alone but all over the country. There are people we don’t even know that are being attended to monthly. We run empowerment programmes, we build houses for people. As we are empowered by the Almighty God we give back to the society for that is Christianity and the faith we talk about.
Oriwu Sun brought up a biblical saying I know that when righteous people are in government people will smile but when the wicked ones are in power the people cry. We are fortunate today to have the Vice President of this country as a member of the Redeemed congregation, so how will this translate into this Biblical statement. Is it a sign that there is a hope for this country, the Eldorado and every good that we are looking up to?
Pastor Aromolaran responded anyway I thank the Almighty God for the change he brought to Nigeria. I am not a politician, I am a child of God that is entitled to God secrets. Ever since President Buhari was called to come back to power God told me when I knelt on this altar that he would lead this country again, God told me about the present Governor of Lagos State Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, his immediate family can bear me witness to that. So, it is God that put them there and he has promised to help them and the best thing we can do is to believe in what God is doing and to cooperate with them. We are yet to see anything, the change that God has for Nigeria’s very deep that very soon all the prophecies, especially, the ones of our father in the Lord Pastor E.A. Adeboye gave concerning this nation we will begin to see and enjoy them. I so much believe in Nigeria, and I believe in this present leadership, because nothing can happen without the consent of God and that is my joy that God is taking us higher. It doesn’t matter what we are going through, it will soon become history.
We engaged Pastor Aromolaran in further questioning:
ORIWU SUN: most of us who witnessed some recent traditional events in Ikorodu such as burial of the late Oba, the installation of the new one and the Oro festival, they seem to give us a picture that Ikorodu is a predominately a traditional society. You started as an Evangelist, what impact has the Church made in this environment in terms of changing Ikorodu from its traditional status?
PASTOR AROMOLARAN: Over the years I have discovered that Ikorodu is not what people call it, each time I go out I hear people talk and say negative things about them, but Ikorodu people are wonderful and friendly. There is no city or community that you will not find darkness.
The late Oba happened to be a father to us, if you get to my room now you will see a photograph I took with him and his wife. The present Oba is like a father to me, we sit down together and talk about Ikorodu. I believe there is still a pocket of little darkness, and I believe God is already beaming a tourchlight on the area; and soon Ikorodu will lead Lagos State. I said it years ago those going to Lekki will come back to Ikorodu. You can see the changes, and the impacts that is the handmade of the Lord; and we are going to pray more so that Ikorodu should regain its own prosperity.
ORIWU SUN: Introduce yourself sir, the church and the year it started?
PASTOR AROMOLARAN: My name is Olaitan Aromolaran this church is Covenant Church of Peace; a branch of Redeemed Christian Church of God. I was posted to this place about seven years ago.
ORIWU SUN: You mentioned that you went to the university what course did you study?
PASTOR AROMOLARAN: I read History in Ekiti State University.
ORIWU SUN: It seems you are the one that handled the 365 Halleluyah in Ikorodu every year and this one which is 30 days vigil, tell us the challenges you have been facing in organizing these big events and the testimony gathered so far?
PASTOR AROMOLARAN: Anyway, challenges come with every task, but I am fortunate to have good people around me; that without my presen, it will be as if I am there. Most times we don’t notice the challenges, but that does not mean we don’t have challenges, but you know when God is backing you there is no challenge. The 365 Halleluyah programme is a specific instruction from God. About twelve years ago Daddy G.O. wanted to come to Ikorodu, he was coming to Ikorodu town hall, I was not having anything then; as I got to that venue I saw a carpet that they laid for Daddy G.O. to preach on. It was very dirty, and I was not comfortable with it. I went to borrow money to buy a new carpet and I laid it for him. As he was coming out of the place I picked the carpet and that became my prayer mat for Jesus. Ten years after, God said to me you did this for my anointed one so so year; go back there, the crowd you saw there that day, I will gather it for you and that was how it all started. I had so many testimonies and they are everywhere some of them are with the people you can see here today.
ORIWU SUN: Due to the situation of the country now it is like some Christians are weak inspirit what advice do you have for them?
PASTOR AROMOLARAN: If there are people to pray there is a God to answer, religion is different from Christianity, let people leave religion and begin to practice Christianity. Religion can keep you busy but it is Christianity that can give you the reward. Religion goes after title, Christianity goes after man tone, religion goes after gain and Christianity goes after people. If we practice it the way it is in the Bible, God is my witness, Ikorodu will excel.