After the Founder: Bada, Ajose and Oshoffa, the Pastors Who Carried the Celestial Church Forward

When Papa Samuel Oshoffa, the founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, passed away in Lagos in 1985, the young church faced its first great question: who leads next? Today we look back at that line of leadership, using public records.

According to Wikipedia's account of the church, the second Pastor was Alexander Abiodun Adebayo Bada, who succeeded the founder in December 1985 and led until his death on 8 September 2000. He was followed by Philip Hunsu Ajose, who was named in October 2000 and formally declared leader on 24 December 2000, but who passed away in March 2001, after only a few months in office.

Since then, the majority of Celestians have recognised Rev. Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa, son of the founder, as Pastor and Spiritual Head of CCC Worldwide. Wikipedia notes that a succession dispute followed in those early years, and we leave the details of that season to historians. What stands out is the church's endurance: Celestians kept worshipping in white, kept singing the hymns, and kept gathering at Imeko every December.

Over to you:
- What do you remember about the church in the Bada years, or what did your parents tell you about it?
- What do you think has held the Celestial family together through every season of change?

Sources: Wikipedia, "Celestial Church of Christ", "Philip Hunsu Ajose" and "Emmanuel Oshoffa" pages.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Emmanuel Oshoffa)