Redemption City, Ogun State — The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, has made a rare and deeply personal revelation about his past, describing his early life as “really bad, if not dirty,” before his transformation into one of the world’s most respected Christian leaders.
The 83-year-old cleric made the disclosure on Saturday while delivering a sermon on Day Five of the Holy Ghost Congress 2025 at Redemption City, along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway.
Speaking before thousands of worshippers, including traditional rulers and church leaders, Adeboye said many people who knew him in his youth never believed he could be saved—let alone become a pastor.
“Many people never thought I could be saved. Even if I was saved at all, they never believed I could be a pastor,” he said.
“I’m not proud of my past; if one can be bad, I was bad.”
‘You, a Pastor?’ — Former Girlfriend’s Shock
The respected preacher recounted a moment that captured just how dramatic his transformation was. According to him, a former girlfriend once came looking for a pastor, only to be stunned when he introduced himself as the pastor she had been seeking.
“She said, ‘You, a pastor? You mean you will pray and God will answer?’” Adeboye recalled, drawing laughter and reflection from the audience.
He also narrated a brief encounter with a former university classmate decades after their graduation in 1967.
“She looked at me and said, ‘You, na wa ooo.’ I replied, ‘Me too, I’m surprised,’” he said, adding that they avoided further discussion because her son was present.
A Childhood Act He Still Remembers
Adeboye further reflected on a childhood incident that still weighs on his conscience. He said he once played a role in the separation of his uncle and his wife after she mistreated him severely.
“As small as I was, I told her I would get you out of this house — and I did,” he said.
However, he noted that reconciliation later took place after he became the church’s General Overseer, revealing that all the woman’s children are now pastors within RCCG.
Message of Redemption
Emphasising the core message of his sermon, Adeboye stressed that no one is beyond God’s saving grace, regardless of how damaged or sinful their past may appear.
“There is nobody God cannot save,” he declared.
“Do not give up on anyone. God can turn any life into a vessel of honour.”
His testimony drew loud applause and emotional reactions from worshippers, reinforcing the congress theme of transformation, mercy, and divine grace.
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