On Sunday July 26, 2025, the dynamic women of The Ark of Redemption Ministry concluded their week long convention with thanksgiving service. At the end of the service, the Senior minister and founder of the ministry, a Chemical Engineer turned cleric, Pastor Olakunle Idowu David Ogunlana had a chat with PTL News, when he spoke on the Women’s Convention, his Church and his views on the state of the nation.
I am Pastor Olakunle Idowu David Ogunlana, a Chemical Engineer and the Senior Pastor of the Ark of Redemption Ministry, located here at the City of God, Iwoye, along Oju Ore, Ilogbo Road, the new headquarters of the Church. This is our new headquarters. We give glory to God for enlarging us. Our former parish is still there, we are hoping to use the former facility for a hospital. We are here now and we will work as God directs us.
Testimonies of movement from the parish to the headquarters
The Lord has been faithful. When we discovered that we are not going to be limiting God, God in His infinite mercy provided this place, we are very lucky to have this place. If not for the grace of God the land owners really put trouble with us, but because we have God by our side, we are able to acquire this place and move here. When we got this place we asked what could we do for God to appreciate this place, and we decided to move the headquarters to this place. This place is dedicated to God. We know that by the time God begins to increase us, we will have enough space to worship and serve God. As large as God wants to increase us, we will not suffer lack of space for what we want to do for God. We have more than five acres here. God can still do much more.
What do we expect from this level?
As I said God directs and we follow. We follow God directly. When He says do this we do it. As I said the other facility will be converted to a hospital, and that will be the medical aspect of the ministry. Here too, we don’t know what God can do in the nearest future, but what I know is that anything that God wants us to do we will do it as long as we are still alive.
We saw the massive Church auditorium, climbing up here we see rooms and spaces. What are they for, and what are your plans for them?
Actually, the thinking is that in the future we may have to invite ministers and they would like to stay over, the facilities here will serve as accommodation. We may have no need to keep our guests to stay in the hotels while we have this. It is better to create the space for them here and make it comfortable for them. There will also be office accommodation.
On the Women’s Anniversary and Convention.
Here we can say that our women have been so supportive in the ministry, my wife too has been a part of them. In the Redeemed Christian Church of God where we are coming from, I once told you that my wife was a pastor in charge of a Church in Russia. She was a Pastor in charge. Coming here, when we are faithful in other people’s things we must be very faithful in our own things for God. She has been the one piloting the women and the members have been so supportive and cooperative. There has been no rebellion, everybody contributes and cooperate. As God directs we move. As I said on the altar, we are not a Church that compels and squeezes people to give by force. Here we encourage cheerful givers and for them to arrange and do what they have done today, we can see the love and we can see the Lord taking them to higher places.
The excitement and the genuineness of their commitments. The secrets.
On the part of the women, it is just about the shephered and the sheep. There is no how the sheep will see a good shephered that it would not be excited, and when the shepherd takes care of the sheep, immediately they hear the voice of the shephered, they will be excited and they move towards him. I can say we don’t have any other thing we give them but the word of God. We teach them how to care for one another, and God has been helping us to put them together. That is the reason for the excitement.
The Women’s profile
The ministry is still very young, not that old. We celebrated the 5th year anniversary last year. What we see in the women is that some of them are sold out for the purpose of the gospel. They take the word of God into their heart and they act accordingly. God has been very faithful in nurturing the women. The women here are of diverse categories of people. We have professionals, we have artisans, and also have traders and home keepers.
Empowerment, what the women have been enjoying
Apart from helping them to raise capital for whatever they want to do, how matter small, one other thing they enjoy is from my wife. My wife is a doctor and she gives them the opportunity to share their intimate experiences with her. The medical aspect of it has been helpful, as we know that women often have many medical issues they can mutually talk about. That makes the women very free to work together to solve their common problems and challenges.
You know women love to share concerns. Like today now we want to do some scanning and medical treatments, and the questions they cannot ask me they can ask my wife. My wife is also sold out for evangelism.
What advice do you have for the women as they celebrate?
By the grace of God we also went through tutelage at the Redeemed Christian Church of God. We can talk about how we were well fed with the word of God and that is what we use to feed the sheep here. The word of God is the primary food that we give to them, and you know when you have the word of God, it nurtures them. That is what has been helping them not about the jamborees and the open celebration. If we can feed them with the word of God the Holy Spirit will do the rest.
We encourage them to continue to study the word of God consistently and use it to grow and develop themselves. We encourage them to grow in the word and apply their word to their daily life. They should also look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith always. There is no magic in serving God. By the word of God and prayers we can see the hand of God in all that we are doing as a Church. When you look at them you see them happy and you see their lives glorifying God, that shows God is doing something special in their life. That is what we will continue to do moving forward.
How do you want to see them as an inspiration to other groups in the church?
I always see them as a challenge to the men and other groups in the Church. They are more united than the men and other groups. They are more committed, thay are more ready. We see that in them and if they are good at home, it will be easy for their husband and even neighbours to follow them. we use that to charge them to be good to their husbands and the people around them. It is not enough to be good at the Church, they must take that gospel of love and care to their homes and the places where they work. They should be sure that their husbands are happy about where they go to serve God. With that one day the husband will love to follow them to where they worship.
We use that to challenge the men and the youth to make sure that they do their best at all times. Here is also a disciplined Church, we don’t tolerate indiscipline and ungodliness, and the members here know that. All these we learn from our father in the Lord and we put them into practice.
Challenges to women in our contemporary Nigeria
2Tim 3 verses 3 to 7, talks about the perilous times. It says perilous time shall come. It is not just coming it has come. The external inferences show everywhere whether on the road and even at home, everything influences even our character. Therefore our teaching of the word of God must be tense because everyone that goes out there will be tempted by so many things. If you read through that passage you will know that almost all those things are happening. So in our contemporary world, if the people do not study the word of God, the bibles we should study to prove us as workmen that are not ashamed of the word of God. What we can use to task ourselves is to ask, of what will Jesus do when He comes across these situations? (WWJD). If Jesus can stay where you are stay there, if Jesus cannot stay there then move.
If you go out you ask yourself that question, if you want to make a friend, ask if Jesus can make a friend with such a person. If you look at it and the person is not on the side of the Lord, run. That is the situation. in the present world I know it is difficult, because of the situation of the country we are now. But even then there is nothing God cannot do. We draw our examples from the word of God. Yes, it may be difficult outside, we are in the world but not of the world. Don’t allow the world to take the word from you. That is the view of the world. Because we are in the world but not of the world we need to caution the way we move. If you are not careful you can be corrupted. Then if you find yourself in the midst of corrupt people, before you know it you will be part of them. The book of the bible tells us not to be unequally yoked with the unbelievers, it tells us to get out of them and be with the Lord, and be separate.
Message to Nigeria
Jeremiah 17 verse 19, the bibles talks about the heart of man that is wicked. The politicians, not only in Nigeria but everywhere, they are deceitful and they are desperately wicked. One thing that bothers me so much is that we Christians are very much docile, when it comes to politics whether it has to do with that of our locality or in the country Nigeria, we are not there at all.
But we once had a Pastor and a Christian as a Vice President
He was a toothless bulldog. He could not do anything. What caused that was because if you cannot beat them you join them. There is hardly any way you get there and you would not be compromised. You saw the recent local government in Lagos State, you see that many of them are Muslims. Why? Because the Christians were almost not there. Those are the reasons why we leave everything for them. We leave everything for them only now to depend on them.
Even during the election it was like the PFN went to sleep, nothing was heard from CAN. Yet these are the people who would decide what happens to us in the grassroots. It will take time before the Christians can penetrate, because it has become a cartel, a clique.
With Tinubu, how do you see the situation of the country?
Now we hear about the coalition by many of northern politicians and their southern collaborators, against the second term of President Tinubu. May be they have seen the signs of the move of the president. Their thinking was that he would be compromised before he came in, and there are some forces underneath who see him doing some things that are really affecting them. They are afraid if he comes again, many changes would affect them. Upon all he is doing, they still don’t trust him.
You wonder why that coalition. Who are the people in the coalition? They are his old colleagues in politics. The issue is that they know where he is going. But in fairness to Tinubu in the politics of Nigeria, he is doing well. Economically he is doing what is right, the financial position of Nigeria is picking up. Many good things have been happening. What they are afraid of is that this man may divide Nigeria eventually, anytime, and I also have that within my mind that whatever he is doing now, he is doing it so that he would be elected in 2027, after which Nigeria would be divided into regions.
He has already paved the way, but the north are not ready to take that. They don’t want it because we have a lot of things in the south especially in the South West. God has given everything to us in the South West and others know it. Many of the resources in the South west are yet to be explored, not that the South west does not have them. We know that Tinubu is trying but the forces are seriously against him. He has dismantled all those northern oligarchy. He is a one man cabal, that no other person can challenge in Nigeria.
I was discussing with some people recently, I called him our political dictionary in Nigeria, the encyclopaedia of the Nigerian politics. Because he knows a lot about the modern Nigerian politics. He knows the politicians, he is one of them, he has dined with them, and he understands the terrain more than many of them. He is also very strategic. He asked when Buhari was there, that he did not go there to ask for contract or for employment for anybody. So they could not catch him anywhere. Those who asked him about his wealth, he asked if it was their money. He allowed Buhari to have his terms seamlessly, and he waited for his own time. Nigeria is a complex country and we need to pray for the president that God would allow him to finish what he has started. The person that will rule this country Nigeria without complain has not started. Nigerians will always complain. Nigeria is diverse with diverse interests.
Advice for President Tinubu
He should continue to do good and remain focused. Very soon the truth shall speak and prevail over Nigeria. The light will overcome darkness, and very soon, Nigerians will begin to see the results of his good works. There are forces left and right, up and down trying to distract him and pull him down, even internationally, they are commending him. President Tinubu knows the problems of Nigeria and he knows the solution, and he is solving them one after the other. He should not be distracted and if God is truly answering the prayers of Nigeria he would certainly come back in 2027 to perfect the works he has started for this country. He should continue and remain focused.
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