By Gbenga Osinaike
Pastor Mrs. Folu Adeboye is not your regular kind of pastor’s wife. Despite being the wife of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, she has over the years carved a niche for herself. Apart from being a support pillar for her husband, Folu Adeboye who clocks 74 on July 13, 2022, has not allowed her own calling to suffer.
She has demonstrated her love for children, women, and indeed the nation. This tripartite concern has defined her love and ministry. It is therefore not unusual when on every Holy Ghost night, Mummy G.O as she is fondly called, anchors a prayer session for Nigeria. The passion and zeal with which she leads the prayer shows her emotional attachment to her fatherland.
Beyond her love for the nation, her first love seems to be children. As a trained teacher, Folu Adeboye has not allowed the children in the RCCG to lack spiritual guidance. She makes case for them and ensures that all the necessary materials needed for their spiritual emancipation are made available.
When it comes to women’s ministry, the beauty of Folu Adeboye’s involvement with women is that it transcends the RCCG. For many years now, she has consistently organised an interdenominational women’s programme called the Feast of Esther. The programme brings wives of pastors from across the world together for a three-day conference. The Feast of Esther organisation is currently in about 30 countries.
Mummy G.O once said the Feast of Esther could not have had a life of its own but for God and her husband who have been giving her the needed encouragement right from its inception. The annual event has been running for 21 years now. On the 20th anniversary of the feast in 2021, she said of her husband in an online video, “I want to let you know that this man has been just fantastic in his support and in bearing with me and ministering to us. For the past 20 years, his message usually is the last at the conference. We always look forward to the last message of the conference. I could not have had a better husband in life.”
- Mr Gbenga Osinaike is the Publisher of Church Times