‘I thought I Was Going To Faint The First Time I Received N7000 Tithe’

The Illumiation Assembly would be celebrating its silver jubilee this August

Bishop of Illumination Assembly, Lekki, Lagos, Isaac Idahosa sat down for an exclusive interview with correspondents from The Sun  where he revealed his humble beginnings and how he left his mechanical engineering profession to answer God’s call to serve.

Bishop Idahosa whose church has grown with branches in some parts of the world, said he started his ministry with just N50,000 and disclosed how he passed out with joy the day he received his first tithe from a church member.
Read excerpts from the interview:


Since you said it was divine mandate, how did you take off?
The ministry you see today worldwide started with 50k, when He placed that call on me after my bible school in1985…
One fateful day I was wearing Buba and Sokoto. The Sokoto had shrunk that I had to pull it down to rest below my waist to get to my feet. That day I forgot that I pulled down the trouser and I was about raising my hand when I remembered that if I did I would ex­pose part of my buttocks.
My early beginning was very tough. It is funny now but it wasn’t then. One Christo­pher won a contract of about N70, 000 to build a Trade Fair Complex and he came to pay tithe of N7000. In my entire life I have not seen up to that amount before. He came very early in the morning and told me that he has come to pay tithe.
He brought a Habib Bank cheque of N7, 000. I told him that this is still early in the morning for this kind of joke. He said he meant it. I told him if he was sure, he should take me to the bank. He said it was too ear­ly and I had not taken my bath. I told him, I wouldn’t mind being the first customer and besides, what has bathing got to do with bank? He drove me to Habib Bank, Bosso Road. I was the first customer. They called Rev. Idahosa, because of the fear, I said, “Yes my Lord.” They asked me in what denomi­nation do I want the money? Because I was still in fear of having that amount of money, I said, “any denomination sir.” They brought the money in bundles. Because of that amount with me I began to suspect everyone that passed for fear of losing the money.
I decided to charter a taxi, which wouldn’t be more than N80, but I drank cold malt with an egg and then uttered, “God, now I know you have called me.”
But I have people who could have helped but God said no, so that they don’t take the glory of where you are going tomorrow. So, I chartered a taxi and intermittently I would touch the money to make sure it was still in­tact. That is what poverty could do. When I got home I told the two boys living with me to go out for sometimes because I wanted to be in the spirit. But there was nothing like that I only wanted to hide the money into different places. They came in and didn’t know what happened but one of them inno­cently was moving to the direction where I hid a part of the money, I shouted at him, ‘cant you stay in one place?’
That same night, the Lord spoke to me that the money is not mine that it was tithe; and asked me to pay tithe out of it and other things to do with it, and was going to give me more to buy a portion of land where I would build a cathedral.
When the church was getting up to 100 members, the Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship invited me to Zaria. I was richly blessed. Where we are in Niger State now is a cathedral and we would be celebrating our Silver Jubilee in August. That is how God brought that to buy the land. God began to do great things; people getting saved and our ministry began to grow from glory to glory.
The name of the church, God’s First Min­istry International, was given to me. I had not travelled outside the country, so, people were laughing because of the word, “Inter­national.”
The first invitation I had outside the coun­try was in Benin Republic. I told everybody I was going overseas. They asked, ‘where’, I told them Republic of Benin, they said, Cotonou, I said no, Republic of Benin. They told me to get to Mile 2 in Lagos where I would join a vehicle going to Cotonou. When I got to the border I told them I was going to Republic of Benin. They told me to bring my passport and after stamping it they said, when you cross here, it is Republic of Benin. When I came back I didn’t want to tell anybody but today I travel to every country.
People will see the glory they won’t know the story behind it and that is why I organise pastors’ conference once in three months to educate pastors and bishops on levels God deals with you. God will show you where you are going through but won’t show you what you will pass through to get there. God didn’t promise you safe journey but safe landing so no matter the turbulence and the hurdles. That is the bedrock and how the ministry started.