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With Funsho Arogundade
Until Friday October 18, 2024, Bishop David Olatunji Abioye was the first Vice Chairman of the Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners Chapel) and the second-in-command to the founder, and global preacher Bishop David Oyedepo. Abioye was also the Senior Pastor of the church at Goshen City, Abuja, the largest parish of the ministry in the North with over 30,000 worshippers. On that day in October 2024, a valedictory service was held to mark Abioye’s sudden retirement from the church at age 63. This decision came to Abioye as a rude shock. Many were equally dazed and disappointed by his sack from a family where he had given decades of his life in service.
For nearly 40 years, Abioye stood by his leader’s side. He sowed his youth and his strength in the growth of the church. There was no scandal leading up to that moment. No doctrinal disputes were mentioned. It was simply presented as a routine transition, and then from nowhere the news came, he had been retired.
In all of this, not once did Abioye openly speak of what transpired between him and his spiritual leader, Oyedepo. No outbursts. No speeches. No tantrums. No narrative of injury: all of which would have been human. He handled it all with rare grace and uncommon dignity. He returned to the first principles: gather people for a non-denominational service at a temporary space, pray, teach, and worship which later transitioned into a ministry.
Abioye —who will be 65 on Wednesday March 11— commenced Sunday morning service on May 4, 2025 at a temporary location in Abuja. But on Sunday March 1, Abioye marched his congregation into a brand new 50,000- seat auditorium he christened: The Conquerors Arena.
A visibly elated but demure Abioye welcomed the congregants to the inaugural service inside the mint-fresh Sanctuary that was filled to capacity with overflow of worshippers outside the main arena. The steely well-built expansive marquee is located at SGE Hub beside National Stadium Car Wash, Area1/Games Village Road, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory. To many, the new sanctuary is about a new atmosphere and a new dimension of grace.
“At the Conquerors Arena, faith will rise, destinies will be awakened, and men and women will step boldly into their identity as more than conquerors. This is not just the dedication of a venue — it is the birthing of a movement of victory, dominion, and impact,” Abioye told his congregants.
In all of this, Abioye has not rejected his spiritual heritage and maintains strong connection with his former leader in the area of ministries’ names and dynamic preaching. Abioye’s church shares similarities in name —while Oyedepo’s church is Living Faith, Abioye decided to go with Living Word. He has also adopted the same dynamic and motivational, soul-lifting preaching and teaching styles.
