OYE CHURCH
The
Seventh Day Adventist message came to Oye Ekiti when Pastor Tunde Ojewole led
an open air crusade in 1995. There were baptisms and a building of two flats
was donated to the church by Mrs Bamise, (a
non-Adventist, though in 2001 the building was forcefully taken over by her
siblings.)
The first place of worship was an
uncompleted building where the baptized members normally gathered and waited
endlessly for Pastor on Sabbath days and most of the times returned home
disappointed. None of them remained in the church today.
In early 1996 the arrival of Pastor
Joshua A. Adesina to oversee Oye and Ifaki churches led to the use of the
building donated to the church by the mentioned Mrs Bamise. Of the two flats,
one was being used as Pastor’s residence and the other as a worship hall.
Work started. The pastor’s effort however sowed seed
in many hearts and the family of Mr. Adameji Omoniyi, an indigene was won into
the fold.
In October 1996, the creation of
Ekiti State brought the family of Mr. Ogunmola S. O. to Itaji Ekiti and they
settled at Ilupeju Ekiti. From Ilupeju Ekiti which is about four (4) kilometers
away, they trekked to Oye every Sabbath day to worship until in late 1997 when
Pastor Onaolapo Ajibade the then President West Nigeria Conference visited Oye and
appointed Mr. Ogunmola S. O. as Volunteer Pastor to replace Pastor Adesina Joshua
A. who was to further his education at Babacock University. The departure of
Pastor J. A. Adesina brought Ogunmola’s family to live at the Pastor’s
residence.
In year 2000 when the South West
Nigeria Conference took step to renovate the building donated to the church and
to reconstruct the second flat to a church auditorium, Mrs Bamise’s siblings
became violent to the point of removing louver blades, carried away church
blocks and even arrested Elder S. O. Ogunmola. Pastor S. D. A. Adelakin, the
then District Pastor took the matter up to the Conference but the Conference authority
resolved to let go all matters relating to the building. The Ogunmola’s family
had to pack out of the house within a month.
Worships were held in sitting rooms
for years afterwards. Devoted Adventists that are civil servants like Mr. and
Mrs Ajisegbede and NYSC members came; did their bests and left but the church
remained. In 2010, the presence of Late
Elder Bisi Arije as the church leader with his family and the family of Mr. and
Mrs Adeoye was a morale booster. However, the sudden demise of Mrs and Elder
Bisi Arije in 2011 was a hard blow.
In January 2012 we worshipped for
the first time on our land under a lamb shelter and since then there had been a
marked growth in the church both physically and spiritually. There are more
than one thousand (1000) blocks on ground as the plan is on for the
construction of a befitting church auditorium. Today there are five (5)
families with fourteen (14) baptized members and about eight children in the
church.
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