There is, perhaps, no better time to tell the story of Deeper Christian Life Ministry and its offshoot, Deeper Life Bible Church than now, when the Church is celebrating her fiftieth (50th) year of establishment. Let us delve a bit into the history of the Ministry.

The emergence of Deeper Christian Life Ministry was manifestly auspicious. Smarting from a devastating civil strife, the Nigerian nation was in acute need of spiritual awakening, healing and revival. The political class and generality of the people were unwittingly sinking into the emerging culture of corruption. The Christian community that was supposed to chart the right course and provide exemplary leadership was buried in orthodoxy and nominal existence. Then God, Who understood the mood of the nation, raised a ministry with a mandate to reach the people with a message of hope and experiential Christianity.

From the quiet ambience of his sitting room on the campus of University of Lagos, Nigeria, William F. Kumuyi, a Mathematics lecturer at the institution, gathered a group of 15 sincere seekers of truth, who had requested teaching of God’s Word. With this motley group, he began a Bible study in August 1973; thus was born Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM), a non-denominational endeavour committed to the spiritual welfare of the people.

This group continued until early 1976, when venue of the Bible study became too small for its growing membership, necessitating relocation. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) headquarters on 1-5 Redemption Way, Ebute Metta, Lagos, provided a sanctuary for this purpose. The then moderate church auditorium was venue to the now-famous Monday Bible Study sessions, which held for several years before DCLM acquired a permanent site at Gbagada.

Besides the central Monday Bible Study sessions at Ebute Metta, pockets of believers met regularly in different parts of Lagos for studies and evangelism. By 1977, centres had been established at the following locations: Baptist Church, Chemist Bus-stop, Akoka, Gospel Pentecostal Assembly, 17, Shoremekun Street, Mushin, Yaba Model School, Surulere, Pentecostal Holiness Church, 97b Ogba Street, Agege, 25, Mba Street, Ajegunle, Christ Gospel Mission and 6, Onitire Street, Itire, among others. Siting study locations closer to the people was a strategy meant to bring benefits of in-depth Bible study closer to the people. This, coupled with the exemplary lifestyle of the leaders and members, brought rapid growth to the new movement. By 1988, membership had risen to 50,000 at the Old Gbagada headquarters building, ranking the church as the third largest single Christian congregation in the world.

In five decades of its existence, the DCLM has become a force that cannot be ignored. The Lord has used this umbrella ministry to benchmark biblical Christianity. DCLM’s influence is so widespread that many churches and assemblies, today, have recourse to the doctrines of the Bible, as expounded by the church. Dr. Johan Combrinck reports that the Deeper Life Church not only has an
attendance of 120,000 every Sunday, but has planted 500 churches in Lagos alone and 5,000 in the rest of
Nigeria, (with an independent estimate of a little below 1,000,000 members in Nigeria alone) and about three thousand branches in over 60 countries of the world.(Source: AFNET).

Today, Deeper Life Bible Church has planted churches in every part of Nigeria and in most African countries. It maintains a reasonable presence in every continent, with a membership that is growing in strength. With regular weekly programmes of Sunday Worship Service, Bible Study, Revival and Evangelism Training Service and Home Caring Fellowship, the spiritual, social and material needs of members are adequately catered for. Retreats have been a regular feature in the life of Deeper Christian Life Ministry. Two regular retreats hold every year – Easter Retreat and December Retreat. These events happen simultaneously across Nigeria and beyond.

Congrats to them

In 1973, while serving as a Mathematics Lecturer at the University of Lagos, W.F. Kumuyi started a Bible study group with 15 university students who had come to him requesting training in the Scriptures.

A former Anglican who joined the Apostolic Faith Church after being baptised, Kumuyi was in 1975, expelled from the church for preaching without credentials. He continued his independent ministry, which in 1982 became the Deeper Life Bible Church. By the early 1980s that small group had grown to several thousand, at which time Deeper Life Bible Church was formally established.

The church started as the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. The church teaches a doctrine of holiness and living a practical Christian life. The most important teaching of the church pertains to its members living holy lives.
The church lists 22 tenets of their beliefs: the holy Bible, the Godhead, Virgin birth of Christ, total depravity, Repentance, Restitution, Justification, Water baptism, Lord’s supper, Sanctification, Holy Ghost baptism, Redemption, Personal evangelism, Marriage, Rapture, Resurrection of the Dead, Great Tribulation, Second coming of Christ, Christ’s millennial reign, Great White Throne Judgment, New Heaven and the New Earth, and Hell fire.

A man of destiny, William Folorunsho Kumuyi was raised in a strict Anglican family, where the Bible was taught to be the word of God. His father was a ‘militant religious’ man, who compelled his family to join in morning devotion at about 5.30am, everyday. Church attendance was also mandatory for every member of the family. This early upbringing helped to shape young Kumuyi’s Christian view and protected him from indoctrination in atheism at Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State. His Principal and Proprietor of the school, Dr. Tai Solarin, passionately taught the students to share his belief that God did not exist. Young Kumuyi survived this onslaught against his faith and became one of the greatest defenders of Christ’s gospel in our generation. After primary education, Kumuyi proceeded to Mayflower School for his secondary education in 1957. With an excellent result, both in his School Certificate Examination and GCE Advanced levels, he was quickly admitted to study Mathematics from 1964 to 1967 at the University of Ibadan, where he graduated with first class honours.

Several years into his teenage, W.F. Kumuyi struggled with guilt and emptiness. He lacked the peace of mind he earnestly desired, forcing him to move from one church to another. At a point, he joined a white garment assembly, where he became a drummer. But a Christian friend persuaded him to worship at The Apostolic Faith Church. It was there, on April 5, 1964, that he gave his life to Christ and was born again. His personal encounter with Christ transformed his life and made him a child of God. The experience instilled in him a passion to seek biblical truth and live Christian life.

A Man with a Great Heart for God! He is not tall, and does not have a larger-than-life character. He
does not dominate, nor has he accrued power to himself. He walks slowly, is relaxed, and, has a gentle sense of
humour with a warm smile and a twinkle in his eyes. He dresses simply, eats simply... and... Could have
assumed titles to himself as the Deeper Life Ministry developed - most people enjoy the trappings and regalia of
status which followers gladly give but rather, he calls his followers brothers and sisters, and treats them as
colleagues. The church has over one million members worldwide and the third fastest growing Church in the
world.

The Deeper Life Bible Church began to expand in various functional areas of the Church Ministry. The following ministries sprang up giving impetus to the Deeper Life movement.
1. Women's Ministry
2. Deeper Life Student Outreach
3. Children's Ministry
4. Deeper Life World Missions
5. Men's Fellowship
6. Deeper Life Campus Men‟s
Fellowship
7. Deeper Life Church Aid Ministry
8. Youth Ministry
9. Prisons Outreach
10. Hospital Fellowship

The New International Headquarters Edifice
Commencing the construction of the first 3,000-capacity auditorium in 1980 was essentially an act of faith. With steel stanchions, the auditorium was considered to be a luxury considering where the church was coming from and the fact that it had been without a fellowship centre of its own for many years. Besides, the church rented blocks of flats from owners around the church for offices and administrative purposes.
Without doubt, the arrival of Deeper Life Bible Church at Gbagada opened up the developing communities of Soluyi, Ifako and Atunranse for residential and business opportunities. The old structure continued to experience different forms of renovation and maintenance for more than two decades until 2005, when the church took a bold decision to commence work on the new edifice.

The vision for a befitting international headquarters for Deeper Christian Life Ministry was long conceived. Several attempts were made in the past to acquire a secure location without success. However, sometime in 1979, the present location in Gbagada area was acquired. This land is significant for the singular reason that it is accessible from virtually all parts of the city. Worshippers, visitors and guests arriving from any part of the state can easily access Gbagada via the numerous road networks. Moreover, Gbagada’s emerging status as a business district and mostly middle-class residential area accords it additional relevance. And today, this once sleepy community, marshy landfill is the base of one of the most modern and imposing worship centres in Nigeria – the new international headquarters of Deeper Christian Life Ministry.

The headquarters auditorium itself comes complete with modern and latest facilities and equipment for the comfort and convenience of worshippers. It boasts some of the latest gadgets and devices both for safety, as well as security of the congregation. The main building consists of a three-storey amphi-theatre with central air-conditioning units, chiller farm, and air handling units. There are also modern toilet facilities connected to a central sewage system, standby power generating units and panel rooms (high voltage and low voltage), 7.5 MVA dedicated public power and 2.5 MVA transformers. The structure also houses a multipurpose hall, water treatment plant, modern sewage treatment plant, two industrial boreholes, and fire-fighting equipment, fire hydrant and hose reels, office facilities in five floors, six and 12-passenger elevators, etc. Adjoining the facility is a four-level framed structure car/bus park measuring 9,063 m2. It can accommodate about 450 cars and 75 buses, toilet facilities, restaurants and two-level sewage treatment plant.

Pic 1 and 2---- Old HQ Church, Gbagada
Pic 3 and 4---- New HQ Church, Gbagada

Congrats DCLM

Church Organogram

The organisation of Deeper Life Bible Church is such that William Folorunsho Kumuyi who is the sole founder and head of the Church is known as the General Superintendent. Next to him are the National Overseers of those countries where Deeper Life Church exists, which includes Nigeria. The next in the hierarchy of the Church are the State Overseers. These lead the churches in each state in Nigeria. Each state in Nigeria is divided into regions and headed by Regional Overseers who are answerable to the State Overseers. Within regions, there are Districts, which are then grouped, and a Group Coordinator heads each Group. A Coordinator heads the individual Districts. The hierarchy is summarized below beginning with the highest office in the Church:

General Superintendent
National Overseers
State Overseers
Regional Overseers
Group Coordinators
District Coordinators
Zonal Leaders
House Caring Fellowship Leaders

The various ministries in church such as Children, Youths, and Women, have their- hierarchies of leadership all tailored in line with the above organisation starting from the level of the House up to the National level.

Pic 1---- Pastor Kumuyi and His Wife(Esther) and His Son(John) and John's wife.
cc: OAM4J, Mynd44, HumbledbYGrace