District Superintendent, Pastor Isaiah Olaoluwatoyi Alade, is the brains behind the prayer mountain in the heart of Ibadan, Ori-Oke Aanu. In this interview with SEYI SOKOYA, he speaks on the journey so far, and the 2023 general elections.
Can you tell us about yourself and your early life?
I was born into the family of Pastor Moses and Lady Evangelist Grace Alade, precisely July 16, 1977. I was brought up in a Christian home. I knew Christ from my early age. But in 1994, when I was going through one difficulty of life, I had a sore on my leg which started in 1993, and in 1994, I gave my life to Christ, my parents made me to realise that they’ve dedicated me to God because God told my mum when she conceived me that the child that she was about giving birth to would be a servant of God.
Everyone in the vineyard has a story; as for you, how did your journey in the ministry start?
As I said earlier, from childhood, I have realised that I will be a servant of God so all the training I was having from my parents was geared towards becoming a cleric. In 1994, the sore just started without notice and I started seeking the face of God in prayer and fasting and before I knew it, the sore got healed.
What are the challenges like as a cleric?
In 2001, when I was ordained as a pastoring Christ Apostolic Church after my seminary in the year 2000, the spirit of God gave me a revelation concerning Job 14:7 that ‘there is a hope for a tree even if it is being cut down that it should sprout again, but on one condition at the scent of water and that water is the Holy Spirit; the water is the word of God; that water is prayer; that water is inspiration from God. This information helped me. One day, I was studying my Bible and stumbled on Matthew 17-1. I was reading it continuously and I now got a scripture there which is verse 8, so something just told me that in the journey see no man except Jesus and since that time, I realised that God was telling me that Jesus should be the only means I will rely on and by the grace of God, I have been doing so.
What is the vision of the ministry?
In 2008, we started a programme at Ori-Oke Aanu tagged, “Mercy Once Again” and God told me during fasting and prayer that the programme will give the prayer mountain a major breakthrough. Precisely last year, we went for a programme in Lagos and as we were coming back, it was heavy on me by the spirit of the Lord that the programme He gave me “DUE4MERCY”, a lot of people are due for God’s mercy, but they don’t know the way out. That they are afraid of mountains, and that I should go and look for an event centre; a public place. CAC does not use public place like this event centres; rather we prefer to rent an open place. We had to go to a popular event centre to make enquiry and as God would have it, we negotiated the price, and we started the programme on the first Tuesday in November 2021 and today it has been a year that we have been holding the programme.
God has set a lot of people free; He has showcased Himself to many people through the programme. One of the testimonies I love so much was of a man who said that since he joined the programme, his prayer life has been awakened; it really motivated me. Since we started a year ago, God has been so faithful and that was why I decided to invite people to the anniversary because it calls for celebration.
What is your prayer for Nigeria as the citizens prepares for 2023 general elections?
We’ve been praying that God should give us new people and what do I mean by that? I am talking about a new president; a new governor; and a new citizen. We, ministers of God need not to be ministers of the devil or occultic one. We must not compromise irrespective of any pressure. Our prayer is that the citizens should be new.
What message do you have for Nigerian leaders?
Our leaders and all government parastatals should remember they will not be in that office forever. If you’re a president in Nigeria, the maximum year you can spend is eight years, same as governors, and senators. They should remember that one day, they will leave that office, so do it right because a day is coming when a Pharaoh will not know Joseph; a day is coming when your children will need somebody in that seat where you’ve been before; remember to do it right with the fear of God; remember to consider the poor and the needy. They should help us to do something about insecurity, our bad roads, and electricity. They have the capability to do it.
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