From cocaine to cultism to Christ

At 15, he had started experimenting with all manner of hard drugs – from marijuana to cocaine. And when he was admitted into the University, he promptly got himself enlisted into one of the most dreaded campus cult groups. In Igbole, his hometown, as well as other communities in Ido/Osi Local Government area of Ekiti State, his name was synonymous with trouble.

Then without warning, his story was dramatically altered and he started serving the Lord. Meet Pastor Olaitan Aromolaran, pastor-in-charge of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Covenant of Peace Parish, Ikorodu, Lagos.

He might not be a household name yet among Nigerian clerics, but Pastor Aromolaran is steadily carving a niche for himself as a committed vessel of God, especially in the Lagos area.
Besides being the parish pastor of the RCCG, Covenant of Peace Parish, Ikorodu, Lagos, he’s also a zonal pastor in Zone 4 of Province 16 as well as the Provincial Evangelist for Lagos Province 16 of the RCCG.

Each Thursday morning, you see people trooping out in their thousands to partake of the spiritual blessings embedded in Helping Hand, a special early-morning prayer programme initiated by this young man of God in his church. Helping Hand has also attracted several notable names in God’s vineyard to the Ikorodu-based church, with many coming to minister during the weekly prayer programme.
General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) worldwide, Prophet S.K. Abiara, General Overseer of Decross Gospel Ministries, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi, Pastor J.T. Kalejaiye, Pastor Femi Emmanuel, Pastor Kunle Ajayi, Prophet Olowoporoku, Evangelists Bola Are, Ojo Ade, Dunni Olanrewaju, Lanre Teriba, Esther Igbekele Iwalesin, Ayewa Gospel Singers, Pastor Kingsley Ike, Evangelist Ifeanyi and many others have also been part of the programme.

Besides Helping Hand, the church also holds another programme, Joy Cometh which also draws people to the church.
So since when has he been working in the church vineyard? “I started working for God as soon as I gave my life to Christ in my university days at the then Ondo State University, now University of Ado-Ekiti,” the man of God said recently during a programme in his church. “I felt that I had done so much evil that if Christ could save me, then I shouldn’t waste any further time. I felt I should start working for him immediately. So from then, I had been going from village to village in Ekiti ministering to people.”

According to him, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he could ever become a pastor. “As a teenager, I did much evil,” he recollected. “I was a cult member in school. I was introduced to drugs, to cocaine as a teenager. So I never thought I could ever become a pastor. Even when the traditional ruler of my town came here, he said if God could touch this man, then there is nobody that God could not touch.

“I was a public nuisance. I was introduced to cocaine at 15. I became addicted. I got to the University a nuisance. I was in the cult where I was given the mandate to look for the skull of a lady. The day I met Christ, I was even coming from the hotel where we went to strategise on our activities. I was having a cigarette in my hand when I heard the voice that said, you must give your life to Christ. And I told my friends that, today, I’m giving my life to Christ. They couldn’t believe it. Nobody preached to me that day. My friends were shocked. That was how my life changed.

“When I came to Lagos, I started worshipping at the Redeemed Church. I went for the youth service, came back and started worshipping at Redeemed again. Then one of my pastors then called me and said I should become a minister. I laughed and told my sister that this pastor has made the greatest mistake of his life. Well, eventually, I became a parish pastor and God has been faithful since then.”

He recalled that in 2001, after noticing the various problems people were undergoing around him, Pastor Aromolaran said he was directed by God to commence a programme called Joy Cometh in his church then. “I remember that at the first Joy Cometh, about 180 people attended. To me, it was a great crowd. So I went into thanking the Lord. Then around 2002, we were holding the programme when some people brought a dead body, a corpse, into the church. I will never forget that day. Well, I just started thanking God. I said God of Adeboye, you must do something. Suddenly, the girl came back to life. That was the beginning of the great revival. The programme began to grow from strength to strength, with great crowds attending and testifying to the glory of God. Normally, as a pastor in this church, you are moved from place to place. So I have been transferred from place to place.

“In January this year, we had a 21-day fasting and prayer programme. At the end of the programme, the Lord said we should start the Helping Hand programme. So we started the programme in February. And since then, God has been wonderful. We now have people in their thousands filling this entire street just to behold the wonders of God.

“We now hold the programme all over Lagos. Helping Hand and Joy Cometh hold in about 20 locations in Lagos. The Lord gave us a mandate that this year, we must reach at least two million souls. And the Lord has been helping us.”
Also in his church, Pastor Aromolaran has been making prophetic declarations. For instance, he had told the congregation of the recent changes in government in Ekiti and Osun states.

So, what’s the next thing for the man of God? “The next thing is that we are going to be holding a mega crusade very soon. The Lord said we should hold a mega crusade that has not been seen in Ikorodu before. The Lord said we should gather a hundred thousand people and minister to them. And we believe the Lord will see us through.”
But that is not all. The man of God said he had been mandated to reach three million souls in the new year. “It might appear hard, but nothing is beyond God. I believe he will do it.”

Pastor Aromolaran cautioned, however, that nobody should ascribe any glory or greatness to his person. “I don’t believe any man would be under Pastor Adeboye and would still be sluggish. Daddy Adeboye is a man that will give you every support that you need. I believe I’m just privileged to be under that great leadership. That is just the grace that I’m enjoying. Remove me from this place and you might not hear anything about me again.”
He also has nice words for his wife, Oluyemi, praising her for being very supportive of his works in the Lord’s vineyard. “She had been a Christian before me, and she has been more than a pillar of support,” he said.
Source:http://www.sunnewsonline.com/