Celebrating Our Heroes and Heroines

The Celestial Church of Christ was established through the calling and anointing of God upon the Pastor Founder, Prophet Rev. Pastor Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa, and through the contributions of several people whom God used in different ways during the Church’s formation and early growth.

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Throughout this month of celebrating our heroes and heroines, we are remembering those contributions with gratitude. We have reflected on spiritual revelations, faithful companionship, wise counsel, and practical service.

Today, we look further back in the story to honour the Pastor Founder’s father—the man whose prayer and commitment to God form part of the Founder’s account of his own beginnings.

His story invites us to consider the influence of parents, the meaning of dedication, and the responsibility of nurturing a child.

A prayer remembered by his son

In paragraph 12, Papa Oshoffa describes his father as a Methodist, born and bred in Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin), whose own parents, Ojo and Koshina, had come from Abeokuta. His name, Oshoffa, came from a Yoruba saying meaning “the human eye is not a missile that an enemy can fire at one to make one fall”. He had many daughters, but only one survived, and he prayed for a son:

“

O Lord if thou would give me a boy, I shall give him up to thy service just as Hannah and Elkana did.

— The Founder’s father, as recalled by Papa Oshoffa
CCC Constitution (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), paragraph 12

The account connects that prayer with Samuel’s birth in Porto Novo in 1909 and with his name Bilewu, which carries the meaning “I specially requested for you from God”. (CCC Constitution, paragraph 12)

For devotional reflection, this is an invitation to consider the hopes we bring before God for our children.

Parents may pray for health, protection, wisdom, and a good future. Alongside those hopes, we can ask how we will help a child grow in kindness, integrity, and responsibility.

Dedication carries a responsibility for the person making it. It asks something of the way we nurture, teach, and care.

He acted on his commitment

Paragraph 13 records that, in fulfilment of the vow, the father sent Samuel at the age of seven to the Methodist catechist Moses Yansunu, and brought him home when he was not happy with how the boy was treated. At thirteen he sent him to the Methodist Bishop of Porto Novo, David Hodonu Loco. When a later bishop sent the pupils home, the father reminded his son that he was different, “because he had specially requested for me from God”, and took him back to the Bishop himself. When that door stayed closed, he taught Samuel his own trade: carpentry. Paragraph 14 describes Samuel becoming proficient in it, working happily as a carpenter until his father died on 15 June 1939. (CCC Constitution, paragraphs 13–14)

These details allow us to reflect on the practical work of bringing up a child.

A parent’s influence is expressed through daily decisions: finding opportunities to learn, noticing when something is wrong, offering guidance, and helping a child develop useful skills.

Such work requires attention over time.

Many people carry these responsibilities without public recognition. Their contribution may become clearer only when the child grows older and recalls the opportunities, discipline, or encouragement received.

A blessing at the end of his life

In paragraph 89, the Founder recalls his father’s deathbed blessing concerning prosperity, children, and people serving him. Looking back, Papa Oshoffa saw those words as the nearest his father came to predicting his future. (CCC Constitution, paragraph 89)

The account gives us another moment in which a father’s words remained significant to his son.

For us today, this raises a question about the words we speak over those entrusted to our care.

Do our words give encouragement?

Do we correct with patience?

Do we help children recognise their dignity and responsibilities?

What might they remember hearing from us in years to come?

Words can leave a lasting impression. We should use them thoughtfully.

He did not know the whole future

The Founder’s reflection in paragraph 89 also acknowledges that the family had not anticipated the particular nature of his future calling:

“

Although my father firmly believed that my birth was in answer to his prayers … none of us (including my father) had any inkling whatever that the nature of service to God to which I would be called would be such a very important one.

— Papa Oshoffa
CCC Constitution (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), paragraph 89, “Historical Reflection”

This is an important part of the remembrance.

Parents cannot know every path a child’s life will take. Love requires us to guide children while recognising that their lives will develop in ways we cannot fully predict.

We can offer a foundation: care, education, faith, sound values, and the freedom to ask sincere questions.

We can also remain willing to listen as they grow.

Nurturing a child calls for both commitment and humility.

The people who prepare the ground

Our celebration of heroes and heroines includes those whose influence came before the Church’s founding.

Some contributions belong to the years in which a person was learning, working, and developing. A parent, teacher, caregiver, or mentor may help establish habits and skills that become useful later.

Remembering the Founder’s father gives us an opportunity to appreciate that earlier work.

It also encourages gratitude towards the people who helped us in our own beginnings. Who taught us to pray? Who helped us learn a skill? Who took our welfare seriously? Who gave us guidance when we needed direction?

Those people deserve remembrance too.

A lesson for our generation

The father’s story invites us to take seriously the care of those growing up around us.

Children need dependable adults. They need patient instruction, protection, encouragement, and examples of responsible conduct.

Our professed faith should be visible in the way we treat them.

When we dedicate a child to God, let us also dedicate ourselves to the work of nurturing that child with love and care.

That responsibility continues long after a special prayer or ceremony.

Our hero deserves remembrance

Today, we honour the Pastor Founder’s father—the man remembered for praying for a son, committing him to God’s service, guiding his upbringing, and speaking a blessing that his son carried in memory.

His place in this series reminds us to value the people who helped prepare the ground for lives of service.

May we fulfil our own responsibilities with the same seriousness with which we express our hopes and prayers.

We remember the people. We honour their contributions. We give the glory to God.

Historical basis: Constitution of the Celestial Church of Christ (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), foundation history told by Papa Oshoffa at Makoko on 18 January 1969, paragraphs 12–14, and his supplement, “Historical Reflection”, paragraph 89. Reflections on parenting, dedication, and encouragement are devotional applications of the account. The picture is an illustration: no photograph of him is used.

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