I first saw this man and heard him speak in 1997 in Unity Ministers Forum, Ibadan. His message made such a profound impact on me that when he gave a call for those who wish to rededicate their lives to the Lord, I was the first to meet him at the ‘altar’, not minding the fact that I have been born again and was already involved in active teens/youth ministry at least 7years at the time. But he stood out to me as a man of a different spirit and flavor. More so, Uncle Emiko Amotsuka who introduced him that day said Dr. Mike was one of the organisers of the campmeeting where he got born again in 1971 and described him as a father of fathers, a tested and trusted veteran warhorse.
So when the Lord began dealing with us between 1999 and 2003 in an unorthodox manner that pitched us somewhat against the popular status quo, in His wisdom, we began seeking some of the older fathers who we could share our experiences and convictions with and glean from their own experiences and wisdom. That was what led me to discovering the ministry of late Pa S.G. Elton and his daughter, Mama Ruth, Rev. Emiko, Dr. Mike Oye among a few other older ministers.
So probably in 2003 or 2004, I had the privilege of meeting him one on one, in the company of a few other friends. A bit of our interactions with him was put together in Essence Restored Magazine 2004 edition under the article, “Those S.U. Days.” I’ve copied out some excerpts here:
“I want you to know one thing: the real Church has always been there from the time of Jesus and the real Church consists of men and women of like minds who never submit to organizations. They may belong to an organization but they don’t give their allegiance to the organization, however “Christian” these organizations may be because later on these organizations may have practices and doctrines that may not be biblical and anybody who belongs to the true Church is never intimidated or coerced into such things. Now that trend has been there throughout history and such people have been persecuted, misunderstood, ostracized, black labelled and so on. If you study the history of the Church, you will find that people come out of one structure and do very well but as soon as they allow the flesh to come in, a rigid structure is set up and then people come out of that only to start another structure. So you find out that it’s a constant cycle.
Now if you ask me for my Church for example, I won’t give you a Church name because there is only one Church – and that Church has no name. People ask me about the name of my ministry; my ministry has no name. Have you ever seen the name of my ministry? But when they ask me again, I ask them, “Which one is Paul’s ministry?” All those things are of the flesh; we become structured mainly for personal gain. When you are walking in the Spirit, you have no time for the flesh.
Along the line, you mentioned that you people meet for fellowship. No, you don’t meet for fellowship. Children of God live a life of fellowship. The two or three of you meeting together in a place, be it in the hostel or a canteen or in a bus – that is fellowship – not just a prayer meeting or any other activity! Your buying food and making brother who has no food to eat with you is fellowship. Your contributing to pay the school fees of another brother is fellowship. Your sympathizing with a brother that has just been bereaved is fellowship. So what people call fellowship in many cases is only activity, not fellowship at all; you’ve just finished a prayer meeting yet a brother is still hungry – that is not life. It is the sharing of life that is fellowship and is not understood by men in the flesh.
Let me give you a prophecy: I give Nigeria particularly just about 20 years, if the Lord tarries, the dynamics of the Holy Spirit that will explode in the churches will make all people know that there is only one Church. Look, the artificial walls will be broken down! It’s by the Spirit; there is nothing anyone can do about it. Ours is to be people from whom the Spirit can express Himself. The walls will come down. I hope you are already seeing that there are some cracks. The Lord is going to allow His glory to flow like a river; nothing can stop it.
But later on, denominationalism became a hindrance to the revival. Different denominations began to compete with the S.U. which was non-denominational and healthier than denominations The Church that led in the competition was the A…… They went wherever there was an S.U. group and set up their own group and almost invariably in a very unchristian way, they took their members from the S.U. In the first place, they would pretend that they’ve come to speak to the groups as members of the S.U. – which was dishonest. I personally challenged them on these issues. I said, “It’s of the flesh! You’re not helping God’s work – you’re spoiling it!” I’m trying to show you how the revival started to go down. They would teach their poison because there are things in every denomination that are poisonous no matter how dynamic a Church may be.
And today what do you find on the campuses and the schools? Almost every denomination has a campus group – this is chaos! It’s of the flesh. I am 100% opposed to it. Non-denominationalism is of God; denominationalism is not of God! Listen, I am first a Christian and a servant of God before being a Methodist, and the day the Methodist Church tells me to obey something that is not biblical, I quit. I don’t need their denomination to get to Heaven; I only need Christ to get to Heaven.
We really enjoyed wonderful spiritual life in the 60s, in the 70s and early 80s. It was really great. When I look back now and then I look at so many activities without depth in our churches today, it makes me cry. What do we see today? Just activities upon activities, competition instead of co-operation and the focus is not even right. People are building empires for themselves. I thank God as I told you from the beginning; the streak of the true thing is still there. It may be faint but it’s there; God will never leave himself without a witness. People are getting tired of the whole system. Pentecostalism today has deceived so many because of the twists it has put into the word of God.”
– “Those S.U. Days” – Interview with Dr. Mike Oye in Essence Restored Vol. 1, 2004 by NiU Nation Publishers
