In February 1951, instructions came from Portland headquarters that Rev. Timothy Oshokoya should visit correspondents and groups who th were worshipping in the name of the Apostolic Faith. On 20 February 1951, Brother T left Lagos by ship, went on shore at Port Harcourt to go inland by road to visit many groups in what we know today as Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Abia States. On this trip, he met Rev. Philip Inyang, the man whom God used to start the work at Ikot Enwang (which is now the regional headquarters of our work in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States) and Ikot Ekpene. Brother Talso visited Aba, Owerri, Onitsha and Asaba with Brother Philip Inyang. Most of the journeys in those days were on foot, by bicycle and in trucks because motor vehicles were very few and vehicular transport mostly unaffordable. Later he visited Ibadan and Saki with a Gospel team.
On his return, he found a letter from Portland headquarters inviting him to their annual Camp meeting. He went to board the plane at Ikeja, th st Lagos. He arrived Portland on 9 June, 1951. The Convention started on 1 July, so he spent the three-week interval learning music and getting acquainted with the work. During the Convention, Brother T was called upon to give a report of the work in Nigeria to a congregation of over 3,000 comprising people from different parts of the world. His talk gave the international headquarters the incentive that Brother Twas the chosen man for African work. On the score of that, he was given the backing to take up the African work from then on.
REV. OSHOKOYA IN PORTLAND, OREGON, USA
REV. RAYMOND CRAWFORD WITH BROTHER T.G. OSHOKOYA
He left Portland, Oregon, on 25 July 1951 with a commission to tour some West African countries and meet Apostolic Faith correspondents. It was while on this return flight that Brother T had the wonderful burden of winning Africa for Christ.
In 1955, he was again invited to Portland, Oregon, for their annual international convention and in May/June 1955, he was in Portland the second time for Camp meeting. He wrote: “One morning before the Bible teaching I was asked to give a talk on the African work. But the talk overlapped into the time for Bible teaching and by the time I finished God used it wonderfully.
“Many came to the altar weeping and consecrating their lives to God. Brother Ray came out and said: 'I have caught a vision. God has raised up Brother Timothy for the African work'. And he mentioned a lot of things they would do for the work in Africa. Most of these he was not able to fulfil before he passed on to glory. I was told to visit Liberia again on my way back from Portland, Oregon.”
By the time he came back from the international headquarters of the Apostolic Faith in 1955, Lagos had been made the Africa headquarters of the Apostolic Faith work in Africa and Rev. Timothy Gbadebo Oshokoya was named Africa Overseer of the work.