Establishment of Branch Churches
Ibadan church was the first to be established after that of Lagos. Churches were subsequently built at Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta, Ikirun and many other places.
In 1956, a big crusade was planned to take the Gospel to many parts of Nigeria. It was called “Africa for Christ” crusade. It was a crusade planned and carried out by faith and God's leading. An old four wheeler Willy's Jeep and an old Chevrolet of Ford Suburban Carryall were the vehicles used. The Willy's Jeep pulled a short trailer carrying the load of the team, instrumentalists, teachers, singers, and ministers. Rev. Ezekiel Oshobowale assisted Rev. Timothy Oshokoya to manage the team and he drove the Willy's Jeep. Rev. Francis Adisa Akinboye, Sister Olive Dosumu, Florence Bolurin, Dorcas Okunyemi who played the organ as well as Brother Emmanuel Shotade were in the team. They went as far East as Ikot Enwang in Ikot Ekpene, visiting some branch churches there.
AFRICA FOR CHRIST CRUSADE MISSIONARY VAN
Another trip was made to the northern part of the country. They visited Kabba area including Aiyetoro Gbedde in the then Kwara State. One night, a bridge was broken at Isanlu after a heavy rain. Miraculously, God stopped the team from crossing the bridge that night in the dark. God laid it upon the heart of the leader, Rev. Timothy Oshokoya, to discontinue the journey that night. The following day the team took off after it had stopped raining.
When they got to Kabba the following day, the saints at Kabba rejoiced at God's wonderful protection by stopping the journey the previous night. They reported that one white missionary had lost his life as a result of the broken bridge. They lifted their Ebenezer to the Lord for His leading.
All through Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Oke Igbo, Oke-ho, Ondo, and a lot of other towns and villages, the wave of the Gospel blew. They held open-air meetings and distributed Apostolic Faith magazines as the team moved from place to place. It was a time of sowing, which yielded rich dividends in the numerical growth and geographical spread of the Church.
Apart from meticulously planned longer-term outreach programmes, ad-hoc evangelistic outings and house-to-house campaigns to distribute magazines and tracts were also undertaken from time to time in towns and villages. Later, the riverine areas of Ikorodu, Ito-Ikin and Ejinrin were also covered and thousands of Gospel papers were distributed there.
In the then mid-Western and Eastern parts of Nigeria, trips were made to Benin City, Agbor, Asaba, Onitsha, Enugu, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, Calabar, Aba, Port Harcourt, Ahoada, Eket, Okporowo, Oron and others. In almost all these places visited with Gospel paper distribution, Apostolic Faith Churches have taken firm roots and are growing considerably.