Encomium
BISHOP Tom Samson is the General Overseer of Christ Royal Family Church. His popular programme, It is War is 10. In an exclusive interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly, the 49 year-old clergy opened up on the tenth anniversary and secret of his constant expansion.
What are the projects and expansion the ministry has embarked upon in the first half of this year?
First, our university project is ongoing. We have been doing a lot of official work leading to the approval of the university. We have been working on master plan, academics and legal briefs. We have an Implementation Team on ground concerning Monarch University. I have had to travel a lot to Abuja. Good enough, we have a lot of land and infrastructure needed. Aside that, we opened a new branch at Cotonou, Republic of Benin, weeks back. We also opened another one here at Ojokoro and Alagbado behind AIT in Lagos. We have commenced some building projects at Ikorodu. It’s a school and a new auditorium. At our branch in Ojokoro, we have completed our new school. The Royal Dynasty which will complement the schools we have scattered all over the country. We have started work to fence our massive land acquired at Ewekoro.
Furthermore, It is War will commence on August 3, 2014. Also, we celebrated the third anniversary of our Royal Towers at Ikeja, Lagos. It’s a monumental building completed within five months three years ago. It’s a three building auditorium. I have a programme coming up in this month and a conference in Atlanta Georgia, USA, in August 2014.
How will you describe the experience of opening new branches?
It was amazing. I discovered that Cotonou does not have the level of enlightenment we have in Nigeria. They needed our ministry. The attendance was enormous. The deliverance and healing were astonishing. We will soon build a school and hospital.
These expansions would have cost a lot?
Spreading the gospel is expansive. It’s a multi-million naira project. It was expansive. At Ojokoro and Alagbado, we have facilities such as schools and event halls. All these branches cost millions.
What’s the secret of this expansion?
It is result. When you are getting result, it moves you forward. Nobody doubts result. Our vision is practical. It’s setting the captives free and we teach them to reign in life. This ministry is based on deliverance and breakthrough. Most people who came into the ministry came as nobody but they are somebody today. Most of our firms are doing extremely well. People need a man with result and that’s the secret of our success. Our secret is result and success. The schools, both primary, secondary and tertiary institutions under our ministry are doing well.
What make the forthcoming It is War programme different from others?
It’s the celebration of our tenth anniversary of It is War. The programme brought me popularity and breakthrough. The theme is Victory at Last. No matter the challenges, you will laugh and excel once you attend. It will lay to rest all the challenges and struggles of life.
10 years down the line, how will you describe the journey?
It’s obvious. The programme made us a success. In 2004, when I began It is War, that was when the white men saw the fliers and developed interest in me and took me abroad. It was that breakthrough that gave me the needed resources to build our Royal City and the projects have continued till date. Now, I have gone to over 30 cities of America and 20 countries in Europe.
Royal Tower is three, how do you feel?
When we dedicated it three years ago, God asked me what I wanted and I said I needed a school at Ikeja, Lagos. We leased a big building behind us here at Ikeja. Now, we have acquired the building, a big duplex and bungalow on two plots of land. We have also recorded a lot of successes after its dedication. At Port Harcourt, we have acquired massive lands and construction is ongoing.
-FEMI OYEWALE
