On September 27, 1954, Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo, a native of Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria, was born in Osogbo into a religiously mixed family. His father, Ibrahim, was a Muslim healer, while his mother, Dorcas, was a member of the Eternal Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (C&S), a branch of the Aladura Movement in Nigeria. He was raised by his grandmother in Osogbo, who inculcated in him the virtues of Christian life through the early morning prayers which he attended with her. She also taught him the importance of tithing and other basic Christian virtues. David Oyedepo was “born again” in 1969 through the influence of his former teacher, Ms. Betty Lasher, who took special interest in him during his high school days. He studied Architecture at Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin and worked briefly with the Federal Ministry of Housing in Ilorin before resigning to concentrate on missionary work.  David Oyedepo also earned a Ph.D. in Human Development from Honolulu University, Hawaii, United States of America..

 Living Faith Church (AKA Winners Chapel) started in Kaduna, but David Oyedepo moved to Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria in September 1989, to start a new branch after receiving an instruction from God to reach out to the population in Lagos. This Church in Lagos grew to become the International headquarters of Living Faith Church, with a constantly increasing flow of crowds spilling over to adjacent roads, and on decks of uncompleted buildings nearby, compelling people to stand for hours to listen to his teachings. This led to the building of the renowned Faith Tabernacle, as instructed by God. 

 David Oyedepo is an acclaimed author and publisher who has written over 70 titles apart from periodicals.  He is also Chairman/Publisher of Dominion Publishing House (DPH), a publishing arm of his ministry.  DPH has over 4 million prints in circulation to date. Through God’s grace upon him, Covenant University, Landmark University, Faith Academy and Kingdom Heritage Model Schools have been established to equip the youth for impact. 

 In 1982 he married Florence Abiola Akano (now known as Faith). They have four children together (David Jr., Isaac, Love and Joys). David Jr. and Isaac Oyedepo were ordained as Pastors in May 2007 by Kenneth Copeland. David Jr. is the Resident Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Ota, Nigeria, while Isaac Oyedepo is the current Resident Pastor of Winners Chapel International, Maryland. 

Dn 1998, David Oyedepo set forth to build a new building to accommodate the increasing number of worshippers. This resulted in the Ministry’s acquisition of the initial 530-acre (2.1 km2) facility, known as Canaanland, which serves as the headquarters of the Ministry. It is the home of the 50,000-seat capacity auditorium, the ‘Faith Tabernacle’, which is reputed to be the largest Church auditorium in the world; a feat also recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

 The speed of the construction of Faith Tabernacle was breath taking, considering the size of the building. Construction of this gigantic project was completed within 12 months, which experts claim could only have been a miracle, because such a project should normally take a minimum of three years to complete. To the glory of God, this building was built debt-free. This 50,000-seat edifice was dedicated on September 18, 1999. 

Today, the ministry is in over 180 nations of the world and Hampton Virginia is proud to be amongst one of the success stories by His grace.

God commissioned the presiding Bishop of this commission with a Word of Faith ministry to our generation. Remember Paul said, "...if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" (1 Cor 14:8) As a Commission, we have experienced amazing testimonies ever since this commission was handed down - that is over thirty years now!  They are:

1) FAITH
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." (1 John 5:4; Ephesians 6:16)

2) THE WORD
"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power..." (John 1:1-12; Hebrews 1:3)

3) THE SUPERNATURAL
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (Psalm 82:5-7; John 3:8)

4) PRAISE
"And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah: and they were smitten." (2 Chro. 20:20-22; Psalm 67:1-7; 149:1-9)

5) THE HOLY SPIRIT
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing." (Acts 1:1-8; Isaiah 10:27)

6) PROSPERITY
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." 3 John 2. "Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad..." (3 John 2; Psalm 35:27; Zech. 1:17)

7) VISION
"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." (Proverbs 29:18, Jer. 29:11),

8) PRAYER
"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us." (1 John 5:14)

9) HEALING
"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Isaiah 53:3-4; Jer. 8:22; Matt. 8:17)

10) WISDOM
"And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure." (Prov. 24:3-4, Isaiah 33:6)

11) CONSECRATION
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (Hebrews 12:14; 2 Tim. 2:19)

12) SUCCESS
"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." (Joshua 1:8-10)