“I have been ordained as a pastor since 2009” – Pastor Jimmy Odukoya says

The actor-cum-pastor discloses that he has also been actively preaching since then.

Pastor Jimmy Odukoya, the new Lead Pastor of the Fountain of Life Church Ilupeju has cleared the air regarding his appointment.

The actor-cum-pastor was ordained as the church’s new pastor following the death of his father Pastor Taiwo Odukoya in August 2023, whome was the church’s lead pastor.

During an interview with BBC Pidgin, he disclosed that he has been ordained as a minister since 2009 and he has been in service since then as opposed to what many thought.

Confirming the news of his appointment, which was announced on Sunday, September 17, 2023, he said, “Yes, I am now the lead pastor of the Fountain of Life church. I was ordained as a minister in 2009 so no be today, then I was ordained as a pastor in this Fountain of Life Church in 2012. So since 2021, I was the lead pastor of the youth church; church 3:16 till 2020 or 2021. So for those who know, they know and for those who don’t know, no wahala. I’ve been a part of this ministry as a licenced minister since 2009.”

Odukoya, who is also an actor, confirmed that he was faced with the option of choosing one or the other but he his determined to do both over time, however he his fully concentrated on his ministry for now.

“When I started acting, people told me that I had to pick one between the ministry and acting because the church and people won’t accept acting. But look at what God did, I was in the entertainment industry for six years; that’s in an industry that is very hard to break into. That just showed me that with God nothing is impossible. But now that my father is gone obviously my focus is on the church, but that does not mean that I can’t act anymore; once an actor, always an actor you know,” he said.

He also spoke about his appearance, which has been condemned by many, noting that it had nothing to do with his calling as a minister. According to him, everything he did had spiritual backing to it.

Odukoya said, “God called me the way I am, just as I am. As for my dreads, the story behind it is long but the thing is everything I do is backed up by scriptures. If you tell me something, I’d tell you ‘Let’s check the scriptures’. If someone says that long hair is wrong, I’d tell you to check the Bible where the Lord told Samson not to cut his hair.”

“When people say, ‘Oh he’s a pastor and he has a beard,’ remember the Bible said that when Jesus was tortured his beard was pulled from his face. If he didn’t have a beard, what hair did they pull from his face, was it fresh skin?”

“Personal opinion is different from sin, If you like short hair or long hair no problem, but if you tell me that I can’t have long hair because, ‘It’s a sin,’ my brother that’s where we won’t agree,” he concluded.