Editing Samuel Oshoffa (section)

==Revelation==
Oshoffa was working in the [[ebony]] trade in 1947 when he claimed that he was instructed by an angel to found a new church. He said that he became lost and had to live off the land for three months before finding his way back to his timber camp, and claimed to have been endowed with the gifts of [[Faith healing|divine healing]] and prophecy.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=i6qJ_lP3dSAC&dq=%22Samuel+Oshoffa%22&pg=PA119 The Spirit in the World: Emerging Pentecostal Theologies in Global Contexts], Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Jurgen Moltmann, 2009, accessed February 2010</ref>

[[File:Benin - batism ceremony in Cotonou.jpg|thumb|left|A spiritual purification ceremony in [[Cotonou]] in Benin in 2009—100 years after the birth of Oshoffa]]

An early [[miracle]] which his followers attribute to Oshoffa was the [[resurrection]] of his nephew. As a result, his sister Elizabeth became the first convert. The nephew became the first prophet of the new church. Oshoffa's followers believe he performed more resurrections.

Oshoffa's first wife Felicia Yaman was involved in the launch of the new church. Followers considered her a [[prophet]].

The church expanded in Benin between 1947 and 1951. In 1976, Oshoffa moved his operations due to a conflict with the government of Benin and a looming arrest. In Nigeria, his followers credited him with curing a "[[Mental disorder|mad]]" woman. Oshoffa held a public meeting in [[Yaba, Lagos]] where he proclaimed his prophecy. In the same year he again claimed a resurrection.<ref name="crumbly"/>

The new church grew rapidly, and it gained followers across West Africa and the world. The church was estimated to have several million followers in 1998.<ref name="adogame">{{cite journal|last=Adogame |first=Afe |title=Building Bridges and Barricades |journal=Marburg Journal of Religion |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=1–13 |url=http://www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/pdf/1998/adogame1998.pdf |accessdate=1 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050224140534/http://www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/pdf/1998/adogame1998.pdf |archivedate=February 24, 2005 }}</ref> In Nigeria, Oshoffa was sold a large piece of land after the owner was assisted by a "holy man's" intervention in a dream with a legal dispute. The new church faced initial opposition from the Nigerian authorities, but was officially recognised in 1958. He took on two partners for the church, [[Alexander Abiodun Adebayo Bada]] and Samuel Ajanlekoko.