The choice of the Glory Dome of Dunamis Church as venue for the 40th Anniversary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) is as significant as it is symbolic for many reasons. In lieu of that event, CherryAfrica detailed and dispatched its correspondent, Substance Udo-Nature, to dig into the archives and, in a special way, retell the story of the genesis and evolution of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre under the distinctive superintendency of Pastors Doctors Paul and Becky Enenche. It is a special report in honour of these pathfinders, to mark the event.
DUNAMIS! This is a common word, a familiar one to say. It is a household name not just in Nigeria but on the global landscape of Christendom. No doubt. You can see the word pasted on car windscreens and windows, office desks, malls, people’s houses, schools, and elsewhere. Others simply choose to proudly hang the batch down their neck as an unmistakable identity, symbol of faith, with excited sense of belonging in a special household. But behind the popularity of the name and the celebrated personality behind it, how many may have been curious enough to dig beyond the skin of this shared familiarity to knowing not just the meaning, but the ancestry of this word, its etymology, in relation to Dunamis Church?
Not many perhaps. Many are simply satisfied with the momentum and the constant spiritual nutrition they always derive from Dunamis. It has not only attracted millions but has also magnated zealous, salvation-seeking multitudes to the Supreme source of life and His son, Jesus Christ, the anointed redeemer of mankind. Beyond the prominence of the name Dunamis – and the Church – CherryAfrica sought to know more about the word. Archives were opened with innocent curiosity.
The resultant findings were as interesting as they were enlightening, revealing more with regard to its root meaning; the catalyst it has played on the faith of members; and the man behind the vision and mission thereof. Dunamis is the Greek word for power. It is
therefore neither surprising nor a coincidence, that Pastor Paul Enenche, the founder of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Abuja, chose to be associated with that name. It apparently must have been a deliberate choice with strong spiritual symbolism and corporate identity. Otherwise, DUNAMIS is associated with the moniker, The Lord’s Garden, known for powerful ministration, celebrated for spiritual deliverance and uplift.
The beautiful story of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, by and large, is a metaphorical manifestation of the proverbial Mustard Seed – tinniest of all the seeds man ever knew – yet growing with progressive rapidity into a Baobab, with broad branches, resplendent
all-weather leaves, providing shade to all and sundry. It is a profound story that inspires and teaches. At the epicentre of Dunamis is the unfolding evidence of vision, iron faith in small beginnings, commitment, self-sacrifi ce, humility, belief in possibilities, resoluteness in the storms of challenges, and rare ability to know the opportunity cost on the scale of preference.
Therefore, the year 1996 must be written in bold or with special characters on the calendar of Dunamis Church. Conversely, 1996 is a watershed, a turning point, in the narration of the conception and developing expansion of the idea. Again, it is to say, in effect, by spatial analogy of the growth of the church in contemporary Nigeria, that Dunamis arrived at the scene on a special cruise at a safer time when the bandwagon of unscrupulous church-setting merchants and megalomaniacs had not stampeded the stage, the way it is today. It’s approximately 29 years by today, and the impact is consistently growing. It all boils down to one man, Pastor Paul Enenche.
Born in 1968, Pastor Paul Enenche is of the Idoma tribe of Benue State. Related details of his background as obtained by our correspondent trace his inseparable attachment to God to the strict moral upbringing he benefited from his mother right from infancy as a Methodist. But the young Paul later joined the Deeper Life Campus Fellowship in his young d a y s at the University of Jos as a medical student. He stuck with the Deeper Life, flowered with it, and subsequently blossomed with stronger convictions that saw him
formed his own small group, intention of which we got to know, was to add value, deepen impact, and join in extending the borders of the gospel. According to one staunch member who spoke with our correspondent, DUNAMIS was set up “for the purpose of winning souls,
finding the lost sheep, and reconciling them back to God in the prophesied ingathering of the End Times”.
With incipient roots in the Methodist Church of his parents, and with firm adventurous roots in the Deeper Life Bible Church founded by Pastor Williams Folorunsho Kumuyi, Paul Enenche anchors his teachings on Christian Living, character, virtue and a life propelled by
holiness and positive impact on humanity. He also preaches prosperity as outward evidence of Gods commensurate reward for His devout worshippers.
Miracles are also part of his ministration. It implies that by spiritual lineage, Pastor Enenche is a son of many fathers whose DNA can never be questioned for the wrong reason. Count them: Bishop David Oyedepo (Living Faith Church, that’s Winners Chapel); Pastor Williams Kumuyi (Deeper Life); Pastor Kenneth Copeland (Eagle Mountain International); and Pastor Enoch Adeboye (Redeemed Christian Church). But the pastor would neither work nor succeed alone. Beside him, is Dr. Mrs. Becky Enenche, whom many have described as an
indefatigable partner in the success story of both Pastor Enenche and Dunamis. We learnt that Paul met Becky, a fellow medical student, on campus and both were sooner captured by inseverable love that led to a matrimonial union in 1994. They had shared spiritual dreams.
Two years later, Dunamis was born. And in the years that followed, the Enenches sired both biological and spiritual children. While the former are four, the number of the latter cannot firmly be exacted in a church that grows in heaps and bounds.
CherryAfrica was also told Paul among his contemporaries at the University of Jos, Plateau State, was an outstanding student and on that note, we can confidently say that had he on graduation chosen to pursue a career in medicine or scholarship as a whole, he certainly would have become one of the best in his country today. What we don’t know, and cannot risk to speculate, is if he would have been as happy and contented as he is today for having chosen to serve in the Lord’s Vineyard. His life’s sojourn therefore reflects Apostle Paul’s and easily reminds the reader of those inspirational words in Philippians 3:8, “What is more, I do indeed also consider all things to be loss on account of the excelling value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake, I have taken the loss of all things and I consider them as a lot of refuse, that I may gain Christ” (New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures). Is it any coincidence or divine inspiration that he was named Paul by his parents? Who knows!
Having chosen that divine path of invaluable returns, it is possible that Paul Enenche, again, must have whispered into the air the very words of prophet Isaiah in 6:8, ‘’Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘’here I am, Send me’’ (New International Version). Whatever. At that point, he knew he had crossed the Rubicon. Judged by where and who he is today, it would be preposterous to say that the young Paul did not know exactly what he was asking for or fully understood the implications or expectations of his acceptance of the call from the invisible God.
Looking back today at the bunch of “rubbish” he left behind, Pastor Enenche therefore has reasons for testimonies and thanksgiving. He is respectable change agent with nothing to be ashamed of. With his knowledge of medicine like the biblical Luke, he has surgically dissected, distilled, coalesced, and cross-bred the teachings of his influencers and mentors to develop a peculiar hybrid that has distinguished him as one of the most popular and influential clerics on the ecclesiastical protocol of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, who anytime and anywhere can cause harmless earthquakes of spiritual soul-reawakening and dramatic deliverances. Whereas Pastor Enenche is not known to be spectacularly controversial, he is not gullibly conservative either. He bridges the gaps so expertly in a way that does not distract him from the mission. The Dunamis is dedicatedly involved in community services and social engagements – scholarships to the indigent; food to the hungry, succor to the hopeless and downtrodden; employment to the jobless; and capacity-building to those desirous of becoming teachers of the Word.
But Dunamis has a strategic mandate – to reconcile people back to God, to build faith, to revive; to give hope with the word of life – with tentacles spread across the globe. Like its founder, Dunamis is not known to be involved in ecclesiastical scandals, false and political prophecies, or fanatical approach to worship that are common nowadays. With soul-lifting songs of praise, intense exhortation, and worship on its routine meeting days especially on Sundays, Dunamis has a broad gateway to all comers. Liberal in attitude and beliefs, it is devoid of dogmas.
Announcing the event during the 21 days annual fasting and prayer program of the church, the senior pastor, Pastor Paul Enenche hinted that the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) will hold her 40th anniversary this February 2025 at the Glory Dome. Billed to grace
the event shall include Pastor Enenche’s spiritual mentors and benefactors – Bishop David Oyedepo; Williams Kumuyi; Enoch Adeboye; others will include Uma Ukpai; Daniel Olukoya; Ayo Oritsejafor; Margeret Idahosa and many others. It is not the caliber of persons at the planned event that is of paramount interest to us. No. It was rather the disclosure that the endorsed venue for the celebration shall be the Glory Dome, a cutting-edge and sophisticated auditorium built by the Enenches, which was dedicated in 2018. With a 100,000-seater capacity, CherryAfrica was reliably informed Dunamis headquarters is arguably the second largest church auditorium in Africa and the world.
Hosting the Ruby anniversary here shall potentially remind Pastor Enenche and wife, Becky, as well as the spiritual forebears of some turning points in Dunamis’ evolving narrative of growth and expansion approximately 29 years later.
READ THE FULL STORY IN OUR FEBURARY 2025 MAGAZINE EDITION ONLINE HERE
