Temitope Balogun Joshua (born June 12, 1963), commonly referred to as T. B. Joshua, is the founder of The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), a Christian organisation headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. A Christian pastor, humanitarian and author, Joshua broadcasts Christian televangelism via SCOAN's Christian television station Emmanuel TV, and on the Internet via the Streaming Faith broadcast portal.
Supernatural birth
According to SCOAN's account , supernatural phenomena accompanied Joshua's birth and early life.
Joshua allegedly remained in his mother's womb for 15 months before he was born. In hospital, his mother was allegedly warned not do an operation by a pastor, who said that God was busy preparing the child in her womb. During his naming ceremony seven days after birth, a big stone was said to have flown from where workers were drilling a borehole, pierced the roof where people were celebrating and landed where the baby was placed. The stone missed him narrowly.
It is also said a sage had predicted his birth a century earlier .
EDUCATION
Joshua attended St. Stephen's Anglican Primary School (Ikare-Akoko, Nigeria, 1971-1977, but failed to complete one year of secondary school education. In school, he was known as 'small pastor' because of his love for the Bible and ability to predict things to come in his community . He further gained reputation for alleged spiritual prowess after confronting a madman in the school premises and collecting his weapon from him. He was the leader of 'Scripture Union' whilst in school .
EARLY LIFE
Joshua worked washing people's feet on the muddy streets of Lagos before moving to a poultry farm where he had the degrading job of carrying chicken waste. At the same time, he held Bible studies with children and attended evening school .
His ambition to enlist into the military was aborted by an act of fate, as the train he boarded to attend an interview in the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, developed serious faults that left him stranded in the bush for six days .
FOUNDING OF THE SYNAGOGUE CHURCH OF ALL NATIONS(SCOAN)
In 1987, T.B. Joshua visited a ‘prayer mountain’ to seek the face of God. There, he allegedly fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights. He wrote that in a heavenly vision, he had received divine anointing and a covenant from God to start his ministry. In his own words, he said concerning the life-changing experience:
“… I saw a hand that pointed a Bible to my heart. The Bible entered my heart and my former heart seemed to immerse with the Bible immediately… I heard a voice saying, ‘I am your God. I am giving you a divine commission to go and carry out the work of the Heavenly Father… I would show you the wonderful ways I would reveal myself through you in teaching, preaching, miracles, signs and wonders for the salvation of souls…’ ”
Joshua started a church with just a handful of members, naming it 'The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations'—a name he says God divinely revealed to him . Since then, the church has grown far beyond the shores of Nigeria . More than 15,000 members attend the weekly Sunday service, and visitors from outside Nigeria are accommodated in the church facilities.
From the very first service held in 1987 to the present day, the church has been controversial due to reports of miraculous signs and wonders that occur every week. Numerous videos have been produced which purport to document the healing of incurable sicknesses such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and paralysis; showing people's conditions before, during, and after prayer from T. B. Joshua.
The church currently has branches in Ghana, the United Kingdom , South Africa, and Greece. He is also mentoring many evangelists from around the world in the church premises, saying: "The biggest reward God can give to His servant... is to make disciples who will do better than what we are presently doing." .
Interestingly, a renowned Nigerian prophet, Akin Adewole, prophesied in 1995 that “a young man from Nigeria would be highly anointed, such that all the nations of the world would embrace the mighty God through him,” a message he later affirmed to be concerning T.B. Joshua .
EMMANUEL TV NETWORK
Emmanuel TV is the television station of SCOAN and broadcasts 24/7. Every Sunday service is broadcast live on Emmanuel TV and its unique programmes are attracting a growing viewership across Africa and America. Many have testified to receiving healing merely through watching the Emmanuel TV broadcasts and praying along with TB Joshua The channels motto is 'Changing lives, changing nations, changing the world.'
Various prominent politicians, ministers of God and Gospel musicians have commended Emmanuel TV. The former president of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba, professed he watches it daily . It has been described as the 'people's station' in many African countries .
T.B. Joshua's programmes also air 5 days a week on TBN Africa and CTV, as well as weekly on a number of Nigerian television stations.
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