{"id":31439,"date":"2026-09-30T15:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/?p=31439"},"modified":"2026-10-05T17:51:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:51:55","slug":"awka-the-20th-church-planted-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/awka-the-20th-church-planted-in-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Churches Celebrate New Planting in Akwa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On September 20, 2026, more than 170 people gathered for the inaugural service in Awka, marking the planting of Nigeria’s 20th church since Lagos in 1989. It is also the 36th church planted in the English-speaking West Africa Missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awka is located 480 km (300 miles) from Lagos. In the days leading up to the service, the mission team in Awka welcomed more than 64 disciples from neighboring cities to help support the occasion. The church will be led by Kinni and Celestine Ugwu.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The team conducted Bible discussions across the city, including Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Each day began with devotionals, prayer, praise and worship before disciples went out to study the Bible with people. Evenings were spent sharing victory stories, encouraging one another and preparing for the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mission team also reached out to the community through a benevolence visit to Awka General Hospital on Saturday, September 19, distributing toiletries and demonstrating the love of Christ in practical ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kemi Olufowobi, leader of the South-East Bloc in Lagos, preached the inaugural sermon from Acts 16:11\u201315. Drawing from the story of Lydia, he reminded the new church that when God opens a door, his people must step through it with faith and obedience. He said church planting and evangelism require willing hearts, a readiness to go where God leads and a church prepared to welcome those he brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service concluded with great rejoicing as three women\u2014Ifeyinwa Onuselogu, Divine Ibekeme and Agatha Moses\u2014were baptized into Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We are grateful to everyone who gave their time, prayers, resources, energy and presence to make the Awka church planting possible. May this new church continue to grow, reach families, transform lives, raise disciples and bless generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To God be the glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the full service here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Awka launches as Nigeria\u2019s 20th church planting, celebrating a milestone of faith, sacrifice and evangelism in English-speaking West Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":31441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[71],"tags":[51,61],"post_folder":[151],"class_list":["post-31439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-africa","tag-missions"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Awka-team-edited.jpg?fit=1210%2C605&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Sunday Awolowo","author_link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/author\/sawolowo\/"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phsvEw-8b5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2380,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/akure-becomes-the-17th-church-planting-in-nigeria\/","url_meta":{"origin":31439,"position":0},"title":"Akure Becomes the 17th Church Planting in Nigeria","author":"dtadmin","date":"May 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The members of the Akure church were officially introduced to the congregation. A team of 18 disciples make up the church. More than 200 people witnessed the inaugural worship service on Sunday April 25, 2021. Akure now becomes the 17th church to be planted in Nigeria since the Lagos planting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Akure-Planting.jpg?fit=600%2C301&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Akure-Planting.jpg?fit=600%2C301&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Akure-Planting.jpg?fit=600%2C301&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29297,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/the-story-of-6000-how-21-disciples-sparked-a-movement-across-a-continent\/","url_meta":{"origin":31439,"position":1},"title":"The Story of 6,000: How 21 Disciples Sparked a Movement Across a Continent","author":"Sunday Awolowo","date":"November 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"From 21 missionaries in 1989 to over 6,000 disciples today, the Abidjan church ignited a movement transforming French-speaking Africa.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FWAM.jpg?fit=1200%2C654&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FWAM.jpg?fit=1200%2C654&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FWAM.jpg?fit=1200%2C654&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FWAM.jpg?fit=1200%2C654&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FWAM.jpg?fit=1200%2C654&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":496,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/600-attend-west-africa-missions-leadership-conference\/","url_meta":{"origin":31439,"position":2},"title":"600 Attend West Africa Missions Leadership Conference","author":"Sunday Awolowo","date":"September 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2015 West Africa Missions (WAM) Leadership Conference came to a rousing and breathtaking conclusion in the oil-rich city of Warri, Nigeria as more than 600 people attended the well organized and colorful grand finale at the exquisite hall of the Petroleum Trust Institute, Warri. WAM 2015 witnessed visitors from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2015_West African Missions Conference","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015_WAM_Conference.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015_WAM_Conference.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015_WAM_Conference.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015_WAM_Conference.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3222,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/west-africa-school-of-missions-makes-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":31439,"position":3},"title":"West Africa School of Missions Makes History","author":"dtadmin","date":"January 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"History was made in the Lagos church on 5 January 2020 as we witnessed for the first time in West Africa, the sending off of 15 graduates from the Emeka Onyechi Oguagha School of Missions (West Africa) in Lagos. The School of Mission is a training academy for young, vibrant\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bible Study"","block_context":{"text":"Bible Study","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/bible-study\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/school_of_missions_west_africa.jpg?fit=801%2C438&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/school_of_missions_west_africa.jpg?fit=801%2C438&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/school_of_missions_west_africa.jpg?fit=801%2C438&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/school_of_missions_west_africa.jpg?fit=801%2C438&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5133,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/first-international-youth-and-family-conference-in-west-africa\/","url_meta":{"origin":31439,"position":4},"title":"West Africa School of Missions Studies Church History","author":"dtadmin","date":"August 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"While in Africa, I\u2019m teaching 28 lessons in 8 days. Twenty of these lessons are on church history. I\u2019m teaching a class to students of the West Africa School of Missions.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/kinnard_west_africa_missions_j4eij9PWQ0WZquUd26Iq-560x245-1.jpg?fit=560%2C245&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/kinnard_west_africa_missions_j4eij9PWQ0WZquUd26Iq-560x245-1.jpg?fit=560%2C245&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/kinnard_west_africa_missions_j4eij9PWQ0WZquUd26Iq-560x245-1.jpg?fit=560%2C245&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22872,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/lagos-thanksgiving-service-and-elder-appointed\/","url_meta":{"origin":31439,"position":5},"title":"Lagos Thanksgiving Service and Elder Appointed","author":"Sunday Awolowo","date":"February 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The church in Lagos, Nigeria, celebrated the certainty of heaven in a special thanksgiving service. They also witnessed the appointment of a fifth elder and two baptisms.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Elder-appointed-in-Lagos.jpg?fit=1200%2C895&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Elder-appointed-in-Lagos.jpg?fit=1200%2C895&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Elder-appointed-in-Lagos.jpg?fit=1200%2C895&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Elder-appointed-in-Lagos.jpg?fit=1200%2C895&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Elder-appointed-in-Lagos.jpg?fit=1200%2C895&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Awka-team-edited.jpg?fit=1210%2C605&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31439"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31460,"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31439\/revisions\/31460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31439"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=31439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}