Dunamis at 30: Enenche Recounts How Many Wrote the Church Off at Its Founding
When Paul Enenche and his wife, Becky, launched the Dunamis International Gospel Centre three decades ago, plenty of observers were convinced the young ministry would not last. Speaking at a special healing and deliverance service held at the church’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday to mark its 30th anniversary, the senior pastor recalled that many people gave the couple no chance of survival from the very beginning.
The Enenches, both medical doctors, held the church’s first service on Sunday, 10 November 1996, in a restaurant at the Centre for Arts and Culture, now known as the Cyprian Ekwensi Arts and Culture Centre, in the Garki District of Abuja. Only 55 people attended that inaugural gathering. Thirty years later, the ministry has grown into a global movement with thousands of branches and members spread across the world.
A Sermon on God’s Faithfulness
Delivering a sermon titled “The faithfulness of God” to commemorate the milestone, Mr Enenche praised God for His steadfastness over the past three decades. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 5:24, he said God had been faithful to His calling, His word, His praise, His promise, and His covenant.
The clergyman explained that the church was founded on the power of the Holy Spirit, as stated in Acts 1:8, noting that “Dunamis” is the Greek word for power. “You cannot talk about Dunamis without talking about power, the power of the Holy Ghost,” he told the congregation.
Early Doubts and Dismissive Predictions
Reflecting on the ministry’s humble beginnings, Mr Enenche recounted that some of the people the church encountered in its early years dismissed it outright. “When this ministry started, many people didn’t give us any chances of survival… of anything. Some wrote us off from scratch. And I don’t know why human beings think that they can predict a person’s future, how they think in their minds,” he said.
He recalled critics who claimed the church attracted only “strugglers, the masses, not classes but masses.” According to him, detractors argued that the congregation was large but made up of struggling people, with no “big men,” rich men, or wealthy men in attendance. “They thought that was our focus,” he added.
The pastor also noted that at the time, nearly every church had an identifiable sponsor. “For us, we have nothing but God, and that God brought us to where we are,” he said.
From a Mustard Seed to a Global Ministry
Likening the church’s beginnings to a mustard seed, Mr Enenche said some of those who once looked down on the ministry have since approached him and the church for help on multiple occasions, particularly in the area of finance. He added that the church’s impact has become so widespread that he now receives invitations from across the world to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Some people who looked down on us and said, ‘They are just a small church, strugglers,’ have looked for our help multiple times, help that bordered on finance. It was a small mustard seed that has impacted every inhabited continent on the earth. We have calls from literally all places around the earth that we cannot meet,” he said.
Turning to the congregation, the pastor offered a prayer of declaration: “That is the God you are connected to. He will disappoint the voices of the wicked people. He will disappoint the expectations of negative people for your life, your family, and your destiny. He will prove wrong people who are waiting to see that it didn’t work.” He referenced those who predicted that he and his wife would soon abandon the pulpit and return to medicine, declaring that such critics would never witness the failure they anticipated.
Building the Glory Dome
Recounting the construction of the church’s 100,000-capacity sanctuary known as the Glory Dome, Mr Enenche revealed that the project consumed more money every month than the church’s entire annual offering. “So, resources were coming beyond what the offering would account for,” he said.
He recalled a skeptic from those days who questioned the source of the church’s funding. “One of those people of those days said, ‘What is the source of your people’s money? How are you getting the things done?’ We said, ‘It is God.’ Do you know what he said – ‘only?’ It’s like saying God alone is not enough. It’s like saying there has to be something more,” Mr Enenche recounted.
He concluded with a reflection on the nature of divine faithfulness: “The faithfulness of God is the reliability of God. He is reliable, dependable, trustworthy, and constant. You can actually trust Him and go to sleep.”
Becky Enenche Recalls the First Service
Earlier in the service, Mrs Enenche recounted how the church began, noting that the first service in November 1996 at the Arts and Culture Centre drew 55 people. “See where God has brought us,” she remarked, before leading the congregation in a brief prayer of thanksgiving.
The Enenches, who practised medicine in Jos, Plateau State, moved to Abuja to establish the church following an encounter with God. Although the ministry began with 55 members, some of whom still worship there today, it now operates thousands of branches worldwide.
Anniversary Celebrations and a Growing Legacy
While the church’s first service was held on 10 November 1996, it marks its anniversary in the last week of November each year with a conference known as the Kingdom Power Glory World Conference. This year’s edition, themed “Open Heavens,” is scheduled to run from 23 to 29 November.
With its 100,000-capacity Glory Dome, dedicated on 24 November 2018, Dunamis Church held the title of Nigeria’s biggest auditorium until last week, when the 120,000-seater “Five Fingers of God Cathedral” was dedicated by Salvation Ministries in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Salvation Ministries was founded by David Ibiyeomie in April 1997. The Glory Dome may soon become the third largest, as Living Faith Church, founded by Bishop David Oyedepo, is currently constructing a sanctuary called “The Ark” that will accommodate approximately 109,000 worshippers. Both Mr Enenche and Mr Ibiyeomie are spiritual sons of Mr Oyedepo.
The 30th-anniversary celebration served as both a thanksgiving service and a testament to a journey that began in a modest restaurant with just 55 worshippers and grew into one of Nigeria’s most prominent megachurches.
