Benson Idahosa

{{Short description|Nigerian pentecostal preacher (1938–1998)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| office              = [[Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria#Leadership|3rd]] [[Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria|President of PFN]]
| term_start          = 1995
| term_end            = 1998
| predecessor         = [[Enoch Adeboye]]
| successor           = [[Mike Okonkwo]]
| name                = Benson Idahosa
| birth_name          = Benson Andrew Idahosa
| honorific_prefix    = [[Archbishop]]
| image               = BensonIdahosa.jpg
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=yes|1938|09|11}}
| birth_place         = [[Benin City]], [[Edo State|Edo]], Nigeria
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1998|03|12|1938|09|11|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[Benin City]], Nigeria
| nationality         = Nigerian
| spouse              = Archbishop [[Margaret Idahosa]]
| children            = 1 son, 3 daughters
| occupation          = [[Televangelist]], [[author]], [[pastor]]
| resting_place       = [[Benin City]], [[Nigeria]]
}}

'''Benson Andrew Idahosa''' (11 September 1938 – 12 March 1998), was a [[Charismatic Christianity|Charismatic]] [[Pentecostal]] preacher. He is the founder of [[Church of God Mission International]]. Archbishop Benson Idahosa was popularly referred to as the father of Pentecostalism in Nigeria.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://tribuneonlineng.com/god-told-impossible-fill-fathers-shoes-bishop-idahosa/|title=God told me it is impossible to fill my father's shoes —Bishop Idahosa " Tribune Online|date=9 October 2016}}</ref> Idahosa was the founder of [[Benson Idahosa University]] (BIU) in [[Benin City]], [[Edo State]], Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.biu.edu.ng/about-biu/|title=About Benson Idahosa University |publisher=Benson Idahosa University|access-date=14 October 2018}}</ref>
His only son, Bishop F.E.B. Idahosa, is now the president of BIU, founder and president of Big Ben's Children Hospital, and vice-president of All Nations for Christ Bible Institute International, among other positions.<ref name="auto"/>

==Biography==
In October 1968, Idahosa officially inaugurated the Church of God Mission International, which had started previously, as a "small prayer group".<ref name="refworld">{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be7920.html|title=Nigeria - Church of God Mission including whether there is a chapter in Kaduna|date=26 September 200}}</ref> A claim made by Idahosa that he had raised eight people from the dead was dropped when challenged by the [[Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)|Advertising Standards Authority]], who sought evidence that the individuals concerned had been dead.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sects, power and miracles in the Bible belt of Essex |author=John Sweeney |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/dec/31/otherparties.uk?INTCMP=SRCH |newspaper=The Guardian |date=31 December 2000 |accessdate=26 September 2011}}</ref> He was commissioned into ministry in 1971 by Pa Elton and [[James Gordon Lindsay|James Gordon Lindsey]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=israelolofinjana|date=2012-03-12|title=Benson Andrew Idahosa (1938-1998): Father of Nigerian Pentecostalism|url=https://israelolofinjana.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/benson-andrew-idahosa-1938-1998-father-of-nigerian-pentecostalism/|access-date=2022-02-15|website=israelolofinjana|language=en}}</ref> He was ordained a [[Bishop]] in 1981,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2017-09-30|title=40 REMARKABLE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN BENSON IDAHOSA AND BISHOP DAVID OYEDEPO|url=https://www.gospelnaija.com/relationships-2/5295-40-remarkable-similarities-between-benson-idahosa-and-bishop-david-oyedepo|access-date=2022-02-15|website=www.gospelnaija.com|language=en-gb}}</ref> and ordained several others, including [[David Oyedepo|Bishop David Oyedepo]] of the [[Living Faith Church Worldwide]] in 1989.<ref name=":0" />

Idahosa died on 12 March 1998.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nigerian Archbishop Benson Idahosa dies |url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/archive/nigerian-archbishop-benson-idahosa-dies/article_a429d74c-aae6-53d6-a708-aef29609907f.html |newspaper=Tulsa World |date=26 April 1998 |accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> He was survived by his wife, [[Margaret Idahosa]] and four children.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Archbishop Idahosa died – Wife
 |author=Sam Eyoboka |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/how-archbishop-idahosa-died-wife/ |newspaper=The Vanguard |date=20 April 2010 |accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> His wife subsequently took over as the [[Archbishop]] of the [[Church of God Mission International]] (CGMI), the Christian ministry he founded, she is also the [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of [[Benson Idahosa University]].<ref>{{cite news |title=My husband was like a brother until he proposed ––Arch Benson-Idahosa |url=https://punchng.com/my-husband-was-like-a-brother-until-he-proposed-arch-benson-idahosa/ |newspaper=The Punch |date=23 February 2020 |accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/BensonIdahosaTV Benson Idahosa video channel] on [[YouTube]]
* Founders of Church of God Mission, Worldwide. Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20080601025632/http://www.cgm-usa.org/
* Garlock, Ruthane (1982). Fire in his bones: The Story of Benson Idahosa - A leader of the Christian awakening in Africa. Logos Associates, {{ISBN|0-88270-451-6}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090307033419/http://www.dacb.org/stories/nigeria/idahosa_bensona.html Dictionary of African Christian] Biography

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Idahosa, Benson}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:Faith healers]]
[[Category:Nigerian evangelicals]]
[[Category:Nigerian Pentecostal pastors]]
[[Category:Nigerian religious leaders]]
[[Category:Nigerian television evangelists]]
[[Category:Oral Roberts University people]]
[[Category:People from Edo State]]
[[Category:Edo writers]]