He is one of the world’s most well-known ministers, but who is Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s family?
Many of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s family members are part of his church, Christ Embassy.
Before his rise to fame as the founder and leader of the church Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome grew up with his family in Nigeria.
The pastor was born on December 7th, 1963, in Edo State, Nigeria, to T.E. and Angelina Oyakhilome. While Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s father was one of the founding fathers of the Assemblies of God Church in Benin City, Nigeria, his mother was a deaconess.
The Pastor Chris Oyakhilome family has three additional members in the Christ Embassy founder’s generation.
The pastor’s brother, Reverend Ken Oyakhilome, is also a member of Christ Embassy and serves as the church’s pastor in Houston, Texas, the United States, as well as a member of the church’s Central Executive Council.
One of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s sisters, Kathy Woghiren, is a seasoned gospel songwriter who has taken many awards home over the years.
She also has several roles in Christ Embassy, which is also known as LoveWorld Inc. She is the director of the LoveWorld Creative Arts Academy and the LoveWorld Music and Arts Ministry.
Furthermore, she is the chairman of the LoveWorld Records Label.
The Christ Embassy founder also has a second sister, Pastor Linda Okocha. She is the regional pastor of the church’s south region of Nigeria and the zonal pastor of Port Harcourt Zone 2 in Nigeria.
Expansions of the Pastor Chris Oyakhilome family
Through Kathy Woghiren, the Pastor Chris Oyakhilome family was expanded with Daysman Oyakhilome Woghiren, who is her son and, therefore, the Christ Embassy founder’s nephew.
Like the rest of the family, he is also a Christian. Additionally, he is a businessman and the CEO of Carel films Enterprise.
Through his company, he has been in charge of the production of more than 100 Christian music videos and animations. They include Sinach’s “I Know Who I Am” and Michael Jaffe’s “Igbunu.”
Daysman Oyakhilome Woghiren has won the Walt Disney Award and three American Academy of Animations Awards for his work.
The Pastor Chris Oyakhilome family also got two new members when the pastor’s daughters, Carissa Sharon Oyakhilome and Charlene Oyakhilome, were born in 1993 and 1995.
While the latter lives a life outside the limelight, Carissa Sharon Oyakhilome is a gospel singer and songwriter in the LoveWorld Music and Arts Ministry.
In 2018, she married the Ghanaian/Dutch businessman Phillip Frimpong in a lavish wedding ceremony in Nigeria.
The wedding was officiated by Pastor Benny Hinn, who is one of her father’s friends.
In 2021, Carissa Sharon Oyakhilome gave birth to Arielle Rachelle-Marise, who is Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s first grandchild.
How Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s spiritual family grew
Many of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s family members are part of Christ Embassy, which he established in Nigeria in 1987.
The predecessor to Christ Embassy was Youth for Christ. It was a student fellowship organization created by the pastor when he studied at Bendel State University.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome gathered a spiritual family of believers, and Youth for Christ quickly became one of the most popular fellowships on campus.
As it grew bigger, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome founded the Christ Embassy church in 1987.
Since its establishment, Christ Embassy has gotten about 13 million members all over the world. Most of them reside in Nigeria, South Africa, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The church has succeeded in reaching people all around the world due to its technological capabilities, among other things.
Christ Embassy has launched multiple tv channels and radio stations over the years. Their tv station LoveWorldSAT was the first Christian African channel to broadcast to the rest of the world 24/7.
63 million ml of blood donated to African hospitals
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his family are also involved in several charitable foundations.
The pastor has established the Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International (COFI), which helps people in need.
It has several other organizations under its wings, such as the Trauma Care International Foundation and the Future Africa Leaders’ Foundation.
The NGOs have made many donations over the years.
In January 2023, it was announced that the Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International (COFI) had donated 63 million ml of blood to African hospitals, which helped save 400,000 lives.
The organization trained more than 162,000 people in first aid and CPR, and it educated more than 10,000 first responders.
Additionally, COFI recruited over 65,000 voluntary blood donors, given 650+ first-aid training sessions and done 200+ public enlightenment campaigns.
All of the efforts are part of COFI’s drive to improve society and lives in Africa.
