Sunday Adelaja (Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian: Сандей Аделаджа) is the founder and senior pastor of the Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations, an evangelical-charismatic megachurch and a Christian denomination in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Biography Sunday Sunkanmi Adelaja was born in the village of Idomila Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria. His name Adelaja means "crown settled this fight" in Yoruba. He was raised by his grandmother and became Christian in March 1986 just before graduating from high school.
In 1986, after graduation, Adelaja left Nigeria because he received a scholarship to study journalism at the Belarusian State University in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR.Mark Hutchinson, John Wolffe, A Short History of Global Evangelicalism, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2012, p. 4Robert C. Ostergren, Mathias Le Bossé, The Europeans, Second Edition: A Geography of People, Culture, and Environment, Guilford Press, USA, 2011, p. 203 He claims he was threatened there by authorities for having a picture of Jesus in his house, but nevertheless, he began Christian activities in Belarus during his studies.Out of Africa: edited by C Peter Wagner and Joseph Thompson, Regal Books, USA (2004)
After graduation and the breakdown of the USSR, he moved from Belarus to Ukraine in December 1993.Steven M. Studebaker, Pentecostalism and Globalization: The Impact of Globalization on Pentecostal Theology and Ministry, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2010, p. 60
He married and took a job in Kyiv, becoming a TV presenter, and "possibly the first black correspondent on Ukrainian screens".
At the time of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on 22 February 2022, Adelaja was living in Irpin. By his own account, he was tipped off that day that he was on a Russian hitlist, and he and his wife immediately drove to Poland, gaining asylum in Belgium later in 2022, where he was resident as of 2024. His Ukraine home was destroyed by the Russian army.
It was reported in 2024 that Adelaja was focusing his endeavours on improving the quality of Pentecostal ministry in Nigeria.
Ministry In 1993, 7 people and Adelaja founded the "Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations" in his apartment.Afe Adogame, The African Christian Diaspora: New Currents and Emerging Trends in World Christianity, A&C Black, UK, 2013, p. 186 The church was officially founded in 1994 as the "World of Faith Bible Church".Nigerian pastor finds new flock in Ukraine, BBC News, 30 October 2006Prominent pastor from Europe addresses students, Liberty University, March 2008 The Church flourished partly by providing basic social care, such as food and help with alcoholism, in post-Soviet Ukraine, and partly through its engaging services and deployment of Pentecostal "prosperity theology".
In 2013, the church claimed 25,000 members in Kyiv, 100,000 members in Ukraine, and 1,000 churches in the rest of the world,Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2013, p. 109P. Thomas, P. Lee, Global and Local Televangelism, Springer, USA, 2012, p. 10Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations, For Partners, godembassy.com, Ukraine, Retrieved October 11, 2017The Unlikely Ambassador, Charisma magazine, October 2007 though around this time membership began to diminish due to accusations of financial impropriety by Adelaja.
As of around 2011, thousands of people were being fed daily in the church's soup kitchens in Kyiv.CLIFFORD J. LEVY, nytimes.com, An Evangelical Preacher’s Message Catches Fire in Ukraine, USA, APRIL 22, 2011Stephen Hunt, Handbook of Global Contemporary Christianity: Themes and Developments in Culture, Politics, and Society, BRILL, USA, 2015, p. 62 The church also has a program helping homeless people acquire skills, thus helping them back to a normal life and work. According to the church, 2,000 children have been helped off the street and have been returned to their families. Furthermore, the church runs a 24-hour hotline, named "Trust line"Trust line (Page in Russian) for people in need to call for help. The church also works with addicted people and has a program helping them to be set free from their various addictions. The main organization is called "Love Rehabilitation Center.”Love Rehabilitation Center (Page in Russian) According to the church, more than 5000 drug and alcohol addicted people have been set free from their addictions through the church's work.Information about Embassy of God ChurchEmbassy of God: Projects
The New York Times made the following statement about Adelaja: "Could there be a more unlikely success story in the former Soviet Union than the Rev. Sunday Adelaja, an immigrant from Nigeria who has developed an ardent — and enormous — following across Ukraine?"An Evangelical Preacher's Message Catches Fire in Ukraine, New York Times (April 22, 2011)
He founded many educational institutions connected to the church, and among them the following are more known: the Joshua Missionary Bible Institute in Ukraine,Joshua Missionary Bible Institute, Ukraine (Page in Russian) the Center of Restoration of Personality and Transformation of the Society in Ukraine,Center of Restoration of Personality and Transformation of the Society, Ukraine (Page in Russian) the History Makers Bible School in the US,History Makers Bible School, United States of America the UK, Germany,History Makers Bible School, UK France,History Makers Bible School, France and the Institute for National Transformation in Nigeria.Institute for National Transformation, Nigeria
Adelaja has frequently faced racism from his critics in the Orthodox Church.
Awards and honors In October 2010, Sunday Adelaja was one of the foreigners in Ukraine who were awarded The Most Influential Expats 2010 by the Kyiv Post newspaper.Most Influential Expats: Sunday Adelaja, Kyiv Post newspaper, Oct 2010
In May 2009, Sunday Adelaja became The Face of Kyiv 2009. The annual competition was conducted by the magazine Afisha and Adelaja took the first place with more than 1/3 of the votes, beating to the second position, the most popular actor in Ukraine, Bohdan Stupka; to the third place, the Heavy weight boxer Vitali Klitschko; to the fourth place, one of the richest Entrepreneurs in Ukraine, Viktor Pinchuk; and to the fifth place the Mayor of Kyiv, Leonid Chernovetskyi.
At the Azusa Street Revival Festival on Saturday April 25, 2009, Sunday Adelaja received the first International William J. Seymour Award. This award is given to ministers who exhibit the characteristics of William J. Seymour. A statement from the award committee said: "This year we will award an international and national recipient: The international recipient will be Pastor Sunday Adelaja who is a Nigerian-born leader with an apostolic gift for the 21st century. In his mid-thirties Pastor Sunday has already proven to be one of the world's most dynamic communicators and church planters and is regarded as the most successful pastor in Europe with over 25,000 members as well as daughter and satellite churches in over 35 countries worldwide".Pastor Sunday Adelaja to receive William J. Seymour Award (William J. Seymour), The Christian Messenger, India's Evangelical Newspaper, April 2009Azusa Street Festival and Kingdom Summit, Christian News Wire, April 2009
In March 2008 the Archbishop Benson Idahosa Prize for Missionary Exploits was presented to Rev. Sunday Adelaja in recognition of his missionary exploits and social engagement in Kyiv, Ukraine and around the world.
In March 2007 Sunday Adelaja became an Honorable Member of the Euroasian International Chamber of Commerce.
In May 2004 The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Holland Mission gave a Special Appreciation to Adelaja for being part of what God is using His church to do in reaching out to the people of the Netherlands.
Adelaja opened the U.S. Senate in prayer on April 23, 2007,United States of America Congressional Records: Proceedings and Debates of the 110th Congress, First Session, Vol. 153, Washington, Monday, April 23, 2007, No. 65 and spoke twice at the United Nations on August 23, 2007.Pastor Speaks at the United Nations, Charisma magazine, August 2007
Criticisms
Alleged fraud Adelaja was accused in November 2008 of being involved in the dealings of King's Capital, a financial group led by a former member of his congregation. The company promised as much as 60 percent returns on investments and drew many of its investors from the church. Later several former church members went to the authorities saying they were unable to recover the money they invested, which left many of them bankrupt. Police later arrested one of King's Capital leaders, Aleksandr Bandurchenko, on suspicion of fraud.Sunday Adelaja Marks 15 Years in Ministry Despite Controversy, Charisma magazine, April 2009
On February 5, 2009, a criminal case against Sunday Adelaja was filed on acclaim and suspicion of fraud. Investigators said they had testimony indicating that Adelaja was involved in the financial machinations allegedly committed by the King's Capital financial group. Kyiv's Mayor Chernovetsky, himself a church member, had earlier said that Adelaja was not involved in the financial scheme at King's Capital., Ukrainian News Agency (February 5, 2009)
In September 2009, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine admitted that they had exhausted their possibilities in the criminal case against Sunday Adelaja. Since the Ministry of Internal Affairs had delayed and refused to take the case to the court, the Embassy of God church and Sunday Adelaja initiated a lawsuit against the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police of Ukraine for unlawful accusation and libel. The judge in the lawsuit asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to show their evidence for their accusation of fraud, but after five court hearings, they had still not provided evidence to support their accusation.Did Lutsenko ask for help from the Security Service in the case of Adelaja?, article in Ukrainian
On October 12, 2009, Kyiv investigators questioned Adelaja in connection with the fraud accusation. During a press conference On October 14, 2009, the Minister of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lutsenko said that the pre-trial proceedings had found out that from October 2006 to May 2008, Adelaja and others embezzled property of people most of whom were the believers of the Embassy of God church. The total amount of the damage due to these actions is over ₴1.5 million in accordance with evidence provided by several witnesses, according to the Minister.Police questions Embassy of God church pastor Sunday Adelaja suspected of money embezzlement, Kyiv Post (October 14, 2009)
Adelaja considers the police's decision to investigate him for involvement in the financial group's machinations as an implementation of political order. He has said that the cause of the financial problems at the King's Capital financial group was the economic crisis rather than deliberate fraud and that his wife lost money by participating in the scheme.
No court case was brought against Adelaja, and in 2023, a court found that the case had passed its statute of limitations. In 2024, The Economist reported that "a lawyer close to the case says the authorities are attempting to appeal that decision".
Theology