The Elect of God & Founder of The Church
Late Joseph Ikechiuku Anyanwu (Elect Of God) hailed from Abala,
Ogbuebulle, Oboro in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia
State, Nigeria. He received his call into the ministry of the Gospel of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the year 1937 at Nkwerre
Onitsha, where he worked in the Agricultural Plantation as a
labourer.
The Late Apostle Joseph Ikechiuku gave an account of his calling
thus: “In my dream I was brought to an open field. There, I heard a
voice from heaven calling me, ‘Joseph! Joseph!! Joseph!!! lift up
your eyes to heaven.’ When I lifted up my eyes, I saw the inscription
written in Igbo language: ‘ Ihe ana chosike nke mba dum ka ibu’
meaning, ‘ You are what all nations earnestly desire.’ The voice
continued, ‘Do not touch or handle unclean things, but be ye holy,
for you are purposely created and destined for the work of God.’ ”.
Joseph Ikechiuku Anyanwu
The Apostle understood the “Work of God” in this message as preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of God and the
establishment of the church of God. After the call, Joseph Ikechiuku returned to his hometown, Ogbuebulle, and fellowshipped
with the Apostolic Church where he had been baptized by Reverend Dodders about three years before his call.
Five years after his first encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, Apostle Ikechiuku left his home environment for Cowan Estate,
Ajagbodudu, near Sapele in the then midwest province of Western Region, now Delta State of Nigeria, on February 10, 1942.
There at Cowan Estate, Palm Plantation belonging to U.A.C, he was appointed headman over a unit of about fifty labourers,
where he instinctively developed the habit of using a staff.
Today, like the biblical staff of Moses turned the ‘rod of God’, a staff of authority has become a prominent part of his ministerial
paraphernalia.