Chris Kwakpovwe is a preacher, teacher, author and businessman. He is the General Overseer of ‘Manna Prayer Mountain Ministries WorldWide’, and also the author and publisher of ‘Our Daily Manna’.
Born on the 15th November 1961, in Ugheli, close to Warri in Delta state of Nigeria, Bishop (Dr) Chris Kwakpovwe is the first of twelve children of a middle class family of Pa Stephen Kasoro Kwakpovwe (a former retired Principal of 3 notable Government Colleges in Delta state) and Mrs Theresa Kwakpovwe.
Despite the hardships of his physical environment due to the Middle Class lifestyle of his parents, he enjoyed the loving support of his parents and the church community, who cherished him as a gifted child.
The then young Chris stared death in the face at age six when he was almost drowned in the popular Ibalegbe River in Ughelli. Being a child of destiny, God sent a driver, who came to wash his car, to rescue and revive him after he had been taken for dead.
At an early stage of his life, amongst other areas of his life, he attracted attention among his tutors with his brilliance in education.He achieved academic success through sheer hard work and determination.His very high IQ unfailingly secured him a full scholarship award in 1973 by the then Bendel State Government to study in Government College Ugheli, which at that time, was one of Nigeria’s elite secondary schools.
Bishop Chris had early encounter with the Lord as he became born again at the age of 14, precisely on February 3, 1976, as a student of Government College Ugheli, Delta State of Nigeria. As a very young convert, the zeal of the Lord consumed him, and he gave his all to evangelism. He often used his feeding pocket money to print gospel tracks to share to his fellow class students.
Bishop (Dr) Chris Kwakpovwe gave Bible classes in the local community in partial fulfillment of his role as a staunch member of Students Christian Association. His unadulterated passion for the gospel earned him nicknames, “Preacher Boy” and “Christopher Jesus” by his classmates as a way of mocking him.Rather than quit his Christian faith due to hardship, he would carry his bicycle to preach the gospel in the suburbs villages and creeks.
Preaching the gospel became so risky for him at a point that he came across some assassins who warned him one evening while returning from an evangelism trip on bicycle. His unwavering faith almost caused acrimony between him and his father who at some point refused to pay his school fees because he was giving too much attention to evangelism rather than his studies. Bishop (Dr) Chris Kwakpovwe however, always acknowledged his father’s influence, saying it was him who instilled great and indelible moral values into his life. He always taught him to work hard and put in his best efforts. Being a retired principal, his father taught him that life is full of tests and he must fight to win and also to have the highest score in the test. His father taught him that that life is full of many challenges. Being a great disciplinarian, his father never let him quit on anything and was very tough on him at times. He never allowed him to feel sorry for himself or make excuses. He never forgets these words from his father: “I want you to be a lion amongst sheep!” “Failure is only temporary, quitting is forever. Be a man of results, Chris.”
These constant motivational words echoed from His late father, reshaped his destiny and also became a drive that motivated him to study hard.
In 1978 he gained admission to study pharmacy at the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Bishop (Dr) Chris Kwakpovwe graduated as a qualified pharmacist in 1983.
The gospel had such a grip on him he had to jettison practicing as pharmacist. He has to answer God’s call to full time gospel and became a pastor on a full time basis. Bishop Kwakpovwe is married to Flora. As a husband and a father, he sacrificed the joys of family life and of seeing his children grow up to work for God. As a young man, sometimes, he missed out on a normal life spent with family and friends to fight for the cause he unshakably stood for which is the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Life was very brutal during his early stage of answering the full time ministry call. He lived a wretched life so badly that he had to put up in a dilapidated house with leaking roof. He went on empty stomach with his family because he could barely make the ends meet. The hardship was so bad people around him started insinuating he would have done something very terrible to be inflicted with such inhuman suffering,
The misery of his trials took a heavy toll on him and this actually made him attempt taking his own life before God made a transforming intervention. He transited from that awful experience to an author when he received a divine direction to start writing a devotional booklet with the title, ‘OUR DAILY MANNA’.
Our Daily Manna’s was first printed with #25,000.00k. (Twenty five thousand naira) which was lent to him by a man named Mr. Ojo. From fifty copies, Our Daily Manna devotional has grown to hundreds of thousands of copies which circulated round the world today.
CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
After becoming born again in 1976, he worked as a church worker at Warri with Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor of the then Church of God Mission and also with the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa at Benin City. He also worked with Bishop Felix Omobude of Covenant Church Benin City, Nigeria.
At an undergraduate in the University of Ife from 1978 to 1983, he served variously in key executive positions at the popular and fire-brand Evangelical CHRISTIAN UNION (ECU), the largest Christian Body of the then university of Ife where he was a STUDENT PASTOR. He worked with the then very popular white missionary late PA ELTON of ILESHA, Nigeria. It was pa ELTON who also commissioned the late ARCHBISHOP IDAHOSA into ministry.
Bishop Dr Chris also had a stay with the Assemblies of God church as a student minister. From 1977-1978 he was molded under the revered Pastor KUMUYI of the Deeper Life Bible Church.
Later he attended and worked as a key officer at the Christ Chapel international churches (CCIC), Lagos, under the Rev Dr TUNDE JODA.
By the grace of God, he is the founder of the various Manna Prayer Mountain “church of churches” Worldwide.
Years ago, he served as an assisting founding pastor of the Chapel of Praise Church under Bishop Isaac Nwaoji for years! The Lord then called him into full time Ministry in 1992, having combined Pharmacy and Ministry for 9 years. He got his Ph.D. in theology, in 1999 and also on Sunday December 16th 2001, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Theology by the Calvary Academy Lagos. He was publicly consecrated as an INTERDENOMINATIONAL BISHOP in 2011 at the Manna Prayer Mountain Lagos by many colleges of bishops as a conglomerate under the leadership of the Archbishop George Amu.
Dr Chris has attended so many management courses in leadership and has received so many awards within and outside Nigeria.
He is the President, BOARD OF GOVERNORS of the Liberty Bible College International. The Bishop (Dr) Chris was the ex-president of the Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF) in 1984 and has worked with many Christian bodies such as the Scripture Union, the Nigerian Fellowship of Evangelical students (NIFES), the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).
He was the vice president of the PFN, Maryland, Ogudu and Ojota zone of Lagos state and served in various committees in National programmes. Bishop Dr. Chris is also the president and founder of THE DREAM CENTRE (Nigeria) and MANNA MERCY FOUNDATION – a vision for widows, widowers, the emotionally bruised, divorces, drug addicts, ex-convicts, the sick and such alike. He has contributed immense time to see through philanthropic needs of humans generally.
He holds the ANNUAL 21- DAY FASTING PROGRAMME TO BEGIN EACH YEAR with the ANNUAL END-OF-YEAR ANOINTING SERVICE WHICH HOLDS AT THE MASSIVE TBS (TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE) Lagos with attendance of over 700,000 souls every January.
He also organizes the annual Month of Mercy in the month of June to reach out to the needy, orphans and the sick. He brings in doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others.
He is widely travelled, and is a regular speaker in churches, university campuses, leadership conferences, seminars and crusades (anointing services) in various countries of the world.
He has a very strong burden to seeing a people raised by God to publicly depopulate hell, with a strong private and solid fellowship with God. Having put his name on the world stage, Bishop Dr. Chris has been recognized as an international speaker, leader of a global ministry, an anointed writer(who shakes up the world every day with his devotional write-ups,) with over 70 books and editions to his name.
He is a man who has been through the crucible of life’s strong battles and afflictions, writes from a deep burden and experience that provokes daily compassion for the bruised (Luke 4:18). He is a tried and tested man of God!
FROM GRASS TO GRACE
Dr. Chris discovered the ODM vision 21 years ago on the day he bought a rope and wanted to commit suicide due to life’s battles.
According to the Governor, “OUR DAILY MANNA which is the highest-rated devotional has actually touched millions of lives and its contribution to the nation is unquantifiable.” In the same vein, the EX Governor further emphasized that ODM anchors spiritual values, healthy living and self-help to humanity, OUR DAILY MANNA devotional, authored by Bishop (Dr.) Chris Kwakpovwe also continued to attract the top Christian devotional in the Christian devotional industry throughout the world; due to the positive influence on the lives of people, Bishop (Dr.) Chris Kwakpovwe was named one of the “100 Most Influential Men of God in the 20th Century” by a popular Nigerian Magazine by name ENCOUMIUM. Many of his regular guests, at the January TAFAWA BELEWA SQUARE ANOINTING SERVICES includes, Pastor John fair and his wife, (USA) LATE Senator Chukwumerige, (Nigeria) Rev. Benjamin Bimpong Donkor (Senator Ghana) and a host of others.
‘Our Daily Manna’ is published in English, French and Spanish in over 200 countries. ODM has also become a household name even in other countries like Cameroon, Zambia, London, etc. Bishop (Dr) Chris Kwakpovwe is happily married with children and he is a soon-to-be-grandfather!
AWARDS AND HONOURS
As a result of this, ODM was accorded as the best seller devotional. His traveling ventures took off with such thunderous explosion. By 2010, different countries in the world invited him to hold anointing services. As a result of that, Bishop (Dr.) Chris Kwakpovwe’s books rode a wave of popularity with such publications as ” WASTING THE WASTERS OF YOUR DESTINY” “THERE ARE BULLETS IN YOUR MOUTH,” THIS NONSENSE MUST STOP” which became a household name.
In 2012 Bishop (Dr.) Chris Kwakpovwe received the Outstanding Leadership and Appreciation Award by OUR DAILY MANNA (ODM), USA for his service to humanity. Furthermore, in recognition of his meritorious services to humanity, he is a recipient of honours and other awards such as;
- City Pride Achievers` Award 2013 by Daily Pride Communication
- Nigeria Media Nite out Recognition Award 2013
- Exclusive Impact award 2013
- Fabulous Innovative Achievers Award 2013
- Honorary Award by His Praise Deliverance Chapel 2014
- Meritorious Service Award 2015 by global liberation outreach
- Ambassador Of Pharmacy Award 2007 By The Nigerian Association Of Industrial Pharmacists
- Award of Excellence 2011 by Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
- Award Of Recognition By The Bible Society Of Nigeria 2014
- Honourable Life Award By Honour And Care International Fellows 2014.
He was publicly ordained as interdenominational Bishop on July 7, 2013 by the United Pentecostal College of Bishops USA/Nigeria.
He has written a number of books, which includes
- Wasting the Wasters of your destiny
- Evil labels must burn
- Yoke of stagnation; I am not your candidate
- Paralyzing disappointments at the edge of your breakthrough
- Yoke of stagnation, I’m not your candidate
- Provoking God to remember you in the midst of the multitude
- My womb must open by fire
- Dealing with SATANIC Punishments
- Releasing power to change your battles, (Virtue secrets)
- There shall be no loss
- Uncommon and unbeatable secrets of recovering all
- Blasting down your walls of Jericho.
And his latest books are:
- BULLET IN YOUR MOUTH
- THIS NONSENSE MUST STOP