By 'Gbenga Bankole
The 21st edition of the annual Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola Power Explosion, Erio 2023 will hold between Monday June 26 to Saturday July 1, 2023 at Mountain of Mercy, Erio-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The theme of the programme is "How Sweet is the Name of Jesus." The annual spiritual feast has three sessions on daily basis which are morning, afternoon and vigil.
The General Evangelist of CAC Nigeria and Overseas, Prophet Hezekiah O. Oladeji who is the convener of the programme said he is only trying to follow the footsteps of Apostle Babalola, adding “one day, Apostle Babalola visited Erio to inform the people that God had instructed him to find a praying ground on a hill.
“To comply with this instruction, Apostle Babalola had to visit Olosunta Hill at Ikere-Ekiti, but the place was not suitable. But after a long discussion with the people of Erio, Pa Simon who had been visiting Oke-Aanu took it upon himself to lead the Apostle and his entourage to Oke Aanu.
“On getting to the mountain, the apostle was pleased to see the environment. When they came down from the hill, he decided to seek approval to use the hill as a praying ground which was granted by the chiefs."
Prophet Hezekiah said his first visit to this mountain was in 1998 when he was looking unto the Lord for a child after six years of marriage. He was in a trance one day “when God spoke to me that I should climb three mountains in a day of which Mountain of Mercy Erio-Ekiti was included.”
Continuing, he said: "I had already climbed two mountains out of the three mountains that God directed me to climb. The last one was Mountain of Mercy, Erio. As I started climbing the mountain, I heard a voice saying 'I had finally answered your prayers'."
The following year, his wife gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. He said it is the same mountain that God directed him to for his annual 21-day fasting and prayer in the month of January.
On the 7th day of the first fasting season, he said God spoke to him, that he should make Him known to the whole world through the call of Apostle Babalola on the mountain (Oke-Aanu); that he should organise a crusade at the mountain in commemoration and continuation of the missionary evangelism work of Apostle Babalola.
In the vision Prophet Hezekiah explained it was revealed further that the revival should be an annual event and it should be tagged Joseph Ayo Babalola Power Explosion.
"Immediately I woke up, I ordered my prayer warriors to organise a committee in collaboration with the authority of CAC Erio to commence the crusade in obedience to God’s message and it was granted. Hence, the first edition of the revival on June 27, 2003 with ‘Power as of old’ as its theme," he concluded.