How a church that began in a Lagos Island hall developed business forums, a leadership conference and a foundation focused on education, health and shelter. By Faith On Motion | Documenting Kingdom Impact THE NUMBERS (church, foundation or media-reported) 10 October 2010: The Elevation Church founded in Lagos, with over 300 at its first service […]
How a church that began in a Lagos Island hall developed business forums, a leadership conference and a foundation focused on education, health and shelter.
By Faith On Motion | Documenting Kingdom Impact
THE NUMBERS (church, foundation or media-reported)
- 10 October 2010: The Elevation Church founded in Lagos, with over 300 at its first service
- About 30: expressions across Africa, Europe and North America (church-reported, 2025), up from nine in 2021
- 10th edition: Exponential Conference, February 2026
- 214: Pistis Foundation scholarship recipients from seven states (December 2025)
The Elevation Church’s first service, on 10 October 2010 at Magnolia Hall in Onikan, drew over 300 people. Its founders, Godman Akinlabi and his wife, Bola, had left Daystar Christian Centre, where he had served for about 12 years, with Daystar’s senior pastor, Sam Adeyemi, commissioning the new church in 2010. Today the church reports about 30 expressions across three continents. The question this profile asks is practical: what does a church look like when it treats Monday morning as part of its mission, not only Sunday?
WHO IS CREATING IMPACT?
Godman Akinlabi is Global Lead Pastor of The Elevation Church, which he leads with his wife, Bola (Bolarinwa), Global Co-Lead Pastor. He holds a degree in Mining Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, a master’s in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and an MBA from Manchester Business School, according to his published biography.
He is convener of the Exponential Conference and Vantage Forum, founder of Pistis Life and Leadership Institute and board chair of the Pistis Foundation. He also leads ManUP, a mentorship programme for young men, and Better Half Media, a marriage and relationships ministry. He has written several books.
WHAT IS HE BUILDING?
The church’s mandate is to “make greatness common”. Its model pairs congregational ministry with platforms for specific audiences.
Marketplace platforms. Vantage Forum is an annual business and economic outlook event for owners and executives. The Exponential Conference, for pastors, ministry leaders and now business leaders, held its 10th edition at the Pistis Conference Centre in Lekki in February 2026 under the theme “DNA: Distinctive. Authentic.”. Organisers said over 2,000 leaders took part in person, online and at 23 experience centres. The Accelerate Conference ran from 3 to 7 June 2026 with centres across Nigeria and overseas.
A service arm. The Pistis Foundation was established in 2018 for education, health and shelter, and the church also runs Elevate 200, a weekly outreach for feeding, training and empowerment. In 2020, the foundation’s food bank reported feeding about 4,000 people. The church says the foundation has impacted over 140,000 lives through medical interventions, scholarships and empowerment programmes.
Younger audiences. The Hangout, for singles aged 20 to 45, was scheduled for September 2026 in Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta and Abuja. Find Your Voice 2.0, a growth event for young Nigerians, was scheduled for 1 October in Lekki.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Most churches organise around worship and congregational care. Akinlabi’s model also creates spaces for business owners, professionals, leaders and people in need. In 2018, he said the church was rising up to serve people’s needs beyond its walls.
The caution is evidence. Attendance and programme figures are church-reported, and we found no independent data on how many members started businesses or advanced professionally through these programmes. His 2025 Transformational Leadership Award from the Nigerian Legal Awards, reported in March 2026, is a recognition from a legal magazine, not an evaluation. This profile examines the institutional record, not doctrine.
HOW DID THEY GET THERE?
1. Build from an established ministry foundation
Akinlabi spent about 12 years at Daystar before founding the church with Adeyemi’s commission. It began with a mentor’s endorsement and experience inside a larger organisation.
2. Build platforms for specific audiences
Vantage Forum serves business owners, and Exponential serves church and marketplace leaders. Audience-specific platforms give people a clear reason to attend.
3. Give service its own structure
The Pistis Foundation has its own executive director, board chair, advisory board and five-year plan. Separating service from the weekly programme lets it report results and work with partners.
4. Extend through online and regional centres
Exponential and Accelerate both use experience centres and livestreams, so participation is not limited to one room in Lagos.
WHAT CAN THE NEXT GENERATION LEARN?
1. Speak the language of the people you serve. A business forum needs real economic and professional content.
2. Treat professional life as part of the mission. Mentorship and leadership training connect faith with work.
3. Give service a clear structure. Defined programmes and consistent reporting show where resources go.
4. Measure outcomes, not only activity. Scholarships awarded and medical interventions delivered are outputs. Graduation, health results and business growth are outcomes.
WHAT IS THE MEASURABLE IMPACT?
| Indicator | Reported figure or milestone |
|---|---|
| Founding or start year | 10 October 2010, Lagos; over 300 at the first service (church-reported) |
| Scale of network or reach | About 30 expressions across Africa, Europe and North America (2025), up from nine in 2021; Exponential 2026: 2,000+ across in-person, virtual and 23 centres (the 2025 edition was reported at over 5,000, so the figures are not like for like) |
| Physical or institutional assets | Pistis Conference Centre, Lekki; Pistis Foundation, established 2018 |
| Education, research or training arm | Pistis Life and Leadership Institute; scholarships: 110 students and 103 teachers trained (2022), 214 recipients from seven states (December 2025) |
| Independent benchmark | No independent audit of attendance, programme outcomes or member career results found; Transformational Leadership Award (reported March 2026) is a recognition, not an evaluation |
Method note: Figures come from church, foundation and media reports of different dates. The 13,000 medical interventions (2022) and 140,000 lives impacted (2025) measure different things and should not be compared. None is an independently audited measure of impact.
THE BIGGER LESSON: FAITH THAT SHOWS UP ON MONDAY
Akinlabi’s story shows how a church can connect congregational ministry with professional development and organised service. The next stage is documenting what these platforms produce: how many participants built sustainable businesses, what happens to scholarship recipients after graduation, and whether medical interventions lead to measurable health improvements.
At Faith On Motion, we believe Kingdom impact deserves to be documented with both conviction and evidence. The goal is not merely to record how far a leader has travelled, but to understand what has been built, whom it serves and what future generations can learn from it.
