“And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.”

Behind every manifestation, there must be a message. Behind every glory is a story and behind every Ministry on Mission there must be a clear mandate, Moses got his mandate by the hill side where he saw the burning bush, Jeremiah was called from his mother’s womb, Simon Peter had a mandate and Apostle Paul had his own delivered on his way to Damascus. In the same way John Ibenu Ministry has a clear mandate from heaven.

NOVEMBER 1983

The Lord visited His Servant Bishop Dr. John Ibenu at Kaduna when he was a student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in Nigeria studying Medicine as a course. He was on the Introductory Medicine and Surgery posting to A.B.U Teaching Hospital, Angwar Rimi road in Kaduna when God visited him and delivered the Mandate. God’s Servant wanted to join the Nigeria Military thrice so as to use his military career to serve Him but each time the Lord refused and said I have a better job for you.

Out of deep search for what God will have him do, God’s servant began a three day wait on the Lord in accordance with Acts 9:6...

“And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

The second day of the fast was a Saturday and at about 8:00pm, the room became brighter than the shining sun and the Lord gave His Servant, the Bishop the vision and mandate for this commission as follows:

I was taken in the Spirit, placed on a “vehicle” that was riding through a winding road. At every turn, there were owls, witches and wizards flying out of the road, into both sides of the bush until the Lord brought me to a hall filled to capacity with people. The hall had three segments, the altar area, middle segment and the back section. The “vehicle” that brought me turned to me and said, I was instructed to bring you here. I had never seen such a place before. A man stepped forward and with a very big Bible, he opened it and said, you are welcome, we were told that you are coming to teach us and he said “here is the Bible, here are the people, but we have no teacher”.

As I took the Bible, stepped unto the altar and faced the congregation that was wild and noisy, everywhere went quiet to listen to me and as I opened my mouth, the vision ceased. Half of the crowd were people I knew and they understood my native tongue and half did not.

As I woke up, the Lord said to me, at the appointed time, you will return to your people to be My voice and start what I have for you from there.

NOVEMBER 1987 – NOVEMBER 1988

The Bishop wanted to return from Zaria in Northern Nigeria to Benue State in the Middle Belt of Nigeria to answer the call but it was not yet time. Following this the Bishop opened his own hospital at Jaji in Kaduna State where he practised his medical profession till December 4, 1990. For every vision there is a time. God wanted Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt but Moses stepped out forty (40) years too early and had to end up in a desert with Jethro of Median. Finally, he learnt that God’s work was not by power or by might but by the spirit of God. Zachariah 4:6 “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

DECEMBER 4TH 1990 - JULY 5TH 1992

In 1990, the Spirit of the Lord began to speak to the Bishop, that the waiting was over, the young Medical Doctor along with his wife decided to wait on the Lord for instruction and direction with a ten (10) day prayer and fasting. Then on December 4th 1990 at about 7:30pm the Lord spoke to my wife and I, “the time to move has come” while praying at the A.B.U Zaria Chapel of Redemption.

Following this God’s Servant moved from Zaria to Makurdi in Benue State on January 22, 1991 and subsequently to Lokoja, the Capital of Kogi State Nigeria. When Kogi State was created on August 27, 1991 by the Military Regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, God’s Servant sought for direction and the Lord said to him “ and Elisha followed them to the war front in 2 Kings 3”.

Because of this, the Bishop came to Lokoja in Kogi State where he continued his Itinerant Ministry and medical practice.

FEBRUARY 1979 – JULY 5, 1992.

MINISTRY ON WHEELS: ITINERANT MINISTRY

The young John gave his life to Jesus Christ in February 1979 and joined the Drama Group of the Fellowship of Christian Students of Murtala College of Arts, Science and Technology (MUCAST) and appeared on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) Makurdi thrice. From there he went to A.B.U Zaria where he joined the A.B.U drama group.

In the month of May 1981 he joined the Gospel Unlimited Ministry under Proffessor Duro Adegboye till 1987. In 1984, he became the National President of Salvation For All (SFA) and subsequently the Subzonal Coordinator of Nigeria Fellowship of Evangelical Students (NIFES) in charge of the Leadership of nine (9) higher institutions in and around Zaria till 1985 and 1986. He became the Vice President of Zaria Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship Int’l (FGBMFI) and was with them in various capacity till 1990. He was an Associated Minister with Christian Teaching Centre (C.T.C), Zaria under Dr. John Akpam from 1983 till 1991. He also carried out Itinerant Ministry across all parts of Nigeria within the thirteen (13) years of Ministry on the wheel to as far as Maiduguri, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Ife, Enugu, the list too numerous to mention.

MAY 1, 1992 – JULY 5, 1992

While preaching for FGBMFI at New Haven, Enugu in Nigeria, the Lord told Dr. Ibenu that it was time to start the CHURCH ARM of the Ministry. The next day, he was at Onitsha where Rev. Paul Nwachukwu spoke directly to him and said, the Lord would want you to start a church Ministry. Following this he returned to Lokoja and the preparation to start the Church Ministry started.

FINALLY on July 5, 1992, The Chapel of Freedom International started with a mandate based on John 8:32

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

The four Cardinal focus to pursue this mandate is:

1. The Word Directorate – Church Planting
2. The Outreach Directorate – Seminar and Conference
3. The Media Directorate – Print and Electronic (Radio, Television, Internet, Printing and Publishing)
4. The Education Directorate – Bible Schools and Secular Schools

1992 And Beyond

In the many year off this ministry's existence, the Chapel of Freedom which started in a primary school, St Luke Anglican Model Primary School Adankolo, Lokoja, now has her headquarter at Adankolo New Layout, on Chapel of Freedom Road. The Ministry now has over seventy (70+) branches all over Nigeria and beyond.

Going forward the Ministry is focused on three (3) major goals and Mission

1. Capacity Building
2. Church Planting Movement and
3. Global Ministry with pine and Alpine at the fore front.