From Four Acres to 2,000 Hectares: Inside Nigeria’s Church-Built Redemption City

• The Redeemed Christian Church of God’s camp began on about four acres in 1983
• It now covers more than 2,000 hectares and was proclaimed a city in 2021
• It has about 13 residential estates, more than 10 schools and at least seven bank branches
• A 25-megawatt power station and water storage of 7 million litres serve residents

What began in 1983 as a camp of about four acres has grown into Redemption City of God, a church-built settlement of more than 2,000 hectares run by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, the Guardian Nigeria reported on December 11, 2022.

The camp was proclaimed a city in 2021. It had more than 15,000 residents as of 2018 and can hold more than two million people during special events. There are about 13 residential districts or estates, more than 10 educational institutions from primary to tertiary level, and at least seven bank branches. The Arena auditorium stretches for three kilometres.

The city generates its own electricity from a 25-megawatt station with three gas turbines, of which about 15 megawatts is being used, and has water capacity of 6.7 million litres a day with storage for 7 million litres. There are guesthouses, a fire station, a road safety presence, a security station, clinics, a market, recreation facilities and a cemetery. Pilgrims can buy a six-day package covering accommodation, meals, transport and prayers with the General Overseer.

“A child given birth to in the community may not have any reason to go out of the community for anything,” one resident told the paper.

Redemption City is an extreme example of what a church can do with land: supply housing, schools, utilities and commerce in one planned development. Jamaica has nothing on that scale, but churches here own land that sits largely idle between services. Even modest versions of the same idea, such as church land used for a few homes for members, a school or a small commercial building that earns rent, can serve a community and support a ministry. The Nigerian example also shows the demands that come with it: power, water and security all become the landlord’s responsibility.

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