Inspiration

MEET TOLULOPE KUMUYI; THE UNASHAMED GODLOVER

tolulope kumuyi godlover unashamedCan you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Tolulope Kumuyi, I love the Lord with all my heart and I love people.  I am a Gemstone Ambassador and a Nation builder, hence, you’ll find me speaking to teenagers and young people across different platforms, or via my weekly letters on  www.lifewords.org “Dear 90’s Baby”. I am also a contributor to www.lifegiva.com columns, including a series tagged “Little things, Big lessons” (You need to watch this space, we are working on something inspiring and refreshing arrrgh).

I am devoted to using my life to bring people from the atmosphere of this world into that of love, to bring purpose back into the hearts of many and to walk alongside others as they regain liberty. I love arts and crafts, flowers, beautiful stationery and good food. I am the Ministry Director of Godlovers and convener of Godlovers Fellowship.

I loooove Nigeria and I hope to be remembered as a woman of passion, insight and purpose who lived her life fully, in love and laughter. Oh and in case you forgot, I am your favourite 90’s Baby *wink*

We admire your genuine love for people Tolu, Have you always been this way? If not, What was the process like for you?

Nope! You see, when I got saved I did not raise my hand or walk down the aisle, so I had no follow up or discipleship. I begged (lol, back then I begged God for everything) God to teach me Himself and help me; I just really wanted to please Him. One day, I came across Mark 12:30 and was like ehen, love is the greatest commandment? I knew that had to be my starting point Not long after that I read “A love worth giving” by Max Lucado (one of my favorite authors of all time). I’ll say I received an anointing just by devouring that book. I started to change, but oh the Lord dealt with me; anger, bitterness, selfishness, shame, He peeled off the layers one after another. I was changing and I knew it. Another thing He did for me was to place good people around me. Honestly, a few people have shown me love and goodness in my life; people I never knew before literally set out to be good to me, and you know, what fills your heart will come out of it. Love for people is now a ‘situation’ I cannot get out from because I am drunk and dunked in love by my Saviour. It was difficult but I’ll never forget this one time I prayed ‘Lord, soften my heart’ and honestly, a surgery must have taken place because I can’t explain it any other way. I just wanted to Love God and be on fire like people I read about in ‘God’s Generals’. He saw my heart and decided to use it. 

What is the story behind Godlovers Fellowship ?

I was in the bath one day (Apparently, great things start in the bathroom, I guess many people can testify to this) and the Lord spoke to me saying “a time will come when it will become fashionable to be associated with Me, but this people don’t really love or want me. They want to go to church, they want things but they don’t want Me. I’m raising an army and they will not be ordinary people; I want you to be a part of it; Raise me a people that will love me genuinely and love others like I do” This was 2006. Since then, we have evolved, and the vision continues to get clearer.

Can you share with us some of the major challenges you have experienced since you started the fellowship?

If I start to talk about challenges, we’ll write a book but let me give you a background. When the Lord first spoke to me (about raising a people), I said “Lord, I didn’t hear you”. He said start a fellowship – for people that love me genuinely get connected with each other and for people to learn what it truly means to love Me and to love others”. I said “No Father, I won’t ” and I was firm about it (See, I’ve always been stubborn) Don’t blame me, I couldn’t understand how God  expected a child to do that. I was not even 14 yet. God was my biggest challenge!  He tells me to do hard things and when I say no, He begins to stalk me! But He has helped me every step of the way..

  1. When Godlovers started in secondary school, we had fellowship every week. Meanwhile, the authorities gave me permission because they didn’t think it’ll last long anyway (so, I had something to prove as I did not have “S.U” behaviour) but after a while, this little girl was talking to a class full of people every week. The problem was, I had now open myself to criticism and unsolicited advice, and as you can imagine, I got more than a fair share of that
  2. I remember one time in University when the authorities said all para-chapel units (what student ministries were called) were banned. I was in a position to continue but I knew that God could not have set me up against the authority that He has commanded us to honor so, I stopped IMMEDIATELY. This made it look like I was one of those people who start things they can’t finish or that maybe God did not really speak to me and the problem was that it looked like the end of the Ministry but hey, it was just ‘days of invisibility’. We used it to build deep roots.
  3. God told me every Godlovers fellowship has to be a free event. At first I was like how? In the Kingdom, we are excellent people, nothing on this earth is free except salvation, (which was not even exactly free) but you see, God has never failed us. In fact, we always have baskets of leftover. The challenge is explaining this to time and again to people who think we should charge a fee.
  4. One very serious challenge was communicating to people that Godlovers is not a ministry for only women and that Godlovers is not a ‘denomination’. We have gone past that now, but it was, I tell you, we had people asking us questions about this all the time!

We believe you have had some very enjoyable moments since the fellowship started. Can you share a few of those moments with us?

HA! Many memorable moments.

  1. I will never forget the first time Eyimofe (Assistant Ministry Director) asked all of us at fellowship to go to someone and say ‘I love you’ with all the warmth possible. You would have thought she said ‘freeze’. Nobody moved at first, it was too much to ask hahaha Watching the guys struggle with this was so hilarious and revealing; all that awkwardness was liberating and a couple of people testified later that they had never done that before.
  2. My team at Godlovers, 90% of us have been together for more than 6 years. So, I sort of know what to expect from each one, but the way they swing into action and deliver 150% when we have a project just gets to me every time!

godlovers fellowship

How often do you meet as a fellowship? 

Godlovers Fellowship has evolved into an annual event, but we have little group meetings and hangouts we have now termed ‘’Living Loved Series’ (LLSeries). The team meets physically and digitally too.

We are aware of the program tagged “UNASHAMED” that will be holding on the 23rd of July, what should we be looking forward to?

  • Experience Christ in a personal, life-changing way and learn to live for Him in a loving relationship that you have always yearned for.
  • Liberating moments just by hearing other people’s personal experiences
  • Clarity on Godly relationships
  • Ignite and cultivate passion for a meaningful and Christ-like life.
  • Build valuable lifetime relationships with other people that love the Lord and genuinely care about His people
  • Newfound boldness to live for Christ
  • Discover how to express love for God and to channel your energies in a way that will make an eternal impact

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What is the vision you have received concerning Godlovers fellowship and how far do you see it going? 

I can tell you for sure that Godlovers will outlive me and everyone in the team today, for as long as Jesus tarries.

Godlovers is a ministry ordained to raise a generation of people that love the Lord and other people. It is a big task that the Lord has given us and we intend to make measurable impact by leading and teaching. In a short while, you will see a difference in our generation, a crop of people that live and walk in love. Just imagine what will happen if we have an economy built on love and trust. The goal is to have Godlovers in every industry, every ministry, hospital, prison, etc.

In my country Nigeria, our National Anthem (or National Prayer) has a line that reads “In love and honesty to grow”. Godlovers is an answer to that prayer.

Godlovers fellowship is just one aspect of Godlovers as a Ministry; Godlovers fellowship holds annually and it is a network of people that love the Lord and are learning to live for him. The purpose our meetings is to connect Christian youth and cultivate their passion for a Christ-like life in spite of today’s culture.

Other aspects of Godlovers include Living Loved Series (LLSeries), the Love Place, and in the near future, expect us on TV and Radio, leading and teaching our generation to live and walk in love. Right now, just be on the lookout for #LLSeries

Email: mail@lifegiva.com

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About author

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Tolulope Oludapo is a young Christian who lends his voice through the media by sharing practical wisdom for everyday living in the most experiential and simplified fashion. This has fetched him the direct followership of over 30,000 users on his blog, lifegiva.com. A blog he founded. He loves to write on varying subjects that affect life, faith, relationship...everyday living.
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