MISSION : ACCOMPLISHED
ISAAC OYEDEPO / PASTOR / WINNERS CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL MARYLAND / LANHAM , MD
Thinking outside the
“ BIG BOX ”
With an open mind and a big vision as its foundation , Winners Chapel International Maryland is a totally reimagined space that ticks all the boxes — and comes in under budget .
By RaeAnn Slaybaugh
With locations all over the world , including Europe and Africa — notably including Canaanland in Ota , Ogun State , Nigeria , which spans nearly 5,000 acres and seats 100,000 — Winners Chapel is a wellestablished global entity .
As the church expands into America , church leaders have prioritized owning ( not leasing ) its properties , as well as renovating existing buildings versus undertaking new-build projects .
In 2007 , Winners Chapel opened its first U . S . campus in New York , in an old theater it converted for its use . Its Houston campus opened its doors in 2008 . This time , leaders bought and renovated an existing church . In 2009 , under the leadership of Pastor Isaac Oyedepo — founder Bishop David Oyedepo ' s son — the church set its sights on expanding into Maryland . This campus , they knew , would serve as the national “ hub .” But for a church that typically moves at light-speed , getting established in Maryland wasn ’ t a direct path for Isaac . “ The way it works is , we move around quite a bit ,” he explains . “ We ' re really like missionaries .” After spending two years at the New York campus , Isaac spent five years serving the church in South Africa , and then was transferred to Nigeria , where he served for two years . In 2019 , he came back to the U . S . — to Maryland — where the church had been searching for more than six years for the right property to purchase . Though leaders had found a rentable property there , Isaac says , “ It wasn ’ t the right space . I just couldn ’ t get the right buy .” Nevertheless , Winners Chapel saw amazing growth . Before the pandemic hit , it added a third service and was running up to four services just to accommodate a growing body of worshipers . In 2020 , the ideal church home emerged in an unlikely package : a 15-acre shopping center , or village mall . “ It ’ s similar to our other U . S . projects in the sense that it already exists ,” Isaac says . “ But this is the first time we have done something on this scale .”
8 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | JULY / AUGUST 2021