Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo: I Got Born Again Reading A Gospel Tract

Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, the renowned founder of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), grew up in the barracks, experiencing poverty and hardship. His life, however, took a drastic turn when a simple tract changed his course and brought him to Christ.

Reflecting on his journey, Pastor Ashimolowo recalls, “I grew up in the barracks. Poverty was so prevalent that poor people called us poor. My life rotated around scarcity and lack, yet God looked beyond my faults and took me from nothing to be a blessing.”

The transformative moment came in the late 1960s when a tract came into his hands. “It was six years after relocating to Ibadan that I got born again. It wasn’t something I planned. It was an encounter with a tract. I was reading it, and something clicked inside me. That day marked the beginning of my journey with Christ,” he shared.

The tract, which outlined the message of salvation, struck a chord in the young Matthew, who had spent his formative years surrounded by dysfunction and instability. “When you are in the dark, your eyes get accustomed to the darkness,” he explained. “You don’t realize what light is until you experience it. That tract was the light I didn’t know I needed.”

Pastor Ashimolowo’s life dramatically shifted after this encounter. He went on to become a global preacher, impacting millions. “From that moment, I knew God had a purpose for me. Everything I had gone through, even the lack, was part of my preparation,” he said.

Today, Pastor Ashimolowo is celebrated not only for his spiritual leadership but also for his vast contributions to Christian literature, having authored 75 books. His ministry, through television broadcasts, reaches 217 nations. But it all began with a simple tract that opened his heart to Christ.

“My story is a testament that no one is too far from God’s reach,” Pastor Ashimolowo concluded. “If He could transform a barrack boy like me, He can do the same for anyone.”