Apostle Samson is a man called into the business of impacting lives in a holistic manner, in that he not only sets captives free but has also compassionately improved the living standard of countless lives through his empowerment initiative and his large bowel of compassion. Nobody encounters Apostle Tom Samson and remains the same.
One of those rare breed of clergymen who do not exploit their sheep, the apostle stands tall as a true servant of God whom God, according to him is using to confound the wise.
Charismatic Pastor Tom Samson comes along fittingly as a paragon of inspiration. The man’s life is a vintage story of God’s promise of a man eating the fruit of the land if willing and obedient. Controversial, as many have branded the ebullient preacher, is simply not in the man’s character or style; maybe flamboyant, and for good reason too.
Unassuming, humorous and a compassionate giver, Pastor Samson has in the course of his 25 years as a minister of God illuminated countless lives by not only setting the oppressed free but by equally empowering people to take full charge of their lives.
There’s no dull moment with this unique preacher when under ministration as he fully engages his audience, drawing very practical analogies to drive home his sermons and chances are, you will find him very likeable because whether you like it or not, you will have cause to let out steam in form of laughter. O yes, quite a humorous clergy indeed, who, jokes apart, is gifted in the art of stand-up comedy than a number of comedians, dishing out his sermons in Queens English as well as the local colloquial version, carrying everyone along in so doing.
Born in Delta State on December 12, 1965 from a humble background, the young Tom had a very positive outlook to life and his determination to see challenges or hurdles as stepping stones formed the staying power that still sees him achieving extraordinary feats today and all to the glory of God.
The Christ Royal Family which has become a household name the world over, began at the then Bendel State University where Samson finished with a degree in Biology Education.
After surrendering his life to Christ in 1985, through the influence of a young and beautiful damsel who would later became his wife, Tom soon became known as Violent Tom due to the fire and zeal he employed to win souls for Christ; qualities which have defied time, temptation and setbacks, as today, in reward for his labor of love, the man has been tremendously blessed such that the adjectival acronym to his name has changed from ‘violent’ to ‘flamboyant’, even as he remains fiery in the things of God’s kingdom.
How Pastor Sam weathered the storm over the years with sacrifices to the Kingdom of God, is a humbling story of trust and obedience to God; showing that God might promise you a great future but it takes a process for such to be fulfilled; a process that tried severely to dampen his faith in God but to no avail, as he would rather lean the more on Him.
With a profound understanding that whom God calls, he provides for, Pastor Samson is not one with small dreams, knowing the Almighty nature of the one he serves and has gone on to affect humanity in very profound ways with great faith, fulfilling his calling.
Indeed great men have stories to tell, and the core of such stories is the fact that success comes with a price. The apostle has paid his dues and his flamboyance is squarely hinged on that fact, as lives he has positively affected now also rub off on him positively, with all kinds of gifts and goodwill streaming in from all over the world; the recent of which was the gift of a 40 feet Hummer Limousine.
On being referred to as flamboyant the good-looking youthful preacher averred thus; “The truth is that most of the things that I have, I got some of them free. The Rolls Royce I received was a gift from my birthday committee. The limousine I use was a gift from somebody abroad. That is because I am a giver too. Today, I have a lot of established people, but they came in as nobody. Some of those women I gave N5,000 each have come back with gifts saying that God has blessed them. So life is all about give and take”.
Exactly how has Pastor Samson impacted lives?
He is the founder of Tom Samson foundation; a platform conceived to cater for the less privileged. Through this foundation, thousands of women have been empowered and delivered from the shackles of poverty, low self esteem and have garnered economic power and respect.
These women, yearly taken on different vocational training, including catering, tie and dye, weaving, bead making, make-ups and decoration etc. are also given certificates upon course completion as well as financial assistance to start their own businesses.
Speaking on the reason for empowering the women, Bishop Samson has this to say;
“part of the mandate given to me by God is setting captives free and teaching them to reign over life circumstance. I believe with this little we have done for these women, so many families would be touched and lifted. We have taught them different vocations and also empower them financially to start up what they have learnt. We are not going to stop here”.
“This is going to continue in other communities where we have our churches and schools for now, after which we will continue to spread the empowerment to other neighboring communities.”
“I believe when you live in a community and you have the resources to help others who need help you should not hesitate to do so. These women are mostly housewives and with what we have done, we believe they can stay in their houses and produce what they have learnt for sale to students and neighbors around them, and help their husbands perform some financial duties or the other at home. A woman must not wait for her husband to provide all that she needs to survive,” he said.
It doesn’t just stop at teaching the women and empowering them financially, according to the man of God; “we have their details with us and from time to time, we check on them to make sure they make use of the knowledge they have learnt here and make use of the little money given to them.”
A believer of the fact that education is the bedrock of any society, Apostle Samson has also invested massively in education, providing educational opportunities to scores who may have wasted away in ignorance.
A man God is using to do great things, beginning from his primary calling, Christ Royal Family Church dot strategic cities and places all over the world with several branches in Lagos including Lekki, Ota, Ikeja, Festac Town, Ikorodu, Agbado, Ijoko with headquarters at Egbeda. Other branches in other states are in Abuja and Port-Harcourt. Outside the country Christ Royal Family church can be found in Atlanta, Manchester, London, Canada, Dublin, Texas with even more in the pipeline.
On education, the church has eight primary schools, eight secondary schools, a College of Education certified by Federal Government, and the Monarch University.
The church has a massive hospital in Ota, a standard and fully equipped hospital which can compete with any general hospital in Nigeria and offers free treatment to the sick four times a year to communities in Ota and environs, where its printing press and water factory are also located.
Late last year free medical services were given to over 5,000 people, including diabetic patients, those with high blood pressure and those with optical needs who were given free glasses and treatment.
The church has another hundreds of acres of land for further projects in the pipeline, at Ewekoro and Agbara.
“Right now, we are building a massive preparation school in Agbara. Another massive one is in Ota. Female hostels, male hotels, laboratories, separate buildings for creche, primary school, library, each on three acres” says the Bishop.
All these lofty achievements, the pastor admits, are made possible by destiny helpers. “When you are about to fulfill destiny, God will be there for you. Every success story, every major achievement in life is connected to somebody. Look at David, he was tending the sheep until he got a connection to the palace and he was introduced. Joseph was in prison. It was the butler who mentioned him and connected him to the right source, and he was brought out. So, every breakthrough is connected to somebody; a messenger of destiny”.
For a man who arrived Lagos in obedience to God to begin his ministry and had to pass through pretty difficult times, it only goes to prove the biblical truth that ‘In God’s time He makes all things beautiful” as success didn’t come cheap for the amiable apostle.
“God’s blessing takes a man from zero to hero. God’s blessing takes a man from obscurity into limelight. God’s blessing turns nobody to somebody. When I turned from a hungry man to a satisfied man. When I came to Lagos 25 years ago, almost the whole of the first four or five years was rough. In that same Egbeda, I almost ran out of the place perhaps back to my village. “
“A great future starts with a humble beginning. Even if God says He will make you great, you still have to go through a process. Before I came to Lagos, when I left the university, God told me, ‘I will make you great.’ He said, ‘I will bless you. The whole world will know you.’ But He didn’t tell me that I would sleep under the Ojuelegba Bridge. He didn’t tell me that I was going to sleep on a biscuit carton. He didn’t tell me to eat three square meals would be difficult. But today, I have a foundation that trains people to university level, empower over 5,000 women and establishing them in businesses. But looking back now, to feed then was difficult. That is the reality that I found out.”
“My major turnaround has been caused by destiny helpers; people who were walking into my life to affect me and people who God was using my prayers to affect. That is the story of my life today”, discloses Bishop Samson.
Two major events the church is gearing up to are the birthday of his lovely wife who has been a rock of Gibraltar for the clergy, which comes up this Sunday May 28, 2017. The others are a Praise Night coming up in the first week in June, with prominent gospel artistes including Tope Alabi billed to perform, while the church will mark its founder’s day on the last Sunday in June.
A shining example of how those called by God should treat their flock, the sky seems to be the beginning for Apostle Tom, with a plethora of goodwill pouring in from souls he has touched, coupled with such importunate and palpable faith that permeates his soul.
Indeed a man worthy of honor.
A man worthy to be called blessed.