EARLY LIFE
Julius Abioye was born into the family of Chief and Mrs. Okeneye of Abeokuta in Ogun State Southwest Nigeria in the early sixties. Julius Abioye, the last child of his parent had his primary and secondary education in Abeokuta before proceeding to the popular Yaba College of Technology in Lagos where he earned a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accounting and later added another professional certificate in ICAN (PE1) and Bachelor of Theology (Samuel Bible Institute, affiliated to EVANGELICAL TRAINING ASSOCIATION (USA).
He began his career as a clerical officer, rising to the position of Group Credit Control Manager with the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) before his disengagement in 1997 to establish his personal business dealing on Diesel Oil and kerosene and became the first unit secretary of the LAGOS STATE SURFACE DEALERS ASSOCIATIONS under the umbrella of NUPENG until year 2000. Also at about this same period, he co-founded OKAY BUSINESS VENTURE and OKAY COMPUTERS dealing with training, supply and services of Computers.
Though he had a strict Christian upbringing, the beginning of his ministerial journey could be traced to an usual experience he had at the age of seven while at a church program with his mother at the Apostolic Church (TAC).
On that fateful day, while at a prayer program, his eyes were opened, and he saw a man in a white flowing garment with a white lamb on his shoulder and another following him behind. As a young lad, the happenings were strange but very interesting. He tried to alert his mother to see what was going on, but ignorantly, the mother rebuked him. Unknown to the little boy, the Almighty God was using the avenue to prepare him ahead of a great journey, just as Moses “brought BUSH” experienced in the Bible.
He began his Christian journey as a member of the children’s choir at The Apostolic Church Abeokuta in his primary school days, but while he was in the secondary school, far away from his parents, he joined Christ Apostolic Church on the instruction of his mother for the lack of availability of The Apostolic Church. (TAC) around his secondary school area, then, to fulfill the biblical injunction on water baptism.
Abioye Okeneye, in 1981, at the age of 19, underwent water baptism in the hands of Pastor Gabriel Oduronbi and was christened Julius at the Christ Apostolic Church.
However at CAC, he continued his Christian journey and ministerial calling, teaching and preaching with great zeal. On an occasion, he had an encounter with the Lord Jesus in form of a pillar of fire in a vision.
In that vision, Julius Okeneye was in a spiritual warfare with dark powers. Then he quoted Philippians 2:10 that “at the name of Jesus, every knee must bow” and immediately, these terrible dark powers that gathered against him fell in obedience to that word of God. All of a sudden, a pillar of fire in human form appeared.
The fire was glittering and shinning like gold. The shadow of fire (which he later understood to be the Lord Jesus) nodded in acknowledgement of the quoted scripture and smiled at him. The pillar of fire stretched forth his had to him and immediately, a Bible came out of the hand of fire and was given to him.
CITATION FOR PASTOR JULIUS OKENEYE
This he grabbed and held to his chest and as he moved forward he was also given a touch light with a special brightness to continue his journey.
When the problem was beginning to impact negatively on the spiritual well being of members of the larger church, it was a pointer to the fact that he had to move on. In 1991, Julius Okeneye left the Christ Apostolic Church to join Gospel Apostolic Church (GAC) Gbagada headquarters, Lagos State under the leadership of Rev. Samuel Akinbode Sadela the President and the Founder of the church who happened to be one of the close disciples of Apostle Ayodele Babalola the spiritual father of CAC.
At this place, the hand of God upon his life became very evident and within a short period, he became one of the leaders of the house fellowship system later graduated to House fellowship system Executives.
In his quest for spiritual growth, he attended the Church Bible College and became the Sunday School Superintendent of the church and the Vice Chairman, Church planning committee respectively. There he remained until 1995 when he left to join the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.
