Akintunde, Reuben Agboola (1956–2012)

Reuben Agboola Akintunde was a pastor, administrator, and evangelist from Nigeria.

Early Life, Education, and Marriage

Reuben Agboola Akintunde was born to the family of Pa Akande Akintunde and Elizabeth Atinuke Akintunde on October 2, 1956, at Eleso Village Modakeke.¹

Reuben attended L. A. Primary School Eleso-Obagbile and S. S. Peter and Paul from 1962 to 1968. He attended Modakeke High School from 1974 to 1979, where he was appointed the senior prefect and passed with high marks.

After his high school education, he attended Oyo State College of Arts and Science between 1979 and 1982. He then proceeded to the University of Ibadan in 1983 to study zoology and he graduated in 1986. Because of his unflinching love for the gospel ministry, he earned a diploma in pastoral ministry in 1987 from the Adventist Seminary of West Africa (ASWA), Ogun state, Nigeria.

In 1992 he obtained a master of arts degree in pastoral ministry from Andrews University at the ASWA Campus, and then a doctor of ministry degree from Andrews University at the Babcock University Campus in 2010.²

He married Abiodun Oluwakemi Fawibe on October 1, 1991. The marriage was blessed with three sons, namely Oluwaseyi John, Ebunoluwa Andrew, and Emmanuel White Babafewa.³

Career

Reuben gave his life to Christ at the age of 17 after listening to the word of God as taught by a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. After his baptism, his only passion was to share his faith with others. This led him to join evangelistic groups that went to villages, prisons, and hospitals. In 1987, seeing his commitment to evangelism, the conference president encouraged him to join the pastoral ministry; and so began his journey as a pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was ordained to the gospel ministry on February 2, 1993.⁴

He served as a church pastor at Ipoti Ekiti, Ajaokuta, and then as district pastor at Maryland, Yaba, Irefin, and Okebola.⁵ He also served as personal ministries and Sabbath School director for the West Nigeria Conference between 2007 and 2009,⁶ and then as Sabbath School, personal ministries, and evangelism director of the Western Nigeria Union Conference between 2010 and 2011.⁷ He was appointed president of the newly created Lagos Mainland Conference shortly before he was called to rest.

Throughout his ministry he was always passionate about evangelism, especially small group evangelism. This spurred him to write his doctoral dissertation on the need to train, organize, and mobilize the church for small group ministries. In the places where he pastored, the introduction of small group evangelism brought about the expansion of the church, such that some of the home cell groups that were formed later became fully organized churches. He could often be heard saying that the greatest need of the church was revival and reformation which was only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. God used him to establish several small groups that eventually became fully organized churches.

Reuben Agboola Akintunde passed to his rest on January 6, 2012.⁸

Sources

Funeral program for the burial service of Reuben Agboola Akintunde. In the author’s private collection.

Seventh-Adventist Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

Notes

1. Funeral program for the burial service of Reuben Agboola Akintunde, the author’s private collection.↩

2. Ibid.↩

3. Ibid.↩

4. Seventh-Adventist Online Yearbook, “West Nigeria Conference,” accessed January 9, 2020, documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB1995.pdf.↩

5. Funeral program.↩

6. Seventh-Adventist Online Yearbook, “West Nigeria Conference,” accessed January 9, 2020, documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB2009.pdf.↩

7. Seventh-Adventist Online Yearbook, “North-Western Nigeria Union Mission,” accessed January 9, 2020, documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB2011.pdf.↩

8. Funeral program for the burial service of Reuben Agboola Akintunde, the author’s private collection.↩