Our History
Faithful steps across generations.
A story that began in 1978 and continues through the faithfulness of rural leaders and partners.
1978
The Birth of a Vision
Christ for Rural Areas Ministries was born on Saturday, March 11, 1978, at C.A.C. Primary School, Share, in Ifelodun Local Government Area, Kwara State. Bro. Samuel O. Olanrewaju, having received a vision from the Lord, gathered fellow believers to share his burden for the unreached. From that day, monthly evangelistic crusades were launched to bring sinners out of bondage, in obedience to the pattern of Christ Himself, who "went about all the cities and villages, teaching… and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people" (Matthew 9:35).
1981
A Union Ordained of God
On August 8, 1981, Bro. Samuel wed Florence Temilade Afolayan-Bepo at the UMS Theological Seminary Chapel, Ilorin. Their marriage strengthened the work of the Ministry, in fulfilment of the truth that "two are better than one" (Ecclesiastes 4:9).
1982
A Place to Call Bethel
Land was secured at Eleyin, along the Oke-Onigbin/Omu-Aran road — over 100 hectares in time — after earlier efforts elsewhere were resisted. A ground-breaking ceremony marked the founding of the Campground, which soon housed a Christian Nursery & Primary School and farmland to sustain the growing work.
1986
Ordination and Increase
The annual December Camp Meeting at Eleyin became a wellspring of healing, deliverance, and breakthrough. That year saw CRAM's first ordination service, at which the General Overseer was himself ordained a Rt. Reverend, in recognition of his apostolic calling.
1987
Trial, Obedience, and Establishment
As religious violence swept Northern Nigeria, the Lord spoke to the Ministry: "I have begun to give… begin to possess" (Deuteronomy 2:31–32), a call to enlarge its territory rather than shrink back. The G.O. led a team into the North to witness the devastation firsthand, and CRAM planted its first Northern church that same year in Rigasa, Kaduna, through Rev. Samuel Diekola Bamidele. After years of principled refusal to offer bribes, CRAM received its Certificate of Incorporation from the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs on December 1, 1987.
1988
Gates Opened Abroad
The G.O. was invited to the World Congress of the International Council of Christian Churches in Orlando, Florida — CRAM's first step onto the international stage.
1989
A Double Baptism into Missions
The G.O. was among 300 global Christian leaders invited to the Global Consultation on World Evangelization (GCOWE) in Singapore, from which CRAM's OCTRA 2000 missions strategy was born. Later that year, at the National Consultation of the AD 2000 Movement in Ilorin, he was appointed Chairman for the South-West Zone — a season the Ministry regards as its double baptism into world missions.
1993
Loss and Labour
A return trip to the United States in June brought hardship, including theft of his travel documents, yet the G.O. turned the delay into an opportunity to preach widely, forming a lasting friendship with Pastor John Stitt of Riverside Church, Norman, Oklahoma. That same year, his father passed away on August 13; a fitting burial was held in December at Rore, attended by friends from across CRAM and beyond.
1996–1997
Training, Testing, and Triumph
CRAM Bible Training Institute (CBTI) was established to raise up pastors and missionaries. On the fourth day of a seven-day fast, the enemy struck the G.O. with a grave illness that required hospitalisation on Christmas Day — after twenty-five years without sickness. Through unbroken prayer around the world and the administration of Holy Communion, healing came, and he ministered again by the New Year. CRAM held its first World Missions Conference at the Kwara State Stadium in March 1997, drawing missionaries from across Nigeria, Ghana, and the Republic of Benin, and closing with a Parade of Nations that echoed Revelation 7:9. Yet the same season brought a painful internal crisis that tested the Ministry to its foundation — from which, by God's faithfulness, it emerged renewed.
1998–1999
Rebuilding Bridges
The G.O. began rebuilding lost American contacts, sustained chiefly by his friendship with Pastor John Stitt. In 1999, Pastor Stitt felt the Lord's leading to fund the completion of CRAM's headquarters church — a promise kept in full. That year also brought a providential introduction to Pastor John Benefiel of Church on the Rock, Oklahoma City, through whom CRAM joined Church on the Rock International and the G.O. joined the International Coalition of Apostles.
2000
The House Is Built
CRAM's International Headquarters Church in Ilorin was completed and dedicated on April 20, 2000, in the presence of Pastor John Stitt and his wife, Mama Joyce, who toured the mission fields and fulfilled promises of roofing, water wells, and medical support for a young convert — evidence that "there has not failed one word of all His good promise" (1 Kings 8:56).
2001
Sent Forth
For the first time, the G.O. brought senior ministers of CRAM with him into international ministry in the United States — a season of blessing that would, in time, bring its own trials.
2002
Prayer for the Bassa
Responding to a plea from Pa Daniel Tukura, leader of the Bassa people of Nasarawa State — driven from their land by ethnic violence in 1997 — CRAM held seven days of prayer and fasting on their behalf, calling the Bassa leaders to renounce idol worship and turn to Christ.
2003
Fire and Foundation
A season of severe internal crisis cost CRAM many churches and leaders. Amid the trial, a new friendship formed with Pastor Mark McIntosh of Evangelistic Center Church, Shawnee, Oklahoma. That December, CRAM returned to Eleyin for a prayer retreat, birthing what became known as "Bethel Prayer Mountain."
2004
Homecoming
Work began on the CRAM Community Life Center in Ganmo, Kwara State. Pastor Mark McIntosh made his first visit to Nigeria, followed by a second visit with Kevin Stitt. That same year, the Bassa people's prayers were answered: the Federal Government intervened, secured their land, and restored them home after five years of exile. CRAM dedicated the land to Christ in October, and over three thousand Bassa people accepted Christ and renounced idol worship.
2005–2006
Roots Deepen
Visiting pastors from Crossroads Assembly of God, North Carolina, helped fund water boreholes for the Bassa community. CRAM planted its first church in Bassaland on May 1, 2005, led by missionary Simon Uye. The Nursery/Primary School relocated to its permanent site at the Community Life Center, and CBTI resumed training a new generation of missionaries, many of them Bassa converts.
2007
Looking Toward Thirty Years
As CRAM approached its 30th anniversary, preparations began in earnest, with Pastor James Graham of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Herndon, Virginia, confirmed as guest speaker for the coming year's celebration and 12th World Missions Conference. The G.O. called the brethren to sow generously, trusting the Lord's promise that "he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6).
2008
A Jubilant Thirtieth Year, and a Brush with Death
A new Assembly Hall rose at the Community Life Center, and land disputes were overcome by God's grace. Visitors from Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church joined the 30th Anniversary celebrations, delighting in the Parade of Nations. In Bassa land, the G.O. was struck down by sudden illness and underwent urgent surgery in Ibadan — a near-death experience from which the Lord, in His mercy, restored him, that it might be said, "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD" (Psalm 118:17). That year also saw CRAM sponsor a National Pastors Conference in Parakou, Benin Republic, sowing seeds of mission-mindedness among fellow labourers.
2009
A Harvest in Bassa Land
The "Great Bassa for Christ Crusade" in March brought multitudes to salvation, healing, and deliverance, with Bibles distributed in the Bassa tongue. Kevin Stitt returned for the inauguration of the Gateway Christian Model Schools, and, through American brethren, a primary school was established for the Fulani in Benin Republic — the gospel taking root among yet another unreached people.
2010
Recognised in a New Land
As CRAM's work in Benin Republic marked ten years, the government formally registered the Ministry, and ten Beninese brethren were ordained to strengthen the harvest field. The Lord continued to raise up partners across the world to undergird the work.
2011
Sent to the Nations
The G.O., invited to Uganda alongside Pastor Mark McIntosh, ministered with signs following among pastors and in newly planted rural churches, his testimony going before him "as an ambassador in bonds" (Ephesians 6:20). While in America, he honoured Mama Joana Ebunlomo Gana, a steadfast friend of the Ministry, at her 70th birthday celebration in Minnesota.
2012
Honouring Family, Reaching Further
The G.O.'s elder sister, Mrs Comfort Ojuolape Olomu — mother-figure to the family since 1957 — was celebrated at seventy. Work began on reviewing CRAM's constitution. A second visit to Uganda extended to Rwanda, where the G.O. was received with great honour and his writings were sought for translation into French, that the word might run swiftly and be glorified (2 Thessalonians 3:1).
2013
Refined as Silver
CRAM marked its 35th year under the theme of Zechariah 8:22, gathering nations to seek the Lord at Ganmo. The Ministry passed again through fire, losing some to division, yet emerged purified, upheld by the intercession of Pastor E. O. Adeboye and Rev. Dr. Moses Olanrewaju Aransiola. In it all, the promise stood sure: "the gates of hell shall not prevail against" the Church (Matthew 16:18).
2015
Rekindling the Fire of Missions
Constitutional reforms neared completion as the 18th World Missions Conference and 34th Anniversary were held together, a deliberate call back to CRAM's founding purpose. Guest minister Uncle Bayo Famonure stirred fresh vision and challenged the Ministry toward practical mission support, while an outreach to Benin Republic renewed the labourers' resolve that "the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few" (Matthew 9:37).
2016
A New Generation Catches Fire
Youth joined the Missions Outreach to Benin Republic for the first time, and the Lord moved in salvation, healing, and deliverance reminiscent of the early Church. Many Muslims turned to Christ. Plans were also set in motion to send the women of CRAM out in missions, and a Committee was raised to begin preparing for the 40th Anniversary.
2017
The Sisters Go Forth
Led by Rev. Mrs F. T. Olanrewaju, CRAM's women undertook their own Missions Outreach to Benin Republic, ministering in Nikki and Parakou and among Fulani settlements despite trials along the way — a testimony that "the LORD gave the word: great was the company of those that published it" (Psalm 68:11).
2018
Forty Years of Faithfulness
As CRAM approached four decades, preparations for the 40th Anniversary intensified — infrastructure completed, zones mobilised, testimonies gathered, and honour prepared for those who had faithfully sown into the vision, that "them that honour me I will honour" (1 Samuel 2:30). The call went out to every member for first-fruits offerings, a fitting tribute of gratitude for four decades of the Lord's unfailing hand upon the Ministry.
2023
45th anniversary
The mission continued across generations and borders.
2025
Ghana field reopened
New opportunities to walk with rural leaders in Ghana.
From a single meeting in a rural schoolroom in 1978 to churches, schools, and mission fields spanning Nigeria, Ghana, and the Republic of Benin, CRAM's story remains one of faithfulness — "for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).