Bishop David Oyedepo has dedicated the Hand of God Cathedral, the new global headquarters of Salvation Ministries, at Igwuruta on the Port Harcourt International Airport Road in Rivers State.
The ceremony on Friday, November 6, drew leaders from across Nigeria’s Pentecostal movement. The church says the auditorium seats 120,000 people, a figure widely reported but not independently verified.
Salvation Ministries was founded by Pastor David Ibiyeomie in Port Harcourt on April 13, 1997, with a first meeting of just over 30 people, according to the church’s history. It now reports more than 1,500 churches in Nigeria and abroad.
A hand seen from above
Work on the building began in 2010. It was first planned for about 40,000 worshippers before the design was enlarged. Five wings spread from a central hall, so the building looks like an open hand from the air, which gives the cathedral its name. It covers a reported 56,130 square metres.
Pastor Ibiyeomie told the gathering the project was finished without bank loans or foreign funding. He said a construction firm had valued the structure alone at about ₦46 billion. He also recalled disputes over the land in 2008 and 2010.
Who was there
Bishop Oyedepo, founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners Chapel), led the dedication prayers. He prayed that the altar’s fire would never go out and warned against the building becoming a place of entertainment.
Guests included Archbishop Francis Wale Oke, President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria; Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission; Pastor Paul Enenche and Dr Becky Enenche of Dunamis International Gospel Centre; and Pastor Jerry Eze of Streams of Joy International. Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi also attended.
The church has held Sunday services at the site since January 2022. Regular services in the dedicated auditorium began on November 8.
Sources: Christianity Nigeria, 7 November 2026; Church Times Nigeria, 7 November 2026.
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