BY ISHOLA BALOGUN
In Anticipation of the 35th edition of the Kingdom Life World Conference, Rev. Ugochukwu Ezeagwula, Chairman of the Planning Committee of the event, alongside members of his team, addressed the press with infectious enthusiasm and deep conviction. Set to hold from November 23 to 30, 2025, this annual convention of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) promises to be more than just a spiritual gathering—it’s a trans-generational celebration of faith, transformation, and community impact. From imparting apostolic sessions to the vibrant Gbagada Shopping Festival and the soul-stirring Zamar Music Concert, Children Mass Choir International Women Prayer Conference (IWPC), the conference is poised to deliver an “uncommon” transformation, true to its theme. In this interview, Rev. Ezeagwula shares the heart, and highlights of Kingdom Life, painting a vivid picture of a movement that has shaped lives across generations.
What is it about Kingdom life?
Kingdom Life World Conference (KLWC) is the flagship annual convention of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM. This 35th edition brings together, as usual, participants from over 200 chapters of TREM from all over the world. Beyond the internal community, we also invite people of all shades far and near. It is a life-changing conference, as we have amazing speakers. In previous editions, we have had a lot of testimonies from people. Personally, I grew up attending the Kingdom Life convention. Beside the fact that I am privileged to serve as the chairman of Kingdom Life today, I also have a lot of testimonies. I remember my early days as young boy, when I used to trek from School to attend the conference. We always look forward to the conference because it is our festive season. It is a conference that has impacted a lot of generations. TREM itself is a trans-generational church; therefore, you see successive generations that have been impacted by the conference.
Who are the Speakers?
This year, with our convener, who is the Presiding Bishop of TREM, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, and his amiable wife, Bishop Peace Okonkwo, we have Dr. Mensa Otabil of ICGC, Ghana; Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo; Bishop Tudor Bismark from Zimbabwe; Bishop Wale Ajayi and Pastor Flourish Peters.
What are the major highlights of the conference?
There is so much in it for everybody. It speaks to different segments of people. Apart from the fact that the conference is very apostolic, we also have what we call the Big League Summit. It is the vision of the convener, to raise “Apostles in the Marketplace”. The idea is that money in the hands of a godly man will do much more for society than money in the hands of someone who is not godly. It is important that we raise this new breed of leaders in the marketplace. For some years now, it has been a major feature of the conference. This year, it is going to be Monday to Wednesday in the morning session. Remember, the conference holds in the morning and evening every day of the eight days, from November 23 to November 30, 2025. The Big League Summit is going to be three days. We also have an international music concert, called the Zamar concert, which has been a major feature of the Kingdom Life conference over the years. It holds on the Friday of the conference through the night, in an atmosphere of worship and praise, featuring major gospel artists in Nigeria. It’s a concert like no other. You know people hold concerts here and there, but what stands it out is that it is a period of intense and unbridled worship. For the business leg of it, we have what we call the Gbagada Shopping Festival. Where you have over 20,000 coming together, whether it is for worship or anything else, it is an avenue for commerce, and we are very intentional about it. There must be an exchange of value; people are going to eat, somebody will need one thing or another, so we are creating an ecosystem where there is an exchange of value. We have always had a commercial center during the annual Kingdom Life. But this time, we decided to scale it up and also have something to impact the community, and that is the essence of the Gbagada Shopping Festival. Interestingly, this year it coincides with the day of big sales called Black Friday, so our vendors will also sell at relatively cheaper prices. We are very excited about it; it is the first of its kind in Gbagada. Kingdom Life is a festival, and when you have that, it is also expected that it will be carnival-like. The children are not left out, too. We have the largest children’s mass choir in Nigeria, if not in Africa. We have over 1,200 children in mass. That also gets the children excited; they have been preparing, coming almost every weekend, rehearsing. So, the last day of the conference will be very colorful, showcasing the leaders of tomorrow. Like I said, the conference has something unique for everybody.
Do you think the goals of Kingdom Life have been actualized over the years?
Beyond the doubt, not only has the objective of this annual program been actualized, it has also been surpassed. The objective is to transform lives, and lives have been transformed. I grew up attending Kingdom Life, and today God has lifted me to the point that I am privileged to Chair the planning of the conference committee. I am a life that has been transformed. Pastor Soji too has his testimonies. He is doing very well in his business. I know he was influenced by the teachings of Dr. Mensa Otabil. And we have a series of testimonies from different people. A young man who declared that Kingdom Life was for him came to the conference and incidentally met his Chairman at one of the programs. He had been having a running battle with his MD, and he asked to see the Chairman. Apart from the fact that the issue was resolved, and he was to return to his job, the following day he got an offer from a job he had applied for long ago—a multinational company and to be paid in foreign currency. You see, that’s my Kingdom Life. God is wholesome. I can go on and on.
The theme sounds more like something used among politicians; what informed the idea of the theme?
The theme “Uncommon” has a scriptural reference: 1 Peter 2:9. It reinforces the fact that you are not like every other person; you have a seal, an anointing, and grace upon your life, and you will do uncommon things. It takes an uncommon person to achieve uncommon things; it takes an uncommon atmosphere for uncommon things to happen. That is the background for the theme.
Tell us more about Gbagada Shopping Festival
It is a shopping festival, more like a carnival with a touch of difference and relatively cheaper prices. We have exhibitors; you need only visit the website: gbagadashofest.com, and register. As for the participants, just walk in and start shopping. So far, we have very impressive subscriptions. The interesting thing is that most of the subscribers are not even Tremites.
There are also unbeatable deals. I don’t think there is any shopping festival like this in Lagos. One unique thing about the Gbagada Shopping Festival is that we will theme every day. There is a day for fashion, another day for renewable energy, another day for electronics etc. We have had meetings with the brands that are coming. For instance, on renewable energy day, every purchase made qualifies you for a raffle draw to win fantastic prizes, for example, a solar inverter. We are stimulating sales for the exhibitors and encouraging and creating value for the participants. The key measure of our success is that we are able to generate sales. So, in a nutshell, you are getting unbeatable and uncommon deals.
You are expecting nothing less than 20,000 people; how do you manage traffic and security during the 8-day event?
This is the key area of our concentration. Right now, the church has invested heavily in recovering parking spaces, and now we have adequate parking spaces for participants. I assure you that we are very responsible and will do everything possible to ensure a hitch-free event. We will also engage the services of government agents statutorily responsible for effective management of traffic. We have a good relationship with them, and we do that every year. On security, we assure you that our security personnel will all be around; they are formidable. It is a place of worship. In fact, you may not notice them. One thing we do a lot is intelligence gathering. We have a group that is responsible for that; you will not know them, but they will be everywhere, gathering information. Without necessarily being too loud, we will put in place all that is needed. Lighting is also very important, because you must be able to see the intruder. Every year, we enhance the lighting system. This is an international conference, and we will do everything.
If you are in Lagos and you are not part of the Kingdom Life conference, you miss the opportunity to be part of the Big League Summit, the Zamar music concert, the Gbagada Shopping Festival, and more. Look at how feature-packed the 8-day event is. You can be there and have no dull moment, not to talk about the great apostolic impartation that will happen. Let’s not imagine that you are not there. (Laughs)