In 1973, while serving as a mathematics lecturer at the
University of Lagos, W.F. Kumuyi started a Bible study group with 15 people who had come to him requesting training in the Scriptures. The church started as the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. W.F. Kumuyi was a former
Anglican who joined the
Apostolic Faith Church after being baptised. In 1975, he was expelled from the church for preaching without credentials. He continued his independent ministry, which in 1982 became the Deeper Life Bible Church. By the early 1980s that small group had grown to several thousand, at which time Deeper Life Bible Church was formally established. The church has spread throughout
sub-Saharan Africa and then to the
United Kingdom, from where branches were developed in
western Europe,
Russia,
India, and
North America. In April 2018, The Deeper Christian Life Ministry had its new headquarters church at Gbagada commissioned with the former
Vice President of Nigeria, Professor
Yemi Osinbajo among other dignitaries In 2025, the
Lagos Church had over 65,000 people. The denomination as a whole claims to have over 800,000 members in Nigeria with over 5,500 churches. They also state to have over 3,000 churches in 40 other countries. The Deeper Christian Life Ministry is a member of the
Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, an interdenominational fellowship of churches with a footprint in North America. == Beliefs ==