Paul Adefarasin Biography, Early Life, Education, Ministry, Controversies and Legacy

Paul Adefarasin

Paul Adefarasin is a Nigerian pastor, televangelist, author, and speaker best known as the founder and Metropolitan Senior Pastor of House on the Rock. He is also widely known as the convener of The Experience Lagos, one of the biggest gospel music gatherings associated with Nigeria.

Early Life and Background

Paul Adeolu Adefarasin was born on 25 January 1963. Public biographies describe him as coming from the prominent Adefarasin family, with a Nigerian father and a Jamaican mother, and say he spent parts of his early life in both Nigeria and the United States.

Education

He attended St Saviour’s School, Ikoyi, then Igbobi College, Yaba, and later Haileybury College in England. He went on to study Architecture at the University of Miami in Florida, and later also earned a Diploma in Christian Ministry from the International Bible Institute of London.

Career Before Ministry

Before becoming fully known in ministry, Adefarasin practiced as an architect in Florida. Public profiles also say he served first in a volunteer youth pastor role in the United States and later became resident pastor of Action Chapel, London, before returning to Nigeria permanently in the early 1990s.

Beginning of Ministry

Adefarasin founded House on the Rock in 1994 in Lagos. Official church and event profiles describe it as a multiethnic, nondenominational church movement that has grown across Africa and Europe, with dozens of parishes and fellowships.

The Experience and Public Influence

He became even more visible through The Experience Lagos, the free all night gospel concert he convenes annually. The event’s official site says it debuted on 1 December 2006 and has grown into a major worship gathering with large in person and global online audiences.

Humanitarian and Social Impact

Adefarasin is also linked with charitable and social intervention work through The Rock Foundation. Official profiles say the foundation and church outreach programmes have worked in areas such as education, healthcare, community empowerment, and rehabilitation support for vulnerable groups.

Personal Life

Paul Adefarasin is married to Pastor Ifeanyi Adefarasin, and public biographies say they married in 1995 and have three children. Their public ministry partnership has also become part of his image over the years.

Controversies and Public Criticism

Paul Adefarasin’s public life has also drawn criticism. In June 2025, a viral video showed him holding a gun-like object while speaking to a passerby in traffic. He publicly denied that it was a firearm, saying it was not a gun and that he did not point a weapon at anyone. The Lagos police later said the recovered object was a stun gun, not a firearm, and in September 2025 the police said there were no sufficient grounds to continue the case.

He has also faced broader criticism common to many high profile Pentecostal leaders in Nigeria, especially around wealth, image, and the scale of megachurch influence. That criticism has followed his prominence in elite religious and public circles, although his supporters present him as a nation builder, teacher, and philanthropist. This is partly an inference based on the pattern of coverage around his ministry and public profile.

Legacy

Paul Adefarasin is remembered as one of the most visible Pentecostal pastors connected to modern Nigeria. His legacy is tied to building House on the Rock, creating The Experience Lagos, and shaping a ministry that mixes preaching, media, music, leadership, and social outreach. At the same time, his story also includes the public debates that often follow influential religious leaders.