Senior Pastor of The Fountain of Life Church, Jimmy Odukoya, has revealed that a divine instruction not to cut his dreadlocks—though puzzling at the time—ultimately became a life-saving symbol for someone in need.
Speaking during his Sunday sermon, Odukoya shared that he had sought God’s guidance on whether to change his appearance before stepping fully into ministry, following the passing of his father, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya.
“One of the things I asked the Lord before I came back was whether I should cut my hair or not,” he said. “And He told me not to cut my hair. I even asked my sister to pray about it, and when she returned, she said I shouldn’t cut it. I told her, ‘I know—God already told me.’”
Odukoya then recounted a powerful encounter with a woman who had flown in from Zimbabwe to attend one of his services. She explained that she had a vivid vision back in 2016 while in New York, in which a man with long hair spoke life into her and offered divine guidance.
“She told me, ‘I saw you with your hair, declaring over me and giving instructions,’” Odukoya said. The woman, who had gone through a painful divorce and lost her mother, eventually found one of his sermons on YouTube and was shocked to recognize him as the man from her vision—even though, at the time of the vision, he hadn’t grown his hair yet.
Reflecting on the significance of that moment, Odukoya added, “God, who sees and knows all, understood that in February 2025, one of His daughters would need to see a man preaching—with long hair. If God hadn’t told me to keep it, I would’ve cut it. But He made me keep it to save a life.”
