CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Many great religious men are unnoticed on accounts of political events, yet they help shape the fortune of church history and the prospect of the kingdom of God in many communities.
George Mnoromchi Alioha, who lived between 1912-1997 was such a hero. Alioha was born at Ohokobe Afara Umuahia, Umuahia North (LGA) of Abia state in Nigeria. He received his primary education and conversion to evangelical Christianity at Old Umuahia in Abia State. He was the first convert of Augustus O.Wogu- the human founding father of AG Nigeria- in Old Umuahia. He was also the first lay minister of AG Nigeria.
Some books have been written that summarize the founding of some Pentecostal churches in Igboland. Some others are biography of some clergy men and lay people that helped in one way or the other to propagate the doctrines of their churches and establishment of new churches. With Alioha, no book has chronicled the story of his life and especially his contributions to Pentecostalism in Igboland. Few comments about him are found scattered in few books, but they do not form a wholesome portrait of him. It therefore became necessary that a work of this nature be embarked upon to reconstruct and x-ray his life with the view to highlight his contributions to Pentecostalism in Igboland, which made this research perculiar.