Close to 10,000 people are expected to pack Wembley Arena 12 June evening for a service of celebration for the life of a woman pastor of one of London's largest Black-led churches.

|PIC1|Pastor Ify Irukwu died on 4 June after a period of illness, aged 40. Together with her husband Agu, she pastored the 2,000-strong Redeemed Christian Church of God (Jesus House) at Brent Cross in London.

The 12,000-seater Wembley Arena has been booked by fellow church leaders for a Service of Songs, the church's version of a Memorial Service and also for the home-going service, their version of a funeral service. Pastor Ify Irukwu's interment will follow at the Hendon Cemetery.

The Redeemed Christian Church of God is one of the fastest growing churches in London and Europe, with over 40,000 members in the capital alone.

A qualified pharmacist, Pastor Ify worked in the industry for many years prior to retraining as a professional Christian counsellor at the London Bible College. She married her soul mate and life-long friend Agu, a lawyer, in 1993 and together they pastored the church, known locally as Jesus House.

Pastor Ify focussed on women's and prison ministry as well as counselling. She was ordained as Assistant Pastor in 1997 and ordained Full Pastor in November 2004. Ify and Agu have two children, Jemie and Nonye.

Drawing on her counselling training from the London Bible School, she co-ordinated a team of trained counsellors in the church's counselling department. She was also a member of the board of governors that developed the curriculum for the junior church.

Pastor Ify and her husband Agu spoke extensively at conferences and seminars together to singles and married couples about relationships, marriage, and the family.

Pastor Agu is head of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Executive Council in the UK and Ireland, Chairman of the Festival of Life organising committee (recently attended by over 45,000 people in London, including Mayor Ken Livingstone), and is a member of the Council of the Evangelical Alliance.

Pastor Shola Adeaga, who is helping to organise the Wembley Arena service on behalf of the church and family, said: "Ify was a woman of true virtue and character. All who came across her testified to the exemplary life she led as a Christian, and to the profound inspiration she was to many both young and old.

"She was a truly irreplaceable gem. On one hand we are saddened by our temporary loss, on the other we are comforted that everyday of her life counted for eternity, for she loved the Lord with her mind, her strength, her everything. She preaches on today more loudly in death than life."