CLERICS of New Life for All Nations Ministries, with headqyarters in Ibadan, Oyo State, at their ministers’ retreat which held between February 20 and February 24, 2017, reiterated the need for clerics to embrace the call to service with honesty, discipline and the fear of God.
This formed the nucleus of an interactive session with newsmen, at the five-day retreat, held at the church’s headquarters, international Camp Ground, New Felele, Oloola, Off Lagos-Ibadan ExpressWay, where questions were raised on the work of ministers of the gospel, within their churches and in engendering national development.
Speaking on the expectations of the church to the recent confirmation of the General Overseer, Pastor Ade Adeoye, the General Secretary and executive Director of Administration, Pastor Olumide Orekoya, expressed the joyous reaction to the confirmation, noting that the church had many expectations, most importantly, in the area of moving the church forward.
The newly confirmed General Overseer, in his message called for the support of all members within and outside Nigeria, and reiterated the commitment to ensuring that the church continued to experience positive growth in all ramifications.
Pastor Olumide Orekoya, the General Secretary of the church, in his address, highlighted the achievements of the church, noting that the church operated a plural leadership style, in line with the example of unity that Christ represents.
The newly confirmed Assistant General Overseer, Pastor Sunday Edokpayi, also stated that the smooth transition the church experienced in leadership was by God’s grace. Speaking on the essence of the ministers’ retreat, he stated that the theme was The Man after God’s Heart. According to him, “there are a lot of people coming into ministry, claiming to be of God. However, not all who claim to work for God are approved of God and we want all ministers to know that the only way to be approved of God is to be the type of man that God requires.”
Speaking on the seeming imbalance between the increase in the number of pastors and the worsening moral decadence in the society, the Director of the Mission Institute, Pastor Adeyemi Taiwo, noted that such imbalance was premised on the fact that many pastors deviated from the truth the Bible teaches. According to him, “At our theological institute, we base our teaching on the foundational truth of the Bible. We start with the fundamentals, that is, recognising Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour. They also need to submit to the will of God and His teaching.”
Executive Director of Missions and Outreaches, Pastor Bamidele Lasisi, in his contribution, who noted that the enormous task of reacting out to the ever-increasing global population, reiterating the mission of the ministry to relaunch the message of the gospel afresh and the renewed commitment and determination to spread forth.
In his comments of steps taken by the church to encourage more youths to be committed to the things of God, the Youth Director/Financial Secretary, Pastor Remi Akande, stated that “Nowadays, youths, as the strength of the church, have many roles to play, especially when it comes to the work of God. At the New life for All Nations Ministries. The leaders have the interests of the youths at heart and have extended hands of fellowship to the youths. There are lots of youth pastors engaged in active mission work and we are working hard, and a lot of programmes are outlined to ensure more youths are active in church.”
Speaking on the effects of recession in the church, the Director of Finance, Pastor Matthew Bayode, noted that the downturn notwithstanding, the church was experiencing the grace of God. The church also urged government to ensure prompt payment of salaries and the welfare of the people are looked into as a matter of priority.
Director of Crusades, Pastor Joseph Olayemi, noted that ministers had the utmost duty of evangelism as was the practice of the ministry which encouraged personal, as well as mass evangelism to ensure that people are brought closer to God.
While the chairman, Ministerial board, Pastor Matthew Akinboade, responding to question on Christian ministers involved in scandals, while noting that such negative actions were against what the Bible preached, called for ministers to actively participate in training and retraining to make them more attuned to the message of the gospel. In his message as an administrator in the church, the assistant General Secretary, Pastor Dele Adeala, called on Christians in government positions to ensure that they stay true to godly virtues.
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