CAN President, Dr. Supo Ayokunle, Sola Allyson, Others Set,
As Apostle Odeneye, US based Nigerian Pastor Hosts Yoruba Global Virtual Prayer Conference
All is now set for the first Global Virtual Prayer Conference to be hosted by Dagunduro Prayer Ministry in conjunction with Yoruba Christian Fellowship, led by Apostle Henry Odeneye, a Nigerian gospel minister based in Houston, United States of America. It is a three-day prayer conference to be held between Friday, 2nd andhttp://Dagunduro Sunday 4th July, 2021, and it is expected to attract participants from all parts of the world.
The prayer conference described as the first of its type by the fellowship would be held globally via the social media, but would be anchored from Houston, Texas, United States of America.
Speaking with PTL News, the Visioner and the President of the Fellowship, Pastor Henry Odeneye who is the hosting minister said the vision of Dagunduro Prayer Ministry, has the divine mandate given from God to use Yoruba language to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ in America.
He disclosed that the fellowship under Dagunduro Prayer Ministry which gave birth to Yoruba Christian Fellowship has been holding prayer revival since 2009, but that of this year is coming with a difference due to the state of the global situation rattled by Covid 19.
The Prayer conference according to Pastor Odeneye would attract anointed ministers of God from all parts of the world and it would be relayed on all social media like Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom, but only registered and accredited men and women of God would be allowed to have access to the Zoom meeting in order to allow for a quality and concentrated participation. The conference will also be accessed through the website of the organisation through www.harvestpointministries.org. It is going to be a live programme.
The conference is billed to feature prominent and highly rated men and women of God drawn from America, Europe and Africa as facilitators among which is the President of Christian Association of Nigeria and the immediate past President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention in person of Rev. Dr. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle. Also expected to facilitate are Pastor Adebowale Adegoke, the Senior Pastor and Founder of Mount Zion Christian Ministries International, Pastor Dr. D. Davis of The Apostolic Church, LAWNA Europe. There will also be music ministrations by Evangelist Sola Allyson from Nigeria, Rebecca Ore Ofe Tampio from Finland, and the Houston, Texas based Dagunduro Choir.
The conference commences on Friday July 2, betwen 9.00 and 10.30pm Nigeria, UK time, 3pm and 4.00pm American and Canadian time.
It continues between 6 and 8pm Nigerian time on Saturday, and 12 noon and 1pm of American and Canadian time. It would be drawn to a conclusion on Sunday between 6 and 8pm Nigerian time.
The conference has Kinni Iwo Ri, What seest Thou as the theme drawn from Jeremiah Chapter 1 verse 11. Also speaking more about the theme, the Chief host, Pastor Odeneye said the conference was to inspire and motivate ministers of God on how to continue with their ministries after the challenging experiences of the Covid 19 global lockdown.
“Based on the fact of life after Covid 19, we want ministers and all the participants to take a leap and imagine what they can see after the post Covid-19 life. We want people to see the future with hope, with determination and success. We see prayer as Solution to global problem.”
Also speaking further on what impact the fellowship wanted to make with the prayer conference, the Dagunduro Prayer Leader expressed the belief that prayer as an important part of life is the solution to global problem.
“Prayer is an access to our creator. Whether you are a king or a servant, you still pray in the belief that there is a higher being. The king pray, the noble pray, men and women, poor and the rich, those that are comfortable or not comfortable, Christians and Muslims pray, Bhuddists pray, as well as the Jews and even traditionalists, they all pray.
“Prayer allows us to look unto the future and commit it into the hand of God for tomorrow. We use prayer to commit our unknown unto God. Prayer is one of the best instruments of Christians. We need to use it to commit our future to the hand of God.”
Pastor Odeneye also explained further the role and impact of prayer in Nigeria and how Nigerians can receive answers to their prayers.
“We pray a lot in Nigeria. You can imagine if Nigeria had not prayed at all. The country would have been another thing entirely outside the plan of God. Psalm 121 says, ‘I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, where cometh my help, My help commeth from the Lord Who created heaven and the earth. Prayer shows we cannot do anything by ourselves. Prayer shows we are helpless without God. We have to call God into our situation to help us. Adam did not pray and he fell blaming his wife. So we need to pray without ceasing as the bible says.
“Jesus Christ told the disciples to ‘Watch and Pray’ so that they would not fall into temptation. A prayerless Christian is a hopeless Christian. Jesus, even as God Himself prayed. We pray to God to seek guardiance. It shows we rely on God, whoever does not pray is empty.
“When we pray, God uses it to answer. Daniel prayed and God answered him by showing him the mystery of the unknown dream of the king, God unravelled the puzzle to him. If he had not prayed he would not have heard from God. Joseph also prayed, and God made his dreams to become realities.”
Commending Nigerians for their prayer prowess, Pastor Odeneye has this to say, “Some people say, ‘A closed mouth is a closed destiny. God tells us to speak to the mountain that it shall move. The Bible says in Proverbs 15. 29, that ‘The Lord is far from the wicked but He hears the prayer of the righteous.’ Nigerians do pray. Nigeria is one of the praying nations of the world, and I believe we are benefiting from it. If half of what is happening in Nigeria happen to another country, such a country would have been written off.
Looking into the present Nigeria’s situation, Pastor Odeneye gave his advice for Nigerians and what they can do under the prevailing situation.
“In this kind of situation, let us use it to the best. Let us go ahead and do negotiation and brainstorm to take care of the problem in Nigeria. Let those in security face what they are raised to do, so also politicians and those that believe in efficacy of prayers should pray. We need prayers to change the situations of things.”
Continuing he added, “Like when king Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream he called in Joseph. God was with Joseph and gave him the revelation because he was communicating with God. Those that are praying should come together and let us pray.”
On what we can do as individuals, the man of God advised fellow clerics to enter into their closets and call on God, like the bridegroom, to call on God in prayer and fasting, quoting Joel 2:15-16.
The prayer according to host minister can also be joined by groups and ministries, saying, “If we have a group of people and churches that want to be part of it, they can gather together and buy data to use to watch it together. There are some TV stations that could air it live. If there are viewing stations that are available we can also work together. Our aim is to reach out to a large number of people there in Nigeria and other parts of the world.”
On what impact such a Yoruba speaking prayer conference could have on Nigeria, Pastor Odeneye said it was a way of promoting Yoruba language among Yorubas all over the world.
He explained, “It is for the promotion of Yoruba language for evangelism and to help Yoruba to use their language. If not for the efforts of Bishop Ajayi Crowther we may not have had access to the Bible at the time we had it. We should not allow Yoruba language to die. In Nigeria if a Yoruba man cannot read English language they call him an illiterate. Today Yoruba language is taught in 62 universities in the US and we claim no vernacular in the house. It is said that if you want to colonise a people you take control of their language. Yoruba is one of the endangered languages of the world. We must work hard to project the language.
“We are happy to tell our people that in America if you carry your card for six years and if you apply for citizenship they would give you 100 questions in English language but Harvestpoint went to American language centre and requested for the use of Yoruba language and now Yorubas of 65 years of age can now be interviewed and be tested as a citizen of America in Houston.
“Any elderly Nigerian that wants to write the exam in Yoruba language can do it. We have an example of a success story in Mama Ojeyinka who is the first person to write her citizenship exam in Yoruba. Because of this the Mayor of Houston gave us an award of recognition in December and has dedicated December 6 as Dagunduro Day in Houston.
He also spoke on Struggle for Yoruba Emancipation and agitation. On this he said, “The Yorubas say Bi Omode ba Subu a wo iwaju, bi agba ba subu a weyin wo, (When a child falls, he looks forward, and when an elder falls, he looks backward). My appeal to those in authority in Nigeria is to listen and call a meeting with deep thought. After that if we want to stay alone let us know and agree on how to go about it, and if not we can have a way of sorting things out amicably.”
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