While preparing for this edition, I stumbled on two write ups that really point to the challenges that stare the Nigerian church at the face. It is reasoned that the church has been very helpful in sending the message of salvation to the people, but the people need more than these messages. They need to be fed spiritually and physically, and they need to take care of their basic needs. It is found that many people come to the church to find relief to their different problems and challenges.
While on a Vicinity 95.3 FM Radio, in Ikeji Ile my home town recently, I was asked about what the Church has been doing to bring help to the needy. While I answered that the church has been helpful in the area of good messages of relief, preaching salvation, and physically rehabilitating the less privileged and all that, I was reminded that the Church could do more by going into physical production of goods and materials for the needs of not only the members but of the general public.
In my answer, I simply concurred that this is doable, because the church has a long assemblage of people looking for one help or the other. In the Church are the jobless, who are ready to offer cheap labour as long as their physical needs would be met.
Without bothering you for too much, I stumbled on these two articles and discovered they could help to guide us, the Nigerian Church and our general public in this challenge.
Is anybody saying the Church was not called to this?
The first article published by one Coach Johnson, was seen on a Whatsapp platform, and the second was on Facebook, where the Lord Bishop of an Anglican Diocese, East of the Niger gave an account of his five years of stewardship. As he ministered to the people spiritually, he also ministered to their physical needs, as he provided employment, he provided food and services, and the church continues to grow and multiply in leaps and bounds.
These are virtues other churches can emulate rather than depending on those who will always come to donate without knowing their means of livelihood. This is of course open to serious debates.
CHURCH, ARISE Writes COACH JOHNSON
As I passed through the expressway and observed the exploits of our churches in building camp grounds, I imagined, if RCCG would clear such an expanse of land for arable crops (rice, maize, cassava, etc). If MFM would focus such massive land on oil palm plantation and Deeper Life focuses on cocoa, and others will invest such massive land in the South West to agriculture, Nigeria will be healed, our prayers for Nigeria will be answered, while our fasting for Nigeria will turn to joy.
If Winners’ Chapel will open a factory to manufacture phones and ICT materials, and our churches open up factories to process our agricultural outputs, then we will have more jobs for our youths and the glory of Nigeria will be restored. With all our professional Pastors or rather Pastors that are professionals in their various fields, with all our banking moguls and ICT gurus, the Nigerian Church can be a formidable force in these last days.
We have exported the gospel to many nations of the world, it is time to export RCCG rice, MFM flour, Winners Oil Palm, etc. If you say the church should not be involved in business, then scrutinize the activities of many of our mega churches and you will observe we are already involved in estate business. But we can channel our energies and expertise to bring Nigeria out of the doldrums.
The white man that brought the gospel to us, also brought schools and medical services. Thank God for our schools and hospitals, but only those who are well fed will afford school fees and be alive to read.
We have prayed, let us take action. Churches should set up Committees as we do for our conventions and other activities and let them focus on those things. Let them be empowered to hire and fire (church members and others), let them be the Deacons serving food, dealing with everyday matters. They will be the Board while they employ others to do the work.
The Board will render account to the Church like any other business endeavours. In the early Church, I wonder where they were getting the food that was being served if some of them were not working. The GO (General Overseer) does not need to be in charge of these things, he will be too busy for that. Let another AGO (Assistant General Overseer) or Deputy focus on the business arm of the Church (men like Bezalel- anointed and skilful).
Church arise. I believe God is waiting for us to save Nigeria from hunger, starvation and famine, from unemployment and brain drain.
Our Churches can begin mechanized farming in Nigeria. We import machines and equipment for our Church meetings, what stops us from doing so for agriculture? We have the expertise, the resources and the experience to do it. We have built enough Camp grounds, houses and halls, the people coming into those halls will need food to survive and come to our meetings. With the way things are going, tithes will begin to reduce, attendance in church will reduce. Resources to maintain our mega properties may be affected. But this ought not to be. Joseph was in Egypt and he made Egypt a food basket in the time of famine.
We have many Josephs all over in Nigeria. Even though we are already in darkness, our light will still shine. I plead with all our Church Leaders, GOs and Board of Elders, CAN and PFN to prayerfully consider this. I’m a member of Foursquare but derive pleasure is sharing the TRUTH EVEN IF IT SOUNDS BITTER TO MANY.
Nigeria shall be great again by the time the Churches have money to fund her activities, our Pastors will preach the truth and stand on the truth, rebuke and correct members like Ananaias and Sapphira and not depend on men of questionable characters and politicians who are bleeding Nigeria (whom we call Brothers) in our Churches. We will not be so focused on quantity at the expense of quality of lives of our members. The world will see our good works and give glory to our Father in Heaven.
WAY TO GO: We can make the Church very relevant today as it was yesterday
– Rt Revd Ndubuisi Chukwuka Obi.
September 21, 2024 will be my fifth year anniversary as the Anglican Bishop of Nnewi. Looking back, I can testify that our Diocese has Agricultural Farms in Okija, Ozubulu, Anaku, Igbariam and we are moving into Akpugoeze and Ufuma before the end of this year.
In Okija, we have harvested large quantities of cucumber, water melon, pineapple, green pepper as well as cassava, yam etc.
In Ozubulu, we have 40 large fish ponds, a piggery section, a poultry, a snail section and we harvest different types of vegetables as we use irrigation system to provide constant water to the farm.
We have large numbers of palm trees in both Okija and Ozubulu thus inspiring us to establish Palm Oil mills in both farms through which we sell our DONAC Palm Oil. We also have Garri processing machines in both Okija and Ozubulu wherein we process our cassava into garri, thus our DONAC Garri in the market. The plantain in both farms gave birth to our DONAC PLANTAIN FLOUR.
We have established a full Rice Mill in Anaku, DONAC RICE MILL from where we roll out our DONAC PARBOILED RICE which dominates the market presently because of our reduced prices. We planted 50 Hectares of Rice in our farm at Igbariam and from start to finish to packaging will be done in our Rice Mill.
In Akpugoeze, we have purchased 5,000 plots of land for farming and agricultural purposes. If you are interested you can partner with us and we’ll help you to invest your money into agriculture as a plot of land goes for 400k only and it’s free hold, though you can only be allowed to buy from ten plots.
Our Diocese established the first full blown Artificial Intelligence/Robotics/Coding Hub inside Bishop Uzodike Memorial Seminary, Nnewi. The World Bank is partnering with us to train 1,000 youths in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. We have established a Computer Based Tests Laboratory housing about 250 Computers with 24 hour internet facilities and we are teaching all related courses in Computer and ICT. About 903 Students took their JAMB Exams at the Center.
We also established a mega Photography Laboratory in Nnewi giving employment to our youths. We have Alive Unto God Computer College where we teach all courses in Computer Education. We have also established the ADON VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL ACADEMY in Ozubulu, with full accommodation facilities where we teach Vocational Courses and Technical Courses to encourage our youths to be self-employed. A trial will convince you.
We have also established the DONAC ADON CATERING AND VOCATIONAL INSTITUTE in Nnewichi for those who may wish to come from their homes though we also have full accommodation available therein.
We established the DONAC ADON OIL AND GAS Nnewi where we sell Gas, Petrol and Kerosene to the public. It’s on record that during birthdays and Church outreaches, we give out petroleum products free to the masses to reduce the economic stress in our clime.
We established the first ever DONAC ADON FOOD MARKET where we market our various agricultural products at cheaper rates than is available in the market.
We have two Rehabilitation Centers. One in Nnewi and the other in Ozubulu, administered by one of our retired Clergymen. Yesterday I was at the Rehabilitation Center at Nnewi and all the inmates smiled broadly as they normally do anytime I visited.
Presently, we acquired 2,000 plots of land in Ufuma which we are using to empower the unemployed in our society. We shall plant only cassava there in partnership with the FCMB. Our partners will take off the entire crops and pay to FCMB who will recover their investment, then we share the profits to those who are registered in the scheme and raise capital for them.
Our DONAC ADON FARMERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETY runs our agricultural operations.
Spiritually, we share the Word of God every morning from Monday to Friday in our Morning Prayers inside our Chapel of Grace. In these five years, we have established about 70 Churches in the towns in our Diocese.
We have employed many people and trained many in different fields. We have 23 Secondary Schools that are doing very well.
In the next five years, surely, we will continue our human capacity development and employment of our youths while impacting the spiritual lives of many. Our Diocese has its own Television Station, Alive Unto God TV and through it, we shall continue to preach this gospel of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Our Alive Unto God Printing Press is one of the most equipped printing press in the state. Our ADON Glorious Tissues is one of the best in terms of quality in the market.
Just to make the point that the Church is still very relevant today as it was yesterday and contributing massively to the development of our society.
Right Reverend Ndubuisi Chukwuka Obi is the Bishop of the Diocese of Nnewi in the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
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