The General Overseer of the United Apostolic Church of Christ Worldwide Rev. Bayo Owoyemi, has stressed the need for Christians to take up the challenge of rescuing the society from the imminent danger of anarchy and wrath of God before it gets too late.
Owoyemi, who observed that the situation in the country required proactive steps, noted that the current predicament in the land was as a result of lack of fear of God.
The clergyman spoke on Thursday at the headquarters of the church, at Sabo, Ibadan during a world press conference and revival of the church with the theme, ‘Goodness and mercy.’
Shedding light on the doctrines of the church, roles of Christians invangelism and leadership, and the way out of the quagmire into which the nation had been drawn, the man of God said, “What is missing in our country is fear of God. When there is no fear of God there is anarchy
We encourage the ministers of God, let us preach the real gospel.
“Religious institutions have a part to play to redeem the society from total collapse. If we instil the fear of God into the younger generation, they would not depart from it. Let us inculcate fear of God into the church and home for a better Nigeria.”
Making reference to mad rush for riches in the land, especially among the youth, he said that “The way you view prosperity is different from how God sees prosperity. God is prosperity; if you have God, you would prosper. Excuse me, you may be rich and still be poor. The real prosperity is when you have God. The Bible says that if you fear God you would live your life in prosperity. It is God alone that bestows us with goodness and mercy.”
On the political future of the country, he said, “A time is coming when a real Christian will rule Nigeria and the nation will be better. We are praying towards that and we should believe that it would come to pass. We are hopeful that one day, we would have a God-fearing Christian president in Nigeria. We believe that when a God-fearing leader is leading us, things would go the way it should. He will rule with the fear of God with the belief that he would return to God and give account of what he did.
“If we have people in government that are not ruling well, it means that they don’t have the fear of God. But, when we have leaders that are ruling according to the will of God, definitely things would go on as it should. We believe in greater Nigeria in future because we are praying for it.”
He urged members of the church to get their voter registration cards in readiness for election so as to vote in candidates of their choice. “A lot of people are saying that my vote won’t count; have they voted? Don’t forget that whoever gets to position would be making policies for you.
“The Bible says that we should obey people in authority. So, in the United Apostolic Church of Christ, we are encouraging people into politics, but before you get there you must be born again. It is not a sin. One day, we would have God-fearing president in Nigeria.”
To have religious harmony in Nigeria, he said that first, believers in Christ should see themselves as one. He stated, “We are just operating under different names. Every Christian should know that they belong to the kingdom of God. If Jesus did not force anybody into religion, I don’t think that it is proper for anyone to force another person into his own faith. Jesus says love your neighbor as yourself, meaning you should love whoever is around you as yourself. It is not only in Ibadan that we are among Muslims and we are living in peace with them. Here at Sabo, Ibadan, we have been among the Muslims for over six decades; we are living in peace with the people.”
On the pervading insecurity in the land, the general overseer said, “As we pray for things to change for good, we should back it with action. Religious institution should inculcate the fear of God into the lives of the citizens, especially the youth. When the youth are rightly impacted, they would not engage in what would not glorify God.
“My message to people is to return to God. There is no scarcity with God as He never lacks anything. God is God of abundance and He satisfies His people.”
While shedding light on the projections and the plans of the church, he disclosed that the church would set up a higher institution in no distant a time. “We value education and we are working towards having our own educational institutions at all levels.
“We make different platforms available for the propagation of the gospel among the students of United Apostolic Church of Christ Worldwide. We are going global and I am glad to announce to you that COVID-19 is dead. This revival is across the globe where we have UACC.”
Asked whether a pastor of the church could involve in business apart from engaging in the work of the ministry, he said that “Using Apostle Paul in the Bible who was into full time ministry as an example, if your church cannot fully satisfy you, you can engage in a business, but you will see the business as part-time.
“Many of our pastors in remote areas farm. It is better for you to engage in activities that can fetch you money than for you to be cursing your church members because they are not paying you salary. If your church does not have the capacity to take care of you, there is no sin in doing something else to help that situation.”
He warned those using mobile phone in place of the Bible not to do so anymore, saying that those doing that are abusing God. “Today, we see some pastors mounting the pulpit to preach, they carry phone. Do you know when you are opening Bible (on the phone), one evil thing may pop up and you would say that you would delete it. But, before you deleted it, you had seen it. Reference God, respect God. Carry your Bible.
“Our vision is to propagate the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have the vision that the church would have assembly in all states of the country, including Abuja. We are not competing with other denominations, but we are concerned about spreading the gospel.”
In an interview, the Youth President of the church, Pastor Samuel Bola Ariji, said, “We thank God for the programme and the organizers. It impacts not me alone but the youth in general. We want to encourage the church to let us do this periodically so that the youth would be guided on what to do for the glory of God.”
Prophet Alo Idowu Gabriel, General Evangelist of the church, described the programme as evangelism and part of the assignment given to the body of Christ. “We shall continue to move forward with God on our side,” he explained.
Pastor Joseph Eniola Oluwatuwase described the church administration as unique, while Pastor Oluwaremilekun Ogunlade expressed gratitude to God for the success of the programme.
Wife of the General Overseer of the church, Rev. Mary Owoyemi, thanked God for the success of the programme, and prayed that God should strengthen the organizers to do even greater works.
Also, she said that as helpmates, wives should support their husbands. “I pray that God will give us the power and enablement to play our roles,” she concluded.
While also expressing delight at the success of the programme, the Public Relations Officer of the church, Pastor SA Balogun, said, “This is the first time that this is happening; we are happy that this church is growing.”
The National Secretary, Sunday School Department, Pastor Caleb Ibiesugbe, said that “This is a very educative and enlightening programme particularly for ministers of God who are here. It affords us the opportunity to know what is required of us as ministers of God in this dispensation particularly to address our minds to the fact that this church is going global.
“It sensitizes us that we must be at tune with global trend as far as propagation of the gospel is concerned. This is a global church and by the grace of God, we are spreading.”
Adetifa Oluwatimileyin Tioluwani, a student of University of Ibadan and member of UACC Worldwide, said, “As students, there are things that were in darkness and we didn’t understand about our mission. We are going to other churches out there where we are being taught their doctrines and norms. Rev. Bayo Owoyemi had made us to know about the doctrines of the church and we are happy.”
