By Akeem Abas
Ibadan – The Bishop of Ibadan South Anglican Diocese, Rev. Joseph Akinfenwa, has urged the Christians in Oyo State to pray for Gov. Seyi Makinde’s divine guidance to succeed in steering the affairs of the state at this very critical time.
He made the call at an Anniversary Lecture and Book Launch held at Samuel Adegbite Hall of St Luke’s, Molete, in Ibadan on Wednesday.
News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the lecture was part of activities lined up for the 20th Anniversary of Ibadan South Diocese of Anglican Communion.
Akinfenwa, in his lecture entitled ““A Going Church Makes A Growing Church”, said it was important to constantly pray for Makinde’s divine guidance in all his endeavours for him not to fail.
He also called on Christians to always participate actively in politics and other societal programmes, urging them to strive toward improving on their character as Christians.
““While many national churches are experiencing decline, the Church of Nigeria will continue to wax stronger.
“It is not that the devil and technology have not tried to affect, yet we are making progress.
““The most important is not to do better than some people, but to build a perfect will of God to achieve 100 per cent of what God intends for us in the commission,” he stated.
Akinfenwa stressed the need for the Christendom to be prayerful, practically knowledgeable, seek the words of God thoroughly and involve in evangelism.
The cleric said that the church must not only grow but ensure the youth and women were empowered to keep them growing.
According to him, a church that is not growing is ready to die.
“Our mission is not nebulous. We must evolve strategies to sustain or retain our members.”
He said that a growing church must be deliberate about its mission, saying members must be committed to living holy.
Akinfenwa urged members to build themselves spiritually by overcoming unpleasant emotions, tempers and unnecessary mood swings to achieve more in evangelism.
“”Today, the society is not only disoriented, but has become dangerous,” he said.
The cleric called on Anglicans to acquire formal education and strive to attain intellectual mastery of a sphere of life.
He said that they must continue to learn and discover talents, urging them to learn and master a vocational skill.
“”Our members must build themselves spiritually and be willing to offer themselves for preaching the gospel.
“All these, if effectively achieved, will go a long way in growing the church,” he said.