The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Lagos State Chapter has restated its desire to chart a new cause for the ‘body of Christ’ in Lagos with a view to making a greater impact in the state. The chapter held a three-day strategic retreat from February 1-3 to pray and chart an informed pathway for the Fellowship in Lagos.
Enyinnaya Okwuonu, chairman of the chapter, said the Fellowship is set on the path of making a greater impact in the coming years, stating that there was a need to look at its operations and make necessary changes. According to him, there is a need to make drastic and long-lasting changes, hence the need for the retreat.
Olumide Olugbenle, the director of learning and development, said there is a need to fully actualise the potential of the PFN and also deepen the activities of the state leadership of the Fellowship. “The leaders need to know their primary audience and deepen their knowledge and role in that direction”.
According to him, the PFN should not be seen to be doing activities, but rather be the enabler of activities within the body of Christ, hence the Fellowship should be seen to be giving support to churches and also enable them to carry out their vision. “For instance, the director of evangelism should not be holding crusades on the PFN platform. The directorate could hold one as a prototype for churches to learn and see how crusades should be conducted,” Olugbenle said.
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He posits that the goal of the Fellowship should be to win more souls to God’s kingdom and not to keep circulating believers among Churches, adding that such understanding will go a long way to make the Fellowship create greater impact on the church in Lagos.
Janet Onaolapo, the general overseer, Abundant Life Gospel Church, said prayer is the minister’s best practice in her presentation on the best practice in life, ministry, and business. According to her, having a connection with God is the best place to start for any minister.
“If you don’t have a connection with God, you will do ministry in vain. The way to have that connection is to shut the door when you pray. It simply means to be truly connected without any distraction or mechanical attempt to speak good English in the place of prayer. Praying well is not about good English,” said Onaolapo.
Making copious references to the Bible, Onaolapo said “prayer is simply God taking away your burden. It is simply God manifesting in your life. It is divinity showing forth in humanity.”
She noted that God does not respond to people who don’t call upon him. “We must learn to step aside early in the morning to pray. Before you step into any project, take time to pray. Personal all-night prayers are one of the best practices in life, business, and ministry.”
According to her, the aftermath of a successful ministration should be spending time in prayer no matter how tired the minister is. “After a major crusade, a great practice we need to imbibe is to pray. Don’t just go and sit down after church. Go back and refuel. Let there be continuous communication between you and God”.
