by Ofonime Honesty
The Uyo District of Foursquare Gospel Church, on Sunday, August 30, 2020, held its 11th convocation at the district headquarters, Afaha Ube Itam, Itu, Akwa Ibom State.
The service which had ‘Great God of Wonders’ as its theme, featured elevation of three ministers, prophetic declarations, health lecture, word ministration and praise/worship session.
The elevated ministers are: Pastor ThankGod Monday Taylor, Pastor (Mrs.) Mfonobong Victor Akpan and Pastor Ifiok Effiong Okon. Their elevation was termed ‘licensing’ in the church’s parlance.
The trio moved from the level of inducted ministers known as exhorters, to the licensed level which is the second hierarchy in the ministry; where they are expected to serve for a minimum of five years before being promoted to the highest level of ordained ministers.
Related: COVID-19: Foursquare Gospel Church calls for prayers, caution
The list of the ministers was unveiled by the District Overseer/State Pastor, Rev. Victor Akpan; while Rev. Olusola Fatai presented them for licensing, affirming that “the ministers have not done anything which should deny them of the benefits of licensing.”
The three ministers proclaimed to serve God and the church with sincerity, holiness and discipline; in which prayers were offered on their behalf led by a foremost cleric, Prelate (Dr.) Isaiah Issong.
In his sermon the guest preacher, Prelate Issong, founder and general overseer of Believers Assembly, preached on the theme: Great God of Wonders, drawn from Job 5:8-9: “I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause; Which doeth great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.” The cleric counselled the ministers to commit their tasks to God and watch Him perform unlimited wonders.
While calling on the ministers to brace up for the challenges of service, Issong assured them that if they remained steadfast, they would overcome.
Earlier in his address, chairman of the convocation planning committee, Elder Uwemedimo Nwoko, thanked God for enabling the church hold the service amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Explaining the theme of the service, Elder Nwoko, who is Akwa Ibom State’s attorney general and commissioner for justice, said: “this is a year that God the creator of the universe showed just a minute power of His dominion with just one little virus and the entire universe is shut down. This accords with our theme: The Great God of Wonders.”
“Welcome to the 2020 convocation with Great God of Wonders. The same God that gave Abraham a son at the age of 100 years; gave Joseph free transport to Egypt where his dream was to manifest; made Esther -an orphan – a queen in a foreign land and many other great things are already waiting to meet you for your own miracle,” he declared.
Unavoidably absent at the service, Nwoko had his address read at the service by Elder (Barr.) Emmanuel Ogbole, vice chairman of the planning committee and aide to Governor Udom Emmanuel on projects monitoring.
The District Overseer/State Pastor, Rev. Victor Akpan, in his address also emphasized on the theme of the service, saying “it was a wonder how we survived economically, how we enjoyed good health and how we kept our faith in God when technologically advanced nations had high facilities and survived on bailouts.”
He congratulated the international president of the church, Rev. Randy Remington; general overseer, Rev. Sam Aboyeji; and their spouses on their successful election and installations, and pledged the district’s loyalty and support to their administrations.
Rev. Akpan also congratulated the licensed ministers, Barr. Nwoko and the planning committee, guest speakers as well as members of the church on the successful service. The cleric’s prophetic declarations centred on God’s abundant blessings and grace for the months ahead.
Delivering a lecture entitled: How To Protect Oneself from Contracting Coronavirus, a medical professional, Dr. Sylvester Agwai, called for adherence to World Health Organization’s guidelines.
Dr. Agwai said, “regular and thorough cleaning and washing of your hands with an alcohol-based sanitizer or with soap and water go a long way to safeguard someone”, adding that “using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.”
He further stated that maintaining of at least one metre distance between oneself and others as well as avoiding touching of eyes, nose and mouth were also keys to keeping the virus at bay.
He recommended strict use of nose mask, covering of mouth while coughing or sneezing, self-isolation of at least 14 days with minor symptoms such as cough, headache and mild fever.
Dr. Agwai suggested that church has a huge role to play in sensitizing the public on COVID-19, and commended Foursquare Gospel Church for adhering to the safety guidelines.
Classic congregational hymns and praise/worship serenaded the joyous atmosphere at intervals throughout the service. The service also featured the serving of communion to communicants.
