By CHUKS EKE
Barely 164 years after the early missionaries brought Christianity to Igbo land, prominent men of God are yet to be satisfied with the extent which Christianity has so far spread in the hinterlands.
Loading ...They expressed dissatisfaction that Christianity in general and gospel of Jesus Christ in particular have not gone round all the nooks and crannies of Igbo land, let alone other parts of the north, south and west.
As a result, the Presiding Bishop and General Superintendent of Grace of God Mission Incorporated, Bishop Dr. Paul Nwachukwu has taken it upon himself to lead other anointed prominent men and women of God from that part of the world in spreading the gospel.
To achieve this, Bishop Nwachukwu has volunteered to assemble younger pastors and evangelists, provide logistics and sponsor their welfare in the hinter lands so as to achieve the desired objectives.
Bishop Nwachukwu who turned 74 recently, said at a ministers’ conference which he hosted at his Glory Cathedral, Grace of God Mission Headquarters, Onitsha, attended by members of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, that he is not yet fulfilled in life until the gospel of Jesus Christ is spread to all nooks and crannies of Igbo land.
Bishop Nwachukwu who noted that though he might not approach the programme physically due to his old age, said he wold deploy all available resources and logistics, including human and material resources to carry out the odious task.
According to Bishop Nwachukwu, “my conscience is telling me that there is a lacuna somewhere which needed to be filled up. That lacuna is that the gospel of God is not yet deeply rooted in various parts of Nigeria and it is my heart desire that we the ministers of God should work harder to achieve this feat while we are still alive and have rest of mind”.
In his remarks, the Chairman Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN in Anambra state, Bishop Moses Ezedebego commended Bishop Nwachukwu for the initiative which he said has challenged other church leader as a wake up call to move to the hinterland to preach the gospel.
“This is gathering of church leaders and I’m sure it will set people on fire for evangelism. We should go to the rural areas to evangelize. The conference will propel us to do more in changing the lives of members and leaders in the society.
Also in his remarks, Bishop Ephram Ndife of Holy Ghost Ministry said that Bishop Nwachukwu has hit the bull by the head by equipping the ministers especially the young ministers of God to go into the rural areas to win souls.
“If we don’t visit ministers and church members in the villages, they will run out of the village for one thing or the other. When they cannot roof the church buildings and we cannot help them roof it, they will run out where the building had been roofed.
“When they don’t have electricity and we cannot help them to get generating sets, they will run out of darkness. These are the things I think Bishop want to avoid hence this vision, I think I will buy the idea by standing with him.
“When he will be going to the hinterland and he invites me, I will donate my widow’s mite and if there are many scholarship to be given and I have the privilege to be informed, I may pick one or two. So, what happened today was extremely good for the gospel of Christ” Ndife said.
Bishop Dominic Onuigwe of National Evangelical Mission also thanked the host and initiator of the conference for the vision, saying that the essence of the programme was to carry every church leader along in actualizing his vision of moving with vigour into the hinterland.
“I think if the church leaders should come out, the vision will be accompanied but if they slack, it would be defeated because it is not about denomination or one church or the other. It is about the entire churches and Christians in Anambra state” declared Onuigwe.
The Bishop of Grace of God Mission, Paul Nwachukwu jr. described the vision of his father as indispensable due to its genuineness in soul winning and propagation of gospel to the rural dwellers.
He said that the vision would impart on not only Grace of God Mission members but the entire Christians saying that he has a passion for rural areas to preach the gospel.
