*Creates Eight Regions, 40 New Provinces
THE Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has commenced its 2024 Annual Convention, with the theme, ‘Heaven,’ from Monday, August 5, to Sunday, August 11, at the Redemption City, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Mowe in Ogun State, Nigeria.
The General Overseer of the church, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, popularly called ‘Daddy GO,’ and other anointed ministers of God from across the world would be ministering during the one week spiritual event.
Many worshippers had arrived the Redemption City for the Ministers Conference preceding the event, even as Monday, August 5 is officially set aside for arrivals and registration and for some virtual presentations.
The Convention would feature a variety of programmes for all ages, including children, teenagers, young adults, men, women and elders, especially bible studies, prayers, praise and worship, in depth study of the word of God, prophetic declarations, testimonies, sports activities, Melody Hour, special seminars, baptismal service and ordination of deacons and deaconesses, assistant pastors, and full pastors.
There will also be Holy Ghost Service on Friday, August 9, Holy Communion Service on Saturday, August 10 and Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, August 11, 2024 to round off the Convention.
Adeboye has assured that this year’s Convention would be like none before it, especially as there would be extensive teachings on the theme of the Convention, Heaven, a foretaste of which he delivered during the monthly (August) Thanksgiving Service worldwide, titled, ‘Heaven on Earth.’
Besides those who would be on ground for the programme, those in far away places around the world can also join the services virtually via the church’s confirmed social media platforms, the YouTube channel and radio and television stations.
On Monday, five doctoral graduates were among the 6,080 persons that graduated from the Redeemed Christian Bible College (RCBC) as part of activities of the first day of the convention, presided over by the General Overseer, his wife, Pastor Folu Adeboye, and other senior officers of the church.
While congratulating and releasing fatherly blessing on the graduands, Adeboye prayed that God’s presence would go with them, even as he urged them to remain steadfast in Christ and be mighty vessels in the hands of God.
He said: “I pray you will leave here heavily anointed. We pray that after your graduation, you will become mighty vessels in the hand of God. When you lay hands on the sick, they will recover. When you command demons, they will obey. When you preach the gospel, your words will be fire, the heart of the hearer will melt even as you speak.
“Above all these, I pray none of you will miss heaven.”
The new Provost of the institution, Dr. Alaba Oti, said with the dedication of the staff, the college would not relax in producing quality and sound students that would always lift the banner of Christ wherever they find themselves.
He also appreciated the students for making themselves available for the various programmes, saying the various programmes of the school are designed to prepare Christians and bible scholars for in-depth knowledge in specific areas of interest and calling.
Oti stated that various infrastructural development that would facilitate a better and conducive learning environment were going on in the school.
The graduands, drawn from different campuses within and outside the country, spent different periods at the college, which is one of the church’s numerous manpower development centres.
They were awarded certificates in accordance with their course of study, with some graduated with Doctorate, Masters and Bachelors degrees, as well as Diploma certificates.
In his message, titled, ‘Beautiful Feet: Delivering message sent from Heaven,’ Pastor Charles Achonwa of Doulous Ministries charged the graduands not to grow weary in being the ambassadors of Christ, but consider themselves privileged to be among those chosen by God to be His oracle.
Achonwa urged them to live a life of uncompromising character, embrace holiness and have an unwavering commitment towards the work of the kingdom.
Meanwhile, 40 new Provinces and eight Regions have been created to expand the administrative structure of the church in Nigeria, bringing the total number of Provinces in Nigeria to 446 and the Regions to 59.
Adeboye, who announced the decisions of the church’s Governing Council during the last day of the Ministers’ Conference, warned some of its ministers that use church funds to travel abroad with their family members under the guise of going for missionary assignments.
“We decided to allow the creation of 40 new Provinces in Nigeria and the creation of eight new Regions.
“It has also come to our notice that some pastors in more than one province or region would combine to go and plant a church abroad, which sounds very good. But they then use the opportunity to say they want to go and visit the church they had planted abroad and they spent millions of naira for traveling expenses.
“If it’s for church growth, we can understand, but each pastor from different provinces in the name of visiting a church abroad, that must stop and stop right now. That is the sin of hypocrisy and if you continue and you don’t change, God is at liberty to punish hypocrites, and I won’t beg on your behalf.
“You want to use the excuse that you planted a church abroad and three of you would go every year, as well as take your families with you and spend church money? And most times when they go, they bypass the Mission Board and the Continental Overseers. God is watching.”
He warn against excessive marriage celebrations, saying: “Some people have turn marriage to jamboree. The money they waste when they say they are celebrating can be used to train the children. It wasn’t so in the beginning. When you marry, you cut your coat according to your clothes.
“A family, a very wealthy family came all the way from America to conduct the wedding of their daughter in my office in Ebute-Metta and they were blessed. Everything started and ended in my office. They have their baby within months.
“Some of you want to be like the people of the world. I can’t even imagine some of the things I see now. People spend hundreds of thousands of naira on photo shoot. And then on the day of the wedding, the girl puts on all manners of decorations.
“Those who do make-up are those who do not believe God did a good job. When God created you, He did a great job, you are wonderful, perfectly made and you cannot find any other fellow like you, you are special.
“When you begin to paint and you think you can improve on what God has already done, you are a fool. You can never improve on what God has done.
“Go to your wedding, go as God created you, original, unique. Don’t bother what other people say, but the way of the Lord. All these attitudes must stop.”
He listed some major things a minister must not do in the church: “You commit adultery and the church finds out, you’re gone. If you restitute, you will be suspended for one year.
“There are some pastors that are committing fornication and adultery and they think it’s hidden. The wind is blowing, as my Father said at the beginning of this year, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
“If you know you committed adultery or fornication with your member, report yourself quickly before we find out. If we find out without you reporting yourself, you are gone.
“You may say, ‘and so what? I will go and start my ministry.’ That ministry is founded on fornication!
“Secondly, you must not teach heresies. In the Redeemed Christian Church of God, you must not teach heresy, doctrines contrary to the Bible.
“Before you copy all those that say we don’t know anything about grace, any teaching that says you can sin and still enjoy grace is heresies, and if you bring it into RCCG, you are gone. Don’t say I did not warn you.
“The third one is stealing church money, committing fraud and manipulating the church account. For the sake of heaven, repent.
“If you report yourself and you restitute, it is different, you will be punished. But if we discover, and we will, you are gone.
“If you settle auditor to cover up for you, both you and the auditor are gone. If you eat church money, you will vomit it with blood.
“These are sins that has no forgiveness!”
Other things he charged ministers to note include buying food from restaurant, saying: “You must stop this new idea of ordering food from restaurants. Every day is not Christmas, so cook at home.
“Let me tell you the truth; the best food ever is the one you cook in your house.
“And you won’t believe it, I heard that some of you borrow wedding gowns. Someone even borrowed wedding gown for N1million. And you have to spend money to dry clean it before you return it.
“I want to believe it’s not happening in RCCG. For the sake of heaven, watch out, heaven is recording what I am telling you and recording you too. You can’t say that I didn’t tell you.”
He lamented that some members have no regard for House Fellowship, noting: “I discovered that some of you are not even including House Fellowship in your Sunday activities. I believe that will change immediately. That is one of the foundations of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and majority of our parishes started as House Fellowship centres.
“I remember like yesterday telling all my children that travelled abroad to start RCCG. They will say there are Pentecostal churches here, men!
“One day, I visited one of my children (a pastor) and I told him, ‘you know that you are my flesh and blood. If I knock you on the head, you can call the Police to arrest me. But if you do that, never come to Ifewara again.’
“I said, ‘we are starting a church in your house today, five of us started the church in America in the basement of my cousin.
“The Bible talks about the church in the house of ‘so and so.” We started small and now you are treating House Fellowship lightly, calling it “where two or three are gathered.” But look at us today, these are just ministers!
“Take House Fellowship seriously from now.”
On fixing personal programmes during national, regional or provincial programmes, he said: “I can’t believe it that some of you fix your personal parish programmes to coincide with National, Regional, Provincial, Zonal and Area programmes.
“Some of you don’t announce Convention, Congress, Special Holy Ghost Service, etc, in your parishes. I have asked that such pastors be reported, so they can be sanctioned and used as examples. If you are here, then you must be here.”
Regarding discipline while on the altar and in church, Adeboye told the ministers: “Because I sit on the altar in front, some of you don’t honour God again.- Some of you will get up, pretend to go and ease themselves and begin to talk outside when Sermon is going on. Some of you even go behind into the Green Room to take tea.
“When next you try that, you will have diarrhea and if you take medicine, it will not stop till you confess.
“We used to fast Saturday and Sunday for the service during our time. And if my father-in-the-Lord were on the altar with you, you are even afraid to tell him you want to go to ease yourself. Those of you elders, am I lying?
“If mistakenly your stomach is making any sound, you will command it to behave. Discipline put us on our toes.
“That diversion that will take your miracles away will never happen to you. Amen.”
On fasting, the general overseer charged all the pastors who will minister with him must always fast with him, adding: “Some of you no longer fast. I don’t tell you to fast while I do otherwise.
“I am 82 years old, yet I fast. How old are you that you don’t fast? Some of the people who minister with me, some of them don’t fast.
“Even if you are not ministering, fast for your own good.”
Speaking on appearance and dressing, he said: “Like I said on Day 3 Morning Session, some of you have male workers braiding their hair and want to be like sango.
“We have a standard of God and not that of the world. We don’t want sango worshippers. You look at some people in the choir and how they dressed, exposing what they are supposed to hide.
“Some of you to in the choir dress in a way that nobody can tell when they see a harlot, because you expose everything. Because they can sing very well, they feel they can do whatever they like.
“Remind them of Satan. He had the best voice in heaven, but was thrown out the moment he disobeyed. Pastors, if you don’t have anybody in the choir, sing your own songs and hymns.
“Somebody once asked me, ‘to be a member of the choir in RCCG, do you have to be beautiful?’ I said, ‘why do you say so?’ He said, ‘because all your choir members are beautiful.’ I said, ‘I understand what you mean; it is the glory of God radiating in them. Do you notice they don’t wear make up?’
“If you can’t be disciplined, then don’t join the choir!
“I think I have said all that I want to say. If I forget anything, God will remind me. Kindly pass the information to your people.
“How many of you are angry with me? Do you still love me? How many of you want to get to heaven? Let me hear you shout Hallelujah!”
