Former Chairman of the UK parishes of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Agu Irukwu, has reflected on the leadership roles he held in the church and how God led him to step down from those positions at the height of his ministry.
​Apart from serving as Chairman of the RCCG parishes in the UK, Irukwu was Chair of the Board of Trustees and Executive Council of the RCCG in the country, as well as Deputy Continental Overseer for Europe. He voluntarily resigned from those roles in April 2021 and chose to remain solely as the pastor of Jesus House, a parish he started.
​Irukwu shared these reflections recently at a Covenant Nation programme hosted by Pastor Poju Oyemade.
​He said that when he decided to relinquish those positions, the protocol team in the RCCG was unsure how to address him since he no longer held a strategic position in the organization. He told them they could refer to him however they wished.
​According to Irukwu, referring to his resignation served to drive home the point that leadership in God’s kingdom is not about position, but about influence.
​He questioned whether people would still follow their leaders if those leaders were stripped of their titles, adding: “What distinguishes a genuine leader from leaders with corrupt tendencies is their ability to influence people positively.”
​Making reference to the Bible, he stated that “Jesus used three images to represent Christian influence: yeast, light, and salt. These are the images Jesus used to represent Kingdom influence.”
​He noted that it is impossible for these elements to function inside a closed container. “Kingdom leadership means influence. A title can make a boss, but genuine leaders are leaders whether they hold an official appointment or not.”
​Emphasizing that leadership in the secular world differs from leadership in God’s kingdom according to Jesus’ teachings, he stated: “In the world, the leader lords it over the people; in the Kingdom, the leader serves the people.
​”In the world, leadership is built on position. But in the Kingdom, leadership is built on service and fruitfulness. In the world, the leader promotes himself; in the Kingdom, the leader grows the people.”
​He shared that as soon as he stepped down in obedience to God, he began receiving numerous ministry invitations—so many that if he honored all of them, he would not have time to pastor a church.
​He reiterated that real Kingdom influence flows directly from Jesus. “Peter and John were not influential by worldly standards, but they became men of influence because they had been with Jesus. If we are not with Him, we cannot go for Him. You can gather thousands of people and still fail to make an impact. We are easily excited by numbers, but heaven is looking for weight. Character is the platform upon which true leadership stands.”
​Irukwu revealed that he had told God from the beginning that he wanted to do ministry differently and would rather not reside in the UK if he was not going to make a meaningful impact.
​He urged that the process of leadership must follow the pattern of Nehemiah. “You must have a burden for the land, just like Nehemiah had,” he said.
​He recalled attending a five-hour prayer vigil where no time was set aside to pray for the nation. “That vigil was torture for me,” he remarked, stressing that “if you take on other people’s burdens, God will carry yours.”
​He then advised anyone aspiring to do ministry in the UK not to do so without a genuine burden for the country. “Don’t come to this country and waste time. If our churches carry a real burden for the land, the revival we are praying for will happen in no time.”
