How the Church can be involved in nation-building-Akindayo

Senior Pastor at Inheritors Christ Mission Int’l, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, Dele Akindayo has enumerated ways through which Christians can actively be involved in nation-building.

Akindayo in a statement made available to Church Times on Sunday, September 6 said some of the active ways Christians could be involved in nation-building are in the area of intercession for the country, righteous living, taking care of the poor and making contributions to guide the governments of the day

He noted that “The church has been doing very well in education since the founding of the first primary school, St Thomas Anglican Nursery and Primary School, in 1843 and the first secondary school, C.M.S. Grammar School in 1859.”

He however added that beyond praying and righteous living, “Christians need to also be involved in the governance of their nation, which includes voting in elections, and nurturing members as conscientious,  exceptional leaders in family, ministry, business,  professional, social and government institutions.

He enjoined Christians not to compromise their faith adding, “Most importantly their lives should be lived righteously so that they do not bring any reproach to Christ and His cause.”

He debunked the notion that Christians “are not of this world but are just passing by, so they should not engage in anything of this world.”

He explained that, “The church ought to consistently speak against evil and hold leaders accountable within and outside the church.”

He advised that the Christian umbrella  organisations like PFN and CAN ought to have regular interactions with the governments of the day.

“The legal departments of these organisations ought to interact with the various state and national assemblies in formulating laws that benefit the people and guide the nation to success,” He said.

Rather than be a reactive church which according to him would suffer much more persecutions than the Lord Himself allows, he admonished the church to be proactive.

He observed, “A united church would stand solidly against oppression while a disunited church will be an instrument of the adversary to destroy the people and the nation.”

Churches according to him, “must be involved in integral missions in their communities and be a blessing to those communities as much as they can. That way they would be spreading the fragrance of Christ to their world. They must be more actively involved in social responsibility of feeding the hungry, taking care of the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the sick, some of who are mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46.”

Concluding he said, “as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, doing all these would make the work of the Great Commission, as mandated by Jesus Christ, the Saviour, easier to do.”