Ruth Elton, daughter of foremost missionary, Pa Sidney Elton has explained why he had to deny her British citizenship to be a Nigerian.
She gave the explanation at her Ilesha home while fielding questions from popular comedian, Babafemi of Ajino Boy TV.
Ruth Elton was the only child of Pa Elton. She took after her father to do missions in Nigeria. But she never got married.
She explained that in those days it was not possible to combine the citizenship of two countries. Since she wanted to stay back in Nigeria to preach the kingdom’s message she had to give up being British.
She said, “I had to get a lawyer to get me through the process of renouncing my British citizenship so I could be a Nigerian.”
The missionary who will be 89 in September said the lawyer was shocked when she told him her intention and asked if she was crazy. She however noted that the step she took then has greatly helped to enhance her message of the kingdom.
“Since I took that step, I tell people when I am preaching that they have to completely renounce their old ways and embrace the way of the cross. I tell them when they come to the kingdom of heaven, they have to get rid of the old things,” she said.
Read also: Pa Syndey Elton and the prophetic destiny of Nigeriahttps://churchtimesnigeria.net/pa-elton-sydney-prophetic-nigeria/
She noted that there are so many people who go to church but who don’t live the life of the kingdom. “Many come to Jesus but they go back to their old ways of life,” she said.
According to her, gospel preachers must emphasise repentance and believe in their message to people. “It is repentance first. The apostles preached repent and believe. Repentance comes first before belief. It is repentance that prepares the heart to believe. If you don’t repent, your heart will not be ready to believe”
Babalola’s impact
Recalling the impact of Apostle Ayodele Babalola and how the Lord called him to ministry in Ilesha, she said, “When Babalola was alive, he preached salvation and healing. He had a dream about the bottle of water that was half full and God told him the work will start when the bottle is filled with water. He had another dream that showed the bottle of water that is full. And he interpreted that to mean he should pray on water for people.”
Ruth Elton said Babalola used to be quite close to her father and was quite fond of her when she was a little girl. “many men of God are from Ilesha. Today we have people like Pastor Enoch Adeboye who is from Ilesha, Pastor Kumuyi, and many others. I think God has chosen Ilesha” She said.
Asked what makes a successful ministry, she said: “A successful ministry is when the people who are your converts have truly repented from their old ways.”