By Wilson Adekumola
The Presiding Pastor of The Partakers of Christ Christian Assembly, Amikanle-Alagbado, Lagos, Pastor Festus Obioma has urged his fellow pastors to refrain from prosperity message but rather focus on the message of the cross in the post-COVID-19 era.
He made this known in an interview with Church Times recently.
He also encouraged fellow pastors not to keep their members in church for too long.
His words, “It is obvious that after the pandemic the church will encounter some changes. Things will no longer be the same. That is why we need to change the way we do church. We must not stay so long in the church as we used to do; we need to adjust our time so that we don’t keep people in church more than necessary because the pandemic has exhausted people and they are no longer financially strong.
“The message of sowing seed or tithe should be avoided. Our message should now be centred on the salvation of souls. I think people should be led by the spirit to give. Emphasis should now be placed on the preparation for the coming back of Jesus. Look at our nation today, you will notice that despite all we are doing people are no longer conscious of God.
“Our youths are only interested in money and what to eat. They commit all kinds of crime because of lust for money. But we have to reform the society because the church is part of the society. We should reach out to young people and let them know that is not the way of life. That is one task the Church should take upon itself at this period.
“Let us be more focus on the things of the kingdom and groom people to hunt for souls. This should be our focus instead of building empires for ourselves here on earth. Money is good but we must not allow it to overwhelm us. Rather we should train people that can defend the church and nation in the place of prayer. Before COVID-19 we were busy training millionaires when we should be raising spiritual militants. We need to train people that will be rugged in prayer. We need to train men that will be hungry and tasty for God.” He added.
Despite the growing popularity of social media and its increasing use by churches to propagate the gospel, Obioma said it will be difficult for it to replace the way church is run.
He said social media is being hyped noting that many people pretend they are following the gospel on social media when in actual fact they are distracted by many other things on the platform.
He said, “Contrary to speculation, I don’t think technology will take over the way we do church because the Bible tells us not to forsake the gathering of one another. There is a difference between what you hear on social media and physical message. When we gather together we are able to harness spiritual gifts for mutual benefit.
“But you cannot have that advantage when you listen to messages at home. I’m not saying social media is not good but technology cannot replace the church. Bible says where two or three are gathered in His name He is there, it does not say when you listen to the message on social media. The social media is good but people get easily distracted while on it.”
While noting that the lockdown period has been challenging, he said it has also been a time of spiritual growth for many people. He commended government decision to reopen worship centres noting however that it is not possible to close the church down in the first place.
“Church is the body of Christ and the body of Christ cannot be closed down. Whether there is a pandemic or not the body of Christ remains. If God says somebody will die no matter what you do it will come to pass. Without God, we can do nothing.” He said.
Obioma decried the killings in Northern Nigeria and the incessant natural disaster across the globe saying what is happening are signs of the end time as stated in the Bible.
“The killings in the north are our own version of the kingdom rising against Kingdom and the coronavirus pandemic is another version of the pestilence the Bible talks about.” He concluded.