Until recently Pastor Taiwo Omolaja was the Pastor In Charge of FCT Province 3 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Abuja before he was promoted as Assistant Pastor in Charge of Region 45 and transferred to FCT Province 2. In an interview with The BeautifulDay Testimonial, conducted back in August, he talks about individual cooperation and responsibilities in ensuring church rapid growth among other issues. Excerpts.
Can we meet you, Sir?
My name is Pastor Omolaja Taiwo, the Pastor in Charge of FCT Province 3. We were formerly at Green Pasture which was the provincial headquarters. But last year, the region was created and Green Pasture was made to become Regional headquarters and because of that, we had to move to Praise Assembly where we now have our provincial headquarters. We’re still developing it but, we have gone far.
How can you assess progress being made and what has been the impact of the region on your progress?
We want to thank God. Actually, it’s what we desire and it’s one thing to desire something; it’s another thing for you to have it. But God in His infinite mercies bring our desire to fulfillment and because we desire it, of course we know that there are benefits attached to it. Even though we know sacrifices has to be made to achieve this.
One of the benefits is that the axis where our province is located is quite a distance to where the former region was and so because of that, majority of our members don’t usually attend the regional programs and that’s one of the reasons we decided that we should have a region not too far from us so that all the members there can benefit. So, one of the achievements that we can say we have is that at least, almost 80% of the members are able to attend regional programs every month. So, that’s one of the advantages that have come over there.
Second, thank God for our regional pastor, he is a vibrant man and by the grace of God, he has introduced one or two things that are making almost all the provinces to look up and aspire. He has been able to give us firsthand information on things we need to know and do. Not just the pastors; but also the members.
Creation of the region has made not just the pastor but the entire members of the province to be more close to the National than before. We also want to thank God for him, since he came; he has introduced some programs like ‘Divine Intervention’ on monthly basis which God has been using it for deliverance, salvation, healing. Within the time that he came, he has been able to organize training for the ministers to develop them to some extent. By the grace of God, at least, from my own province, I have been able to take him round the Areas, and he has been able to acquaint himself with the development and other things that we have in FCT 3.
As a province, what are your roles and responsibilities to the region and to all the Zones, Area and Parishes that are under you?
My responsibilities are so enormous. Number 1, I told you that we desired the region and I was one of the people that prayed that the region should come. Now that the region has come, the onus lies on me to make sure that the region succeeds in everything. So, I bring my suggestions; either it’s taken or not. But, in whatever that I see that my pastor in charge of Region introduces, I’m there to promote it, just to make sure that we become number 1 in all of the 3 regions. And for the province, God has really been helping us.
There were so many challenges when I got here; I met debt of almost over 50 million and the pastors were disunited and etc. But the Lord gave us wisdom; we were able to sort all the debts that were on ground; we were able to bring all the pastors together; and all the parishes that looked like they’ve been abandoned or forgotten, we were able to bring them up gradually. And, by the grace of God, today, as at last June, FCT 3 was 10th in the attendance of all the provinces in Nigeria and I believe this month, we’ll be more than that because the attendance we had this month is higher than the last time. God has really helped us.
Again, when we got there, we tried to divide the province to what we call ‘Cluster’. Bringing the zones together and since our continental overseer has given us mandate that each of the province should plant nothing less than 8 parishes in a year. So, all we did is to divide ourselves into 8 and each ‘Let’s go a fishing’ we deliver 4 parishes. Because of that, within these 4 years, almost 2 provinces have come out from us: FCT, 17, and we contributed to Nassarawa 4. Another province is coming up now, over 80 parishes also. So, these are the things that God has been helping us to do since we got there.
In your own opinion, how can you assess the cooperation you have received from your subordinates like the Zones, Areas, and Parishes?
I really thank God because what I did when I got there is to bring together my two APICP, had a discussion with them, and shared my vision with them. After they bought it, I moved to the Zone, discussed with them and after they bought it, we moved to the Area, we discussed with Pastor in charge of Areas; it took us almost 3 months. But we made sure that everybody was carried along, they all know what we want to do. So, the issue of cooperation was just natural. For example, I did something there which I did in other places before, I call it crowd funding. It’s a way of putting money together from the Area. So, I made it clear that from your rebate, if you can surrender 30%. Because I know that we are to support the convention; we are to plant parishes; we are to support the region; we have our own campground.
So, there are so many things that we will be asked to do and I discovered that whenever we have meeting before I became the pastor in charge of Province, the issue of money is always the major talk. So, we had this idea that we should adjust. How much do we have in the province’s purse to take care of funding and then we looked at how we can realize it, and requested if they can surrender 30% of their rebate. We have joint account, we call it development account which Area, Zonal, and Provincial Pastors are signatory to and from there, we are able to make sure that we take care of Parishes in whatever contribution.
In our meetings now, by the grace of God, we do not ask for money and we know our obligation to the region. Every month, we make various financial contributions from the province alone. But, we don’t discuss it again since we have agreedthe way we want to go about it and people have been so faithful that they just bring the cheque. So, it has really helped us to move the province forward.
So, when you want to do church planting, you don’t levy anyone?
We don’t levy anybody, the cluster will go and look for land; they will get the land, the cluster will agree together, buy the land, then the province will support them in building it.
We are aware that there’s something they call church planting…
That one is different. What we do in that area is 20%; cluster by cluster, we know how many Areas that are made up; the whole money from that cluster, we put it there together. Right now, those ones that will come up in November, some of them already bought land and started building. So, by the time we now come up in November, the province then decides to support; the church is already standing.
Can we now say that your province is fully keying into vision 2032?
By the Grace of God, we are really pushing and like I said to you, when I got there as the new pastor in charge of Province, the attendance was about 12,000. But as at today, we are going to 18,000 despite taking over 9,000 members to new province FCT 17 and also taking the regional headquarters. But yet, we continue working. Naturally, everybody is just flowing together and I want to thank God at least for these 4 years, I have never had reason to be summoned for any form of query.
Talking about categories of your congregation in view of the the economic hardship in Nigeria, how is the province touching the lives of those that are indigent in the church?
Well, God has been helping us also. We are able to locate 1, 2 or 3 that are really privileged with substance and we partner with them. In partnership with them, we make sure that we have what we call welfare account. So, that is the area we intermittently support the congregation and then we also make it clear to church members that if they have any challenge, just come. And they come, write to us, because I make sure whatever I’m doing is properly documented. For some, it is school fees, some, hospital bills. Just recently, somebody was sick and we spent more than N500,000 on hospital bills. So, that is how God has been helping us and this act of welfare is extended to some of the parishes and in one way or the other, we have been able to take care of them also.
What prospects do your province have?
God has helped us to build more structures like offices and we are trusting God that before the end of the year, we will complete it. Also, the province has 2 acres of farm which every year we get good harvest from. Though, agric is not business because the return from it can’t be compared to what you invest in it. But by God’s grace, we have been able to occupy people in the mission field with farming work; we pay them. And, when they sell some of the farm produce, we give them from it. Because of that, we have 4 or 5 mission fields and we take care of all the people there. We will not stop growing; we will not stop having more provinces.
Are you receiving any financial support from the National? Secondly, what do you have to tell the Pastor of Region as you mark the 1st year anniversary of the Region?
Number 1, since I got here, there has never been any support either from the continent, national, or region. But, God has been our greatest supporter. And I thank God for the Pastor in charge of Region. I’ll just advise him to continue in the spirit that he is going and to also listen to his subordinates and hear them out so that everybody will be carried along.
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