Pastor Moses Adeyanju is a Pastor in Charge of FCT Province 17 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Abuja. He talks about his efforts towards ensuring rapid and consistent growth in the province as well as caring for the congregation among others. Excerpts.
Can we meet you, Sir?
My names are Pastor Moses Adeyanju. I am the pastor in charge of FCT province 17 under Region 46, Abuja.
How can you assess your province’s growth since the inception of the region last year?
We give thanks to God for everything. I believe that the Holy Spirit is playing a major role in the administration of the Redeemed Christian Church of God both nationwide and worldwide. I’m taking my story from that angle because prior to the creation of Region 46, we were under Region 10. Now unless you know Abuja’s topography, you may not really appreciate what I’m about to say because the province that I am currently presiding over is way beyond Nyanya and Nyanya is at the eastern part of Abuja on the way to Jos.
Our previous region, that is, Region 10, is located in the heart of Abuja making it quite a distance from my province to the regional headquarters. The creation of Region 46 moved the power very close to us because our current regional headquarters is in Nyanya, allowing me to reach there within 10-15 minutes. We are glad about the creation of the region because it has allowed us to be more effective. And of course, the choice of the regional pastor in question, Pastor Ola Adejubee, who is also the pioneer regional pastor of Region 46, is also a bundle of blessings in disguise. He is a man of fire and integrity. He means what he says and says what he means.
Ever since the inception of the church, what has been a major problem you’ve recorded and the challenges you have faced over time?
When our province was created, one of the major problems we had was insufficiency of funds to take off. We were one of the provinces expecting financial support but we weren’t able to get it. Irrespective of that, God proved Himself and we were able to access funds through a project given to us through the help of Pastor Odeyemi, the Continent 2 Overseer.
There was an instance where our father in the Lord stood in the gap with the overwhelming support of the General Overseer and helped us retrieve the piece of land on which the church is currently standing on. God has really been helping us and the church has continued to grow numerically, financially and spiritually. In fact we are getting stable, everything is in order. God has helped us to be able to build a provincial office that is highly conducive. Our next plan is to build a regional secretariat because I see that place as a potential regional headquarters owing to the fact that I can confidently say that we have the biggest auditorium and land-mass in the whole of the Abuja family. That is my next line of action in the Province.
What is the prospect of the church? How do you see yourself achieving the vision you have stated?
The answer that I’ll be giving is a simple one but it might be difficult for you to believe. If a pastor wants to succeed, he must first be sincere with his followers. If you are sincere with your followers, there is no mountain that you cannot subdue. This has always being my notion for a long time. I make sure that I am very open with the pastors under my administration, carrying them along on every decision that I make because we are a team. I ensure that I am very transparent to an extent where I began sharing with my pastors the amount of money entering the province’s bank account for the church funds since I am the one receiving the alert. The fact that I did this did not leave room for anyone to question the genuineness of the financial situation in the province. This is why it is very important to be open with your followers. It allows for a smooth administration. I have discovered, for a long time now, that if a pastor is honest with his people, his people will go alongside with him in whatever step he is about to take.
As a province, with the current economic situation in the country, in terms of the CSR, how has the province impacted the lives of the less privileged?
Having being a pastor for almost 20 years, it has always been my principle to be honest and to be concerned with my people. But little did I know that I was only building a network of support for the future. Now as I speak to you, I have a lot of members who have passed through my administration and are now pastors, some of whom are overseas. Two of such pastors reached out to me to support the church ministry which they have committed to doing on a regular basis. This has allowed us to create a platform in the church where we serve food to our members every Sunday except for the first Sunday of every month. This platform has encouraged the increase in the attendance of the church ranging from 800-900 members every Sunday. On other occasions, we have provided funds for the vulnerable, widows, and even sick members. Although I am proud to say that our CSR mainly deals with the feeding of the church.
In respect to the nationwide protest, what do you have to say to the government and the protesters?
Unfortunately, our level of advancement/enhancement/civilization is not as high as those in developed countries. As Nigerians, there has hardly been any protest conducted that didn’t end in violence. Before the Minister’s Conference that preceded the convention, I called everybody in the church and begged them not to join the protest and just keep praying for the country. I didn’t want to lose the lives of any of my members all in the name of a protest. We should all put our trust in God because he will surely make a way for us.
My advice to the government: they should not be selfish because the way and manner they are running the country, I don’t think it is what God wants. This is not the way to run a government. There has been claims that the fuel subsidy is a scam. Personally, I don’t know if it’s true or not. But then this is not the way to remove subsidy; the removal of subsidy without any form of palliatives. There should have been prior communication with the citizens, put proper plans in place to keep the country afloat after the subsidy has been removed. But unfortunately, such plans were not put in place.
On the occasion of the one year anniversary of Region 46, what words do you have for the Pastor in charge of the Region?
I have been in the RCCG for 31 years and this is the first time I would be witnessing a program such as a Regional Convention. It was a very eventful program and I’m sure it’s here to stay. All I would tell our father in the Lord is that he should keep the fire burning. Everyone might not be on the same page with him but as long as he is aware that he has the majority as his support, he is doing well; he should keep on doing what he is doing because it is yielding results better than before he came. Personally, he is someone that I like because I believe that whenever God places someone above me, He wants me to learn something from the person. This means that I must be obedient, humble and attentive towards him in order for me to learn what God wants me to learn from him. And I believe that I have learnt a lot from him and I like his style of leadership. He is a very down to earth person and I thank God for his life.
In respect to the Vision 2032, is there a specific thing you are doing to achieve this goal?
If we must achieve this Vision 2032, then we should be seen as the driver of the vision. How do you become a driver of the vision? You are the driver of the vision, when in every service you are present. If as a driver of the vision, you are seen constantly in the church for church activities, that church will definitely grow. I have learnt that even in our secular jobs, anytime the head is not available, there is a level of lack of seriousness among the staff. It is the same with the church of God. When the pastor of the church is not constantly available for the things of the church, such a church would not grow. If a pastor is a truant, the congregation will shrink, but if a pastor is always on ground, the congregation would grow. For example, I’m always in my own church every Tuesday and every Thursday and honestly speaking, I hardly record lower than 200 attendees for weekly services. I think that is the way we would drive this vision. Let every pastor be the driver of this vision.
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