The general overseer of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, Rev. Samuel Aboyeji, has charged ministers of the gospel to acquire skills and competence through training and diligent service.
Aboyeji gave the charge during a recent interdenominational programme, tagged “SWITCH,” organised by the church in partnership with the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN).
SWITCH is an idea conceived by the GO, Aboyeji, for the organisation to give to the body of Christ a platform for nurturing and mentoring Christian leaders, ministers of the gospel and upcoming generation of believers in three critical areas of life: marriage, ministry and marketplace.
Addressing the gathering, the general overseer, who took his text from the book of Matthew 17: 15-16, noted that without competence, there cannot be performance. “Competence is about ability and capacity.”
He advised the audience to acquire necessary skills, develop good relationship with people because ministry is all about people.
“If the Lord has called you, you must acquire necessary skills like interpersonal skill.The world respects results, only results cancel insults.
“You need to know how to relate with people , encourage, empathise, appreciate people. Don’t belittle people, those who do will be little someday.
“You must have basic discipleship training,” adding that ministry is 85% people management and 15% technical.
The GO harped on knowing your gift and deploying it for service. “You must discover it, develop it and also grow in it by meditating on God’s words, personal retreat and praying for at least one hour a day.”
He spoke on ministering with character, having a nature of God and His power. He said if a minister must will go far in ministry, “you need a consistently good character.”
He went further to urge the audience to
discipline their desires, keep commitments, standards and restrain negative reactions.
On his part, Deacon John Tani Obaro, the Group Managing Director, System Specs spoke on Thriving in the market place as a believer.
Obaro, who Reeled out 30 levers on which the believer can build on to survive in the marketplace, emphasised the importance of starting with prayer, being in tune with God before taking any decision. “ We must move beyond prayers.”
Evang. Mike Bamiloye, President, Mount Zion Faith Ministries, who spoke on Marriage the Bedrock for thriving in all areas, pointed out that the success of every marriage depends on the wife and the husband.
Taking his text from the book of Colossians chapter 3 verse 18 to 21, he noted that there are laws in the bible to be obeyed for the marriage to survive.
He said wives must submit to their husbands, children obey and the husband must love their wives.
“Love is the foundation of a successful marriage. The man and the woman have their part to play in the success of a marriage.
“If the marriage is wrong ministry cannot be right.
“Be careful of the kind of messages you hear about marriage as some of them destroy relationship.”