Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
A youth Group known as ‘Seraph Youths Arise’ in the Cherubim and Seraphim Church worldwide has moved to correct the perceived backwardness of the church members especially its youths.
The Seraph Youths Arise, an initiative of The New Seraphs Initiative, also urged the C$S church to lay more emphasis on the word of God and de-emphasise total dependence on prophesy.
Convener of the group, who doubles as the Deputy Primate of Faith Mission, C$S Church Satellite Town, Lagos, Gen. Supt. Apostolic Mother, Dr. Oluwaseye Yomi-Sholoye stated this at the inauguration of The New Seraph Initiative, in Kwara State, at the headquarters of C&S Church Murtala Mohammed Way, Ilorin, recently.
She added that efficacy of prayers and good teaching of the word of God should be topmost in the hearts of all Seraphs. She also emphasized that the New Seraph Initiative was out to empower youths and less privileged in the church, using her pet project, a nongovernmental organisation, The Dr. Oluwaseye Yomi-Sholoye Foundation.
She said that the New Seraph Initiative was set up to complement the efforts of the C&S Unification Church of Nigeria especially by focusing more attention on the youths and the less privileged.
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She assured the over 3,000 Seraph youths that already registered for the scheme in Kwara State that some empowerment programmes would be brought to the state for their benefits which she said was the focus of the Foundation.
According to Dr. Yomi-Sholeye: “There is the need for us to advance the fate of our members as seraphs. This leads me to empowerment of our youths.
“Many of our youths today lag behind their peers in the scheme of things in the society of which we seraphs are part of.
“So, in order to correct this imbalance, there is need for aggressive youth empowerment programmes, scholarships to youths from well-to-do seraphs, vocational and skill acquisition training for them, donation of educational materials to those not so privileged among our youths.
“When these are done, there will be creativity and innovations from the youths, which in turn, will advance the course of our church and its people.
“Our women too need to be empowered. Many of our women in the church go through harrowing experiences trying to assist their penurious husbands to make ends meet at home.
“As a church of the 21st century, we need to improve the economic power of our members generally.
“We need to develop projects that will improve the economic power of our members so that they can be self-sufficient and also compete favourably in the larger society and also directly contribute to the growth/stability of the Church.”
She added that the modern day C$S church had deviated from the core mandate of the founding fathers.
“Let us remember that the chief mandate of the founding fathers/mothers of the church is envangelism and if we must tell ourselves the truth, we have not been so forceful and pushful in carrying out that mandate today, like of old. Fact is, we have been ‘sleeping’ for too long.
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“It appears we are fast derailing from the mandate and that we are trying to emulate those who take the riches of the world as their core mandate upon which their denominations were founded.
“Ours is to preach the word, evangelise to win souls for Christ and his coming kingdom,” she added.
Also speaking at the event, Special Apostle Segun Adio, who is also one of the National Coordinator of the group said the New Seraphs is not out to break away from the unification of the bigger C&S church, but an attempt to sensitise the youths on areas that could bring further unity in the church as a whole.
He disclosed that Ilorin was the second state that the group would be inaugurated noting that other states in Nigeria and outside the country would be launched.
The event was witnessed by Cherubim & Seraphim elders in Ilorin and over 17 C&S branches in Ilorin attended the inauguration.