GOD’S Kingdom Society’s determination to expose all false doctrines which Satan had used over the ages, to deceive the people and keep them in perpetual ignorance of God’s Kingdom and purpose of creation recently received a boost as the mustard seed sown in October 2005 by the church’s
vice-president, Brother Samuel Nwaeke in Akontolante, a suburb of Accra, Ghana has germinated and is blossoming to become an oak tree in the West African sub-region. Following the prompting of a member of the church, Brother Ejiro Onakughoton who was a visiting lecturer at the Accra Polytechnic, the vice-president led a delegation made up of a handful of ministers and lay members in October 2005 for the first missionary voyage to the West African nation.
Like most trail blazers all over the world, that voyage was successful insofar as the church was able to, despite the cumbersome conditions for establishing a church in Ghana, leave its footprints there though tiny. Because of the humble beginning, many who were part of that maiden adventure were sceptical about the wisdom of the mission, which was actually a fulfilment of the dream of the founding instrument of the church, St. Gideon Urhobo to take the gospel to Ghana and other West African nations.
By the following year when the vice- president returned for the second Freedom Day celebration in the Ghanaian capital, the church had been registered according to the country’s laws and had rented a hall for its worship services in the Akontolante area. The hall is close enough to the Gukom Square where the maiden outdoor lectures held. The square is reputed to have been the training ground for world beater, Azumah Nelson, who was said to have, not only sharpened his boxing skills there, but had also been training other Ghanaian boxers from time to time.
For two consecutive years, that square played host to the outdoor lectures that normally precede the Freedom Day celebration. But today, those doubting Thomases have changed the music and can now say that the vice-president had planted, the president, Brother Oseghale Aighalua had watered and the Lord God had begun to give the needed increase.
The church’s president jetted into Accra last Tuesday at the head of a strong delegation of ministers of the church and lay leaders including the church’s Publicity Secretary, Brother Benedict Hart, Brother Edward Oki, Brother Emmanuel Ayavoro, Brother Timothy Esimagbele, erstwhile PDP chairman of Delta State, Mr. Emmanuel Ogidi, Secretary of Warri North Local Government, Brother Gabriel Okandeji, Brother Emmanuel Fregene, Joshua Tidi and Mr. Ejiro Onakughoton. Others included the wife of the president, Mrs. Blessing Aighalua, Mrs. Okandeji, Miss Yinka Faleye, Miss Amanda Ewharekuko among others.
The following morning, the president paid a courtesy visit to the Ghanaian Deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation of the Republic of Ghana, Mr. Frank Agyekum, who immediately urged religious leaders to work earnestly towards inculcating Christian values in their adherents in order to erase the stereotype of permanent instability and corruption with which many African societies are held.
Earlier, Brother Aighalua, who was in Ghana for the Freedom Day Divine Service of the GKS, the anniversary of the birth of Christ, had observed that Ghanaians exhibited the qualities of calmness and contentment and urged them to reflect these qualities in their political behaviour, based on the fear of God. The Freedom Day address, entitled "Seeking the interest of others" he said, was a charge to all people to avoid selfishness and to help one another. Quoting Jeremiah 17:11, he said leaders who acquired offices and positions by fraudulent means would reap emptiness and vexation of spirit in the end. He therefore charged political leaders to work for the interests of the common people than for themselves.
The deputy minister, who flagged off the registration process of the Nigerian church in 2005, pointed out that the role of the Church in cultivating positive attitudes among the citizenry was critical to the peace of the world and enjoined churches to “continue to reach out” not only to the ordinary people but to the political leaders with whom, he said, they were partners in progress. He said that they as politicians, felt “highly encouraged” by exhortations and admonitions from men of God. “We all work together for the good of all of us. We shall do whatever we can to support you”, he declared pointing out that Ghanaians see Nigerians as brothers and that they are “one people”.
The GKS president also used the occasion of the visit to pay his condolences to the government and people of Ghana over the death on September 12, in a South African hospital of the Minister of Finance, Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu.
Speaking on the controversy concerning the celebration of the birth of Christ on December 25, Mr. Agyekum said Christmas was more of a symbolic event, “not an idea cast in stone” saying that he was “not too averse” to the thinking that Christ was not born on December 25 but in the month of October.
Brother Aighalua thereafter visited the Ghana News Agency where the General Manager, Mr. Nana Appau-Duah received the delegation. Aighalua urged Ghanaians to vote wisely in the forthcoming December 8 general elections so as to avoid putting selfish people into public offices. He advised that political differences should be resolved through dialogue than through violence and advised those who lose in the elections to accept defeat in good faith since they could be elected next time. Mr. Appau-Duah, thanked the GKS leadership for visiting the Ghana News Agency from time to time and hoped the relationship would continue to flourish.
On Thursday, October 9, Brother Aighalua held a Press conference at the main auditorium of the Accra Polytechnic, Tudu, Accra. Issues raised during the Press conference included the essence of the Freedom Day observance by the GKS, the proof of the birth of Christ in October, the upcoming elections in Ghana. These issues were also canvassed in an interview the GKS leader held at UNIIQ FM, owned by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
The following day, Friday, October 10, 2008, a Doctrinal Service was held also at the Accra Polytechnic. Brother Timothy Esimagbele, Station Minister in charge of Lagos State branches spoke on God’s Kingdom, the only hope of the world while the Publicity Secretary, Brother Benedict Hart discussed The Marks of the true Church. Brother Aighalua answered questions raised by members of the audience, which include issues on hell fire, women ordination, miracles, God’s Kingdom, the selection and ordination of the 144,000, among others.
And on Saturday, the delegation moved over to the Agege area of Accra where it was officially announced to everybody that the church had acquired a property comprising a 4-bedroom structure in a very spacious compound, big enough to act as another study centre in Accra GRA. Here, the pre-Freedom Day service was held with Minister Edward Oki presiding. He thanked God for the safe arrival of all the delegates who had travelled from different parts of the universe for the birthday anniversary of Jesus Christ. He explained to the large crowd of participants that Freedom Day marks the birth of Jesus Christ as against popular belief in Christian community that the Son of God was born on Christmas Day in December, saying “anyone who fails to honour Jesus Christ as enjoined by God, does not honour God.”
Different groups including the Ika Igbo, Yoruba, Ghana, Rivers, Sue Le Aghogho Cultural Group, Edo Cultural Group, Aladja Cultural Group and the Faleye Family all took their turns to entertain the audience in the fading light with the Ghanaian group made up of five young boys and five boys clad in white T-shirts and black trousers got the loudest ovation as they did all their songs in native twe language and the MC, Brother Edoja Peters could not stop them because they were the host choir.
The church’s Publicity Secretary intermittently interjected to explain their mission to the crowd that had gathered in the neighbourhood beginning with the history of the church which was founded in 1934. “GKS believes in the fatherhood of Jehovah who created Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God,” he said “we believe in the Kingdom of God which is perfect and universal. It is wrong to believe that the Kingdom only exists in Heaven.”
Continuing, Brother Hart explained how the church was founded with a special mandate to expose all the false doctrines prevalent in churches today, stressing “we will not relent in exposing all the false doctrines and proclaim the truth always.”
Highpoint of the night was the generosity extended to a Nigerian pastor, Pastor Prince Johnson of Dominion Outreach in Surulere, Lagos who was on his way for a musical concert in Ivory Coast but made another appearance at the GKS meet to complain that he was robbed in Tudu area of Accra the previous night. In the spirit of the felicitations, the president who made it clear that the church does not normally entertain such complaints, took the mike to call for a goodwill offering for the man. And at the end, the pastor got over N30,000 with Mr. Okandeji alone donating a third of that amount.
Then came Sunday, the climax of the celebration and the entire congregation dressed in very colourful attires thronged to the main hall of the Accra Polytechnic again for the divine service to mark the birth of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago. After several performances by different cultural groups from Nigeria and Ghana, Brother O.E. Oriakhu delivered the sermon titled; Was Jesus born on Christmas Day? The applause that greeted the delivery which took the young minister through Bible account, historical facts, account of Alexander Hislop in Two Babylons and environmental conditions of Palestine at the time of the birth, had hardly died down when the president read his address which was a timely warning to all Christians; Seeking the interest of others.
Blaming the absence of love for all the negective things happening in the world today, Aighalua enjoined Christians to always extend a helping hand to fellow human beings because Christianity is founded on concern for and service to one another. “Jesus Christ showed us the example when he washed the feet of his disciples,” he added “Apostle Paul declared: ‘But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.’” (I John 3:17-18). The man of God added: “We cannot claim to be Christians if we shut up our bowels against the poor.”
In an interview, Brother Ogidi told our reporter that he was not surprised that Accra has eventually become home to the GKS. "It's the manifestation of the goodness of God we are experiencing and we thank God for it," he said, adding that the mission to the West African coast is the work of God and not any man's doing.
For the vice-president of the Laity Council, Emmanuel Fregene, the missionary voyage into Ghana is a fulfillment of vision of the founder, St. Urhobo many years ago but it has now pleased God and from the time we have started, you can see signs of improvement by God's grace by way of membership. He noted that this year's presidential Freedom Day message, is timely because the life of any Christian is centred around love for one another, adding "when you show concern for yourself and your neighbour, you are a practising Christian already because you will not hurt anybody and nobody will hurt you."
At the end of the Freedom Day, Mrs. Comfort Oghaghare Okandeji, the national chairperson of GKS Women Fellowship, could see the finger of God because of the gradual growth that has taken place within only these four years. Asked to advise the youth, she said: "They should seek the interest of God now that they are young just as King Solomon had admonished in the Bible."
On the rising rate of divorce, Mrs Okandeji admonished married women to have love for their spouses and be tolerant in their homes, saying "when we preach love for our neigbhours, the husband is the immediate neighbour that is close to you and with all your heart and all your soul, you should love your husband. Be patient and tolerant. We need patience and tolerance."
Brother Ejiro Onakughoton who played very pivotal role in taking the church to Ghana also was satisfied at the modest growth the church has experienced in the last three years. According to him, the success story has been wonderful pointing out that the faith that has been exhibited thus far by the Ghanaians marvels one, "which shows that God has a special purpose for the West African nation." He added that while the church will now intensify training for the converts in Ghana by deploying a full-fledged minister to Accra, plans were already afoot to move beyond Accra and take the unique gospel to other parts of the country.
A gangling former Charismatic, Brother Benjamin Adams, being the first Ghanaian has the onerous responsibility of co-ordinating affairs of the church in Ghana as the study leader and he has this to say about the experience. "The gospel must be preached to all nations of the world and that is why we are already looking beyond the gains we have made so far," he said, adding "now that we have acquired a new accommodation at Dan Soma, Agege, we are looking forward on how we can have another branch in the area so that we will be having services there in addition to James Town. There is hope for expansion."
Asked how his people have received the GKS doctrines thus far, Adams pointed out that it is natural for people of the world to be averse to any change from old habits, but with time, the doctrines will gradually be embraced, adding "it is a matter of time and I know by God's grace people are beginning to understand. For instance, one of my brothers who was a Pentecostal who had held to the belief that Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day, has gradually come to accept that that teaching was wrong and he is now adult education teacher."
For Brother Okandeji, Secretary of Warri North Local Government, giving is second nature which is why he was not surprised at the theme iof this year's Freedom Day celebration. He demonstrated that by bailing out the stranded Nigerian pastor.
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