By SAM EYOBOKA & Olayinka Latona
VEHICULAR traffic on one of the busiest highways in Nigeria, the Lagos-Ibadan Express-way, will increase from today as the 59th annual convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, be-gins at the Redemption Camp along the road.

Known at inception as the Glory of God’s Bible Society (Egbe Ogo Oluwa), the church was founded by late Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi in August 1952, after he left the C & S Church following doctrinal diagreements.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the church therefore, the leadership of the fastest grow-ing Pentecostal church in the word, is packaging a spiritual retreat with a theme, ‘With wings like an eagle’. The church is said to have witne-ssed an open explosion since 1981 when former Mathe-matics lecturer, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye took over the leadership.

At the last count, there are over 2,000 RCCG parishes in Nigeria while there are over 5,000 parishes worldwide. It is said to be in six continents except Antarctica. No doubt that under the leadership of Pastor Adeboye, the RCCG is experiencing phenomenal growth in pursuit of the covenant upon which the church was built as he faith-fully continues with the work where Pa Akindayomi stop-ped.

The week long spiritual fiesta is expected to attract persons from different parts of the world including eminent Nigerian government offic-ials, traditional rulers, religious leaders of different denominations, profession-als and of course gospel musicians. There have been series of rehearsals by the church choirs, sanitation groups, security teams, and all other departments to ensure a hitch-free convent-ion. In addition, there was a 3-day ministers’ conference which was attended by a large crowd of ministers drawn from different parts of the country in preparation for the fiesta.

The convention which opens today with the ordination of deacons and deaconnesses, will be declared opened to-morrow by the General Over-seer, Pastor Adeboye. In an opening address to this year’s convention, Pastor Adeboye welcomes all and sundry to the 59th annual convention in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. According to him, “we are fully persuaded that this is the year God has ordained for you to sour rapidly and to make upward progress in every area of your life. It can-not be over-emphasised that genuine success and true progress come only to those who have put their trust in God. Progress in life is in stages, but the best way, according to Scriptures, is to fly; ‘With wings like an Eagle.’ Because, then you reach your goal much faster; achieve more excellent result; and become an amazement.”

Continuing, Pastor Adeboye said there is room at the top to excel, to fulfill destiny, to overcome the challenges of life. “That is what you were created for, and you are about to enter into its fullness. All you require during this con-vention is faith, ‘as small as a grain of mustard seed,’ to begin to soar as God intend-ed. It is an exciting journey as you prepare to ascend to the top; therefore you need to be focused and let nothing divert your attention or distract you throughout this convention. Be determined to enter into a deeper relation-ship and initimacy with your heavenly Father through fervent prayer, heartfelt wor-ship and meditating on the Word of life.”

According to Daddy G.O., the benefits of flying high like the eagle are immense; for the just shall live by faith. This, he said, means that you are able to soar above fear, fail-ure, traps and snares of the devil. It also means that your insight and perception of spiritual matters become very keen.

The programme includes the ordination of assistant past-ors tomorrow morning, a meeting of the Children of God, six different group sem-inars as well as the Welcome Service in the evening. The annual Bible College grad-uation ceremony is slated for Wednesday morning, just as there will be a deliverance service on Thursday and a special Holy Ghost service on Friday, the main attraction for many. That special Holy Ghost service will be followed by a special anointing service on Saturday and the ord-ination of pastors will climax this year’s convention on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, following recent reports of possible security breaches in the Redemption Camp and other religious gatherings in the South, the authorities have beefed up security to forestall any breakdown of law and order within the camp with official residents now to adhere strictly to certain rules and regulations while other visitors are now to undergo security checks at every entry point into the camp.

A giant bill board announc-ing the new guidelines has already been erected at the main entrance into the camp, stating that henceforth, all visitors to the camp must submit themselves for identi-fication and possible security checks while every dweller/resident must carry the Camp identification.

Similarly, the authorities have enjoined motorists coming for the convention to be orderly and obedient to the Federal Road Safety Corps marshals, Policemen and other paramilitary personnel that are expected to be on duty throughout the duration of the programme, adding that there are sufficient car parks within the camp to accom-modate every visitor. The camp commandant also appealed to commercial drivers to follow the directives of the security personnel to allow for free flow of traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan Expre-ssway.