…Celebrates 65th Birthday with ‘No to Crime Concert’

By Olayinka Latona

Wife of the General Overseer of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, Reverend (Mrs.) Olabisi Aboyeji, has called on parents and society to prioritize moral teachings in raising children to build a better society.

She made this appeal during the ‘No to Crime Concert’, a two-day soul-winning programme organized to mark her 65th birthday under the Ojuelegba Bridge in Lagos.

Emphasizing the crucial role of parental involvement in shaping children’s values, Aboyeji stated that the neglect of moral teachings and the Word of God has contributed to the breakdown of family and societal values.

Speaking on the inspiration behind the event, Aboyeji shared that God divinely directed her to celebrate her birthday through evangelism, reaching out to the underprivileged and marginalized.

“Some days ago, while praying about my 65th birthday, I asked God how He wanted me to celebrate. He led me to Luke 24:15, where a man sent his servants to invite people to a banquet. When they refused, he commanded them to go into the streets and bring in the poor and needy. God told me specifically to reach the unreached, and He pointed me to Ojuelegba, under the bridge,” she recounted.

She added that the concert’s theme, ‘Say No to Crime,’ was inspired by her belief in the power of praise and worship to transform lives and bring people to Christ.

“Through worship and the message of salvation, lives can be changed. Even those society has written off have hope for a better future in Christ Jesus,” she said.

In his sermon titled ‘The God of Knowledge,’ Pastor Chukwu Chinedu, a minister with the Foursquare Gospel Church and a member of Foursquare National Evangelist (FONE), urged participants not to give up on themselves.

“God has the power to cleanse and restore lost glory. He sometimes allows challenges so that His name may be glorified. No matter how battered a life may be, transformation is possible,” he declared.

Chinedu also called on the church to awaken from its slumber and take up its divine role in shaping society.

“When the church rises to its responsibilities, crime rates will drop, communities will experience peace, and destinies will be transformed. The church must step in with prayers, words of transformation, and support,” he emphasized.

During the event, Pastor Adebayo Adesuyi, a minister in the Foursquare Gospel Church, shared a moving testimony of how God saved him from a life of darkness over three decades ago under the same Ojuelegba Bridge.

The concert witnessed a large turnout, with several souls won for Christ, testimonies of instant healing, and divine restoration recorded.