Elev8 Magazine - TEC 10th Anniversary Edition.pdf by Elev8

Contents Contents Editor’s Note and Names of Contributors. 3 A Journey of Faith (A chat with PG). 4-8 The Journey so Far (A chat with PTJ). 9 - 11 Something to shout about. 12 - 14 Grace for Speed (A chat with PD). 15 - 17 Island Expression and Mainland Expression (pictures). 18 - 21 Real Talk on Family Life & Health. 22 - 23 PG'S New devotional. 24 Real Talk on Soul Winning. 25 - 26 Mission Field (pictures). 27 - 29 Some Ways We Make Greatness Common. 30 - 32 Made for More 2020. 34 Greater Lekki Expression and Ikorodu Expression (pictures). 35 - 39 Real Talk on Spiritual Growth. 40 - 42 Real Talk on Business & Career . 43 - 44 Protecting the Girl Child… (a chat with PB). 45 - 47 Events & Timelines @TEC (pictures). 48 - 56 Children…Our Brightest Stars (A chat with Kemi Iyiola). 57 - 59 Teenz Hub with Molade. 60 - 62 Crossword puzzles. 63 From Ontario with Love (A Chat with Pastor Jide Adeyemi). 64 - 66 LifePointe Expression and Canada Expression (pictures.) 67 - 71 Real Talk on Worship. 72 - 74 Pistis Foundation. 75 - 76 Ever wondered about The Elevation Church. 77 - 78 Goodwill Messages. 79 - 82 Ways to connect with us (online and on Tv). 83 Souvenirs for 10th anniversary. 84 Booking seats for in-person service. 85

A Journey of Faith

Grace for Speed

Some Ways We Make Greatness Common

Editor’s note

We’re 10!”

or many of us, celebrating each year shows our gratitude for how far we have come and our hopefulness for the future. This year is no exception. Clocking a decade old is no mundane milestone for us. We started as a small family in 2010 and have grown, through the grace of God, to become a mega family that has birthed six expressions to diffuse the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus Christ to the world.

Even though the occurrences in this year were unpredictable and alarming for everyone in the world, it reminded us of what our mission in life should be which is to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Matthew 6:33. For us, the editorial team, the pastorate and workers in The Elevation Church, everything we do is in service to God and humanity. This year’s anniversary edition reflects our appreciation to God and speaks on what matters to us. Every page promises to be refreshing and enlightening as it shows who we are, what we are doing, where we are going and why you should join our vibrant family. Here’s to The Elevation Church for making greatness common for 10 years. Cheers!!! Amoma Awala

Publisher

Godman Akinlabi

Contributors 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

Grace Ukanwoke Chidi Iwe Adeleke Adeite Jo’narry Agraka Biyi Awotiku Victor Alagbe Amoma Awala Tolulope Oyekan Deborah Olajitan Richard Agu Kelechi Abiri Colette Amaeshi Twyla Idigbe Presley Adewale Kayode Olayemi Tofola Beckley Udochi Anokwu Chinwe Ezisi Assumpta Ugo Ugonna Iheme Adeola Oyetan

Editors

Amoma Awala Dekemi Akinyede

Communications Chinny Ugoji Dekemi Akinyede

Graphics Design Samuel Alabi

To get in touch or find out more about The Elevation Church, visit our website www.elevationng.org or email info@elevationng.org 3

A Journey of Faith Godmam Akinlabi

any of us take it for granted that we know what the lead-pastor does. A typical response to the question would be ‘He preaches on Sundays’. We decided to begin the interview by asking PG what he actually does for The Elevation church. Sit tight. The answer is not what you think.

What do you do at The Elevation Church? Over the last ten years, my job description has changed from time to time. My work has gone beyond simply teaching on Sunday mornings in church to being the global lead pastor of all Elevation Church expressions. My major task is leadership which involves visioning, structuring, talent discovery, development and management. We are raising a new crop of leaders and it is my responsibility to create a suitable curriculum to train both new and existing leaders. I’m no longer just the shepherd of a church. I’m a rancher; a shepherd of shepherds. I take care of the shepherds and the structure. The structure is multi-

inspired our move to Lekki in 2011. In August 2011, we moved to Lekki and like I said earlier, this move was partly inspired by our service at Magnolia Hall on the 26th of December 2010 and I’ll tell you how. December 25th of that year had been a Saturday and someone else had rented the hall for a party. When we came for service on Sunday the 26th of December, the entire hall was looking and smelling like a ‘LAWMA’ truck had dumped its waste there. The other pastors and I had to take off our jackets and started mopping and cleaning. This incident and some other challenges the hall had such as its leaky roof led me to pray and by January 2011, I received a mandate for us to move. But we weren’t going to move What were the major highlights of just anywhere, we needed a place where the last ten years? excellence which is one of our core values 2010 was the year TEC started and we had would be under our control. Initially, my wife and I were concerned about a great launch team who believed in the telling the church that we needed to move. vision. It was a new church and we barely filled half Another major highlight of 2010 was the capacity of the hall we were using at the the outreach in Lagos Island to the less time. But God told me our move would be privileged on December 26, 2010. It was by faith. significant because it birthed the Elevate 200 Ministry and also signaled the birthing When my wife asked what we would call the relocation project. I said ‘Since God said of our small group system and partly dimensional; it consists of the physical, spiritual, emotional and relational aspects. I am tasked with how best to allocate the right amount of time and resources to these different priorities and also coordinate how we get supplies to the ranch from the Chief Shepherd Himself. In addition, I believe there is a call of God on my life to the body of Christ as an organization – to help establish principles on which churches are run and led. Most churches in Africa are still in first generation leadership and I help to lead churches into being institutionalized so that our work is preserved for posterity.

we will move by faith, let’s call it ‘Project Faith’ and she said ‘You are boring’. So to redeem my interesting reputation from being labelled as boring, I impressed her with my knowledge of the Greek word for faith which was ‘Pistis’ and that’s how ‘The Pistis Project’ was born. A lot of the things that happened then, we didn’t know that we had capacity to do. The truth is that if I had known from the onset how much it would ultimately cost to set up our leased facility at the time, I might not have ventured into it at all. But once we took the step, God showed up for us. People were sacrificing and volunteering to do them. Switch, our weekly bible study meeting, which had initially started as a series of mid-week seminars gained traction in 2011 and The Bridge, our singles outreach, was also born that year. 2012 and 2013 were seasons of great growth. We were just beginning to settle into our new location on Remi Olowude street, Lekki in 2012 when suddenly everything went boom and we began to experience exponential growth in membership. We expanded the church facility and also rented additional car parks because the church just kept growing and growing. This growth necessitated our gradation to multiple services. We were also honored to host a number of notable speakers that year. The church staffing grew from one ‘multi-tasked’ staff to a couple more. It was also in 2012 that my family moved to the Island. We had experienced excessive flooding where we lived on the mainland, and since we thought it was more practical to live on the Island than canoeing from our living room to the kitchen every time we wanted some bread, we chose the practical option.

2013 was a year of consolidation. The church was more structured and had started running four services each Sunday. About this time, we had a retreat at Inagbe and came up with the Inagbe accord where we developed a fiveyear plan for the church. The plan showed that with all our projections, if we were going to survive as a church we needed a bigger facility (about 10,000 square meters) and also needed to ramp up our manpower development. We wrote everything down – the number of leaders we needed to raise, the number of small groups we needed to have and the type of facility we

open our mainland center. 2015 was hectic because we were planning both moves at the same time. It was a journey of faith but we believed starting the mainland expression was necessary to reduce the transit burden of those who came from afar. Between 2016 and 2019, a lot of significant initiatives were introduced that have continued to grow and shape how we do church. In 2018, our first international expression, The Elevate Community Church, Canada and our Greater Lekki expression were born. Our Ikorodu expression followed shortly thereafter in 2019. We also built the junior church

needed to hold the expected number of congregants. And from 2013, we started looking for another facility. With the growth also came the resources to plan and so we started saving aggressively while looking forward to the next level. 2013 was marked by an Inspirational dissatisfaction with where we were and the desire to do more for God. By the end of the year, we had capacity in terms of leadership and funds. My faith was boosted but I also knew that the Inagbe document had been critical to our growth process. In 2014, we located the Pistis Conference Center and started raising money for it, and as usual, the church leaders were the first to give towards the project. Construction at our new location started early 2015 while we also made plans to

facility and began holding three services at the Pistis Conference Center. Some other significant initiatives launched during this period include the Lifepointe church, Vantage Forum and the Exponential Conference. The introduction of TECi was a game-changer for us. Although we are still writing the story of 2020, church as we know it has evolved. 2020 consolidated the concept of church beyond the four walls of a building. Our online church has over 150 people from at least 6 different countries who have never been to a physical TEC location. Our goal is to build a global influence that continues to change lives beyond geographical boundaries.

One thing I am fully persuaded about is that there are greater days ahead of us and our greater years of impact are still way ahead of us. God is set to do much more than we have seen.

Did you ever doubt the vision?

Nope. Never. I had some low moments during the early years but I never doubted the call or the vision.

What is the Secret of the Success of the last Ten Years? In a nutshell, I would say ‘Get a vision from God. Trust Him for the right people and resources. Keep it simple. Keep yourself humble and keep following God for more. The Next Ten Years in Forecast One thing I am fully persuaded about is that there are greater days ahead of us and our greater years of impact are still way ahead of us. God is set to do much more than we have seen. We are approaching the next decade with that in mind. That the glory of the later house will surpass the former and that the greater one who lives in us is about to manifest Himself in a greater way. To give some specifics, I believe that in the next decade TEC will move to becoming institutionalized. An institution does not revolve around one person or a group of people. It has process and smooth succession at all levels. The next ten years is also going to be, for the founding leaders, a period to finish our own part of the foundation work. After the next 10years, we would have led this organization for twenty years and I believe it would be time for others to build on the work we have done while we focus on coaching and guiding the next generation of leaders. One key area God would have us grow the ministry within the next 10years would be in Church Planting and Global Missions. We are looking to plant more churches in gateway cities of the world; our goal is to reach the urban and suburban demography. Our current experience in Canada shows 5

that there is so much more God can use us to do. For missions, we are scaling up our involvement and partnerships with several mission agencies. There are currently 6 or 7 mission agencies in-country that we work with, but we also plan to do more beyond Nigeria’s borders. We have begun partnering with some mission agencies in East Africa and hope to expand to Asia and other continents. I believe there’s a need for more church planting in Africa, especially remote Africa. Through the Exponential network, we will empower more pastors and church planters, coach them and give them more practical tools including funds. Within the next ten years, we plan to raise a Pan African fund for church planting that is not limited to The Elevation Church, so that all those who have gone through programs like the exponential network can have access to funding. Our dream is not just for The Elevation Church to plant more churches but that more churches are planted and to work with as many verified church planters as we can. With all the churches we currently have, what will be different about the churches

TEC wants to plant? That will take me to the goal of kingdom building and nation building. Kingdom building impacts the nation. The problem is that we have more churches but we don’t have the footprint of the kingdom. We are talking about planting churches that can build a nation; yield life transformation and spread kingdom values. Church planting is still the most impactful evangelical tool in the world today because What has happened largely is

that many people have planted churches to raise babies and raise people who are dependent on the pastors. They are big gathering for miracles for people who are supposed to be miracles themselves. We have to get away from seeking God for what we can get and raise disciples that God can rely on.

Pistis Foundation. The three areas of focus are education, shelter and health. We are working on the establishment of the Ubomi Medical Centre, a fully functional medical facility, and also where the Ubomi outreaches will be held. The Ubomi outreach is projected to grow from once a year to about three to four times a year with a global span in resource aggregation. We hope to create opportunities for as many people who hope to do medical missions in Africa. We are creating a Volunteer Infrastructure Platform that will aggregate volunteers from around the world. Other initiatives include the pilot shelter scheme that will be set up by the last quarter of this year; the evolution of our prison ministry into an NGO promoting prison reforms and both the scholarship and Teacher’s Excelling Network programs within the educational sector. Another area where I believe God is calling us to do much more in the next ten years is in the area of Digital Outreaches through digital content distribution. We plan to feature on most digital platforms while setting up a content creation and distribution outfit which will distribute everything clean entertainment. We want to do more in the music and creative art space and hope to launch that within the next 12months. We believe our younger generation should be discipled not by the secular world but by the church; beyond preaching and teaching content, we want to promote values that will establish the kingdom of God and build the nation. Reaching People Groups Another critical area is growing our capacity to reach people groups. We are becoming a

the idea is not just to win souls but to create a family of God where people can belong to, mature, discover their own ministries and impact their worlds. There is a kind of church that can lead to a better nation and a kind of church that cannot. The days where you measure revival only by the number of people at a crusade ground is over. We need to measure revival by the number of disciples that are raised, who have a voice, understand kingdom values and impact their worlds with those values. If you have a jar filled with salt that has lost its savor, and you need to cook, you don’t keep pouring the salt that lacks potency simply because that’s what is available. You still need to get good salt. Another key area of focus for us is the Pistis Life and Leadership Institute (PLLI). We want to be able to train people in leadership, ministry, business, politics and governance. This is a very important goal for us and we look forward to raising good leaders in the next ten years. As a pilot scheme, we are currently training student pastors from universities around the country in a ministry leadership program. In the area of philanthropy, we are going to do more with

church of small groups. Rather than just having the traditional geographical based small groups, we are evolving into interest-based small groups which includes everything from gender to professional to sports groups.

Any final words? To everyone who contributed to the success of the last ten years – through selfless service, sacrifice and unreserved commitment, I recognize and appreciate your efforts and your giving. May God, our Father, continue to honor and enrich your lives. I am excited to work with you as we start a new chapter in our journey towards making greatness common on Earth. I am convinced that what is ahead of us is much greater than what is behind us. We have not seen anything yet with what God is set to do through us. Our race is not a sprint, it is a marathon-relay. It requires doggedness, resilience, perseverance and energy management as we trust God to keep fueling the vision. We also trust God for more men and women who will press into the kingdom; people with zeal who will say ‘Here I am. Send me’. Jesus said we are the light of the world. We need to shine that light not just within our families but in our world. We need to come out stronger and unleash ourselves in this present decade because greater days are ahead of us. Godman Akinlabi is the Global Lead Pastor of The Elevation Church. Follow him on... @pgeeman www.godmanakinlabi.org

Finally, I hit my crossroads moment and I had to answer the question of when to do what I really felt I should be doing. I decided to take the plunge and make the transition. I had a few stakeholders to manage properly and put things in place but within a year of making the decision, I finally resumed at TEC full time. Another “why” was that I connected very strongly with the TEC vision of making greatness common. Making impact in the general body of Christ is something that speaks to my personal aspirations and calling. While I was in the banking industry and doing very well, I knew I was cut out to lead and not necessarily in the bank. Leading in ministry resonated more with me. Now to the “how”. I was clear on what it was going to be like, so I had to speak with my most important stakeholders and carry them along. They were in two categories, one set saw it coming, and the other felt I was making a mistake. The second camp could not understand how someone with my career track record would make such a decision. I always told them with the “why” before we get into the “how”. that the work of God’s kingdom As far back as my university days, I had a strong deserves the best. After all the sense that I would be significantly involved in engagements, eventually I did church leadership at some point in my life. What what I had to do. was not clear, though, was what church I would Since then, it has been a very be called to or whether it would be full-time or interesting journey. I must part-time. So at different points in my life when confess that it’s a lot of work I had the opportunity to serve in church, I just and much busier that it was went ahead to do it. when I was in the corporate When Pastor Godman discussed the birthing world but I’m thankful to God of The Elevation Church with me, my wife and for the opportunity and for the I prayed and agreed we both felt led to join the impact. train to start TEC. After 2 – 3 years of joining TEC, it started 3. Please share a few becoming clearer to me that my time of full memorable experiences transition might be approaching. Occasionally, that demonstrate how PG would speak with me about full time TEC has made greatness ministry and I always confirmed my interest, common in the last 10 but I still didn’t think it was time or that I was years. completely ready yet. A further consideration I can speak to several, but I’ll for me was the fact that I was also doing very focus on just three that come to well in the corporate world. I had worked in great places where the organizations recognized mind now. About 7 years ago when we my contributions and I got promoted.

The journey so far An interview with Pastor Tunji Iyiola

An interview with Pastor Tunji Iyiola 1. Who is Pastor TJ? Briefly introduce yourself and tell us what you do for the Elevation Church

I am Pastor Tunji Iyiola, very happily married with two children. Before I became a full-time staff of The Elevation Church (TEC), I spent about 17years in the corporate world starting with Audit and Consulting and eventually Banking. I have been part of TEC from inception as I was on the launch team that Pastor Godman put together. I currently serve as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Church supervising general administration, Finance, HR, Facility Management, Procurement, Projects. I also serve as the Resident Pastor of the Lekki Church ie what you would call the “headquarters” expression of TEC. My key responsibility is to provide pastoral care and leadership for the entire expression and ensure that our events and initiatives run smoothly, people are effectively pastored, discipled and deployed to serve God.

2. With so many years of corporate experience in very prestigious organisations, how and why did you make this transition to become a Pastor at TEC? This is an interesting question. I’d like to start

Making impact in the general body of Christ is something that speaks to my personal aspirations and calling

were still at the Remi Olowude location, the auditorium had become too small for us and we began to save for a major church relocation. The interesting thing was that we were running 4 services at that time with less than 3,000 members. In October of that year, there was a call to support a school in Epe that was largely dilapidated and without chairs. The Church saw the need to be part of its rehabilitation and decided that we would be fully involved as a Church, committing approximately N10million to this school project. At the time, the school was not in our direct community and there was really no relationship or anything for us to benefit from supporting this school. Despite this, we committed money from the church savings to provide classrooms, furniture, generators, books for the students, borehole, roofing and more. More remarkable was the fact that it was a Muslim school. In fact, at the dedication, they had their Imams and other Islamic religious leaders there. They dedicated one of the houses and called it The Elevation Church House. This, for me, was a key demonstration of making greatness common via a direct service to the community where there was no seeming possibility of getting anything back. Another great example is the annual Exponential Conference and the objective of these conferences. As a church, most of the things we do are not about us but more about rendering service and seeking out opportunities to serve the body of Christ and the communities we operate in. This conference, through the many church leaders who have come to be part of the exponential network, has afforded us the opportunity

to give back to other church ministries to become stronger and better managed. A third area of impact is the Ubomi Project which is a free medical & surgical outreach organized by the Pistis Empowerment Foundation (PEF) - the NGO arm of The Elevation Church. The idea for Ubomi was conceived by the Care Unit of the Lekki Church. This was a big program with free medical care for over 3,000 people in one week glasses, fibroid removal, baby deliveries, surgeries, etc. Many

The service experience is one of our top priorities and a lot of thinking and planning goes into it. There are some scenarios where we even have service rehearsals before the service on Sunday. Part of what keeps us engaged is being able to dimension what we want people to experience and making it happen. We plan with our people in mind and remain open to new ideas, constantly tinkering on what to do to improve including incorporating better ways of doing things that we observe from other places.

we committed money from the church savings to provide classrooms, furniture, generators, books for the students, boreholes, roofing and more. More remarkable was the fact that it was a Muslim school. people from all over Nigeria and several medical experts (some Chief Medical Directors of hospitals in Lagos) have come to be part of this great opportunity to change lives for the better. There are still several stories, yet untold, of how through our service we have helped church members and their families overcome challenges.

Past Impact: 4. It seems like you could share these testimonies of sacrificial giving and impact for the next few hours (Pst. TJ smiles). One of the most magnetic and impactful feedback from first timers to TEC services is the quality of the service experience. How has TEC maintained and grown the impact of this service experience?

Our junior church is also another angle to this. There are lots of families that have come to our church visiting or for an event, and because their children insisted that they had a lot of fun learning about God in the junior church, they decided to stay back. There is a lot of careful intentionality that goes into a service experience coupled with the quality and simplicity of the Word to help people connect easily. At the back of this is a vibrant volunteer workforce that we invest in through trainings and workers meetings that enable our people serve in their areas of strength. These are some of the things that help to make for a great service experience.

5. Let’s dovetail from that and talk about the quality of the workforce. TEC has built a unique discipleship culture and a strong workforce across all

age brackets. How does the Church do this?

A couple of things. People don’t like disorder and chaos or a place where they can’t fit in. They like a place that looks like what they experience in the great organisations they work in from Monday to Friday. The Elevation Church presents the opportunity for order in the intentionality of how things are run and organised. People can very easily connect to this. We also create new opportunities and interesting ways for people to serve according to the areas of their giftings, passion, and availability of time to commit to serve. There is something for almost everyone to do. This keeps both the young and elderly engaged. In all of this, of utmost importance is the grace of God which is upon TEC which is also demonstrated in how our leadership models service and inspires people to want to serve.

6. Given the fact that you have spent a considerable measure of your time both in the corporate world and in the professionally run church body, do you see a convergence of these two somewhere in your future, perhaps as a Non-Executive Director on a Board of Directors? This is an interesting question, and I must say that there is already a convergence of sorts. As you’ve already correctly observed, we are building a professionally run organisation in TEC. Additionally, there are opportunities to speak, train or consult in the corporate world in areas I am passionate about. Today, I already serve on the boards of a few organisations of which some are NGOs. I am certain that this will grow as opportunities to serve continue 10

to increase.

Future Impact: 7. Reviewing the journey of Making Greatness Common in the last 10 years, what can we look forward to in the next 10 years?

For me, it is about greatness being common in exponential areas. I see growth in the next 10 years with many more expressions in and outside of Nigeria. I see us taking up more opportunities to explore and make impact in the economy, governance, and social sectors. Do not be surprised if you hear that TEC is floating a fund to empower church members to drive businesses or starting an Enterprise Development School that will rival regular business schools or running a thriving ministry school. We could build hospitals in different communities offering services at rock bottom rates. TEC has built tools that churches can use to run ministry more effectively, tools to empower children and prepare them to get ahead in life, set up other organisations like PEF to tackle many other challenges. We will be breaking out of the typical mold of a Nigerian church and will be going global. For example, during this lockdown, we have had many people join us online from different parts of the world. There are individuals from places like Jamaica and other far locations joining our online services. There have been testimonies from our online services from people around the world. God has given our lead pastors some connections outside of Nigeria, great partnerships across Africa and Europe. I foresee that these opportunities and partnerships will grow more and more in the coming years.

As a matter of fact, I believe that TEC will become a case study for business/ministry schools in the very near future.

Final Message: 8. Given the fact that 2020 has been a year of memorable global occurrences, what final message would you have for people of faith in this season? Some people have even jokingly said they would need a refund for 2020.

dream new dreams and to stay open and connected to God. We will see things turn around. Finally, we are the salt of the earth and light of the world, so people of faith must ensure that they are making impact, and they are experiencing the light and love of God to experience the hope that is in Christ. Light shines brightest in thick darkness.

I have seen all kinds of jokes (laughingly). Some have said that God should delete 2020 because it has a virus like a computer; others have asked tall people to peep beyond 2020 and tell us if corona virus is still waiting for us in 2021. But what I will say is that people should think about and focus on the strength of their faith. One of the things that the Bible instructs us is to have hope for the future. In some ways, what is happening in our environment will certainly affect us. Jesus has said that in this world we will have tribulations but that we should be of good cheer because â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have overcome the world". We are going through a measure of these tribulations. Some may have certainly not gone through very rough times. What we need to keep in mind is that God remains in control and on the throne. Pay attention to your faith and relationships with others as this is what will carry us through this period. We must impact the lives of others while paying attention to our skills and competences to see how this can serve us in this season. We are supernatural and so must leverage this knowledge to get through this period - there is no better time. God has not left us without help or helpless. This is the time to aspire and 11

Something to Shout About

’d like to thank God for what He has done in my life. First,

I got my dream job last year (2019) without initiating the application process. The company contacted me to apply for a role and God favored me during the interview process. Secondly, during the night of increase in September, I asked God to do the impossible by giving me a promotion within 6 months of joining the company and by March this year, exactly 6 months of my joining the company, I was promoted. Our God is everlastingly awesome! - Miracle Mercy Aduku

had sent in a prayer request during the early morning prayer that God should help me sell the stock of rice I had in the warehouse since January. My unit head, the prayer ministry also prayed with me and we agreed that it will be sold and at no loss. He also suggested that I can re-bag into smaller units which I did. To the glory of God, I have sold the stock profitably and it so happened that we have gotten more requests for the smaller bags which was my unit head’s suggestion to sell. We have since received more stock and sold with no loss and our scope of supply has since increased beyond our initial state and we are also supplying other food items profitably. Indeed, prayer changes things. - Adetayo A.

or a little over 3 years, I have been in search of a befitting job particularly in my area of interest. I had a job in this period but it wasn’t what I wanted. Getting into 2020, I believed it would happen this year. By February I was getting interviews with top firms as well as opportunities for collaboration in

enterprise. During the morning prayers in the lockdown, I would put in the Q&A session, asking for God’s help to push through my interviews successfully. After sessions with 4 choice firms,

I got an offer in July from one of them and I am at peace with it.

I want to give God thanks for answers to prayers as well as thanking him, knowing that he would complete this great thing he has started. Truly and truly, what he has done is more than marvelous in my sight. - Dee Raji

n the 31st of December 2018 during the watch night service, PG told us a story about a man that got an unsolicited offer to join the Board of a company. I was intrigued by the testimony and because of this, I added a goal to the list of goals that I brought to church. It was just one line - Grace to serve on the board of a company. I didn’t know how it would happen. I just wanted God to do it like he did for the man PG talked about. Less than two weeks after, in January 2019, I was invited for a chat with the Group Managing Director of the company I work for. At the meeting, I was told that my current role had been elevated to be part of the Group Management Team. It was unimaginable! Not only was I the youngest on the Management team, my role was also one of the least complex when compared to the roles of the other members of the Management Team. . 13 months after, in February 2020, I got another invite and this time,I was told I had been appointed to join the board of one of the subsidiaries within the Group (the company I work for is a group of companies) subject to regulatory approval. I put in all the required documentation for the approval and it came out successful, Hallelujah.

God heard that prayer that crossover night and was deliberate about preparing me for the task ahead by first elevating me to the management team before the Board. I am overwhelmed. God indeed makes greatness common. He is true to His word and I give Him all the glory. - OSM

want to thank God for giving me a job despite all that is going on in the world. God showed up for me and gave me a role higher than I applied for despite several disappointments I had experienced in the past. I also want to thank God for good health for my family and I and for giving me a heart that yearns for him. - Abiodun

t midnight on the 27th of July, I got news that my dad couldn’t move his entire body or speak. I was devastated and I didn’t know what to do as I was far away from home. I encouraged my brother to stay strong for my mum and to get my dad to the hospital. After about 3 hospitals rejected him, one hospital finally admitted him. Early the next morning, I went home and we began the journey of many tests. It was confirmed that he had a stroke. I called my leader in church and we all raised a prayer altar for my dad. My resident Pastor and prayer leader also encouraged me to not lose hope and I trusted God to heal him. Every morning on the zoom prayers, I requested that the church join me in believing God for my dad’s healing. My dad’s family came two days later and said they wanted to take him out of the 12

shrunk to a size of a bean. I thanked God for the miracle and continued trusting Him for a miracle on the cyst and others. Up until June this year when we had the new series “Rapha Effect” I didn’t really understand my healing right through God’s Sovereignty and Faith. I called one of my small group leaders who prayed with me and then I started speaking to ALL the issues (cyst, fibroid, fatty liver, migraine and skin irritation) I had using the word of God, thereby claiming my healing and health (Since I now understand my right to healing as a covenant child). Within days, I stopped having the sensation I used to have around my womb,

After the initial shock and anger, I went to God in prayer and declared not to believe any evil report. I got into YouTube and listened to all the previous TEC teaching series on healing (teachings by PG, Pastors Bola, Emmanuel, Joy and even one or two guest ministers). I started participating in the online morning Prayer meetings and sent in a prayer request. I also joined the online class on Healing in April and was tremendously blessed. All the healing prayers that were offered before partaking in the communion on Sundays and Wednesdays seemed to be meant for me personally and I claimed them. -

healed from migraine; skin To the glory of God, I had irritation disappeared, a repeat endoscopy in July healed completely. and got an all-clear result PRAISE GOD!!!!!! recently. - Dupe L. Praise the Lord!

T hospital to an herbalist because strokes don’t get healed in the hospital. I was scared but I trusted God still. By the second week in the hospital he had greatly improved and could have conversations and recognize people. Doctors asked that we be discharged but at that point he still couldn’t lift a leg. We got home and started physiotherapy and every time he was massaged, I prayed and encouraged him to keep declaring that He is confident in the healing power of Christ. I recently went home to visit, and I saw him walking around in the living room. God has been faithful. Praise God. - Queen

ome years back I was diagnosed of fatty liver, fibroid and ovarian cyst. I started praying and trusting God for a miracle and immediately changed my diet. During the last Ubomi outreach, I had a scan test and was told the fibroid had

his is my testimony of divine healing and God’s goodness over my life. Apart from the occasional aches, pains, and allergy issues, I had always prided myself on being a very healthy person. In February 2019, I experienced some nagging pain in my left lower abdomen and that was the beginning of a journey that culminated in countless hospital visits, blood tests, X-Rays, ultrasound and even CT scans. I went through a Colonoscopy and four Endoscopic procedures within the period, lost about 6kg and had to take some time off-work to recuperate. A few days before the lockdown in March, I went to see my doctor for the report of the third endoscopy and the result was disheartening! I was said to have a condition called Intestinal Metaplasia, which the doctor explained was “highly suggestive of a precancerous condition”. He prescribed some medications and advised a repeat procedure three months after completing the meds. I cannot even begin to describe the range of emotions I went through over the next couple of days. I want to bless the name of the Lord because it was as if the lockdown was meant for me. Being at home afforded me the opportunity of taking steps I normally wouldn’t have had the opportunity of taking.

Bukola Ojulari

y husband and I have been married for almost 3 years. Shortly after we got married we found out my husband had low sperm count, low motility and abnormal sperm morphology. We had seen several Gynaecologists who told us it would be almost impossible for us to conceive. Some Gynecologists even stated it would be difficult to conceive through IVF with our results. This year, we scheduled an appointment with a well-known Gynecologist who was also a family friend. He looked at my husband’s results and said our only option was a sperm donor and stated that there was no treatment for his condition. I initially felt scared but I kept confessing the scripture “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind”. I then went online and started researching on possible solutions. We found out lifestyle changes and some vitamin supplements could help improve his results. Fast forward to mid-year, we decided to schedule an appointment to see an IVF specialist, join the Accelerate prayer conference during this period and attend the 6am prayer meetings. The prayer conference helped renew my faith and reinforced the word that I am unstoppable. I wrote down my prayer 13

points which were healing from all fertility challenges and supernatural conception. Our IVF appointment was scheduled and the day before the appointment which was my husband’s birthday, we got some disturbing news that his brother in-law had tested positive for COVID-19. I was concerned, because my husband frequently spends time with him. We decided to cancel our IVF appointment because of the uncertainty of our status and did not want to put anyone at the clinic at risk. I was really sad after cancelling the appointment. Two days after we got the news, we decided to visit IDH Yaba to take the COVID-19 test as we had both been exposed. After the test, we stayed home in quarantine waiting on our results and continued praying for negative results. Within a week we got our test results and it was negative. After that, we called the IVF specialist to schedule another appointment, but could only get a date for the following week. After booking it, we continued praying. During one of the 6am prayer sessions Pastor Debo prayed for men with fertility challenges, I held on to the word that this prayer would become a testimony for us. The week of our IVF appointment I missed my period. Thinking it was a delay until after day 3, I decided to take a pregnancy test. To the glory of God the test was positive. We went for the IVF appointment, but this time to confirm the positive test result. Jehovah Rapha healed us and has blessed us with a baby on the way. I am in awe of God’s goodness. In spite of the delays and the doctor’s report,

had been struggling with severe restlessness which had affected my ability to sleep well. It got so intense that at some point, I was not sleeping at all and had not slept for 4 straight days. During the Worship experience in June 2020, pastor who ministered (Pastor Emmanuel) was wrapping up the service and mentioned that God was restoring sleep to someone. I broke down in tears immediately knowing that was me and laid hold of God’s word through his servant. That night for the first time in 4 days, I slept!!! Not only did I sleep all through the night, my sleep was peaceful and uninterrupted!! Glory to God!!! - Sharon Okandeji

’m an online worshiper from the US and I was privileged to participate in the 72-hour prayer chain. I raised a prayer request for my husband because we both work in the hospital here and sometimes, we care for COVID-19 patients. Indeed, the Lord has been Faithful to His promises concerning us. We’re kept and are still being kept by the power of God. On Easter Friday into Saturday, my husband and I worked overnight. After getting home, we ate and prayed with our children and went to get some rest. Meanwhile, I had forgotten that I was cooking. After about 2 hours, the garage was filled with smoke, while the children were at home playing, and we were sleeping. God used some neighbors as

Angels who kept pressing our doorbell and afterward banged the front door because of the smoke they noticed was coming out of our garage. Our children came to wake us up, lo and behold our house was in smoke and my husband quickly turned off the gas and threw the pot outside.

To the glory of God, the smoke didn’t catch fire. This is surely the hand of God. We’re safe and our house didn’t burn. I’m overwhelmed by the Faithfulness of God. - Mosunmola Akintola

God came through for us and saved us from contracting the Corona virus. I say thank you to God, to The Elevation Church and all the Pastors for their teachings. My faith has increased from all the teachings! If you are going through anything please go to God first in prayer. He truly is our healer and provider and He is truly awesome! - Anonymous

Got a testimony? Send it by email to testimonies@elevationng.org. We’d love to hear from you. 14

Grace for Speed An interview with Pastor Debo Omotunde Kindly introduce yourself and tell us what you do for The Elevation Church?

people who did not know God, get to know God and begin to serve at certain levels in our church has being very refreshing for me personally, especially as someone who was sent to lead the assignment. We started out at a facility called Nelo’s Place off Mobolaji Bank-Anthony way. We later moved to our own property, which is at least 6,000 square meters of land. Imagine how revved up we are to do a lot more ministry, and to attract more people to join the ministry here on the mainland. This has afforded us the opportunity to plant another expression which has a membership of about 600 people. All this is between 2015 till date.

Tell us your experience with The Elevation Church in the last 10 years.

Amazing! This must have taken a lot of planning and strategy. As the director of strategy and innovation for TEC, why is strategy important for a church.

My name is Debo Omotunde; I am the Director of Global Ministry Operations. Everything ministry directly reports to the Director of Global Ministry. This includes all the expressions, global prayer ministry, global single’s ministry, stewardship ministry, online church and our global ministry strategy desk. That is my portfolio. I lead that directorate and in terms of my responsibility as a pastor, I head the mainland expression of the Elevation Church.

At the time the Elevation Church started, all we had was a vision. We had a launch team of about seventy people and I was privileged to be part of that launch team. On October 10, 2010, we were at Magnolia Hall, City Mall, where the church launched. Seeing how the church has grown and evolved from that period until now is humbling and it can only be God. There are people who are part of the Elevation Church leadership who we did not even know then. By late 2013 till early 2014, we had the feeling that God wanted us to start an expression on the mainland, and I prayed about it, and it eventually came to fruition in 2015 and I was sent to lead the church. The mainland expression is the second expression of the Elevation Church; it started with Sunday services only. It is just amazing how myself and a team of leaders and some people who were resident on the mainland, who would ‘travel’ down to the island for weekend services joined us for the launch of that on the mainland expression. From an initial attendance of 250, the church has grown significantly. Now we are well over 2000 to about 2500. The mainland church has also birthed another expression- TEC Ikorodu. This happened September 2019. Therefore, from being a birthed expression, we are now a birthing expression as well and that has been an experience. The growth and impact has been phenomenal. To see

One would think that strategy is used only in the secular platforms such as NGOs. When people hear strategy, they think that it is supposed to be for businesses and commercial entities.

What does the church have to do with strategy?

Remember what Jesus said. Which of you, which man who wants to build a house will not first sit down and count the cost determine what is required to build a house, so that when he starts, he doesn’t get stranded (paraphrased). The Bible also says that, which man would go to the battlefield without finding out the size of the army coming against him and determine whether he has a plan to win that battle. If he feels like he cannot do it, he will change his strategy and sue for peace. Jesus, who is God-personified, spoke about strategic thinking and planning. The fact that you have an idea is not sufficient for success, you need to sit down, ask yourself, how will I achieve this vision? How would I achieve this objective? How will this aspiration take on tangibility? That is strategy. Strategy is essentially how you want to achieve your set objectives and goals. Here, Jesus is essentially saying that if you are a person who has an objective and you do not have 15

a strategy, you will be mocked and you will fail. As the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. As a church, we are the custodian of this wisdom. When you really think about it, the secular businesses actually borrow this wisdom from God. Therefore, it is strange for a church not to have a strategic plan. To say God told us to do X, Y, and Z and then we are not able to sit down and think strategically under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, how we might get that job done. It is central to the success of any venture, whether church or a commercial entity, it is just the universal principle and that is what Jesus, alluded to in that scripture.

What is the church strategy for the future and how can the church be ready to embrace the future of TEC?

You cannot disconnect the future of TEC from the reality of our world today and what God seeks to achieve with humanity. God wants people to be saved. He wants our seeds to mature into disciples. He wants men and women to discover their calling and life purpose; step out, serve their generation and be a blessing to the rest of the world. At the end of the day, when their race is done, they make it to heaven, a well rewarded afterlife. That is the summary of the assignment of every local assembly. In trying to achieve that, there are all sort of hurdles to this. Here at The Elevation Church, we understand that our purpose and mission is to make greatness common and help men and women get to a point where they discover who they are in Christ, and use the abilities and the talents and gifts of God, to serve God and humanity. When you serve God, you serve humanity and it honors God. In order to achieve those objectives, we need to surmount the challenges that come with it. We see all the changes happening to our world today, watching the evolution of our culture, the prevalence of sin, all sorts of tension and conflict in different parts of the world. At The Elevation Church, we need to be positioned to be able to speak to those issues, and provide clarity for people, as there is a lot of confusion out there. We

need to recognize that we are supposed to be a beacon of hope to those who are helpless. I see The Elevation Church becoming a culture shaping church, where we are not just getting people saved, we are also influencing how the society thinks. We are shaping the narrative; influencing the value system in any environment we find ourselves. Through our teachings, initiatives, the people we have made disciples, given resources and have been released into the environment to go make a difference. They set up institutions and do the work that we may not be able to do as a congregation. We have set up institutions that will go out there and represent, and stand for a cause that will be a blessing to humanity. These are the kinds of things I see with

people that we need to look at all that is happening through the eyes of God. One so that our interpretation is correct and secondly so that we are able to harness this wisdom, and the way we respond to it. what we need to be careful about is to not be reckless. The pandemic is not over just yet. The Bible calls Christians- salt and light. One of the attributes of light is that it gives direction, people who are supposed to lead through kindness, by being role models, by setting an example of the right way to behave, to steward or influence responsibly. Christians also need to lead by being ministers of comfort. There are people who have been negatively affected through loss of jobs, whose livelihood has been affected one way or the other. We can rally around them and support them, pray for them, and meet their material needs as much as we can. We also need to help train our people to not be afraid. Fear is not of God, we must be able to see opportunities, be able to see the power of God, the wisdom of God, through the Word of God and through the help of the Holy Spirit, such that we can navigate well in the midst of this pandemic. The same way Egypt was preserved was able to thrive during the famine period. Isaac was able to thrive during the famine period. We need to recognize that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a provision that already been made. If we are able to allow the Holy Spirit guide, us into that place of profit, that place of divine preservation and see ourselves as people who God has positioned to be problem solvers. Our attitude must be positive, or God inspired and must be as light. We should not allow ourselves to be positioned like victims. We must be like the people God has positioned us to be, to act as rescuers. In this season where we have members of our family that are struggling, we should be able to rush to support and help. As damaging and devastating as the pandemic has been, we also need to look at the opportunities it has presented for us. I am talking generally to believers, to see the positivity in terms of some of the things we have now been able to learn. There are people who have said to me â&#x20AC;&#x153;myself and my family got closer during this pandemic, because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not able to go out as usual, we had time to sit down and

Here at The Elevation Church, we understand that our purpose and mission is to make greatness common and help men and women get to a point where they discover who they are in Christ, and use the abilities and the talents and gifts of God, to serve God and humanity. PISTIS foundation, whether it is in the health space, in poverty eradication and empowerment of people, or in leadership development, helping to raise leaders in every sector of our economy, here in Nigeria or outside. Whether it is in raising leaders in the ministry space as well, with our Exponential Network, where we resource the church with teachings, and tools that can strengthen the leadership of churches and para-church ministries. The Elevation Church is positioned to influence the fabric of the society that we are in and how things play out so that God is honored not just within the four walls of the church, but the way people live their lives. That is the picture of the Elevation Church that I see.

Given the fact that 2020 has been the year of memorable experiences, what final message would you have for people of this season? Nothing catches God off guard. At the onset of this pandemic, I kept saying to

discuss our issues.” For some people, that actually increased tension in the home. For some people, it actually helped them to resolve long-standing issues, recognize it and solve it. Some people bought their houses during the lockdown because for the first time, they realized how small and uncomfortable the home they lived in were because they were always out by 5am and back at 10pm. Now that they have to work from home, they realized that they could stretch and actually get their own homes. Some businesses have the opportunity to rethink their position, and they are now doing a lot better than they were before. Situations like this even though they may look negative; there is always positivity in them. It is a case of cup half-full, half empty, depending on how you look at it. God expects us to look for situations like this and look for the positivity in them. If we have that kind of outlook, we will begin to see all sorts of awesome opportunities that exist in this season for internal change. For some of us, it may be spending a bit more time with God, time to reflect. In other cases, it may be external changes, being able to reappraise where you are as an organization or as an individual in terms of your relationship dynamics and all of that and do something about it. It is one thing to talk about the importance of strategy, it is God-inspired and it is reasonable. It is another thing to talk about the effectiveness it has on the church. The Elevation Church, when we started, we

First recognize that God’s faithfulness is not in question even during this pandemic. We also need to recognize that there are better days ahead. God causes things to ultimately work together for our good and so we must find the opportunity and the good that will come out of this situation,

had a strategy session that was designed to just take us to the launch of the church, a few months to launch, what would the church be called. Where it would be located, things to put in place, what our services would look like, we had a strategy document. When we started, we had to at some point create and develop a five-year plan. Thinking back and looking at some of the investment that went into those strategy sessions, and the impact it had on us as a church, I can tell you that it has been profound. If someone had asked me that “apart from recognizing the grace of God, the hand of God over Pastor Godman and over the church, what are the things we have done on our part to be responsible?” I would say it is because we always had a strategic plan, because we are supposed to be intentional about our decisions, supposed to be bullish. We do not always have to wait for certain things to happen to us, we go after things that God has placed in our hearts to do. These are things we want to achieve within certain timelines based on the

promptings of the Holy Spirit. As the five-year plan was expiring, we rather projected further again and we did a seven-year plan. Then the final two years, the end of the seven-year plan, we then had a very robust strategy session where we actually developed a 15-year plan for the elevation church. We have always been a church that believes in planning long term, and what that has done for us is that it has helped us to invest with an understanding of where we seek to be ,several years down the line. There are certain things we do now that are a function of the things we already see happening 10 to 15 years from now. That outlook itself has given us speed has also helped us stretch the leadership, and also invest a lot in leadership development, knowing that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. We are enjoying the grace of God in seeing those things we planned come to pass.

Debo Omotunde is the Director of Ministry and Resident Pastor of The Elevation Church Mainland

Our Family in Pictures:

Island Expression

Mainland Expression

A member of the Publications Unit caught up with Pastor Samson Isa who is in charge of the family life unit at The Elevation Church. 1. What is the family life unit all about? The family life unit is about building men and women with a strong value system. This starts from the singles ministry which emphasizes the importance of being wholesome individuals. The family life unit is an allencompassing ministry that caters to members of TEC and focuses on the value chain of life as a person â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from single men and women to couples and their children, to widows, widowers, divorcees, and single parents. The empty nesters are also catered for after their children have left them to start their own lives.

month of September every year to a series of teachings on relationships. Every adult demography in the church has at least one event/program in September that caters to their relationships. The church understands that if we get the family unit right, the whole society will be better for it.

situation room and various parenting seminars. We also had the annual vow renewals, Turn Up the Heat, the Hangout for singles, etc. We have been active, and people have been blessed during this period.

6. Would you like to share one or two memorable experiences that demonstrate how TEC has 4. Do you think this unit has made greatness common in the been effective in accomplishing last 10 years? the values of TEC? Can you The character of the leadership give one or two memorable has been exceptional. There was examples? a situation where a single lady Yes, the unit has had an amazing serving in church got pregnant and exceptional impact on and was taken care of by the furthering the values of TEC. Elevation family. The Church At one of the couplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; retreats, supported her; she was not an attending couple undergoing stigmatized, or excommunicated court processes to annul their given that we are all works in marriage came out to testify progress. She has grown in her that they had resolved to stay ministry and I am grateful to married and work on their God that the leadership of the marriage. Church saw the situation, rallied Broken marriages have been around her and she is growing 2. What sub-units are under restored, children given to in her Christian faith. The the family life unit? addiction have been restored Church is always willing to help There are three sub-units under because of counseling, a lot as it is typical of the ministry of the family life ministry. First is of pre-marital counseling has Jesus Christ to restore people. Pre-marital counseling which resulted in strong homes. If we Jesus said, let him who is deals with intending couples can get the family unit right, without sin throw the first stone. to prepare them for marriage; the issues in Nigeria will be In the last ten years, I have seen second is marital counseling and resolved. The reason leadership leaders come up and take over it deals with married people and is a major problem in Nigeria is leadership. Pastor Godman is issues that come up in marriage; because of broken family values not insecure, and he has brought and the third is metamorphosis in the homes these leaders on young people to take on which focuses on people that are come from. It is a privilege leadership in TEC. divorcees, widows, widowers, to lead a unit responsible for and single parents. strengthening families. 7. Given the fact that The unit holds different 2020 has been a year programs such as eight weeks 5. How has the family life of memorable global marriage course, couples ministry fared this year, given occurrences, what final retreat, turn up the heat (to the challenges posed by the message would you have encourage married couples Covid-19 crisis? for people of Faith in this to improve their sex life and We have been confronted season? connect emotionally), parenting with the difficulty of gathering seminars, etc. physically due to the pandemic. The hymn that says, Trust and obey. There is no other way to The leadership of the Church 3. Would you say Family Life has always been technologically be happy in Jesus... is very apt. We must go back to the place unit should be an integral driven and we have always of walking and staying with part of the Church and how placed a premium on virtual God and praying for the grace important is the family life meetings. Though we had to to obey him. The life we live is unit to TEC? cancel the couples retreat we important and we fulfill destiny Family life unit should be an had planned for May as it was by our daily actions. When we integral part of the Church. It in the heart of the lockdown, work and walk with God, it must is an integral part of the TEC, we have been innovative in be with all our strength, might, and close to the heart of our organizing events virtually and will. Everything we do daily Lead Pastor. We dedicate the such as a couplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; party, the

should be unto God. We should not be bothered about what we will eat, drink or wear, but to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. We must maximize the present at each point in time until Christ comes. Those who know their God will be strong and do exploits; we know this for ourselves. So, we must strive to know God and hear what He is saying concerning our future.

1. As the one in charge of Missions on the Island, can you share the importance of soul winning? Steve Ogbonnaya:

From the onset, The Elevation church, there has been a strong passion for soul winning, which is what missions is all about. It is about reaching out to people, the unsaved, the unreached and bringing them into the knowledge of Christ. Our programmes and events are developed to make disciples of men, and are not limited to the borders of Nigeria but also other African countries.

Word. How Christ loved the world and gave his life for the remission of our sins and how He is willing to save them and give them eternal life if only they would believe and accept Him as their Lord and Saviour. Mid-way into our sharing, they started crying and gave their lives to Christ. They even honoured our invitation to come to church on Sunday. They stayed and today one of them is married to the glory of God. The story of transformation is one of the greatest testimonies of The Elevation Church.

4. How do you incorporate the vision of the church “Making greatness common” into missions?

2. Is the role of missions more of soul-winning after which the new converts are left to be on their own? Or is there a deliberate training Steve Ogbonnaya: The whole essence of making for discipleship? Steve Ogbonnaya:

The church has a group called the New Believers Management Team who are saddled with the responsibility of taking on new believers as they give their life to Christ either in the church or when we go out on other evangelism outreaches. They follow up and help them learn Christian fundamentals before they are channeled to TECi and other developmental classes before becoming workers or volunteers in church.

3. Are there any memorable missions events you would like to share? Steve Ogbonnaya:

Too many but one remarkable one comes to mind. We had gone on an evangelism outreach in this place called Aboki village where you have people who live in shanties. One fateful evening, we went there to preach and encountered several commercial sex workers. We approached them and started sharing the

greatness common is by service to God and man. When a person accepts the invitation of Christ and gives his life to God through Christ by becoming born again; he learns to live a submitted life by engaging the help of the Holy Ghost. His growth is predicated upon a consistent application of truth in the word of God. He gradually begins to see himself the way God sees him. As he progresses, he begins to take on bigger tasks through faith in the word of God. Every successful accomplishment leaves him a better and a bolder person. You see, the whole message of Christianity is making greatness common!

that the gospel of Christ is a gospel of love and empathy.

5. Is there any time set aside for Missions in the calendar of the church? Steve Ogbonnaya:

Yes. We have the Missions’ month every calendar year. During TEC Missions’ month, every message is centered on soul-winning with emphasis on evangelism through outreaches. From car wash evangelism – where cars are washed free-ofcharge while preaching to those around; to prison outreaches - where the church takes the gospel of Christ to the prisons bringing hope and salvation to them. Another community impact project that provides an opportunity for soul-winning is The Ubomi medical and surgical outreach. It is a massive health project where the church partners with other health agencies and hospitals to carry out healthcare programmes to the general public for free. We take this opportunity to preach to beneficiaries and we bring some of them into God’s fold.

6. With the benefit of hindsight after 10yrs of ministry as a church, what would you recommend for the next 10 years? Steve Ogbonnaya:

The soul winning passion has to be enshrined in the lives of The Elevation Church members. The more people catch fire for soul winning, the better it is for the church. The church would also continue to expand outreaches with a renewed focus on kingdom expansion. There are things we can do to support and encourage people to take the mandate of reaching the unsaved and unreached further. The ministry of TEC is geared towards reconciling men unto God. The Bible says the harvest is ripe but the labourers are few. For the next decade, a lot would be done to bridge this gap for labourers in God’s vineyard.

The team also prays for people; pays hospital bills for the sick; school fees for the financially unable; pays rent for the displaced; arranges rehabilitation for the mentally and physically challenged; provision of legal counsel for those that cannot afford fees, etc. The church plays the above roles in the society to demonstrate 27

Missions Field Ubomi

At The Elevation Church, over the last 10 years, we have had several events and initiatives too many to mention. These are tailored to people of different ages, professions, life stages and so on. Here are images from a few of them.

E-200

Soup Kitchen

Car wash evangelism

Church on the move - Ije stage play

Not only do we have the seed of greatness in us, greatness is in our DNA as Christians. We were created in God’s image and likeness to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over every living thing. It’s in line with God’s promises and mandate that The Elevation Church’s vision, Making Greatness Common is to enlighten, liberate, and empower the body of Christ through service. This, the church has done through all its expressions and several units and initiatives over the years. Some of these are:

purpose of God in their lives. E200 feeds children and adults in need. They are adequately supported with food stuff and clothing. It also offers scholarships for talented children up to tertiary school level, provides critical health care support to the vulnerable, provides vocational skill training and creating opportunities for self-sufficiency, and facilitates access to finance and connecting graduates of the Skill Acquisition Program with employers of labour.

1. The Exponential Conference

Ubomi is a free, week-long medical and surgical outreach organized by Pistis Foundation; the social intervention vehicle of The Elevation Church, to attend to residents and indigenes who may not have access to adequate medical facilities given the current strain in Nigeria’s health sector. Ubomi, which means “life” in Xhosa language, has attended to thousands of patients, administering medical aid, medication, and surgeries for eye and dental defects, myomectomies, lumpectomies, hysterectomy and other surgical procedures.

The Exponential Conference is a church leadership boot camp aimed at equipping different cadres of church leaders with the resources necessary to triumph over imminent leadership challenges of this century. The Exponential Conference features teachings that equip worship pastors, leaders and ministers on community impact, church and technology, unlocking creativity in the church, handling the pressure of leadership, church management structure & regulatory compliance, church budgeting and financial management, preaching that connects, etc.

2. The Accelerate Conference

The Accelerate Conference is our annual 5 days power packed and explosive mid-year program designed to resource the body of Christ with divine instruction that will cause speed and upward shifting in our lives.

3. The Navigate Conference

Is our annual mentorship conference for teenagers targeted at helping them forge great friendships, grow, and evolve into greatness. Seasoned mentors share relatable stories of their success with the teenagers, with the aim of depositing a new passion to achieve greatness in them. The life skills and vocational skills taught include financial literacy, communication, time management, public speaking, language, art and crafting, graphics design, etc.

4. Elevate 200 (E-200)

Is a system under the Ministry Purpose of the Elevation Church aimed to successfully guide and elevate the less privileged in the society towards the love, hope and divine

5. Ubomi

6. Vantage Forum

The Vantage Forum is an annual Entrepreneurial Advancement Initiative of The Elevation Church, focused on empowering individuals to achieve the highest levels of distinction in their businesses and careers, through provision of resources such as business seminars, workshops, and mentorship programs. The quality of the discourse makes it an event more suited to senior business executives, owners of medium-sized businesses and high net-worth individuals. Vantage Forum started in 2014 when it became clear that there was a knowledge gap between the policy makers, economists and those who were actually in business. Crucial knowledge about economic trends, government policies and other issues that can affect businesses in Africa’s rapidly evolving market are some of the insights gained at the event.

7. Prisons Ministry

The Elevation Church has observed that the quality of prison reform in our society is very poor and not conducive. Congestion constitutes a major problem; creating a negative effect on the welfare

of the inmates in Nigerian prisons. This is attributed to poor administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. Consequently, the prison system has failed to achieve its major goal of rehabilitation and reformation of inmates, rather the scenario has been that of dehumanizing situations and hardening of the inmates. This has resulted in exposing the inmates to improper health conditions; claiming the lives of some inmates and putting enormous pressure on prison infrastructure. Through our prisons outreach, while showing love and making the name of Jesus famous through preaching the gospel, we provide medical interventions to those incarcerated, and skill-acquisition training. We have been able to bring hope to hundreds and give them hope to start life again. We believe that no one is beyond redemption, and we are committed to ensuring that no-one wastes his life in regret. The Prisons Ministry of The Elevation Church (TEC) has embarked on a special Christmas Development Project for prisons in Lagos State that includes providing a borehole and perimeter lighting for the Kirikiri medium-security prison. In recent times, the Prisons Ministry of TEC has organized medical interventions, provided scholarships for inmates writing WAEC exams, donated sanitary supplies, mattresses and other relief items, and facilitated proceedings and acquittals for some inmates in Lagos State. The Ministry will also be donating basic supplies to hundreds of inmates as part of TEC’s initiatives.

8. The Jewels

Is the women’s outreach of the Elevation Church aimed at raising God’s precious daughters and positioning them to adorn strategic corners of the community with strength and purpose. At The Elevation Church, every woman – irrespective of status and age, is given the place to find and walk in the fullness of God’s plan in every area of their lives. All JEWELS have the opportunity to connect, grow in their relationships with God, and be part of a family that nurtures and cares for their general well-being. The Jewels ministry encourages all women to grow in their love for Christ through: Regular e-Devotionals to strengthen mind and spirit Periodic fellowship and worship 32

Business exhibitions to encourage women in business Good works Circles of strength â&#x20AC;&#x201C; platforms that provide a forum for interaction in areas of mutual need and interest.

9. TEC Entrepreneurship Development

TEC Entrepreneurship Development (TEC-ED) makes greatness common by providing a wide range of tools and support to existing and aspiring entrepreneurs at The Elevation Church. Events and programs under the entrepreneurial development include: Mentorship. Managing the selection process for mentors, allocation of mentees and managing the entire mentoring program. Project/Events Management Office. Managing the database of entrepreneurs, organizing TEC-ED meetings, and project management support to all units. Business Training & Skill Acquisition. Organizing business training events; managing training content, and providing business support & solutions. G1 Forum. Organizing periodic prayer events; overseeing the spiritual welfare of members (business persons).

TEC has the God-given mission to empower people to achieve the highest levels of distinction and greatness in life!

Our Family in Pictures:

GreaterLekki

Ikorodu Expression

nd this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

n a world where the love of many is waxing cold, spiritual maturity journey has often been compared to walking upstream; a believer needs to gain strength and stability to keep pressing forward in order not to be pushed backwards. The waves of the world are too powerful; the ungodly contents on social media, unwholesome TV shows, the ungodly music, the depraved culture of this world are always seeking to push believers out of God’s presence. There is therefore the need for churches and faith-based organizations to take spiritual maturity as a priority in order to raise strong and steadfast believers who will do exploits for the Lord. The Spiritual Maturity team of The Elevation Church is set up to oversee the discipleship schools and counseling. The various Spiritual Maturity schools include Prayer Academy, Faith Academy, Healing School, School of the Spirit, Word Encounter (Bible School) and the Alpha course. We caught up with Pastor Joy Isa, the head of the Spiritual Maturity team at The Elevation Church Island Centre who provided insight into how the team is positioning members of TEC to mature spiritually in order to make greatness common. On why the Spiritual Maturity team was set up

he Spiritual Maturity team was formed in the early years of TEC and it used to be called the Bible Study team. Pastor Bola Adisa used to be the head of Prayer while Pastor Seun Afolayan was the head of the Bible Study team. The main functions of the team at that time were holding prayer meetings and writing spiritual growth contents. The contents developed during the early years of the team were short outlines used for small groups. After a couple of years, the church saw the need to mature believers the more, and provide opportunities for them to deepen their engagement with God, and that led to setting up the Spiritual Maturity Schools, which started with the Healing School and

Prayer Academy and were led by Pastor Joy Isa, Brother Babs and Brother Boye Aribisala. The classes ran for four weeks, and there were times in those early years that only five members would attend classes but great testimonies were recorded which led to the rapid growth of the schools. On the impact of the Spiritual Maturity Team over the last 10 years

ver the years, the Spiritual Maturity school has expanded and become more structured, pulling from the strengths of different people from different expressions of the church to develop contents and curriculum, with approval from the pastorate. The courses offered now include the Alpha course and the Experiencing God course, which was later embedded into the small groups system. Despite the fact that contents are developed prayerfully and through Bible study, the team also ensures that they carry out research and conduct surveys to know the needs of members. Prevalent counseling cases are sometimes used to develop contents. The team has also published a 30-day devotional for new believers to guide them through the early stages of their spiritual maturity. At a time when it was noticed that people were dealing with emotional issues, the team ran a course called Enemies of The Heart based on the book, ‘Enemies of The Heart’. The course helped participants to deal with grief, guilt, anger, jealousy and others.

s part of the measures to build believers’ faith during Covid-19 lockdown, the church decided to produce The Pleasing God teaching series which centered on faith, holiness, obedience and stewardship. A lot of testimonies have been recorded about the Pleasing God series; both old and young believers have deepened their faith-walk and love-walk with God. Many small groups leaders testified of how their lives have been radically transformed through the Pleasing God series. Some believers who used to see church as routine are now intentional in their quest to please God. There have been also tons of testimonies of healing of the heart, bodies and minds in our healing schools. We also started the virtual Holy Ghost Baptism class during the lockdown which was coordinated by Pastor Joy Isa and Pastor Seun Afolayan, and about 61 persons attended the class, 37 of them got baptized

in the Holy Ghost immediately with the evidence of speaking in tongues. We followed up on the rest and after some weeks, they all were baptized in the Holy Ghost.

he marriage course is one of the most therapeutic, inspiring and impactful spiritual maturity courses. The fact that Pastor Godman and Pastor Bola are real and vulnerable relationship coaches also makes the marriage course more engaging and empowering. Over the years, The Elevation Church has proven to be a fantastic family where everyone can grow and serve God within a vibrant community of believers.

piritual Maturity Growth Parameters Spiritual growth is a disposition, and dispositions are hard to quantify. Hence, there are no quantitative parameters to measure spiritual maturity but there are qualitative parameters which include people’s attitude towards prayer meetings, and the number of counseling cases, which are indicators of how much people are willing to work on their issues via prayers instead of constantly being spoon-fed. We also look at the fact that in our small groups system, we are producing rich content that people are able to adopt and use to the extent that they’re hungry for deeper levels of engagements. From the counseling point, we have fewer older believers coming for counseling, most of the counseling cases are young believers and they usually mature faster. The maturity team also partners with the small groups system to conduct surveys periodically so as to get feedback on how members are being cared for and pastored. The team also gets feedback on the specific areas of spiritual development that members would like to be trained. The feedback received is used to develop curricular contents which again helps to disciple members to maturity.

Future Expectations

od said that in the last days, He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. As a church, we are positioning as a platform through which people can encounter and engage God for themselves. We want to lift Jesus higher in different areas of industry, marriage, technology, health, shelter, education, entertainment, banking and others, so as to draw all men unto Him. To help us do this, we are using the channel of small 41

groups and medium-sized groups because we know that as the church is evolving, it’s not going to be centralized in terms of a mass gathering of people physically, but the church universal – in small groups, homes, offices and online.

ence, we see the need for every believer in the church to be discipled to be strong in God, our goal going forward is to push and promote discipleship and spiritual maturity on an individual level so that every single person grows from being a milk-taking baby to a bone-crunching man or woman in Christ. We are still children before God but growth helps us to raise more believers everywhere. It’s not about everyone being ordained as a pastor, it’s all about raising kingdom influencers in all spheres of human influence, being witnesses of the lifestyle of Christ on the earth – that’s where we are headed.

e have a good structure even if we cannot describe how it’s going to look like, just as no one envisaged a lockdown in 2020 or that church would be completely online. We are trusting God that as He leads and guides, we will be correctly positioned to fulfill His mandate - to make greatness common. Greatness for us is manifesting our gifts and talents to serve God and humanity. Our duty going forward would be to mature more believers so that they can serve God in their different spheres of life. John 2:15 says to abide in the vine. As believers, it is not enough for us to propagate conspiracy theories about government funded vaccine, diseases, and anti-Christ theories. Our focus should not be on the pandemic but on knowing God and engaging His love as a branch that is grafted and planted in the Vine so that we can bear lasting fruit. Don’t be carried away by conspiracy theories and whatever is going on in our world, if you are planted in God, He will lead you. There is no need to panic because we have God on our side.

has been provided in job search assistance, CV writing & reviews, interview preparation, career planning advisory and counselling, amongst others. Additionally, a dedicated job board is updated daily with current vacancies.

What has been the impact of CareerPro?

he employment statistics at the end of Q2 2020 paints a bleak picture with 27.1% unemployment rate nationwide, 28.6% of working-age population being under-employed, 41% of Bachelor degree-holders currently unemployed and 55.7% of the working population being unemployed or underemployed. With such disturbing statistics, what is the role of the church? How can we fix our nation one unemployed/underemployed person at a time? The CareerPro Unit of TEC supports career professionals at different levels; providing guidance in response to workplace challenges and opportunities. The unit works with individuals on the journey of discovery, actualization and maximization of their potential. We caught up with Mr. Independence Okechukwu and Mr. Jimmy Mokikan - who provided some insight into how the CareerPro unit is positioning TEC members to make greatness common in the workplace.

Why the CareerPro Unit?

The dearth of job opportunities is one facet of the unemployment problem in Nigeria. The other side of the unemployment problem is that a significant portion of the working population is unemployable; leaving hiring managers often struggling to find competent talent. According to Mr. Okechukwu, for every 1,000 people that apply for a role, hiring managers often bemoan two things: how easily Applicant Tracking Systems are able to filter out a large number of applicants and how difficult it is to shortlist up to 20 people to begin an interview process. Yet, our tertiary institutions continue to churn out over 600,000 graduates annually – a number that may well reach 1 million graduates annually over the next 4 years. As part of TEC’s response to this vacuum in the labour market, CareerPro embarked on a mission to make greatness common by providing candidates with employability skills focusing on building workplace suitability, enhancing career growth, and promoting skill diversity. Valuable support

The CareerPro team is not that “old” but has made incredible impact in the last few years. The unit is home to many professionals across different industries and membership is not exclusive to HR professionals. In 2019, TEC embarked on the ambitious goal to provide jobs for 1,000 members. With God’s grace and through different programs and events, CareerPro exceeded it. One such forum was the Career Fair - a one-stop-shop provided for companies to meet with eligible candidates groomed in readiness for placement. Companies commenced the interview process with many applicants whilst others got job offers on the spot. The 2019 Career Fairs held at the Greater Lekki and Lekki expressions saw over 100 people receive instant job offers. The CV Writing and Review service is another impactful solution helping job seekers get a foot through the door with over 10,000 CVs written or reviewed free of charge across all expressions of TEC. To provide some context, CV writing services provided by some professional companies usually range between N13,000-N33,000. Another unique and value-adding feature of CareerPro is the congregation of professionals across diverse professions. In stark contrast with firms providing a similar service where CVs are primarily reviewed by HR professionals, the CV review and career coaching services are typically provided by individuals with domain-specific expertise in a candidate’s industry giving a more rounded and balanced offering.

What Can We Expect from CareerPro Moving Forward?

The future is NOW! This is a new world of work where skills that were relevant five years ago are now being relegated. The workplace of 2020 and beyond demands an entirely new skill set - emotional intelligence, active learning, complex problem solving, flexible thinking, 43

amongst others. CareerPro has been intentional about helping members of TEC acquire these soft skills through programs such as the Graduate Employability Program (GEP) for entry-level candidates and Advanced Workplace Development (AWDP) program for mid-level and higher professionals. Building a new curriculum around these in-demand soft skills will take centre-s tage going forward. Mr. Mokikan observes that “the world of work will continue to evolve, and we will ensure that there is great adaptability built into our offerings. Rather than just the generic offerings, our efforts will be channelled more on specific skills that will bridge the gaps in future work demands.” COVID-19 has further accelerated the digitization of services globally, and thankfully, TEC has been digital-ready from the onset. CareerPro, in alignment with the church, is taking its programs online in order to deliver the mandate at scale. TEC members can expect the job board to move away from Telegram to become a full-serviced job portal where employers can post their current vacancies and TEC members can equally search out such roles and apply. Other programs such as Career Counselling, CV Writing and Reviews, as well GEP and AWDP courses will now be hosted online. It is envisioned that as many as 1,000 people will be enrolled in the courses as a single cohort.

resume. An effective way to get the best out of credentialing is to identify the clear learnings, depth of domain expertise, and experience that the credential will provide and ensure alignment with your overall career path. Parents also play a key role in positioning the next generation by being deliberate in observing their children and guiding them to pursue the right credentials. Observe their likes, dislikes, and natural inclinations, and encourage them to take interest-based assessments such as KUDER. Careers should not be chosen for children but steering the next generation to pursue careers that align with their interests, natural inclinations, and giftings is also crucial to solving unemployment and underemployment at scale. With special consideration to the memorable global occurrences that have taken place in 2020, the CareerPro team has been hard at work especially during the height of the pandemic and ensuing lockdown protocols. There were active engagements with the working-age demographic of TEC to support those who had lost or were facing uncertainty in their jobs, being especially intentional about programs to lift people from depression and improve their wellbeing.

“Unprecedented times” has perhaps become one of the most-used phrases of 2020. Yes, we are in unprecedented times, but they do not last forever, and God always comes through and causes everything to work for good for His own people. Rest in this knowledge concerning life, family, career, health, and general progress irrespective of any curveballs thrown your way during this season. If you have questions about CareerPro, contact our team via careerpro@elevationng.org

On Credentialing A hotly debated topic with many strong arguments for and against it, credentialing was reviewed in relation to the future of work. According to Mr. Okechukwu, intentionality in building a career path determines whether an individual pursues credentialing or not. It is important to acquire the necessary credentials that your chosen career requires at each stage, but also equally important that the Return on Investment (ROI) of the credential (in terms of the acquired knowledge and competitive advantage it provides) justifies its acquisition. Balancing the argument, he advises that knowledge, and not necessarily the certificate, may be acquired if a course/ credential unrelated to your career path piques your interest. If you, however, do acquire the certificate, it does not necessarily have to be listed on your 44

Protecting the Girl Child… a chat with PB

GENDER VIOLENCE

hat are the consequences of violence against women and girls? It is critical to first define gender violence. It is easy to lift up a hand and say “I don’t hit women” or “I do not hit my wife” and think that is all there is to it. It is good that you do not hit women but that alone does not completely cover gender violence. There are verbal and emotional dimensions to it. When a woman’s sense of self worth is stripped away, and her value as a woman is attacked simply because she is a woman, it falls within the gamut of genderbased violence. It includes rape, emotional abuse, child marriage and so much more. An obvious consequence of gender based violence is the fact that women are dying everyday. Whether through suicide, diseases such as HIV/ AIDS and fistulas or even at the

hands of an attacker. See the case in Nigeria of Uwa, a 100 level student of UniBen who went to study and was brutally murdered. Tina who was killed by the police - the institution that should have been protecting her was responsible for her wrongful death. It is not only a Nigerian problem. It is a global scourge - from South Africa to India to many first world nations. It is alarming and we need to deal with it. A United Nations statistic says that 33% of women will be victims of gender based violence and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. That’s not okay. Women make up a little under 50% of the world’s population right now so it means that about 33% of 50% of the world is at risk. We haven’t even added the statistics for boys - that one is also deplorable but today we are dealing with women and girls. When you hear this kind of prediction, your natural response is to say “God forbid” or “that is not my portion” or 45

“I reject that for my wife or daughter or sister” because that’s what we do as born again Bible-wielding believers. But just imagine what is happening in a world where every third girl is targeted - that means you count “one, two, three” and she is it. She is expected to be the victim of a violent crime. Women are under attack. And we need to see this global pandemic of violence against women and girls for what it is. I remember growing up in Northern Nigeria in the 1980s and seeing abandoned women along the road. Some of them had been married too early and their young bodies were not mature enough to handle the rigours of conception and child delivery. Once she gets damaged, she becomes another victim left to cope with the physical, financial, social, mental and emotional fall out of her situation.

What are the root causes of violence against women and girls?

Ignorance. Of course, there are some people who are just wicked too but I would say ignorance. The Bible says that the enemy came to steal, kill and to destroy so we know that every destroyer is from the enemy. Jesus came so that we might have life and that life in abundance. Myles Munroe of blessed memory said that when purpose is unknown, abuse is inevitable. Whenever a woman is subjugated, misappropriated or attacked because someone else feels the need to dominate her, it is borne out of ignorance. The only One who speaks purpose to women with uncanny accuracy is her Maker. We can say war is an issue, poverty, culture, tradition, wrong stereotypes etc. but for me, ignorance is the big tree and these are different dimensions and manifestations of that ignorance.

What is needed to end and prevent violence against women and girls? What can stakeholders do differently to ensure that gender-based violence prevention and response is prioritised?

Education and legislation. We need to be educated. All of us. Yes we need God’s help to face this giant and bring it down in all its manifestations but we need to first acknowledge that this problem is a pandemic. We will only rise up to address it when we see that it is an enemy of not just girls and women but a common enemy of us all. I personally go on what I call an annual pilgrimage to the WIMBIZ conference every year because I know that these issues will be discussed and thoroughly examined. I don’t want to assume any longer. I am not satisfied with my ignorance. In this matter of gender violence, ignorance is not bliss. I don’t want my daughters, sisters, friends etc. to continue to go through this pain. Now imagine that we all take responsibility for dealing with our ignorance, exposing it to God and trusting Him to give us an answer. Imagine how much more light will come. We often think that because

Beyond knowing that this is a problem, we need to begin to shine our light in any and every capacity that we can. I cannot solve the entire

problem, I am helpless to intervene but that is not the case. There were quite a few giants mentioned in King David’s time. He took responsibility for facing one of them, Goliath. He faced Goliath headlong with his 5 stones and we still celebrate him till today. If within your sphere you can be an advocate in one area, do that. Don’t let the enormity of the problem stop you from doing your part. Be a voice on any platforms that you have access to. We also need steeper consequences for perpetrators of gender based crimes, and for law enforcement agencies to actually enforce the full weight of the law when a crime occurs instead of blaming or shaming the victim.

What is the church doing to end and prevent violence against women and girls? What results has the church achieved?

I believe that one of our primary roles as the church is to enlighten and to equip. Besides making it clear that gender-based violence is not and will no longer be an accepted norm, the church needs to dig a little deeper to see the different areas where women are the most vulnerable and equip more and more women with the mental, spiritual and emotional support that they need. Sadly, women account for more than

70% of extreme poverty in the world. There is a degree of economic imbalance that makes women vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because poverty is a gender issue. I have taken my marching orders from Numbers 26. It is about 5 women referred to as the daughters of Zelophehad who weren’t afraid to believe that they could ask for a better hand than what had been dealt to them. They wanted more so they asked for more. Women need to know that they can ask for more. They can reach for more. One thing we do here in the women’s ministry of The Elevation Church (The Jewels) is to shine a spotlight to celebrate enterprising women. We do this with the annual Made for More women’s conference. We also do this with Tastes of our Tribes which is a food and fun fair. We also have partners who support us to bless and empower widows - we recently provided 10 widows with start up capital for their businesses. Last year, we held an investor pitch competition with the top 3 emerging women entrepreneurs receiving coaching and some investor support to grow and stabilize their businesses. This year our goal is to provide micro grants to help 50 women start and/or grow their business. An emotionally, spiritually, economically and mentally balanced woman is less vulnerable to abuse. There is work to be done and we will continue to do even more as God gives us capacity.

How would you assess the issue of gender equality in Nigeria? A case of equality of genders or equal access to opportunities. It is quite clear that we still have a huge gap in Nigeria. Nigeria has the highest percentage of women 46

entrepreneurs worldwide and that tells you something about the spirit and grit of the Nigerian woman. Yet, very few of these businesses are able to grow beyond a subsistent phase. You find that in politics, corporate Nigeria and just about every sphere, women make up less than 15% of senior management or political office despite their enterprising spirit. The simple answer is no. Even hiring managers sometimes use screening processes to refuse positions to women. When you ask why, you may hear something like “oh I don’t want to have to deal with maternity leave issues” or other excuses that are discriminatory based on gender.

What in your opinion is keeping women out?

Partly, what I have just described. You know I saw a meme recently. It showed a man and a woman on the starting blocks - they were both preparing to run a race and on the man’s track you would see hurdles like work targets, deliverables on the job and social interactions all relating directly to the work. Meanwhile, the woman’s track was a full-fledged obstacle course with so many other hurdles relating to her life as a woman. Every day, I am grateful for the privilege of being present and able to look after my family and build my home. I am sure just about every working woman is grateful to be able to express her gifts and aspirations on different dimensions. It is just that many workplace conditions are designed to make it more difficult for a woman to get ahead and excel. The obstacles are not only external. Some of our obstacles are actually internal - what we refer to as Impostor Syndrome.

Many times as women, we simply need to get out of our own way, and believe that we belong in the boardroom just as much as much as we belong in any other room we have been empowered to function What do you think is the most effective way to address gender issues in our society?

Again, education is key. I love the bible story about the daughters of Zelophehad. Their father had died and at the time in Israel, daughters were not allowed to inherit property so they were about to lose everything except that they dared to believe that God had provision for them. In my own paraphrase of Numbers 26 and 27, they petitioned the supreme court and got a favorable ruling that changed legislation in their favor. As women, we must know that our dreams and aspirations are valid. Absolutely valid. We are not in a battle for supremacy against men. We are not out to subjugate men. The best case scenario for our world is for both men and women to soar. We have no desire to step outside of God’s plan and will for us. Absolutely not. The most empowered women will be the ones who recognise their own selfworth and celebrate the value

and contributions of every stakeholder. We simply want to be, do and have all that God says we can be, do and have. We must not get discouraged in advocating for change.

How can we encourage the development of a work environment that is conducive and supportive of women?

I think the fear of change militates against us. Gender equality doesn’t mean gender sameness. We can be different but still respect the unique contributions that we each bring to the table. We can refuse to stereotype and we can call out cultures that demean and objectify women. We can ensure that there is no gender pay gap, and celebrate policies that are free of gender bias. This would go a long way.

What would the church look like if our gender equality goals were met?

Righteousness and truth would truly kiss each other. The church would witness an increase because of what each joint supplies.

What is the society/church missing out on by not maximizing the talents of both genders?

I haven’t really met many men who aren’t convinced that they are advocates for gender balance. Even the boss who makes disparaging jokes about women in the workplace will say he is a supporter of women because he has 1 woman among a staff of 10. Yes, 1 is better than zero and it is worth mentioning that the lot of women in the workplace is better today than it was 120 years ago. We have taken a step forward and so imagine how much better it would be if we all have access to the fullest expression of our gifts. One of the new phrases that has

made its way into our lexicon this year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic is “new normal” and we say it to mean that the center of gravity for many things that we thought was our status quo has shifted so we need to adjust. I feel the same way about gender balance. Beyond a new normal, as a church we need to see gender balance as a “desired normal”. A “strategic normal”. Jesus ushered in a new season for women - the Bible says there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female, we are one in Christ. Gender equality is an imperative normal. Or else, we are short-changing ourselves. Imagine that 50% of the world’s population becomes even more confident in the pursuit and expression of their productive capacity. Isn’t that a great opportunity for progress?

What is one thing people can do to make a positive impact on gender equality wherever they find themselves?

Don’t be part of the problem. Resolve to become part of the solution - be salt and light in bringing change. Don’t be satisfied with just allowing unfair conversations or gender inequalities within your space. You can raise your own voice to speak to the issues. You may not be the avalanche that causes a landslide but you can contribute your own quota. Bola Akinlabi, fondly called PB, is the Co-Lead Pastor of The Elevation Church. She also oversees the children and women’s ministries. @bollarinwa

Our Family Pictures: Events

An interview withKemi Iyiola

For me, it’s a calling and I’m glad that I heeded to that calling. - Kemi Iyiola The Publications unit of TEC had an interesting one-on-one with Mrs. Kemi Iyiola – the Head of the Junior Church at The Elevation Church. Mrs. Kemi Iyiola is married to Pastor Tunji Iyiola and their union is blessed with two amazing children - 13 and 15 years old. She studied Accounting and worked in the banking sector for about 12 years and also ran a few small businesses. She followed God’s call and started working with The Elevation Church, full time as the Head of Junior Church, which is the children’s ministry. When asked what her first interaction with Elevation church was, here is what she had to say; I have been with The Elevation Church from inception. I met Pastor Godman at Daystar Christian Centre. At that time, I was already with the children’s church as a leader in one of the sub-units. When the vision of The Elevation Church came, Pastor Godman shared it with us. For my husband and I, it was an opportunity to go and start something new. Daystar Christian Center had become a very big and popular church, such that if they needed one person to serve in a particular capacity, a hundred people would show up. Joining to start The Elevation Church looked like a challenge to our faith and an opportunity to serve God in another capacity and that was how we started out with The Elevation Church. You would agree with us when we say, it takes a level of inspiration to run the Children’s ministry. Hence our curiosity to understand what drives Mrs. Iyiola. For her, it was a calling she heeded, however, she was kind enough to take us through the journey of how it all started. I started teaching children at 15, fresh out of secondary school. I had become born again about 3 or 4 years before then, in my parent’s church. At that time, the church did not have anything for young people like myself, they didn’t have anything that would help our faith and it was an orthodox church. We had a lady who was a Scripture Union member with a calling to mentor young Christians like me, but the church wouldn’t have it. We were speaking in tongues and all sorts of new things in an Orthodox Church. Our class was disbanded and as we did not fit into the adult church. Our only option was to go back to the children’s church. I

remember I started with leading praise and worship in the children’s Sunday school. It came naturally to me and I always looked forward to teaching the children every Sunday. I remember always tasking my parents for money to buy chalk and treats for the children so my class grew bigger. At this time, I was fresh out of secondary school with a gap year before I moved on to further my education. I got to know the kids within that year. I knew then I was called to teach children. I remember walking past a block of flats one morning, and I started hearing someone calling, “Aunty! Aunty! Aunty!” She ran and gave me a hug from the back and said, “Aunty in our church”. It gladdened my heart and was the conviction I needed. There was a period I left children’s ministry to join the choir in different places, but I came back to teaching children in 2005 and I have taught children ever since. For me, it’s a calling and I’m glad that I heeded to that calling. The mission and vision of the Elevation

church centers around “MAKING GREATNESS COMMON” and this cuts across all departments and ministries within the Church. We asked Mrs. Iyiola to share ways that she has seen The Elevation Church make greatness common through the Junior Church, in the past 10 years. She let us into the world of the Children’s ministry by reminiscing on some experiences: I didn’t have any professional training in leading a children’s ministry and all of that but I think that, most importantly for us at the children’s church is the fact that we have improved every year. With the help of The Elevation Church, I’ve had exposure to how the children’s church is done in other countries, in different denominations, in different churches and so far, the large and small group is predominant among churches in the western world.

Kemi Iyiola is the Head of Junior Church at The Elevation Church 58

That’s our kind of church as a whole. One parent gave me a call to say that they don’t know how we do it but that their children love coming to church. For me, that’s one of the greatest feedbacks we can get from parents. There are times when we drop the ball and some parents are waiting to pounce on us and but I think in all, we’ve been able to groom children. I remember a few years ago in Vacation Bible School, Pastor Debo Adediran was teaching that class and we had children who were genuinely worshipping God. They had their eyes closed, on their knees and hands raised. When they finished, they came and testified that they had a real connection with worshipping God. That’s what we want our children to learn. We don’t want our children to say, “oh, it’s my daddy or my mummy’s church”, we want them to be able to say, “The Elevation Church is my church”.

We’re not scared to say, “This hasn’t worked this year, can we change it? What can we do to make it better?”

We’ve had testimonies from parents saying that, “it’s my children that brought me to this church”. Every Sunday, they learn something new and you know, it’s a place that they can call home. She went further to give us more insight into what the Vacation Bible School is all about. The Vacation Bible School is for young children from ages 6 – 12. It’s an opportunity for us to lead the children to Christ, help them to understand what it means to really be a child of God. We asked Mrs. Iyiola to share some of the significant changes that the Children ministry has experienced in the past 10 years. When we started, we didn’t have a purpose-built children’s church. We used the small hall at the Pistis Annex and used small partitions to divide the hall into different classes and it was difficult to engage the children with only one small space for like 3 or 4 age groups all together. Now we currently have a purpose-built church and we are looking to expand into the new building hopefully in the next year. Secondly, our teaching methods. Before, you would have one adult teaching and screaming over like 70 or more children and the engagement was poor. Now, we have large and small groups. The large group is where the children sing and dance. When it comes to telling the Bible story and the message that we want to pass across to the children, we break down into small groups. We have small groups with 1 teacher to about 20 or 25 children and the engagement is better. Our plan is to have a standard where 1 teacher handles not more than 10 – 15 children, so you can get down to the nitty-gritty of the Word and each child can express themself. This really has been a significant difference in our engagement with the children. The children’s church is set up so that children can find a genuine need for Jesus in their lives. And we are

a constant work in progress. No doubt the year 2020 is one year that would never be forgotten, we asked what her watchword has been to cope with the year has been and she said: At the beginning of every year, I have one word that I want to work on as a Christian and this year, it has been ‘intentional’ and I saw God drawing me back to say, “you have to be intentional with the way you spend your time, with the way you do things this season”. God has taught me in this season that He is mindful of me. “Who is man, that you are mindful of him?” It was difficult for me to find my own mindful experience and I prayed, ‘I know God You are busy. You’re saving the world from COVID-19 and healing people, but I want my own mindful experience’. God has strengthened me in the places of my weaknesses. That has been my experience in this season- being intentional about the

“you have to be intentional with the way you spend your time, with the way you do things this season”. things that are important. Coping as a mother, I have loved this period. I have a daughter who just clocked 13 and I have just come to know her. Before, we used to fight. I used to complain but God has just helped me to intentionally know her. I used to be a screaming parent. Now I sit down with my kids and we have conversations. I have come to understand and enjoy my children in this season and we have bonded as a family.

Teenz Nation (TN) is the teenage expression of The Elevation Church, with a mandate to nurture and build wholesome teenagers who will make greatness common wherever they find themselves. Elev8 sat down with the Teenz Nation Island lead, Molade Adeniyi, to learn more about Teenz Nation and how the unit has evolved and fared in the past 10 years within the larger TEC. Hurray the Elevation Church is 10! It’s been 10 years of churching to the glory of God. I am Molade Adeniyi, I became a member of the Elevation Church 8 years ago and I have been leading the Island Expression of Teenz Nation since December 2017. It has been an amazing experience to watch and be a part of TEC’s geometric growth and of course, the growth of TN. The Mandate of the Teenz Nation Teenz Nation was created to give teenagers a safe, fun and open way to interact with the word of God and with each other. It’s a common perception that church, and burning for Christ is not “cool”; and teenagers who are at that critical point in their lives where they are filled with burning questions about life and the desire to fit in, are unsure about what it is to be a Christian in an unforgiving world. TN very quickly realized the gaps in the way adults were churched as teenagers, and we set out to close these gaps by pulling the teenagers from the crowd, recognizing them as individuals with valid questions and emotions, and stretching out our hands of guidance to them, not as teachers but as mentors and friends. We created a safe space where they can come as they are with all their questions to the coolest, realest, honest and open teen conversations and experience God through us and with us. In a nutshell, TN’s mandate is to groom and build wholesome teenagers that are well rounded in every facet of their lives - mentally, spiritually, emotionally and academically so that there is a difference in the way they live, act, talk and think from those around them. We have been successful in executing this mandate as is evident by our growth over time. TN has grown from tens to hundreds of members with a good number being teenagers from other churches. We have parents from other churches drop off their teens at TEC while they continue to their own churches. The Past Impact of Teenz Nation As TEC grows, she has never strayed from her mandate of making greatness common in the city, the nation and beyond, and as part of TEC, TN has continued to make greatness common within and outside the Church. I can talk of two TN initiatives created to make greatness common. First is the Navigate Teens Mentorship Conference which is our annual conference organized to make spiritual, emotional, and mental investments in the teenage demography; teaching them life and vocational skills focusing on key issues

like self-concept/esteem, leadership, nation building, and personal & group productivity in addition to skill development sessions that give participants the opportunity to learn new skills. We bring experts in different vocations, mentors with counselling skills and certifications, and individuals who have been successful in their crafts and art, to interact, teach and mentor the participants. Although the Conference is a paid event, the Church and members of the TEC congregation sponsor teens who cannot afford it. We were not held back by the pandemic this year as we went on with a free virtual conference open to everyone. Over 400 teenagers joined the vocational skills classes which were done both via zoom and on WhatsApp. This year, teenagers joined in from Canada, the US, the UK, etc. There’s been so much impact made by TN and the Navigate conference - we have had parents call to thank us for the transformation they see in their children. Teachers and lecturers of our teens both home and abroad call to commend our teens, talking about how our teens are so exemplary in their attitude and actions. It brings us immense joy to see our members and graduates succeed and live God-led lives. A second program is our annual Bible Quiz Competition and talent show where we have teens from different churches around us participate in showing and strengthening their Bible knowledge and God-given talents. Beyond the reward for winners, the quiz competition avails the teenagers the opportunity to bond and build new relationships in a Godly environment. Future Impact of TN Standing on the promises of God and the evidence of His faithfulness as seen in the past 10 years, we are confident of the future and we are only limited by our imagination of what the future holds. For TN Nation, we believe that we will be bigger than this in the coming years, and we will grow into a group for like-minded, Jesus-loving teenagers not bound by geography or denomination. The teenagers we see around us are the future of the nation and humanity. They are the next CEOs, governors, doctors, lecturers, fathers, husbands, wives, mothers etc. Imagine how wonderful the world will be if run by these wholesome, God-loving teens! So, the future impact of TEC’s Teenz Nation is to reach as many teenagers as possible to continue the propagation of greatness in every nook and cranny of the country and the world at large by continuing to shine the light and being a blessing. Experience as a part of Teenz Nation I speak for every mentor at TN when I say being part of TN has been a blessing. We have learnt more about God and ourselves by interacting with our teenagers. We have learnt how to listen, how to be patient, nonjudgmental, and open. Teenagers need positive influence around them and people who will listen and understand them, be honest and always ready to answer their questions correctly

and confidently. To achieve the ability to give the right answers to all their questions, we are forced to expand our knowledge of the Bible and the teachings of God and develop a deeper relationship with God. To be open, we encourage them to ask any question they have, no question is stupid or outlandish. We show them we are humans too, we have embarrassing moments too, and we were once teenagers. In helping them understand their identity in Christ, we stand firmer in ours - as they grow, we grow. Being a part of TN has made us better versions of ourselves and enriched our Christian lives. It has been a blessing. Final words 2020 has been an interesting year. With the pandemic and its effects, the new standards of beauty circulating the internet and causing damage to the self-esteem of young ladies, the inequality in humankind as seen with the BLM movement and protests in the US, corruption displayed by Nigerians in world fraud etc., I can imagine what all these mean for teenagers and adults alike. I want to reach out to my teens and adults to say we should remember and hold on to God’s word. “…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV). Tribulations and disappointments will come as seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, but we must keep up courage and continually look to God. We must understand and hold fast to our identity in Christ; who we are in Him. Our Christ identity is the only constant and sure thing in this everchanging world. Beauty ideals and ideals of the world will change with times and seasons, but the word of God and our identity remains unchanged through the times and seasons. If we understand that we are Christ-like, we will love as Christ loved and see past age, color and social standing. My prayer for us is that the year 2020 ends in praise for each and every one of us.

A chat withPastor Jide Adeyemi

What has your TEC experience been over the last 10 years and what's the story about how the Elevate Community Church (ECC) came about? The story of TEC is a story of divine help. PG has been my pastor over the last two decades. I recall sometime around late 2009 when he mentioned to me that he had a leading and a release to go and start a new work. I was elated to hear this and jumped on board immediately. In a little while, we started out meeting to have several prayer sessions and discussions in his house. We would pray, praise, worship, plan, strategize and discuss for hours. We started small and through the months, the numbers grew from 4-5 people around a table to a launch team of over 60 people… and like they say, the rest is history. What God has done all these years literally blows the mind away! It is really the greatness of God at work. ECC is a rung on that ladder of greatness. I left for North America in 2012, during that period; a vision for a church plant in North America began to brew in PG & PB’s heart. We began to pray about it. I was back in Nigeria in 2015 and headed back to North America in 2016. We kept up with the vision and continued praying about it. In 2018, we began to put plans in place to launch a campus in Canada. We registered the name and continued praying and planning towards a launch. A couple of us had a meeting with PG in October 2018 and continued with lots of prayer and launch activities. The dynamics of planting were quite different in this new country and context. We launched the Elevate Community Church in April 2019 and it has been a journey of grace. In a short time, we have seen God’s help and seen and done things that could have only by grace.

Would you like to share one or two memorable experiences that demonstrate how TEC has made greatness common in the last 10 years? There have been many memorable instances and it is probably hard to pick. I have been in the diaspora for seven out of

these ten years so I will focus on a few that come to mind.

“We define greatness by service as Jesus said and we have always been a serving church.” We define greatness by service as Jesus said and we have always been a serving church. One that is heavily vested in serving God and the world around us. I think about how at the onset, we initiated our inner city outreaches in Lagos to indigent people in the Lagos Island axis (E-200) and how many lives that impacted. That outreach also resulted in a Soup Kitchen feeding program on Boxing day that resulted in feeding thousands of people in Lagos through the years. I also think about the amazing Ubomi medical outreach, which is a pure example of the heart of The Elevation Church. Looking at those reports and seeing those pictures just touch the heart.

Elevation in the next 10 years: what can we look forward to in the next 10 years — at the Elevate Community Church and TEC at large? Through the years, we have seen the unmistakable hand of God at work in The Elevation Church family. This is not just the work of a man or a well-oiled man made engine. It is living and breathing Divine Purpose. I think we have not even scratched the surface of what God has in store. While we have experienced speed, grace, and divine favor. It is nothing compared to what is in store. I believe what God will do will even dwarf what we have seen to date. Where the best of the current phase will only be a steppingstone compared to what lies ahead. We

will continually be grateful and remember all that God has done, but we will even reach higher for greater things. There is no end to the greatness God has in store. This will not just be local within the cities where we are located but increasingly at a much wider/ global scale. Not just pulling people together within the communities where we are located but reaching to people beyond the shores of our reach penetrating different worlds and contexts.

I believe eyes have not seen nor ears heard what God has in store for us as a church family…but He is revealing it by His Spirit. We are currently in a time when there is a pandemic raging globally and redefining things in our world in an unprecedented manner. In ECC for example, we had not clocked a year when lockdowns began across Canada and (at the time of this print) we are yet to resume physical meetings. I believe as a global family, we will come out on the other end of this phase with even greater impact and a stronger voice.

Given the fact that 2020 has been a year of memorable global occurrences, what final message do you have for people of faith in this season? 2020 has indeed been a year like no other. Lives have been lost across the world, people impacted, businesses and world economies at large have felt the brunt of the pandemic. Someone reading this may even have been impacted one way or the other. The first thing I will say is no matter what you may have lost do not lose heart or lose faith. Keep your faith alive and keep your hope alive. Do not stop believing and do not stop expecting. Do not cast away your confidence in these times as it indeed has a mighty reward with it. God recreated a bare, chaotic world with faith. So, faith in God can recreate your world no matter 65

how bleak it looks! It may look like a chaotic mass in one chapter and turn out to be like the Garden of Eden in the next. We acknowledge all that is happening, but we should choose to mind what is written above all that is happening. Secondly, this is our finest hour. In fact, this is why we are here for such a time as this. The reason is the darker the darkness,

the brighter our Light can shine. We are the light of the world and we are the salt of the earth. That means the world will stay dark if we do not shine our light. That means that when men say it is a casting down, we should keep saying it is a lifting. Encourage the discouraged; strengthen the weak, comfort people with the comfort you receive from above. Let people catch the contagion of your hope and your faith. Lastly, we can maximize these times of pressure by pressing further into God, into

His word and prayer. David said when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. So it is not the opposition that keeps us down, it our positioning that determines whether we stay down. Stay strong! Jide Adeyemi is the Resident Pastor of Elevate Community Church, ON Canada,

Our Family in Pictures:

LifePointe Expression

Elevate Community Church, Canada

A chat with Adebowale Adediran 72

Please tell us your name, your position and what you do for The Elevation Church? My name is, the Worship Pastor of The Elevation Church. I oversee the global worship activities of the Church.

What does worship mean?

This is an interesting question with a lot of answers; but my favorite definition of what worship is found in Psalm 29:2. It says ‘Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name. Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness’ (KJV). How do we do that? Worship the LORD in the beauty of His holiness. Worship is not the slow thing you do when the fast song stops, nor is it what you do when you squeeze your eyes shut. The basic definition is to ‘give honor’ and ‘show reverence’ towards God. We do this with our lives not with our songs. What we do, how we do it and to Whom we do it to make it worship. Worship is being in a love relationship with God, living a life that venerates Him and is totally surrendered to Him. Romans 12:1-2 says ‘ So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering ’ ( MSG ). So I’ll ask you this question: can you offer your everyday life to God as worship? God doesn’t just take singing; He takes your heart and your life.

Is there a purpose to worship?

Yes, the purpose is to ‘give honor’. Honor is the highest respect you can give to a person. There

was an Archangel in Heaven named Lucifer and every creation that existed then was to worship God. Lucifer collected the glory (described in Ezekiel 28) instead of reflecting and giving the glory to God. At a point, he saw that the glory was good and wanted it for himself. He rebelled against God and was exiled from Heaven. God created another being to willingly give honor to Him and those are the people He called worshippers. Man was that being, designed to worship God and give Him honor. God is to be the recipient of our worship and the best thing about it is that we are to worship willingly. All other beings don’t have a will. They don’t have a say in the matter. Man is the only being that can decide to worship God or not. Everything else – angels, animals, plants, the sun, the moon, the stars – all align and worship God. The purpose of worship is for man to give honor to God.

What does God say about worship?

There are scriptures where God demands, seeks, and requests our worship because He deserves it and we are created to worship Him. God is God and we are human beings. He wants to occupy the position of a friend as well as your God. One scripture the Holy Spirit brings to mind is in the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments talk about Him being our God and states that we shall not put or place anything or anyone above Him. In Deuteronomy 6:13, Moses says to the

Israelites, ‘Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name’ (KJV). Fear here does not refer to terror; it is reverence. Jesus mentioned this again in Luke 4:8, ‘It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve’ (KJV). The word, ‘fear’ is replaced with ‘worship’. God demands, seeks, and requests for worship because He is God. He will only take worship. He doesn’t take anything else and He doesn’t share it with anyone.

Is worship important in the life of a Christian?

This is like asking if moving is important to a car or if spending important to money. Whether we like it or not, man was created to worship. Everybody seeks to worship and honor and respect something. It can be another human being or a graven image. Why did God specifically say not to make any graven image? A graven image is an object of worship; I can see and pour out my love on it, put my oil on it, spend my money on it, build a temple for it until it is more important than anything else. Humans were created to worship God. Because we can’t see God, we stopped fearing Him, and began to give our worship to other things. As a Christian, you have to worship and it has to be God.

Worship as a routine, does it have to be so?

There are ordinances that we do like praying and giving offerings. These tend to be a routine. Life itself is a routine. You wake up, shower, eat, go to school/work, play, sleep and you have to do

everything again the next day. But let me ask you this question: Is loving your child a routine? Is serving your spouse or parents a chore? Worshipping God is not a chore or a routine, it is something you do out of love for Him. Love is born out of a relationship with God and the desire to worship, honour and respect God comes from loving Him. You have to routinely show Him that you love Him through all our activities. Remember what Romans 12:1-2 says, everything we do must be done and placed before God as an offering.

Is worship the same as praise or giving of thanks?

I’ll define four words that seem to sound the same and sometimes we use interchangeably but they all have different meanings. The words are gratitude, thanksgiving, praise and worship. Gratitude is ‘the quality of being thankful and readiness to show appreciation’. It comes from the Latin word ‘gratus’ meaning ‘pleasing’. Gratitude is the state you are in as a result of something pleasing done for you. It is your response to a favor shown unto you. Thanksgiving is ‘an expression of gratitude’. The Greek word for thanks is ‘charis’ which is related to grace. We express our gratitude with thanksgiving. In other words, thanksgiving is a response to God’s grace. Praise is ‘the act of expressing approval or admiration’. It is the act of glorifying or extolling a being by speaking well of, or magnifying their virtues. Praise is vocal, it is never silent. Worship is to ‘show honor and 73

reverence’ to God. It is to serve or show service towards God. These four things are what we give back to God. In every other thing, we are receiving from God. In praying, we may be asking to receive something. In studying/ sharing the Word, we receive instructions. With miracles, we receive blessings.

It is said that people can worship in various ways. Is this true or is there a particular way to worship?

There are ‘expressions of worship’ and ‘acts of worship’. An expression of worship is how you worship, the particular way you worship. Worship theology describes nine ways, in three categories, that we express worship. The first category is our voice; we express by speaking, singing and shouting. The second category is our posture; we express by bowing, standing and dancing; the third category is our hands; we express by clapping, playing instruments and lifting of hands. Worship is born out of sacrifice and obedience. An act of worship is what you do to show your obedience to God and it usually costs you something. Five examples from the Bible that are considered acts of worship are: Abel’s sacrifice (Genesis 4:3-5); Abraham’s sacrifice (Genesis 22:1-12); David’s repentance (2 Samuel 24:17-25); the story of the Alabaster box (Mark 14:39) and the story of the widow’s mite (Luke 21:1-4). If these expressions do not cost you anything, it is most likely not worship.

ones’ worship is true and acceptable to God?

Ask God. Build a relationship with the Holy Spirit such that you can ask and know God’s heart and hear His response to you. In Isaiah 29:13, God said that the children of Israel honor Him with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. He doesn’t just want you to sing and offer something, He wants your all. Start with asking yourself this question, ‘Am I giving God my all?’ Make necessary adjustments per time and look out for God’s response to you when you have worshipped again.

How has the concept of worship evolved at The Elevation Church?

instruments in worship to God. We are currently writing songs that will be our own unique sound, our own unique way of worship.

Our world has become a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) environment, how important is it for Christians to continuously live a life of worship to God in this present world? One lesson I have learned in this season is that many of us have lived our lives void of God, or we have a form of godliness but no relationship with God. The truth is God is the source of all

things. We draw life from Him and He will never change. Everything else will evolve or dissolve but God remains the same. To every Christian, irrespective of what is going on around you, make God your object of focus and worship because when the VUCA world expresses itself, only true worshippers will receive God’s protection and provision where others experience confusion, fear and loss.

In the early years of the church; we coined a term, RAW (Radical. Authentic. Worthy). From the beginning, we decided that we wanted to have a unique kind of worship that was rich. We wanted to give God our best. We also wanted to sing songs as a congregation that would express our hearts towards God. So we set out to worship RAW. Our worshipping God must be radical, authentic and we must do it worthily. We have evolved in this unique way of singing and playing

How can one tell that 74

IMPACTING LIVES THROUGH SOCIAL INTERVENTIONS An interview with Leonard Thomas, General Manager, Pistis Foundation

When did you join TEC and what has your personal experience been like? I joined The Elevation Church in its first year. To sum up my personal experience at TEC, I'd say it has been a journey of grace. The Church has grown in remarkable ways, watching people’s lives literally transform, mine inclusive, from that first year has been a real journey of grace. What is the vision of Pistis Foundation and how has the Foundation affected lives? The mission of PF is to be a model provider of empowerment opportunities for the economically challenged in the society. We have three core areas that were carefully chosen after analyzing the many problems Nigerians face in Nigeria: Education, Health and Shelter - for homeless children. Speaking specifically to how we have affected society, some of our initiatives include the Teachers’ Excelling Network, where we have trained one hundred and three teachers so far; Wings Academy, a talent development program for children between the ages of 6 and 15 and has since been remodeled to cater to economically-challenged children who cannot afford such training. Wings Academy also has a scholarship program called PF Scholars which currently sponsors twenty-six children. Under our health initiative, the Ubomi Project is major. It’s a one-week medical and surgical outreach that was first held in March 2019, which saw over two hundred and fifty volunteers, one hundred and twenty medical personnel, addressed issues ranging from fibroid, minor surgeries, dental

situations and so on for about seven thousand persons. It was in partnership with the Lagos State Government as well as some private hospitals. You organized a Food Bank project during the lockdown, how did it go? The Food Bank initiative was a very critical one at the time that we kicked off. I usually say that there are two types of interventions, one is development-driven and the other is crisis-driven. So, during the lockdown in Lagos, we held the Food Bank project. It was set up in a way that calls, logistics and medical provisions were made available to a total of six thousand and four families with collaborations from GIG Logistics, St. Kizito’s Clinic, Chion Hospital, the TEC workforce and over a hundred volunteers across Lagos. What would you say has been the Foundation’s biggest challenge? One of the biggest challenges we have faced is the availability of volunteers. It's one thing to have a solution and it's another thing to have people that can execute it. People are needed, not necessarily for what they can get but mostly for what they can give. As a Foundation, you cannot achieve your goals without the support of individuals who share similar ideologies, are passionate about people and want to see sustainable change achieved. What’s your most memorable experience managing the Foundation? This happened during the Ubomi project in 2019. Quite a number of people are already familiar with the story of a lady called Jumoke; when she walked in, everyone thought she was pregnant but upon examination, it turned out she was actually carrying a fibroid that weighed 6kg. She had to undergo an operation and 75

we had some specialists on site who took charge of her case. However, the fibroid wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only issue, there were other psychological and emotional traumas. Three months after the surgery when Jumoke visited us again, she was all smiles, looking better, healthier and in a generally good place. It was a really special experience for me and everyone who was a part of that story. What's in the future for Pistis Foundation? In the immediate future, the plan is to get kids off the streets under the initiative called Kids off the Street (KOTS). We want to provide shelter for homeless kids between ages 5 and 12, put them in schools through our scholarship initiative and

ensure their reintegration into the society after a certain time. This is in partnership with The Elevation Church and the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development. Per health, the second edition of Ubomi will hold as soon as things become more stable with regards to the Covid-19 pandemic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the mode of operation will also be communicated. Secondly, we plan to support medical institutions, equipping them to be able to serve communities better by buying them equipment and helping them set up better. We've noticed that many hospitals in Nigeria are ill-equipped and we hope to bridge the gap in that regard very soon. Lastly, our adoptive school initiative is

also being developed; this will enable us adopt schools, train their teachers, equip the schools in infrastructure and provide scholarship opportunities for the kids. What are your wishes for TEC @ 10? I believe that every church has a purpose and my utmost desire and prayer for TEC is that we would fulfil God's purpose in these times, that we would be sensitive to His move and plans for the world and ultimately align with His Spirit and His heart at all times.

To support Pistis Foundation through donations or volunteering, please send an email to info@pistisfoundation.org

1. What is The Elevation Church all about? How was The Elevation Church birthed? The Elevation Church (TEC) was birthed on 10.10.10. i.e. 10th October 2010 with a vision to make greatness common. This mandate was given by God to our Lead Pastor, Godman Akinlabi. At TEC, greatness means service and this shows in our love for God, one another, our communities and through our various initiatives and events. 2. How many branches does The Elevation Church have? We have six (6) expressions namely Island, Mainland, Greater Lekki, Ikorodu, LifePointe Church & Elevate Community Church. Expressions are what we call our branches around here. All our expressions, as of now, are based in Lagos, Nigeria except the Elevate Community Church that is in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. 3. What is the reach of the Elevation today? We welcomed approximately eighteen thousand people across all our expressions in person as of the first quarter of 2020. However, with the lockdown and the introduction of online services as the only channel, we have been able to reach over one hundred and fortysix thousand people across our digital channels and TV ministry over the last 6 months.

4. Are there plans for more branches in other parts of the world in the nearest future? Definitely! We are to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth so we will keep opening up in new places around the world. The Covid-19 pandemic has also helped us move church beyond physical buildings and gatherings, we now have a vibrant online church which will become an expression on its own. 5. What is the difference between The Bridge Ministry and LifePointe Church? The Bridge is the singles ministry of TEC – that’s for people who are unmarried. The ministry is focused on helping individuals realize and achieve their purpose in life, staying chaste and serving God in that season of their lives. The LifePointe Church, on the other hand, is an expression of TEC that shares the same message in a different language. The message, tone, colours, music, ambience and other elements of the church speak to a specific group of people. 6. Mention some members of the leadership team of The Elevation Church? We have a vibrant pastorate team across all our expressions. Here are our lead, resident and associate pastors – in that order. Godman Akinlabi, Bolarinwa Akinlabi, Tunji Iyiola, Debo Omotunde, Emmanuel Olajitan, Busola Wale-Siyanbola, Kola Fayemi, Jide Adeyemi, Bola

Adisa, Timothy Aderemi, Seun Afolayan, Bowale Ikotun. 7. Does The Elevation Church have a school? Not in the traditional sense of a governmentregistered institution but we run TEC Schools, TECi (The Elevation Church Institute - our workersin-training school for members of the church who wish to join our volunteer workforce) and also have a Learning Management System (LMS) in place. We have a range of spiritual development courses, soft skills and professional courses facilitated by seasoned professionals in collaboration with the church for the all-round development of our members. 8. With all the activities The Elevation Church is involved in especially since the onset of the pandemic, how do the workers or leaders draw a balance between work and family? The different units at TEC have leadership structures that allow people to take time off when they need to since there are others who can relieve and stand in for them while they are away.

the church and we can take Jesus into the marketplace with the quality of our work, integrity, intelligence and resilience. The church aims to teach people crucial skills needed to thrive spiritually and in the marketplace. 10. How does The Elevation Church introduce children/teenagers to Jesus at their young age? Our Junior and Teenz churches are very important arms of the church. Our Sunday curricula for kids, preteens and teenagers ensure that they know about Jesus from early on, we teach them the foundational principles of the Christian faith, the person of the Holy Spirit, and so on. We also organize events to aid their knowledge, experience, networking skills and vocational skills development such as our annual Vacation Bible School for kids and preteens, Summer Splash for kids and the annual Navigate Conference for teenagers.

9. Why does The Elevation Church devote much of its time and resources to establish many development initiatives? We believe that to build a great nation, we need individuals who are versatile in every sphere of life, not only spiritual. Ministry goes beyond the four walls of 78

Wowâ&#x20AC;Ś10 years of Greatness in every way! It has been pure joy witnessing the vision that is TEC unfold and play its role as an integral part of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move in this end time! Indeed, what an extraordinary decade of growth, impact and relevance through the various initiatives, projects and programs geared towards life transformation, culture shaping and value addition, essentially making greatness common in love and with passion. It has been deeply humbling being a part of the TEC journey from my time co-leading TeenzNation; and with utmost gratitude, I join my TEC family (co-laborers, staff, volunteers and members) to appreciate the Father for 10 years of Light and Love. Today, I celebrate the gifts of my papa and mama, PG & PB, the set ones over this house for their genuine kindness and humility. You both are exemplary models of servant-leadership. Thank you for your large hearts, your consistency on this faith journey and all you do for us. I love you both dearly. Hearty cheers as we grow more in great grace and widespread influence. Happy 10th Anniversary TEC!

Busola Wale-Siyanbola

Resident Pastor, The LifePointe Church

@lifepointeng

This is to celebrate with Pastors Godman and Bolarinwa Akinlabi, and the entire Elevation Church Family worldwide on this epoch-making 10th year anniversary. It has been 10 years of God’s faithfulness, undeniable grace, supernatural speed, divine assistance and marvellous help. It has been 10 years of making greatness common, of seeing lives

transformed and destinies restored. It is a joy and privilege to be part of this family and what God is doing, and we give Him alone ALL THE GLORY. The future is definitely going to be greater and better than the past according to God’s word. My prayer is that there will be an increase of God’s grace, wisdom, and capacity to do more for God and His kingdom across the world in Jesus’ name. HAPPY 10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO THE ELEVATION CHURCH!!!

Emmanuel Olajitan

Resident Pastor, Greater Lekki Expression

It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the members of The Elevation Church Ikorodu, to rejoice and felicitate with the pastorate, leadership, and members of The Elevation Church globally on the occasion of our 10th anniversary. As the current youngest expression and a child born out in due season, the Ikorodu Expression represents another testimony of God’s blessings over humanity through the ministry of The Elevation Church. The Ikorodu Expression recently clocked 1 on September 1, 2020 and it has been a story of grace, impact and transformation for members, attendees and our host community. Congratulations to The Elevation Church Family globally; we are just getting started. Ours is not just a church, but an institution set up by God to unleash greatness upon our world. Here’s a toast to another 10 years of global influence and exponential impact in Jesus’ name.

Kola Fayemi

Resident Pastor, Ikorodu Expression

Join the celebration with our special anniversary t-shirts and hoodies. Order now at