There was a man sent from God……

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him mighty believe – Jn. 1:6-7

 

It is one thing for someone to say that he or she is sent from God. But it is another thing or rather better for someone else to testify to such fact as in the scripture above. Such testimony can only be derived from the life and work of the man sent from God, which is to bear witness of the LIGHT, that all men (within the coverage of his mandate) might believe. 

 

HIS CHURCH PLANTING VISION

You cannot see afar if you are looking down or around yourself. God has both taught and help this servant of His to lift up his eyes. His life and teaching as expressed in his book “Lift up your eyes”, is prefaced on the command of our LORD Jesus Christ in Jn. 4:35.

 

Say not ye, there are yet four months (KIV) then cometh harvest. Behold I say unto you, LIFT UP YOUR EYES and look on the field for they are white already for harvest.

 

This statement of our LORD Jesus is foreshadowed in the Old Testament when God through Moses sent twelve spies to survey the promised land. Ten of the spies saw great obstacles: the giants sons of Anak before whom they seem in their own eyes as grasshoppers. But Caleb (with Joshua) said, “let us go up at once, and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it (Num. 13:30).

 

With this orientation, the church was able to embrace vision 20/20 (planting 20 Churches at the 20th anniversary); vision 50/25 (fifty churches at the 25th anniversary) and now 110 at 10 (a hundred and ten churches in ten years). If your are astonished, remember, the owner of the work will do His work. Is this not the same statement made by father Abraham? The Lord indeed, (Jehovah Jireh) provides. His visionary leadership has taught the church not to look down at ourselves nor look around at our situation lest we see more than enough reasons to “keep in view” the matters of missions or church planting.

 

Also, when there are apparent challenges at the daughter churches, Rev. Adeleke has always challenged them to look up and have faith in God rather than hope in the mother church. In the face of seeming challenges in some of the churches that made the Sanballats to mock them as mushroom churches, he had led us to go ahead and plant more churches that are thriving greatly. Some of these churches that were later planted have been organized and others are ripe for organization. One of them at Abuja has also planted three churches on her own though not yet organized due to her permanent site that is yet to be perfected.

 

So, to Rev. Dr. T.O.A Adeleke, the pursuit of a God-given and God-sized vision demands three main things Faith, Obedience and sacrifice. He has exemplified this by sacrificing comforts and privileges that he is entitled to and by personal financial commitment to this vision. Some of us where living in three bedroom apartments while he was patiently managing a two bedroom apartment until recently when the present building was completed. You cannot work with him without embracing and imbibing these virtues.  It must be mentioned that in his visionary leadership, he doest not operate as a “boss”. Though all see and call him a fathered, he leads as a colleague, friend and a servant leader.

 

CHURCH REVITALIZATION

When it became necessary for him to go for further studies, his passion for mission was further expressed His study was ministry based rather than have a philosophical academic inclination that may yield minimal benefit on mission. His doctoral thesis was on revitalisizing declining or dying churches. I think churches in the world and in Nigeria especially the Nigeria Baptist Convention need the outcome of his research. Some of us who were involved in the research process even felt that a study on church revitalization should be involved in the curriculum or courses in our seminaries.

 

Presently, the entire congregation of Newlife Baptist Church Rumueme is being mobilized in prayers for church revitalization and strengthening, and to be further positioned to pursue vision 110. May the Lord continue to strengthen him and lavish him with abundant grace to finish strong.