SU Seminar

© 2020
Scripture Union Nigeria

SCRIPTURE UNION (NIGERIA)
7th
NATIONAL All rights reserved. No portion of this book should be
CONVENTION photocopied, reprinted or reproduced without the express
permission of Author.
All scriptures quotation in this book are from the King James
Version except where, otherwise, stated.
Theme:
The Ancient Paths

Produced by:
Scripture Union (Nig.) Press & Books Ltd,
Ibadan.
Table of Content
Chapter One: Mentoring: Key to Enduring Missions Among

Children, Young People And Adults. .............1
Chapter Two: Christian Service in Contemporary Society......22
Chapter Three: Adolescent Psychology And Physiological
Development: Its Impact On Parenting And
Christian Expressions........................................26
Chapter Four: Faith Cometh by Hearing...............................36
Chapter Five: Schools (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary)The
Cradle for Outreaches and Nurture Among
Children and Young People...........................47
Chapter Six: Changing A Nation: Systematic and Consistent
Bible us..........................................................54
Chapter Seven: Pursuit and Practice of Godly Patterns
Among Christian Students on Campus.........58
Chapter Eight: Family Finances in Season of Recession.........67
Chapter Nine: Harvesting Souls for the Kingdom Using the
Social Media..................................................72
Chapter Ten: Evangelizing and Discipling Children in our
Contemporary Society....................................82
Chapter Fifteen: Developing Young Leaders for Ministry,
Governance and Growth of Pilgrims
iii
Ministry.........................................................87
Chapter Sixteen: Building the Gates of our Lives; Maintaing a
Spiritually Healthy Home....................104
Chapter One
Extra : Upbringing, Evangelising and Discipling Children in
Contemporary Society.................................118
Mentoring:
Key to Enduring Missions Among
Children, Young People and Adults
Writen by
Rev Vincent Orih
Pastor Oye Ositelu
Pastor Mike Ayodele
A. PREAMBLE
W hy is Scripture Union Nigeria bothering itself with the

“Ancient Path” at such a time as this? In the crowded
trends of challenges facing the world and Christianity
today should Scripture Union Nigeria not be looking ahead and be
concerned with its survival, relevance and making impact on the
society through its ministries and activities? Can we see what is
coming ahead and prepare to fit into it when our minds are focused
on ancient paths.
I believe that Scripture Union Nigeria is looking back so that it can
construct the way from the past through our present to the future
while still maintaining the foundations of the past. Though the
iv 1
7th National Convention Seminar Papers Theme: The Ancient Paths
ancient message is unchanging, the path of the message must have C. SCRIPTURE UNION NIGERIA IN THE CONTEXT
changed drastically. I wish to commend SU Nigeria for OF MISSIONS
considering what the Lord says in Jeremiah 6:16:
1. DEFINITION OF MISSIONS:
“Stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths,, ask Missions may be defined “as any effective step taken by a
where the good way is and walk in it and you will find rest for your Christian or group of Christians towards fulfilling or enabling the
souls .But you said, we will not walk in it.” (KJV) fulfillment of the great commission of our Lord Jesus Christ,
within and beyond their usual ambit” (U. Obed, 2001). By this
B INTRODUCTION definition we can see that missions embraces much more than
Scripture Union started from the missionary spirit and zeal of evangelizing our neighborhood or planting new branches of our
Josiah Spiers in 1867 and this missionary zeal has characterized denomination in another city or village. Missions will include such
the growth, development and expansion of the missionary work, activities as the production, printing and distribution of bibles and
just “like a Mustard Seed” as described by Bishop R. C. Okafor in Christian literature, bible translations, Christian social services,
his book. Scripture Union worldwide has strategically focused on theological/bible colleges etc. All these organizations and such
children, young people and families. Each of these aspects rightly like these, contribute very significantly and strategically to the
fit into what is referred to in the language of missions as target fulfillment of the great commission.
groups or people groups. This paper looks at Scripture Union
Nigeria as a Missions Agency focusing on children, young people 2. MISSION IS SENDING.
and adults. The work of Scripture Union Nigeria can be Missions is also defined “as a body of believers sent out by a
summarized as Evangelism and Discipleship. Evangelism is done religious body to convert the heathen”. The root of Missions is
with every missionary zeal and the Discipleship follows as a kind SENDING. It has four elements: The Sender, The Message, The
of strategic church planting, providing a base for follow up that the Messenger and The Receiver -Sender's concern. The word
fruits may abide. Evangelism runs through every activity in “missions” comes from Latin “mitto” which means “to send”. The
Scripture Union Nigeria even to date as blood runs through every Greek equivalent is “apostello” which refers to “someone who is
living human being. Discipleship tools and structures have much sent”. L.K. Fuller asserts that “the work of missions is the work of
been developed as well, but our discipleship is getting weak, people who are sent by God to bring His work and power of
dwindling and even dying. This is limiting our work in Scripture salvation into the world! Sending implies going”.
Union Nigeria from attaining the level of the ENDURING Mission Leaders in March 1982 under Lausanne meeting defined a
MISSIONS that it should be by now. Our “church planting” in people group and unreached people group. A people group is “a
children, schools/campuses and adult/Pilgrims work are significantly large grouping of individuals who perceive
struggling to survive. They can and will survive if we re-strategize themselves to have a common affinity for one another because of
and adopt or adapt MENTORING as the KEY to realize an their shared language, religion, ethnicity, residence, occupation or
ENDURING MISSIONS that we are meant to be. castle, situation, etc., or combinations of these”. For evangelistic
purposes it is “the largest group within which the gospel can spread
2 3
as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of sent by His Father to save the world (Jn. 3:17). He worked very
understanding or acceptance”. hard to accomplish the job His Father assigned to Him (Jn.4:34 &
17:4). We as Scripture Union people in Nigeria MUST recognize
A people group may have one or more of the following in common: that we are sent by God to save the world in the specific areas of
geographical boundaries, language, religion, profession, children, young people and families (adults). Is this the case
education, vocations, etc. The possible target people groups are today? If so, where are the pilgrims and volunteers today?
cultural and language groupings, social and human institutions
groupings, e.g. students and police, etc, religious groupings, e.g. (a) His Missionary Work:
Muslims, geographical boundaries and foreigners. It is more (i) Public teaching and ministry to the crowd. He taught both the
demanding winning a people group than wining an individual. Jews and Gentiles. The Samaritans recognized Him as the Savior
Hence, it usually involves the entire local church, mission agency of both the Jews and the entire world (Jn.4:42). He encountered
or a ministry. the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mtt.15: 21-28) the Roman Centurion
of Capernaum (Mtt.8:5-13), and the possessed man and other
The Scripture Union fits in here as a ministry or a mission agency people in Decapolis (Mk.5:1-20 & 7:31-37, etc). These non-Jews
targeting children, young people and families/adults as people put their faith in Christ when He helped them.
groups. As evangelism goes on in these three areas, so is “church
planting”, as a discipleship system within the structure of Scripture We have the crowds in primary and secondary schools and
Union Nigeria. We therefore have the Children Clubs for children, campuses and in our local communities. Are we working as sent
Schools Fellowships for the Schools ministry and the Pilgrims people or as routine workers just fulfilling all righteousness in
Groups for the adults/families. Every member of Scripture Union schools and campuses?
should see himself or herself as a missionary, just as Jesus was or is
a missionary. That is the missionary calling that moved Josiahs (ii) Private Training of the Twelve and other Disciples. He
Spiers. taught them in order that they could multiply His ministry by going
to teach others (Mk.3:14). The disciples He trained were all Jews
D. ENDURING MISSIONS and He sent them first to reach out to the Jews. However, later He
The dictionary defines the word “enduring” as: “lasting for a long sent them to all the nations, on a cross-cultural mission, 'when they
time”. The Lord Jesus Christ has done an enduring missions work had more experience and power”.
which has lasted several centuries and shall continue till the end of
the age. After all these years, his missions work is not a monument The principle of training in Scripture Union is, “Train and Trust”.
but a vibrant continuous work, making impact, transforming lives “Importance of Training” is a paper that every staff and most
and waxing stronger against all odds. volunteers had to go through several years ago. Another one is,
“Recruiting and Developing Voluntary Workers”. Where is our
1. Jesus as a Missionary: emphasis on training today? When last did we evaluate the
As a missionary, Jesus knew that His Father sent Him and He also effectiveness of our training programmes? Are they generating
mentioned it about 43 times in the gospel of John alone. He was volunteers and staff to train and trust with the work?
4 5
(iii) His death as atonement for our sin. We cannot die for the sins of adults are consuming these noodles and meals! Can you imagine
the people as missionaries, but we can do the first two kinds of work the ridiculous small quantity of our ministry materials that we
Jesus did. Howbeit, we can suffer in the process of taking the gospel produce to service the children, young people and adults annually?
message to others in order to make the death of Christ beneficial to
them. We must complete His work by taking the good news to them. 2. Jesus As a Missionaries' Sender:
This is part of what generates and produces an ENDURING In Jesus' teaching on the end of this age, He said that the gospel of
MISSIONS. We as Scripture Union people in Nigeria must be the Kingdom would be preached in the entire world (Mtt. 24:14).
willing and be seen to pay the price for our core ministry. However, it was after His death and resurrection that He
commissioned His disciples to take the gospel to all nations
(b) His Example for Missionaries: (Mtt.28:18-20; Mk.16:15-16); Lk. 24:46-49); Jn.20: 21-22 & Acts
Jesus' attitude and lifestyle are great example for us as 1:8). Paul was also called and commissioned by Him to preach the
contemporary missionaries. gospel to the Jews and Gentiles alike (Acts 9:1-16). In Christ's
a. He humbled Himself as a servant (Phil.2:5-8). valedictory prayer, He said to His disciples as the Father has sent
b. He identified with those He came to win by becoming like Him into the world, so He sent them into the world (Jn.17:18).
them (Heb. 2:14-18; 4:15). This was part of what Jesus was sent to be continued and fulfilled.
c. He was single – minded in His work, not led astray by
temptations to other things (Mk.4:1-11). How many of the children who go through Scripture Union
d. He delighted in His work (Lk.10:17-21; Jn.4:34). It was His Nigeria end up in our secondary school fellowships? How many of
food and it gave Him joy. the young people whom we nurtured for five to six years in the
e. He felt the urgency of His work (Jn.9:4; Mk.1:35-39; secondary schools end up in our campus fellowships and Pilgrims
Jn.4:35). The time is short so the work must go on urgently. fellowships? How many from our campuses are we channeling
f. He relied on prayer and urged us to pray for more workers back to the ministry? While they were with us, did we ever mention
(Lk.10:2; Mtt.9:38). it to them that we would need their impute into the work? Did we
g. His last request was that we should carry on His work develop a platform for them to operate in our system? What
(Mtt.28:18 – 20 & Acts 1:8) training did we give to them that can attract them to take
responsibilities in the Scripture Union Nigeria?
Jesus' methods of missionary work is worthy of study. Observe
how He approached people according to their needs and The mission work of Jesus Christ is a good standard of
background. For instance, He used two different methods with measurement of Scripture Union ministry to determine whether it
Nicodemus and the woman of Samaria (Jn.3 & 4). is a long lasting work, an ENDURING MISSION. Can we say that
Scripture Union has done an enduring mission? If we evaluate our
If we have good teachings and sound doctrines relevant to the work in Scripture Union Nigeria, have we done an enduring
needs of our audience (children, young people and adults), why are mission? So much has been done indeed and the impact is so much.
the relevant people not consuming them like the masses consume Does it pass the test of an ENDURING MISSION?
rice and children and young people consume indomie? Many more
6 7
E. ENDURING MISSIONS IN SU NIGERIA creation of a Missions Agency which went to the Council. The
Scripture Union was started by Josiah Spiers in 1867. This man approval by the Council to create a Missions outfit gave birth to the
believed that he was sent by God to take the Good News to children Missions Directorate with a separate Board and a Missions
and young people. The worldwide Aims and Objectives of Director. The first Missions Director, Engr. Yomi Oladeji began an
Scripture Union states: awareness and sensitization tour and training of all the Pilgrims in
each Area explaining the concept of Missions and how it was going
“ Making the Good News known to children, young people and to relate with the existing structure of Scripture Union Nigeria
families,” encouraging people of all ages to meet with God daily work to generate manpower. The Directorate was later modified
through bible reading and prayer, so that they may come to into a Department to be able to survive. The work has grown over
personal knowledge of Jesus Christ , become committed church the years and below is the summary of activities as captured from
members and respond to a world in need.” some reports to the National EXCO and COUNCIL.
Scripture Union volunteers and staff workers have engaged in this Below is a brief overview of Scripture Union Nigeria Missions
mission for over a century in Nigeria. Two key words that Department activities just skimmed from few of their reports to
summarize the activities are Evangelism and Discipleship. Council or EXCO meetings?
Evidence of this enduring mission abound as living witnesses of
the effectiveness of this mission over the years in several parts of
the world and particularly in Nigeria. 1. MISSIONS REPORT BY VINCENT ORIH HOD TO
TH
SSMC 13 – 18 MAY, 2013.
F. SU MISSIONS WORK- THROUGH THE MISSIONS
DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES OF RARID MISSIONARIES
a. The Birth of Scripture Union Nigeria Missions Department (JANUARY – MARCH, 2013):
Scripture Union Nigeria started the Missions Department as a A) MINA MISSION'S FIELD: Mr. Innocent Anula-Missionary.
response to the strong wave of Missions organizations striving to
reach all the unreached people groups in the country. Several t
Pilgrims/Youths Fellowship Groups: Youths Fellowship at
missions' awareness campaigns and sensitization of churches and Rhema Calvary College, Minna with a membership
Christian organizations were very high in the late 1970s. Scripture numbering up to 14 persons.
Union Nigeria was invited as one of the foremost mission's
agencies to a Missions Conference in 1979 at Ilorin in Kwara State. t
Moral Instruction/School Fellowship: The Missionary conducts
The Senior Staff Conference of January 1991 was strategically moral instruction and school fellowship in four schools.
planned to focus on Missions and there were several paper t rd
Visit to Parents: On 3 March, the Missionary visited five
presentations looking at our work with the perspective of parents of the youths attending our youth fellowship.
Missions. The discussions were articulated and the General
Secretary made a presentation to the National EXCO seeking the t
Nursery/Primary School Fellowship: The wife to the Missionary
8 9
th
on 15 March, 2013 conducted moral instruction at Hope D) SOOT MISSION'S FIELD: Mr. Joseph Nabila covers this
Comprehensive Nursery & Primary School. field.
B) KADUNA MISSION'S FIELD: The Missionary is Mr. Daniel t
Bible Reading Promotion: Total Child Secondary School,
Emeteole. Soot for BRP.
t th th
Retreat with Staff of a School: On 7 – 8 January, 2013 at t
Leadership Retreat: The Missionary held leadership retreats
Divine Providence School. in Manawa Group.
t th
Establishment of a New Pilgrim Group: On 20 January, Letters to Churches: On 17th& 24th January, 2013 Bro. Joe
t
2013: Goni Gora Pilgrims Group took off. circulated letters to Churches to have audience with their
leaders to share Scripture Union vision with them.
New School Fellowship: On 1st February, 2013 a new School
t
fellowship started at Divine Providence School, Goni Gora. t
Bible Study: The Bible Study once a week in one branch of
Redeemed Christian Church of God in Soot using our Bible
t
Youth Fellowship: This is ongoing in Ungwa Romi, New Study outline.
Extension & Ungwa Pama in Kaduna.
th
Visit to a Principal: On 25 March, Brother Joe visited the
t
Discipleship Class for Teachers: This holds twice each Principal of Royal Comprehensive Secondary School, Sokoto: he
month for teachers of Shammah Academy & Queency adopted Daily Power as his School's Morning Devotional Note.
International School, Kaduna.
Meeting with New Prefects: On 15thMarch, Missionary met
t
with the new Prefects of Queency School Kaduna. 2. B C OKORO'S REPORT AS CHAIRMAN OF MISSIONS
ST TH
BOARD 1 – 4 MARCH, 2012.
A Weekend Crusade: Between 28th February and 3rd March,
t
crusade in Ungwa Romi Group with a total of 59 adults and 42 2.1. MISSIONS AWARENESS DURING 2011 EASTER
children. Two adults gave their lives to Christ. CONFERENCE IN AREAS:
Missions Awareness for 2011 took place in 35 Areas of the Union,
C) JALINGO MISSION'S FIELD: Missionary: Pastor 21st – 25th April, 2011. Reports from six Regions show that various
Cosmos Michael amounts of money were raised for missions work while a total of
th th 20 persons volunteered to be involved in missions work in which a
t
Maiha Group: The Missionary visited.On 4 – 6 March sister volunteered for a full-time missionary work in Afikpo Area.
2013, with 15 persons in attendance. Outreaches were also held during the Easter weekend with Owerri
Adult Education: From 22nd February, 2013 Pastor Mike began
t Area recording 76 new converts in their own outreach.
to organize adult education classes for a pilgrim with his family.
10 11
2.2. MISSIONS OUTREACHES IN SOME REGIONS: eight delegates from Scripture Union Gabon along with those from
Missions' outreaches were organized by our formations where new Cameroon. A total of 22 persons from Cameroon and eight others
converts and new groups were planted. In Akure Region, 15 new from Gabon were trained. The HOD and the GD discussed with the
converts were made and two new groups established in two eight delegates from Gabon in the company of the Chairman and
separate outreaches. Okigwe Region planted seven new groups the Director, Central West Sub-Region of Scripture Union Africa.
and made 202 new converts during various outreaches by her
Areas. A total of 36 new converts were made during outreaches by The summary above is an eye-bird's view of the activities of few field
Aguata, Nnewi and Onitsha Areas of Onitsha Region between missionaries in some parts of Northern Nigeria in 2013, and
March and June, 2011. Enugu Area made 216 new converts, Missions activities in the other parts of Nigeria through the Missions
revived four old groups and started one new group from 25th July to Department in 2011. The activities capture Scripture Union Nigeria
nd Missions to the world of children, Mission to the world of Young
22 August, 2011. Between November and December, 2011
People and Mission to the Adults. If this kind of missions work
Owerri, Aba and Ohafia Areas of Okigwe Region made a total of
continues for a period of 10 years consecutively, will a great revival
314 new converts and planted three new groups in different
not burst forth? There are a lot of Missions activities running
outreaches they carried out. Onitsha Region also made a total of 96
concurrently in the 10 Regions captured in a snap by the second part
new converts and planted three new groups during outreaches held
of these reports. What on earth is happening to all these activities and
by Awka, Nnewi and Onitsha Areas between October and
the impacts being reported on an annual basis and much more that are
December, 2011.
beyond capture for the reports? Is there a drain pipe somewhere
2.3. MISSIONS TRAINING IN ENUGU REGION: swallowing all these? Can all these activities and their impact be so
A total of 106 people participated in a training on missions held on 7th easily buried in the society, unnoticed in the larger society? Why is it
May, 2011 by Enugu Regional Missions and Bible Use Committee. that such intensive evangelism is going on steadily and the abiding
The participants included Area Missions Co-ordinators, Zonal fruits is like a mirage? Something must be wrong technically with the
Evangelism Co-ordinators, Area & Zonal Missions Teams, Field follow up and discipleship of the converts and mobilized volunteers.
Missionaries and Group Evangelism Teams.
A. SCRIPTURE UNION NIGERIA AS MISSONS WORK
2.4. MEDICAL MISSIONS OUTREACHES IN ENUGU AMONG CHILDREN YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS
REGION:
IS IT ENDURING MISSION
Enugu, Ngwo and Nsukka Areas of Enugu Region held medical
Scripture Union Nigeria has developed and created several
missions outreaches between 11th and 21st August, 2011 departments apart from the Missions Department. Prominent
respectively with a total of 295 persons benefitting from the among these departments because of their position and ranking in
exercises. the core areas of Scripture Union Nigeria are: The CHILDREN
2.5. MISSIONARY TRIP TO CAMEROON: DEPARTMENT, THE SCHOOLS DEPARTMENT, SCRIPTURE
Our Head of Department was in Cameroon with the General UNION CAMPUS FELLOWSHIP(SUCF) DEPARTMENT,
Director on 14th – 18th August, 2011 to train and discuss with the AND THE PILGRIMS(ADULT)DEPARTMENT.
12 13
These departments train and mobilise and army of volunteers who B.. MENTORING
specialize in promoting and running several programmes and
activities, supervised by committees and staff at different 1. Definition.
hierarchies and levels, equipped with resources to evangelise and The dictionary defines a mentor as: “an experienced person who
disciple people. In each of these departments, there is a form of helps someone who has less experience especially in their job.”
church planting to consolidate the evangelism fruits. There are A MENTOR is the person who plays the lead role in assisting the
children Bible Clubs and the Primary Schools for the CHILDREN mentoring process. The person who is assisted through mentoring
MINISTRY, there are Secondary School Groups spread across the is usually described as the MENTEE.
States and Local Governments, for the SCHOOLS
DEPARTMENT, there are Campus Fellowships and there are “Mentoring is the process by which one person assists another
Pilgrims Groups for the PILGRIMS DEPARTMENT. Each of person to DEVELOP and LEARN in a safe and sympathetic
these departments have several literature materials and manuals relationship.”
developed and circulated annually. They all have several Mentoring is a PROTECTED RELATIONSHIP in which
workshops, seminars and training programmes, as well as several experimentation, exchange and learning can occur between the
programmes - annual camping and conferences, outreaches, etc. mentee and the mentor. The skills, knowledge and insight of both
If the song we sing most of the time is: no manpower, no school the mentee and the mentor can be developed in a positive way
visitors, no funds, poor attendance to meetings, programmes, etc; through the relationship. Through a one-to-one relationship, the
do we really have an ENDURING MISSIONS as an organization? mentor supports and encourages the mentee to develop, learn and
It is good that we are looking back to see ahead more clearly. We achieve objectives set by the mentee. The relationship is non-
must take a drastic decision to find a way to actualize an judgmental, operating within agreed boundaries of confidentiality
ENDURING MISSIONS as a ministry and as departments. I and within an agreed time frame.
believe that the key to an ENDURING MISSIONS IS Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more
MENTORING. The fish is one of those animals that produce their knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less
young ones-fingerlings massively. Only small percentages mature knowledgeable person.
into adult fish. Most of them are consumed by other organisms and
themselves. If we adopt or adapt MENTORING into our ministry, The mentor may be older or younger than the person being
we shall achieve a more enduring mission than we have done in the mentored, but he or she must have a certain area of expertise. It is a
last five decades. We have been mentoring people but it has been learning and development partnership between someone with vast
whoever wills. experience and someone who wants to learn. Interaction with an
expert may also be necessary to gain proficiency with /cultural
tools.
Mentoring is a process that always involves communication and is
relationship based.
14 15
Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge opportunities of ministry in different areas of Christian service in
, social capital, and the psycho-social support perceived by the many parts of the country.
recipient as relevant to work , career, or professional development:
mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face Mentors can also be identified as several highly experienced
and during a sustained period of time , between a person who is Pilgrims who have served and are still serving in one capacity or
perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or the other in the ministry, both staff and volunteers, and who are
experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have loaded with vast knowledge and experience of SU work, but are
less(the protege) underutilized, considering their resourcefulness. There are so
many such people who are just aging away because SU Nigeria has
What to expect from your mentor not provided the structure for them to fit into the work adequately.
a. Offer an outside perspective on both you and your business Mentors are several SUCF men and women who were very vibrant
b. Listen confidently to the things that are worrying you. youths and who made immense contributions to the work in their
c. Help you by sharing their own experience of both failure and generation. Since they graduated from the higher institutions, they
success have disappeared into the large complex society with their wealth
d. Give friendly unbiased support of knowledge and experience.
e. Provide honest and constructive feedback Mentors are young and highly committed school leavers in our
f. Be a sounding board for ideas secondary schools ministry. Scripture Union Nigeria has invested
g. Help you with your decision making by suggesting alternatives heavily on them in terms of training, seminars, workshops,
based on personal experience conferences, camping programmes, etc. Most of these people
h. Provide contacts and networks to further your personal and know and love SU. But SU has acted “out of sight is out of mind”
business development towards them. But they are experienced people in SU ministry and
work who can help a lot of people with less experience of SU work.
I. Provide ongoing support and encouragement. Mentoring is the process by which one person(any of these
mentors) assists another person (several other young converts, less
3. MEANING/RELEVANCE OF MENTORS AND experienced staff and volunteers and new leaders) to DEVELOP
MENTORING TO SCRIPTURE UNION NIGERIA and LEARN in a safe and sympathetic relationship.
Mentors can be identified in Scripture Union Nigeria as the army Discipleship and Mentoring
of voluntary workers who have held several positions of As developed as our discipleship tools and structures are, they
leadership, who have rendered service, who have retired from have not been able to develop us and our work into an enduring
Council and other committees at different levels. Some of these mission's agency. Mentoring shall enhance our discipleship by
have retired or relocated or have disappeared into churches and utilizing most of our resourceful materials and it may replace it as
several other organizations and have found acceptance and well.
16 17
Why Mentoring? 'chemistry' between the mentee and the mentor. Three elements
Traditionally, capacity building and organizational development are necessary for success in the mentoring relationship:
have been built around one-off interventions, typically training HONESTY, RAPPORT and CONFIDENTIALITY. Above
workshops. This approach has led to little or limited lasting all, there needs to be clarity on the purpose of the mentoring.
change either for individuals or for organizations. In part, this is
due to the lack of opportunities provided within these interventions It is important to clarify and agree on the basic principles that will
for individuals to apply their learning within a safe environment underpin the mentoring process. These include the following:
where it is acceptable to fail, and to learn from failure. It is also due 1. The mentee, the mentee's line manager, and the mentor must
to the lack of focus within these interventions on the 'real' problems understand and agree to the PURPOSE OF THE
that individuals have to 'solve' in their organizations. Mentoring MENTORING.
seeks to provide a safe and supportive environment in which
individuals can learn and apply their learning to the problems they 2. The mentee, the mentee's line manager, and the mentor must
face in their organizations. understand the MENTORING PROCESS.
Much of our training and organizational development have been 3. The mentee and the mentor must be adequately PREPARED
built up into the pattern described above in Scripture Union FOR, and SUPPORTED THROUGH, the mentoring
Nigeria. Some training programmes are just a brush up of old notes process.
and are not adequately planned ahead. Over several years, the 4. The mentee, the mentee's line manager, and the mentor must
training event is not evaluated among staff and the volunteers at all understand and agree on the level of CONFIDENTIALITY
levels. Are these trainings developed to provide opportunities required within the mentoring process.
within the system? If mentoring was developed along the line we
would not cease to have an ENDURING MISSIONS. There would 5. The mentee, the mentee's line manager, and the mentor must
have been more synergy among both mentors and mentees. understand and agree on the purpose of any
INFORMATION collected or produced during the
Mentoring is an increasingly becoming a popular concept and it is mentoring process. The mentee must have access to any
commonly used to support professional development in education, notes made by the mentor.
business and health. Development agencies have also recognized
the value of mentoring to strengthen and support capacity building 6. The mentee and the mentor should regularly REVIEW the
and organizational development. I believe that Scripture Union mentoring process.
Nigeria is taking a bold step to see how mentoring is key to an
enduring missions 7. The mentee and the mentor should create and agree on a
SCHEDULE AND TIME FRAME for the frequency of
It is critical to the success of mentoring that the mentee and the face-to-face meetings and e-mail contact.
mentor have a shared understanding of the expectations and
objectives of the mentoring process. Much depends on the
18 19
What Do Mentors Do? Peer mentors appear mainly in secondary schools where students
Mentors offer five key support roles to mentees: moving up from primary schools may need assistance in settling in
to the new schedule and lifestyle of secondary school life, however
1. LISTENING / COUNSELLING: helping the mentee explore peer mentoring can occur at the grade school level, the
the consequences of potential decisions. undergraduate level, and the graduate school level. The goals of
2. COACHING: showing the mentee how to do a particular task. the program may vary according to the level, the educational
institution or the discipline.[8]
3. FACILITATOR: creating opportunities for the mentee to use
new skills. Peer mentors in secondary schools aid in the transition of younger
[9]
students from primary school to secondary school. They may
4. NETWORKING: by referring the mentee on to other people assist mentees with their school work and study skills, peer
who can help the mentee achieve her / his goals. pressure (such as pressure to use drugs or have sex), issues with
5. BEING INTERESTED: arguably this is the most important attendance and behavior, and typical family problems.[10] Youth
role that a mentor plays! mentors are persons for children or adolescents to spend time with,
often to compensate for absent family members or an inadequate
[11]
home environment. Mentoring programs for youth can be
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia especially useful for students who are suffering from a lack of
Peer mentoring is a form of mentorship that usually takes place social support, and who therefore may be susceptible to
between a person who has lived through a specific experience delinquency.
(Peer Mentor) and a person who is new to that experience (the Peer I. CONCLUSION: Mentoring is not new to Scripture Union
Mentee). An example would be an experienced student being a Nigeria. We have been involved in mentoring and the impact is
Peer Mentor to a new student, the Peer Mentee, in a particular manifestly outstanding and the products are unique. But such
subject, or in a new school. Peer Mentors are also used for health mentoring has been at individual and voluntary levels and not
and lifestyle changes. For example, clients, or patients, with taken as a major tool to drive home our discipleship. We need to
support from peers, may have one-on-one sessions that meet adopt mentoring as an organization and develop its utility across
regularly to help them recover or rehabilitate. Peer Mentoring all our work at all levels. We shall find it to be a major key to an
provides individuals who have suffered from a specific life ENDURING MISSIONS in the organization.
experience the chance to learn from those who have recovered, or
rehabilitated, following such an experience. Peer Mentors provide
education, recreation and support opportunities to individuals. The
Peer Mentor may challenge the Mentee with new ideas, and
encourage the Mentee to move beyond the things that are most
comfortable. Most peer mentors are picked for their
sensibility,confidence, social skills and reliability.[1]
20 21
Theme: The Ancient Paths
experience they never had and would have performed far more
than they did if they had Him living in them.
Chapter Two
CONCEPT OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE
A Christian is a person who has willingly surrendered his/her life to
Christ, and resolved to follow and live on earth as He did; they are
persons who have lost themselves in Christ so, always reflect both
his Person and glory. Service is “Work done by one person or group
that benefits another; an act of help or assistance; the act of public
Christian Service in worship following prescribed rules.” (Advanced English
Contemporary Society Dictionary) Christian service is therefore an act of help rendered
by a person under the Lordship and mandate of Christ. A society
Num.4:1-33; 1 Chron.6:31; 28:20-21; Ezra 6:18;
has been defined as “An extended social group having a distinctive
John 12:26;Rom.12:1; 15:31; Eph.6:7.
cultural and economic organization; a formal association of people
(Read & extract principles to guide discussion.)
with similar interest.” A contemporary society refers to the
different social formations existing at the same time as we; that is,
Written by
various groups of persons living in our time that we may have some
Bro Kiki Briggs
form of contact with and possibly relate with. These may include,
Bro Emeka Orji
but are not limited to, churches, Scripture Union, schools, our
Pst Emma Adebayo
communities (both where we live and where we were born into),
market places, and our polity. God sends His children on errands to
one or other of His creatures in our time to impact/improve their
INTRODUCTION lives or living. This is Christian service in contemporary society.
O ur theme constraints us to remember and consider some

persons like us, who believed in, walked with and served
God in their own societies. Adam was placed in Eden to
keep; Joseph served God in Egypt creditably; Daniel was
renowned in Babylon for his service; King David was exceptional
CONTENTS OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE
God is usually specific in purpose when He sends His agents on
assignment. He has well-defined tasks He assigns. These
constitute the contents of Christian service; they vary almost
always with prospective beneficiaries. Before delving into
in serving God in his own generation even as the Bible testified of content, we will consider forms of Christian service. By this we
these past lovers of God. We must not do less but more because, the mean, will the service be free of payment or to be paid for; is the
glory of the latter house shall be greater (Haggai 2:9). Also service for Christians or the world; is it spiritual, economic, social,
because, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (John 14:12) – an intellectual, political or what? It is necessary to identify the exact
22 23
nature of the service and the target audience. acceptability or otherwise of service rendered. God looks beyond
successful completion; He considers the timing, methodology,
Content wise, Christian service may be practical, theoretical or men and materials used. Broadly, there are attributes to avoid and
even advocacy. By practical Christian service we are talking about those to strive to possess. Here are a few: zeal, focus, patience,
visible and often tangible things/actions done or given. Sweeping doggedness, caring attitude, add the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians
your church or SU fellowship centre is Christian service; doing 5:22ff. Traits to avoid include: flippancy, disrespect, laziness,
chores for your pastor's family, if led by God, is Christian service. procrastination, fear, and the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:18-
But Christian service may be a verbal contribution made or advice 21. How does each affect service? What are the things that produce
given; it could be exhortation or admonition. Christian service can them in man? What must we do hereafter?
also be pleading the case of the less privileged, vulnerable,
victimized, oppressed etc. Whether or not it is risky, it is a divine CRITERIA OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE IN CONTEMPORARY
assignment that must be prosecuted. SOCIETY.
Christian service in society must be guided closely with Scriptures
PURPOSE OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE IN CONTEMPORARY and the leading of the Holy Spirit. They fall into two broad
SOCIETY categories: guidelines to rendering service and how to embark
Every assignment of God has a purpose; it is our duty to discover (begin, continue, and finish). List and discuss some. The place of
the divine intent. The purpose may be to please God, to do/fulfill the Holy Spirit in determining details is critical. He may demand
ministry, meet needs, solve problems or some other. But it is different approaches, means, or partners in different situations.
essential to know and have in focus the very divine purpose for a Give some examples from Scriptures to buttress the above.
service. Among all else, it will keep you going, and help you to
'finish strong.’ C H A L L E N G E S O F C H R I S T I A N S E RV I C E I N
CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY.
PLACE OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE IN CONTEMPORARY Serving God is great and good but often with some challenges.
SOCIETY How well we handle the challenges will determine how far we go
We'll discuss “Place” as where to render Christian service in and whether He accepts our service or not. Ensure you don't get
contemporary society since we have treated “purpose” previously. into trouble with God because of service. Consider these: giving
As said earlier, service unto God may be in our churches (your own more time to God's work than God, compromise, discouragement,
denomination or another), our home community or the community seeking to 'leak fingers', low/poor spiritual input, projecting self
where we live, at our business place or Scripture Union. What is rather than Christ etc.
vital is to identify and stay where He sends. Be careful not to want
to serve where you wish or are drawn to. Will God reward service CONCLUSION
done where He didn't send us? Endeavor to toe the path of success and divine commendation,
holding on to the end, serving God's purpose for which the
PERSONS FOR SUCCESS IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE believers of old were known. Keep close to God as you both work
The personality of God's servant matters much and determines for/with Him. Do only as He bids you!
24 25
wonder and challenge to every successive adult generations. Every

adult generation sees it's adolescent as lacking in quality of
character as compared to their own time as young people. The truth
Chapter Three of the matter is that adolescents have their uniqueness irrespective
of wrong signals of their persons to those who have passed that
stage in life. Even our Lord Jesus Christ though sinless in His days
on earth was misunderstood by his parents during his adolescent
period (Luke 2:41-49).
It is therefore important that parents, care-givers and even young
Adolescent Psychology and adults themselves understand these psychological and
physiological traits around the adolescent. This will make for
Physiological Development: better all round human development of the young adults.
Its Impact on Parenting and Christian
B. ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGICALAND PHYSIOLOGICAL
Expressions DEVELOPMENT STAGESAND TRAITS
Adolescence is derived from Latin 'adolescere', meaning 'to grow
Written by up'. It is a transitional stage of physical and psychological
Liveth Aderibigbe development that generally occurs during the period from puberty
Rev Chijoke Joseph to legal adulthood. Three distinct stages can be identified in the
Engr. Loveday Nwafor psychological development of the adolescent, even though there is
a great deal of overlap in the stages, and they may not occur during
the age span indicated.
A. INTRODUCTION (i) Early adolescence (ages 11-13): This period begins with
a bursting of biological changes that can evoke at the same time
T he adolescent period is special time in life for so many

reasons. It is a period of so many developments and
transformations in an individual life. This series of changes
occurs in rapid sequence and generally touches every aspect of the
individual. This transformation occurs in every growing child
feelings of anxiety, surprise and delights. In both sexes, there is
rapid growth especially in the limbs, a change in body proportions
(boys widen in the shoulders and develop thicker muscles; girls
expand in the hips and develop breast) . A need for new emotional
adjustments comes with the beginning of female menstruation and
though at different rates. As beautiful and important as these the occurrence of erections in males. These physical changes come
changes are, it comes with its confusions, misunderstandings and with social and psychological implications; awkward feelings,
great challenges for the emerging teen, parents/ caregivers and self-conscious and dissatisfaction with ones appearance. The
general community. Adolescents indeed has always been a development usually centres on developing a new self-image due
26 27
to their physiological changes. They start building an identity and of trying his/her hand on making decision and standing out alone.
trying to exert themselves to it. It is like the weaning of a sucking child from the mother's breast.
They start this seeking for autonomy right from little things of
(ii) Mid-Adolescence (ages 14-15): Physical changes are limiting their accompanying parents to a function, to bigger issues
lower here. At this stage they strive to loosen their ties to their of career choice and etc. This trait makes them always accuse
parents. Their emotions and intellectual capacities increase. The adults/ parents of treating them like a baby. What young people
adolescent becomes adventuresome, and experiments with want or think they can handle often differs from what parents are
different ideas. This plays an important role in finding one's willing or think it wise to give.
relations to oneself, groups, and opposite sex. During this time, the
adolescent battles over his own set of values versus the set (ii) Identity Formation: Closely linked to increased
established by parents and other adult figures and institutions. The independence is the issue of having their own identity as different
adolescent also begins to take on more control of educational and from that of their parents. At this junction they start questioning
vocational pursuits. It is during this time that adolescents' self- beliefs and values passed on to them especially by people in
dependence and a sense of responsibility become apparent, along authority over their life. This can be embarrassing to Christian
with their quest to contribute to society and find their place in it. parents, but should be seen as a process of clarifying and
personally accepting of basic truth.
(iii) Late adolescence (ages range from age 16 on): Here
adolescents have a more stable sense of their identity and place in (iii) Intellectualism: Adolescence is also a time for rapid
society. At this stage in life they should feel psychologically cognitive development.It is a stage of life in which the individual's
integrated and should have a fairly consistent view of the outside thoughts start taking more of an abstract form and the
world. Adolescent should, by this time, have established a balance inconsiderate thoughts decrease. This allows the individual to
between their aspirations, fantasies, and reality. At the conclusion think and reason in a wider perspective. Biological changes in
of late adolescence they should have had designed or discovered brain structure and connectivity within the brain interact with
their role in society, have set a realistic goal in life, and have begun increased experience, knowledge, and changing social demands to
in earnest to achieve it. produce rapid cognitive growth. Adolescents' thinking is less
bound to concrete events than that of children: they can
C. GENERAL FEATURE OF ADOLESCENTS contemplate possibilities outside the realm of what currently
Adolescents are marked out by some peculiar characteristics. exists. It also makes adolescents more skilled debaters, as they can
These characteristics are not bad but are what mark them out reason against a friend's or parent's assumptions. This also permits
special from other age groups. It is important to understand their the application of advanced reasoning and logical processes to
natural peculiarity in view of helping them to achieve the best in social and ideological matters such as interpersonal relationships,
life. Let us have a look at five (5) of these traits;` politics, philosophy, religion, morality, friendship, faith, fairness,
and honesty. This is why it is important to reason issues with them
(i) Increasing Independence: This is a process of an adult rather than just giving them instructions.
evolving out of a growing child. The adolescent begins a journey
28 29
(iv) Relating more with Peers: Peer groups are essential to the young adult; life is good with a lot of unending discoveries of
their social and general development. Communication with peers self and good things life has to offer. This made the writer to extort
increases significantly during adolescence and peer relationships them to remember their creator at this crucial exciting and
become more intense than in other stages and more influential bubbling season of life, before the days of trouble come later in
them, affecting both the decisions and choices being made. The life.
drive for affiliation and acceptance at this stage makes adolescents
more open to peer influence and also tends to promote the rapid b. Strong: Another key phenomenon of adolescent stage is high
development of new relationships—with less time spent on energy level. Apostle John in 1John2:14 firmly exerted that young
negotiation of the basis for the friendship than at other stages of people are strong set of people. This capacity is exhibited in both
life. High quality friendships may enhance teen's development. their will and physical power. This made the Psalmist in Psalms
This should be a prayer point for parents and youth workers. 127:4 to collaborate that they are like arrows in the hands of a
Adolescents also associate with friends of the opposite sex much warrior. This implies that when well understood and properly
more than in childhood and tend to identify with larger groups of channeled, they can be used to achieve great things.
peers based on shared characteristics. c. Visionary: Prophet Joel in his categorization of divers'
(v) Puberty: This is the process of sexual development that manifestations of outpouring of the God's spirit upon different
ushers children into adolescents capable of reproducing sexually. sets of people in Joel Chapter 2: 28 noted that the grace to be
This development is facilitated through the production of some visionary shall come upon the young 'men'. Of course, the 'men' is
natural hormones in the body that stimulates them sexually and used in generally sense to include both genders. They exhibit high
initiates the development of sexual reproductive organs. This hopes with little or no impossibilities seen.
makes the period both stressful for the adolescent as well as the
parents. It marks the beginning of sexual fantasy and imaginations. E. DEMANDS OF THIS UNDERSTANDING ON
PARENTING AND CHRISTIAN UP-BRINGING: At one
D. BIBLICAL VIEWS ABOUT ADOLESCENTS point or another all parents fear that they are not connecting with
their adolescents as well as they want to. You might start to worry
In as much as the word 'adolescent' did not occur in the scriptures, that you don't know them as well as you should. So what can we
other words like, youths, young men were often used to highlight do? How can we influence our teens and help them to develop
their special characteristics. The following are some of the insights healthy identities as young men and women, as individuals who
from scriptures about the adolescent stage in life; have unique personalities, talents and gifts given to them by God?
How can we help our teens to turn their natural inclination to
a. Adventurous: King Solomon in his writing in Ecclesiastes challenge authority towards challenging the peer culture and the
Chapter 12 from verses 1-2 described this youthful stage in life as a unhealthy images of sexuality presented by the media today? This
period of great pleasure and excitement in life. The enthusiasm should be our challenge today as parents and Christian youth
level is quiet high with strong passion for life. It is a period when to workers. Discussed below are some ways we can respond
30 31
appropriately to challenges of adolescent in view of helping them f. Strong desire to stay connected with adolescents no matter the
to express the Christian faith; ups and down around them. It is important to care about them and
what goes on around them. We must demonstrate Christ
a. Starting early to model them right from childhood to accept unconditional kind of love for them.
Christ and follow His precept for living. This is key bedrock for
adjusting positively to challenges of growing up. It is not just g. Provide a safe haven in your home/youth group and your
taking or having them in church programmes but personally relationship where adolescent can ask questions, and learn about
making deliberate efforts to lead them to Christ on a one on one healthy sexuality and the beauty of sex within the covenanted
level. relationship of marriage. Allow your teen to ask questions and to
talk about the pressures they face as they develop their identity. Let
b. As parents and Care-givers, we must realize that our influence him or her know that the changes they are experiencing are normal,
relies heavily on the relationship that we have built and continue to while at the same time letting them know the boundaries for
build with our children throughout childhood and adolescence. healthy sexuality that God has provided for believers. Discuss with
c. Our influence also relies on our understanding and empathy your adolescent the ways in which the prevailing culture has
for the challenges that they are facing. The most significant fact a become deceived about healthy sexuality. Remember that your
teen needs to know is that they are valued and loved by the youth's teen will likely encounter many messages about sexuality from the
closest loved ones. media, his or her peers, and the surrounding culture. If you do not
talk about these issues, your teenagers knowledge about sexuality
d. As parents, we can understand many of our teen's emotions by will be more influenced by the surrounding culture than by you and
looking back at our own adolescences. At the same time, your Christian values, ideals, and expectations. The information
understand that technology, media, and peer culture have changed. and support that your adolescent will need will not come from a
Today's teens are facing pressures and challenges to his or her single “talk” about sex, but from a strong relationship with you and
behavior and identity in Christ that is quite different from past knowing that he or she can talk to you across time as new situations
generation.This knowledge should propel us to pray more for them arise.
and hold on to them in loving firm relationship.
h. Adolescent will also benefit from the safety of appropriate
e. We must deal with our own pride over the adolescent isolating boundaries, responsibilities, privileges /consequences that parents
themselves from us. The pride you feel as you watch your and youth group coordinators provide. We cannot shy away from
youngster become independent can be countered by a sense of setting of appropriate boundaries for our adolescents. Examples of
displacement. As much as you may accept intellectually that these boundaries are TV channels that are not appropriate. Time
withdrawing from one's parents is an integral part of growing up, it when all must come in and etc. These boundaries must be
hurts when the child who used to beg to join you on errands now discussed lovingly and firmly with them. Of course, we must
rarely consents to being seen in public with you. We need to accept continue to make room for offenders and continue to emphasis the
and adjust properly to their seemly isolation from us without boundaries.
taking it hard on the adolescent or ourselves.
32 33
i. Take an Interest in their Interests (example their football club). negative barrier in getting our young adults to express their
Sometimes just talking doesn't work. They may have built their Christian faith in an appropriate ways.
guard up too high to realize that you just want to help them. In this
case it may be a good idea to consider doing something else CONCLUSION
together. They may still try to shut you out sometimes, but The adolescent's journey from childhood to adulthood is not an
eventually you will find something to do together, and this will easy one because of both inherent characteristic of this stage of life
give you an access into their world. and the fast negative changing world around us. Despite all these
challenges, God sees this category of people as strong and mighty
j. Invite them into your World: Get them involved in a friendly arrows in the hands of skilled men and women who can navigate
note in some of the things you enjoy doing. A balance must be them properly. It is therefore our call and responsibility as parents
found between parenting and friendship. We need our adolescents and Christian youth workers to brace our hearts strengthen our
to trust us enough to tell us about the things going on around them knees and co-labour with God in maximizing our adolescents'
but also to feel safe enough to seek true guidance. Taking them to inherent qualities to advance the work of Christ in our world today.
office during their vacation time for light work or for a walk may be They are our sharp arrows. Let us harness them.
a good activity.
k. Do not get discouraged, adolescents can be difficult. It may
seem that no matter how much one try, there is still a gap in REFERENCE
communication. Do not give up. They know what you are trying to Gary R. Collins : Christian Counselling A Comprehensive Guide;
do, and on some level, they appreciate it, even if they do not make it Thomas Nelson Press. 2007.
obvious right now. If nothing else, they will at least think of you
when they face any struggles and remember that at least one person Holy Bible : New International Version.
cares for them. Sometimes that's enough. Jori Reijonen: Adolescent Sexuality and Finding Identity in Christ;
l. Providing your adolescents with a healthier peer culture Cornerstone Christian Counselling in Kalamazoo Michigan 2019.
through, for example, our church youth programs, small groups, Sam and Rhoda Udanyi: Understanding yourself as a Teenager or
ministry and missions opportunities, can help. Adolescents seem Adolescent; FCS Jos Nigeria.
to be “hard-wired” to need other teens and to develop social
relationships. If that teen culture embraces Christ and Biblical
values for sexuality and other important issues, your teen will be
better equipped to handle the pressure of our prevailing culture.
m. All aspect of these measures above should be initiated and
backed with prayers and faith; for we wrestle not against flesh and
blood. Through God we shall be enabled to pull down every
34 35
I. THE MEANING OF FAITH

The Christian journey is a faith walk. Apostle Paul calls it the
Chapter Four “good fight of Faith” (1 Timothy 6:12).In 2 Corinthians 5:7 Paul
explains that “we walk by faith, not by sight.”In 1Timothy 1:4 we
are told that God's work is done by faith. Without faith it is
impossible to please God (Heb.11:6). The book of Romans 1:17
insists that “the just (righteous) shall live by faith.”
Faith is believers' potent weapon for spiritual battles. There is a
mention of SHIELD of faith that puts out and quenches the flaming
arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16); and the BREASTPLATE
that protects us from satanic projections and bullets
(1Thessalonians 5:8).
Faith Cometh by Hearing
The author of the book of Hebrews attempts to define faith:
Written by
Rev. Dr. O. C. J. Nmalada & Rev Fidelis Obanozie “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and
certain of what we do not see.” (Heb. 11:1NIV).
Barr Sylvanus Obot
“Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and
gives us proof of what we cannot see”(Heb. 11:1
Contemporary English Version-CEV)
INTRODUCTION
Now faith is an assumption of what is being
A postle Paul in Romans 10:17 writes, “So then faith cometh expected, a conviction concerning matters which
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Our theme are not being observed. (Heb.11:1-Concordant
for 2020 Convention is “The Ancient Path”(Jeremiah Literary Version-CLV).
6:16) and in the quoted Scripture Apostle Paul figuratively calls
Faith produces in people five qualities:
the attention of the Christian public to the age-long fact of
spreading the gospel through vocal evangelism. Our brother Paul wSURENESS-complete absence of doubt,
insists that saving faith is principally transmitted when believers
preach the gospel to sinners in this sin-stained world. Light of wCONFIDENCE-self-assurance that God is trustworthy,
God's Word shines to dispel the darkness of sickness, wickedness, wCERTAINTY-accepting God &His promises as reliable,
corruption, immorality and injustice the moment gospel messages
are boldly preached to the pagans. wPROOF-clear picture of expected goodness of God and
power of God.
36 37
ü CONVICTION-strong mental acceptance of revealed truths the repentant faith. It is this faith which is the condition required or
about God and His promises. needed for salvation. It involves repentance, which is, turning
away from sin and Satan and turning to God through Christ -Act
Faith puts an image of the expected things in your mind as if they 26: 18. It is a way of life to be lived in love, purity and holiness.
have appeared physically. It enables a person to perceive
(regard/consider)as a real fact what is not revealed to the senses. (iii) A Spiritual Gift: Faith can be a spiritual gift from Holy Spirit.
You accept as real and true what you have not seen, touched, tasted This is not the same thing as the saving faith but a special, extra-
or smelt. Journalists don't accept what they hear as a fact until after ordinary, unusual measure of trust in the power of God with
eye-witness evidence and testimony. Legal practitioners hear a reference to the specific issues. It is a unique form of faith that goes
case and ask for exhibit (piece of evidence) and eye-witness beyond saving faith. It is actually a gift imparted to a Christian by
account before they can establish a fact. Scientists use the Holy Spirit to accomplish great things for God. 1 Cor. 12:4, 9.
experimentation to establish facts.
This seminar focuses on the saving faith because the beginning,
Christians accept what God tells us in Scripture as facts by exercise continuity and the successful end of Christian life depends wholly
of faith. We, Christians, depend on faith to acknowledge the Bible on faith.
as true and trustworthy. We agree to the written testimony and eye-
witness accounts of human Bible authors who lived many years 2. SOURCES OF FAITH
ago in the Bible times. We admit the content of the Bible by faith Faith comes through:
and believe what is written down as accurate, truthful and factual. (a) Listening to the Word of God
Faith is a positive emotion, a firm opinion, a decision and a So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard
passion. Faith is belief and whole-hearted conviction that God and comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.
His promises are trustworthy and real. Rom.10:17Amplified.
1. TYPES OF FAITH God is the Source of true faith but it (faith) comes through the
Faith has different usages. It can be: instrumentality of hearing of His Word. All who truly believe in
(i) A Religious Group: There are different religious faiths Christ must have first heard the Word of God. Stanley notes that:
e.g. The Islamic Faith, The Bahia Faith, The Christian Faith etc. Everything that we need to know in regard to salvation – what it is,
Faith in this context refers to a group that has a body of religious when we need it, how we can receive it – can be found in God's
beliefs. The Christian faith consists of the New Testament Word. God blesses us when we hear His promises and respond in
revelation proclaimed by Christ Jesus and handed down to His faith to them.
Apostles and proclaimed by them. It is the fixed and unchangeable
or ageless truth inspired by the Holy Spirit, lived and preached by The Almighty God through His only begotten Son , Jesus Christ
Christ Himself and now embodied in the New Testament. reveals Himself through the means of preaching and teaching of
His followers. Faith is based on the Word of God. Faith is not
(ii) Trust in Christ: This is the saving faith which is also called wishful thinking or believing what one knows is not true. It does
38 39
not consist in ignorance but in knowledge –the knowledge of the The conviction of the heroes of faith concerning the unseen divine
Word of God. The Word of God is beneficial only to those who hear realities and their assurance of the coming divine fulfillment is a
it, accept it sincerely, earnestly, lovingly and believingly. “We challenge to all of us believers of our time. In the Book of Hebrews
know these things are true by believing, not by seeing.” 2Cor.5:7 we see rewards of faith in two perspectives.
LB.
Firstly, we experience the rewards of faith which manifest
(b) Prayer physically in victories and major breakthroughs, such victories are
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith [our ability to of all kinds- financial, material, academic, moral etc. Through
confidently trust in God and in His power]” Lk.17:5 Amplified. faith we enjoy abundance of physical or tangible blessings.
Examples abound of people who appropriated the blessings of the
The Apostles realized that they needed the help of the Master to cross and brought them into reality. In words of Wigglesworth,
boost their faith to meet the demands of the Kingdom life style
(unending forgiveness). Faith can be generated, strengthened or There is only one way to all the treasures of God and that is the way
heightened through honest prayer. of faith. If you are living in the earth realm and expect things from
heaven, they will never come.
(c) The Holy Spirit
Now there are [distinctive] varieties of spiritual gifts [special Secondly, faith anticipates rewards that are beyond this life. Some
abilities given by the grace and extraordinary power of the Holy of the heroes of faith suffered in a variety of ways. Some endured
Spirit operating in believers], but it is the same Spirit [who grants great persecutions. They were victorious in indomitable endurance
them and empowers believers].To another [wonder-working] faith or longsuffering. Others experience excruciating, painful and
[is given] by the same [Holy] Spirit…ICor. 12:4, 9 Amplified. shameful treatments even deaths rather than denying their faith.
They accepted death knowing fully well that their faithfulness
This kind of faith is purely a supernatural manifestation operating would attract eternal rewards. The rewards which they chose lie
through a Christian. beyond the grave in a better resurrection and eternal bliss with
3. THE REWARDS OF FAITH God. What happened to some of the biblical heroes of faith must
not be seen as a misfortune that God allowed to befall them. From a
Commenting on the Book of Hebrews which focuses on faith, very limited human point of view it is impossible to understand
Gore opines that: fully the reasons for their sufferings and martyrdom. God operates
The writer has enumerated the Scriptural principle of faith as a way within the much wider perspective of His plan for the ultimate
of life pleasing to God and has expressed the resolution to persist in good of every child of His. Their faith in God had not only stood
it until the full possession of its reward is received. He now the test of time but undoubtedly had helped to bring others to faith
enforces this by many spiritual illustrations showing that, from the in God. They were persuaded of a better, greater, continuing glory.
very beginning and throughout all subsequent history, faith has Matthew Henry notes that “Faith has a clear and strong eye, and
been in God`s sight the one indispensable condition of worth- sees promised mercies at a distance.”
while achievement and hopeful endurance.4
40 41
We should draw encouragement from the lives of heroes faith so Word that confronts us, we can then exhibit zeal and earnest
that we can keep our thoughts and faith firmly fixed on Christ the endeavour in its continual pursuit and appreciate the responsibility
Author and Finisher our faith. The assurance of the love of Christ under which hearing it puts us. That response to the truth is the
and the eternal rewards gives us a strong desire to serve Him basis of receiving further truth. Harry observes that:
faithfully. When the love of Christ grips our hearts, we are
energized to live for Him and to take His love to the people of the A person may know or understand a proposition yet not believe it.
world. God gives us the privilege of proving the reality of Christian To believe is to think with assent. Assent is an act of will: it is the
5
testimony that He delivers from sin, evil and power of darkness voluntary acceptance of the proposition as true.
and that He is truly the Owner of our lives who rewards Only those who continue in God's Word are His real children. To
handsomely. grow and mature in faith we must devote ourselves continually to
4. THE LIFE OF FAITH the hearing and the study of the Word of God which is the only
infallible source of true Christian faith. Hearing God's Word
Faith is not always triumphant according to human understanding. effectively is a major part of the Christian practice. We should
Sometimes it undergoes challenges, hardships, difficulties and develop a craving to hear the life-giving Word of God. We must be
even apparent defeat. To stand steady in apparent defeat is in itself prepared to hear, receive, understand and obey the Word of God.
victory- that is faith in action. That is the way of the cross and we When we willingly change what needs to be changed in our lives
are called to follow in the steps of the Master. All who must walk we get closer to Christ, get more mature as His children and with
with God and please Him must trust Him and consider Him far greater potential to reflect the love of Christ to the people
faithful. Faith does not focus its attention on the same things as the around us. Hayford remarks that:
world does. It is of the essence of faith that it gives the prime place
to the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. The settled The Bible shows us Christ's likeness so that we may measure our
attitude is one of genuine faith not doubt. conduct and character against His and allow God to shape us into
Christ's likeness…God's word is a powerful, cleansing, delivering
6
When we hear the word of God, we can enjoy the blessings God agent.
promises only when we become vitally united to it by means of
response. God does not force anybody to do His will but whatever It is no doubt that the Holy Spirit uses God's Word to awaken a
we choose to do with what we hear is entirely up to us. The Lord response of faith within the recipients of God's Word. We come to
Jesus Christ told His followers: “You know these things – now do saving faith in Christ through the Word of God and on it we rest our
them! That is the path of blessing” John 13:17 (The Living Bible). faith for progress in our spiritual life.
No one can validly object that there has been lack of opportunity to In the words of Hagin Jr,:
hear the word of God. Knowing without doing finds no
commendation anywhere in the teachings of Christ. Here Faith takes what God already has offered us and makes it a reality
emphasis is laid upon the demands which the Word of God heard in our lives…God's past-tense word can only become present tense
makes upon conduct. When we really consider the character of the in our lives as we act upon it. God can't do anything about it until
42 43
we do… The minute you pray for something, it becomes a reality in consequences. We forfeit the blessings of God if we do not exercise
the spirit world. It's your acting in faith that brings it into faith in Him. Wilson aptly says that:
7
manifestation in this natural world.
If in building disciples the teaching does not aim at applying the
The words we hear should be judged and legitimized by the truth to the life so that obedience occurs, people will not grow in
Scripture. The Scripture is forever finished and uniquely binding love and the image of Christ, and so they will not bring glory to
on all mankind. No human words, ideas, opinions or declarations God, but dishonour Him… The Scriptures of Old and New
8
are equal to its authority. There is no suggestion that we should Testaments are filled with emphasis on obedience to God.
blindly submit to our preachers' teachings when they are blatantly
in opposition to the Word of God. We should not allow the Word of Maintaining the pure Christian faith requires the study of God's
God to be weakened by compromising its authority, distorting its Word and a determined effort to know the truth and the teachings of
truth or explaining away its power and promises. Every age has its the Scripture. Our faith requires sincere obedience to God and His
false religious prophets and teachers, ours is not exempted. We Word. Faith gives us the ability to act even in the face of extreme
should guide against the danger of false teachings in both beliefs difficulties and challenges. A writer succinctly penned, “Faith in
and behaviour. Christ warned us to be on alert for false teachings God is dead to doubt, dumb to discouragement and blind to
but even more to make sure that we do not become false teachers impossibilities.”Actually, the life of faith leads to a life of action.
ourselves. We must guard our hearts jealously so that false or Faith in Christ spurs us into action.
heretic teachings will not have a foothold in our lives. An impure One of the main reasons believers easily succumb to deception and
belief will result in an impure lifestyle. Let us maintain the heresies is that they do not know what the Bible teaches on every
integrity of the Word of God which is constantly threatened by issue of life and practice. Many people have an avid interest in the
false teachings. We should always affirm the validity of the faith as signs and wonders instead of the Word of God. Today, we lament or
we received it and as it was originally given. God's Word has are worried by the permissiveness in the Church. An undeniable
unimaginable and awesome power. God's ultimate purpose for us fact is that excessive pre-occupation with material things at the
is to become Christ-like. Christ is our role-model, an ideal expense of reading and hearing the Word of God has made many
example. Being like Him is possible only when, through faith we Christians slip dangerously and negatively down resulting in the
tap into His power and appropriate His grace continually. collapse of moral values and godly living. Stone notices that:
Although it is a privilege to hear the Word of God, read the Word of It is a known fact that devout Jews spent their lives in the study of
God, yet only those who truly keep it as their way and rule of life the Torah and the Oral tradition, drawing knowledge from these
that are blessed. The Lord Jesus Christ declared, “…Happy are books by reading, asking questions, commenting and reading
those who hear the teaching of God and obey it.” again. This explains why the Jewish mind is said to be centered on
Luke11:28(NCV). It is knowing and doing that commend us to education. Many Jews are said to be so studious that while many
Christ and attract His promised blessings. We must not forget that youths in the West are being entertained for an average of seven
lack of faith in the Word of God can lead to disastrous hours a day by television, their Jewish counterparts are studying
44 45
7th National Convention Seminar Papers
9
their ancient text.
CONCLUSION
When we give time to study the Word of God, hear it correctly and Chapter Five
become committed to responsible actions the corresponding
effects will result or will be seen in our lives and in our daily
interactions with the world. Let us therefore rest upon God`s Word
which is unchangeably sure and draw its strength and stability for
our daily living. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if you do
them.”John13:17(KJV). Schools (primary, Secondary and Tertiary)
The Cradle for Outreaches and Nurture
ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION Among Children and Young People
1. What are the practical steps we can take to make our faith
grounded and rooted in Christ? Written by
Rev. G. S. O. Ezeali
2. Apostle Paul endured much difficulty, endless disappointments
Bro Patrick Ogbebor
and severe persecutions with terrible pain, yet he could write with
Bro Ndubuisi Ucheya
rugged truthfulness that we should always rejoice. “Rejoice in the
Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice.” Phil. 4:4. What could be
responsible for this spontaneous outflow of joy?
3. Discuss the various ways we can preserve Christian virtues in
our society.
T here is a saying, if you want a Tailor you go to tailoring
workshop, if you need a mechanic you approach a
mechanic Workshop, if you need cooking materials you
don't go to a tailoring or mechanic Workshop, you enter the
Market. When Eliezer of Damascus went in search of wife for
Isaac, he did not go to a football pitch but to a well of water where
the daughters of the men of the city come to draw water
(Gen.24:13). If you want to reach out to young people or you want
to nurture Children, the best place to reach out to them is in
Schools: primary, Secondary and Tertiary. God in His wisdom laid
this in the heart of our founding fathers.
46 47
Our Aim as a Ministry is working with the churches and other like- their non-denominational character.
minded Ministries, to make God's Good News known to Children,
Young people and families. Our concentration have been in It must be noted also that it was this link with Cambridge that led to
Secondary Schools while collaborating with NIFES/CU for the major advance of Scripture Union into the 'public schools', the
Tertiary Institutions, until Prof. Mbipom's tenure, as National Boarding Schools for boys from middle and upper class families,
Council Chairman, when it became clear that we have to penetrate where most Oxford and Cambridge students at that time were
Tertiary Institutions on our own hence SUCF was born, with Dr educated. As early as 1880 special cards were printed for the Public
Peter Ekwo (now Prof.) as first SUCF Chairman. Also the then Schools Scripture Union. We cannot overemphasize the extent
General Secretary, Rev. Chris Okeke, after attending a conference God can use the young people in our Universities to boast his work.
in South Africa, returned with a daunting challenge for Primary Time will fail us to note how God used George Pilkington, a
School work. We thank God that today our Primary School brilliant Cambridge scholar and an athlete, who was appointed to
Ministry, though under the Children Department, is competing the CSSM staff, to take missions in public schools. His academic
favourably with Secondary Schools work. To God be all the glory. reputation and colourful personality gave him many openings in
Our ministry in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Institutions is the schools, and numbers of boys were converted.
growing and on very sound footing. Worthy of special note is the fact that these Undergraduates also
It must be noted however, that our venture into tertiary Institutions initiated the idea of Camps. Two Cambridge theological students,
is not a new adventure. A key development in the early 1880, noted Stanley Power and C H Clissold, came up with the idea of an
Nigel Sylvester in God's Word in A Young World, was the strong evangelistic Camp for public school boys. The first Universities
link that CSSM forged with the Universities. At Cambridge a Camp for Public School Boys was held at Rustington, near
group of students had formed the Inter Collegiate Christian Union Littlehampton, on the South Coast of England, in August, 1892. 55
(CICCU), out of which the International Fellowship of Boys were present, with John Taylor Smith (later to become bishop
Evangelical Students (IFES) was later to develop. One of the of Sierra Leone) as Chaplain. This Camp was a collaborative effort.
founders of CICCU, W.F.T. Hamilton, helped Spiers at some of the However, we are faced with a very big obstacle, which if not
seaside services one summer. He was so impressed that he asked conquered will either slow down or kill the work. The problem is
one of Spiers' colleagues, Edwin Arrowsmith, to come to that of manpower (Mathew 9:36-38); growing wickedness (Joel
Cambridge to recruit helpers for beach missions. It must be noted 3:9-16) and time.
that the relationship between CICCU and CSSM was symbiotic.
While CICCU provided source of recruiting manpower for seaside Manpower Needs: Like we have noted above, the work has
services, CSSM gave a sense of spiritual responsibility for the boys grown,we operate in more than 700 Primary Schools, 1185
and evangelistic training that had effect on evangelism on Campus. Secondary Schools. We are existing in 157 Tertiary Institutions
It also helped the Universities to maintain absolute allegiance to with Student Population of over 7,648.
the Bible, as manifested by the Scripture Union and in no small Using 2016 Statistics we can see the extent of the growth.
measure enabled the Fellowships in the Universities to maintain
48 49
Students: 148,594 or 63.50% of the ministry population of Society. “The sound of a childless society is deafening”. Most
233,981. economic exploitations are against children.
Youths: 23,875 These young ones, when properly trained and equipped can serve
Children: 29,557 or 12.63% of SU population. like Samson's three hundred lighted Foxes, to penetrate enemy
SUCF: 7,145. territories (Judges 15:4-5). After all is it not the Youths, as seen in
Pilgrims: 24,810. our history above, that caused SU to become an International
Students, Youths, Children and SUCF constitute 89.40% of our Organization. We may be losing a lot in our over reliance on adults,
population i.e. 209,171. let's recruit, train, trust and thrust out these Youths.
We can see from this Statistics that our strength lies in our School Finally, we must heed the Master's instruction to pray the Lord of
Work. If we intensify our effort in this Area then the School Ministry harvest to send laborers into His field – Schools Ministry
will serve as feeder group for our manpower needs, both for our (Matt.9:36-38).
pilgrim and other auxiliary ministries. The SUCF continues to be our Growing Wickedness: We must hasten our outreaches and
main source of recruitment for our Camping Ministry and School nurture among children and young people or the devil will take
Visitation. We must give them all our encouragement and backing. them over. Think of the speed with which young people are joining
We also need to work harder in the area of our relationship with Campus Cults. We now have them in Secondary and Primary
Churches. The Churches remain a veritable source of manpower Schools. Armed banditry is on the increase, children of primary
recruitment for our Secondary and Primary School Ministry. The school age are fast becoming sexually active. Child trafficking,
Pilgrims alone cannot do the work. We need enlarged collaborative harlotry, terrorism,etc. International terrorism has taken a very
effort from the Churches to boast our manpower needs during heightened and frightening dimension. Girls are forced into sex
Camps: to serve as Counsellors, Security, Cooks, Game Masters, slavery while male children are forcefully recruited. They have the
Registrars, Sanitary Officers; while we use our Pilgrims for our throat of recalcitrant ones slit open or butchered like cow. A case in
core ministries like Bible Studies and Plateau Leadership. point is the Dapchi girl, Leah Sharibu denied freedom for refusing
to convert to Islam. Christian girls are being forced into marriage
Also we need to encourage the recruitment of Christian Coppers in in Northern Nigeria, being supported by Emirs and highly placed
collaboration with NCCF. We must hold reception for them during individuals, aided and abetted by Law enforcement agents that are
their orientation. We recruit, train, indoctrinate and use them, paid to protect them. We are told the Chibok girls were married out
though under adult supervision. to different men and we saw some of them returning with babies.
We must intensify our outreach and nurture to Children and Youths
We must take the issue of use of School Leavers very seriously. in Schools at as such a time as this. The killings in Plateau, Agatu,
One of the things the National Council Chairman reported from Taraba, Nibo, etc. is carried out mainly by demonized youths,
Malaysia is: though sponsored and supported by adults. We must reach them
Train the young people so that they can take the Bible into the before the enemy turns them into monsters against the state.
50 51
Time: we must hasten our outreach and nurture of young people in Ø
Sword Drill.
schools with great sense of urgency as we see the return of the Ø
Squash Party.
Master approaching. Time is running out against us (John4:32-35; Ø
Children Christmas Party.
9:4; 12:35). We must therefore work while we have the light,
darkness, thick darkness, is overtaking the world in very alarming Ø
Schools, Children Rallies (Rally Units).
speed. We must hasten up or regret soon. Ø
Bible Study.
Ø
Prayer Meetings/Fellowships.
T H E H O W O F S C H O O L S W O R K A N D VA S T Ø
Children/Primary Schools' Bible Games, Recitation, Bible
OPPORTUNITIES Lessons, Action Songs, Games, puzzles.
These are not very complex issues, we have our traditional Ø
Seminars, Workshops.
programs and activities in Schools and with a little creativity and Ø
Life Skills in Schools.
prayers we can add others. So all we do here is list out different Ø
Dramas.
activities/programs for Outreach and Nurture (Discipleship)
Ø
Outreach to Street Children and the Handicapped.
among students and pupils:
Ø Missions/Outreaches to Schools by Areas or Zones.
Ø Witnessing. CONCLUSION
Ø Praying, planning and mobilizing for revival in Schools. We can add to this list. We must remember that in SU, “every
Ø Follow-up/Discipleship/Mentoring. Pilgrim is a School Visitor”. From the above you can see that we
Ø Camps and Conferences (Multiple Camping: Vocational have all that it takes to
Camp, Life skill Camp, Career Development Camp, Sports Reach and nurture these Children and young people from the
and Games Camp, Leadership Camps, Gender Camping; cradle of Primary, Secondary to Tertiary Institutions. How are
Platoons). you involved, do you commit your time, talent, or resources to this
Ø School Visitation. just course? Do you have any decision to make now?
Ø Christian Teachers' Seminars.
Ø Open Schools Reporting.
Ø Literature Promotion.
Ø Leadership Training Day or Camps.
Ø School Leavers' Day or Forum.
Ø Presidents' Forum.
Ø BRP.
52 53
Scripture Union Nigeria with the gospel message, and deep into
the heart of the world with today's internet and communication
resources- including online E-books?- you can reach places in the
Chapter Six world once considered closed to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As you already know, the world is a hurting place, and people need
instruction, wisdom, encouragement and hope. As ministers of
Scripture Union Nigeria extraction still considered by a good
number of churches as people holding to the sanctity of the word of
God , you have the answers for the world's hurting and confused
people. Not only can your book help a person now, but the written
Changing A Nation: word have lasting power, leaving a legacy that will continue
bearing rich fruit long after your time on earth has passed.
Systematic and Consistent Bible Use
ADVANTAGES FROM YOUR POSITION
Written by As a minister of Scripture Union extraction, you have definite
Pastor John O. Nwaoha advantages over other writers. You've already been called to share
Pastor Kingsley Edozie the Gospel with others, and have made the lifelong commitment to
Bro Cyril Harry Christ and to his ministry. Spreading the Gospel through the
written word is simply a natural progression of your calling and
Ministry. You also have your finger on the pulse of today's men,
women, youth and children. Counseling hurting people in your
Areas and Regions were, no doubt part of your everyday ministry.
And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it
You know firsthand how people today are hurting, their “felt
plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is
needs.”
yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:
though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not Another Advantage? You are already writing. Report writing is a
tarry. Habakk. 2:2-3 major part of your work in the Scripture Union ministry . You have
learned skills beyond the average person employed in vocations
E very book begins with a simple thought that, when written

down, can become an excellent compilation of spiritual
insights and life experiences to make the gospel relevant
for today's world”
that require little writing. You know how to write regularly on
schedule, and in a disciplined manner that meets necessary
deadlines. You are probably a prolific reader, know how to study,
and have a deep understanding of scripture, church history and
When you as a Scripture Union Nigeria leader/ minister, write to pastoral care.
publish Christian books, you can reach out far beyond the walls of
54 55
STEPS TO BEGIN YOUR WRITING MINISTRY WHAT TO DO FROM THERE.
After you make these decisions, if you want to approach a
Why, then, aren't you, as a minister- Whether a pastor, Area traditional producer like SUPB, you will need to write a proposal.
/Regional leader, bible study teacher, children's and/or youth The proposal (usually 30-45 pages in length) answers all the
Director, etc- writing and publishing books? I think the answer is essential questions an editor will need to know for instance; what
simple. You may know how to write well, research, study, preach books are on the markets already that are similar to yours, and how
and teach, but you have questions about writing towards the goal of is your book idea different enough from theirs to warrant
publication. It is one thing to write a sermon, bible study, but it is publication? What platform (influence, personal and professional
quite another to take those words, shape them into a book format groups, online presence, etc) do you have in place that can help
for worldwide readership and approach a publisher with those promote the published book?
ideas. A long confusing bridge spans the chasm between writing
and writing to publish books. How do you start to cross that PUBLISHING OPTIONS
bridge? Here are some suggestions: Expect to hear from the editor if he accepts your book idea, he'll
send you a book publishing contract. Some publishers also pay the
1. Decide What Type of Book Would Best Communicate Your author an advance royalty, sign the contract and return it. Finish
Message: You may prefer to write non-fiction, including personal writing the book and send it to him by the agreed upon
experience, self help, pastoral care, devotional, bible study books, deadline.
etc. Exciting and popular genre both editors and readers love is the
narrative non-fiction book- a true story written to read like a page If you decide to forgo traditional book publishing, you can self-
turner novel. You may already have a wealth of sermons, Bible publish the book. I highly recommend on publisher create space, a
studies, etc. that can be written in a book format or you may want to self-publishing of amazon.com. You can find all the information
express truth in an indirect way through fictional books/novels. you need at create space.com. Self-publishing with create space is
That format works well too. free, and you can buy one, or a thousand copies at a low price.
2. Decide Your Audience Who Most Needs to Hear This BE FOREWARNED
Particular Message? Who exactly are you addressing with this Book writing is hard work! But when you choose to write books,
book? Men, Women, Youth or children? Book editors will expect you will send Christ message far beyond Scripture Union Nigeria
you to target your reading audience so that you will address their walls and into hurting world that needs to hear what you can tell it.
individual needs with specific instructions and wisdom.
3. WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT TO TELL YOUR
TARGETED AUDIENCE? What precisely would your message
do for your reader? How will it help the reader?
56 57
hard to eliminate. The period on campus is a special season for
growth – for study, for developing godly habits, which will last a
lifetime. It is a springboard to lifelong learning.
Chapter Seven
In this discussion, we shall highlight some of the godly patterns
that can help the student reposition their life on campus for
optimum benefit academically and spiritually. These patterns are
to be pursued and practised with commitment.
DEFINITION OF GODLY PATTERN

Pursuit and Practice of Godly Patterns a. A way of doing something
Among Christian Students on Campus God has His own way of doing everything done under the sun.
There are several different ways in which men do their own thing,
Written by but that way ordained by God for carrying out anything is godly
Rev. Dr. E. E. Joshua pattern. The tabernacle built by Moses for God has a clearly spelt
Prof. Emma Okoye out pattern – Exod. 25:40, 26:30, Num.8:4, Acts 7:44, Heb.8:5
Dr Jemima Ogwo b. A Model
A model is an excellent example. It is a person or thing regarded as
an excellent example to copy. God's own model both for living and
service is the Lord Jesus Christ – The Father presented Him thus in
INTRODUCTION His words in Luke 9:35: “And there came a voice out of the cloud,
saying, “This is my beloved son, hear him.” (Matt 3:17, Mk 1:11,
U niversity and College campuses have the uniqueness of

being largely populated by young people from varied
background, who are constantly inundated with various
lifestyles, some of which may be averse to the Christian faith. The
Christian student therefore faces the challenge of living an
2Pet 1:17). He is the only one we are commanded to look unto
(Heb.12:2). It is Christ that God wants us to resemble in every way
(Rom 8:29).
This pattern, therefore, is both the way of life and a personality.
impeccable lifestyle of godliness. It is important to note that life on
campus is real, it is not a retreat from real life. Real faith, real 1. Prioritizing your love for God (Matt. 6:33). This is the first
holiness, real warmth, real relationships, real eternity lie in a godly pattern to pursue and practice. You are to love God with all
balance. What is done on campus definitely affects the trajectory of your heart, and mind and strength (Matt.22:37-38). And, this must
the rest of the student's life and brings consequences that can be be prioritized! All of your studies and intellectual efforts should
58 59
function as a means of inflaming our hearts to love God. God step without God. As an activity, you must seek His guidance and
should be treasured above all other concerns. It is obvious that this empowerment. Psalm 16:11 states that He makes “known to me
sort of love begins at the cross of Christ when the sinner repents of the path of life…” This foundation of prayer was very visible in the
his sin and embraces Christ as Saviour and Lord. early church. We are to pray for power, direction guidance and
witness. Jesus started his ministry on earth with this activity (Mark
2. Design a productive study approach (Psalm 119:99; Proverbs 1:35). For campus students, this may not come easily because of
22:29) Knowing that Fellowship activities are also part of the reason other encumbrances; thus, there should be a determined effort with
a Christian student has been called by the LORD, effort must clear strategies for regular prayer habit. Without the pattern of
therefore be made by such a one to design his or her study hours or consistent fervent and dedicated prayer, you cannot achieve any
period in a manner that is productive and would ensure that his or significant result in life. So, pray fervently, pray continuously
her academics do not suffer any form of setback as a result of every day.
commitment to Fellowship and Church activities on campus.
There is hence a need for a workable personal time table that 4. Partnering with other believers. This is the pattern seen in the
encompasses the student's academic, Fellowship, and leisure early believers in Acts, as the apostles ministered in teams. Peter
activities. Such a student should also get a functional alarm clock often moved with John (Acts 3:1), Paul's missionary activities
to minimize excessive sleeping and resting hours. Come up with a started with Barnabas, Timothy and others joining later. In the Old
study group where possible with other brethren offering the same Testament, Moses found partnership in Joshua, Aaron and Hur, in
course. Learn to go for group night studies in classrooms where it the battle against Amalek. The Holy Spirit has distributed gifts to
proves difficult to do so alone. However, great care must be taken different people to function effectively. Ministry partnerships are
on how these practices are upheld. It is ungodly for a brother and a essential for creating durable ministry and sustaining those in
sister to study alone in a room in the name of study group. It is ministry. Partnership also promotes the believer's prayer life,
equally not presentable as a Christian for a brother and a sister to be encouragement, support companionship and accountability in
alone in a dark classroom even if with a chargeable lamp late in the ministry. This partnership can be effectively achieved through
night all in the name of studying together. A success oriented fellowshipping with other believers on campus, where one gets to
Christian student must learn to observe all course assignments and associate and know possible ministry partners. Belonging to a
submit as at when due. Shun examination malpractice or any form Bible-based, Christ-exalting, God-centred and Spirit-led church
of impersonation all in the name of help. These are sinful acts that that preaches the whole counsel of God enhances such partnership
can also lead to suspension or expulsion from school. as well. Remember, Christian life consists in responsible
membership in a local church relating to people of all kinds and
3. Making prayer your foundation. Any lifestyle that neglects ages. The church – not a campus ministry – is home base for the
prayer is bound to fail. You must dedicate yourself to prayer, which Christian. You may not wait until after college or university to be a
can be viewed as both an attitude and an activity. As an attitude, it mature, responsible church member. It is essential that Christian
drives us to habitually depend fully and only on God for every step students and brethren visit and encourage one another on campus.
of our journey (see Prov.3:5,6). We cannot make any significant This is very essential especially as it concerns those who no longer
60 61
attend fellowship meetings or are inconsistent in fellowship consider your studentship. Holy living is motivated by our
towards building them up spiritually and academically. However, devotion to Christ. Do what you have to do to be radically devoted
great care must be taken to avoid purposeless and unguided to Jesus and his holiness.
visitation among Christian students. Late visitation of opposite sex
is not encouraged except where inevitable for the sake of the 6. Setting of worthwhile goals for success. Goal setting is linked
person being visited. In a more organized environment, visitations with developing purpose for your life on campus. This gives you
must be carried out as spelt out by existing guidelines or rules vision and targets to meet and prompts a life of discipline. Goal
obtainable in such residence or students hostel. Remember, setting promotes a dynamic, collaborative and exciting
Christian students must be decently clad or dressed when visited relationship with God. It facilitates trust in God who knows the
by opposite sex. The mistake of Dinah and Tamar may have ended way to lead us while we are moving forward. This involves loving
the plan of Heaven for their lives as nothing was heard about their God with all your heart, soul and mind (Matt.22:37,38). This
career or ministry in life after those costly incidents. implies that your goals must agree with your spiritual convictions,
which are tied to emotional, social re-adjustment to fit your goals;
5. Developing the Pattern of Holy-living. Campus lifestyle can your aspirations and physical well-being. Each component of your
be very challenging due to the excessive freedom in lifestyle, total person should be given proper attention and care as you reach
social behaviour and general living. Paul warns about this in toward your God-given purpose or goal.
Phil.2:14-15. Our campuses are dominated by twisted and
depraved lifestyles. As Paul urges in this passage, the Christian Setting targets or benchmarks concerning your Christian faith and
student must shine as light in the prevailing darkness. This can be your studies sets you on the pathway to all-round success. You
reflected in a lifestyle of holiness in the believer. He must flee must quit complaining of busyness. Prune your schedules to
youthful lusts that beckon on him continually (2Tim.2:22). He enable you hit your target. Timelines should be set if you must
must consciously develop holy habits succeed.
In his relationships. He should not be unequally yoked with

l
ou should note that you have one life to live, and it is not reasonable
unbelievers. Sexual immorality in various forms should be to experiment with it. What will make life work? What will make
refused vehemently. my eternity happy? He gave you life and he gave you a Book. God
has spoken. It is not a matter of experimentation, but a matter of
In his communication. His word ought to be seasoned always
l application of God's word to everything. He knows all things. He
and no foul language no matter the provocation; knows what will make you happy in the moment. He knows what
will make your life count for the here and now. So trust him.
In his integrity. This covers every of his dealings–with his
l
colleagues, in examination rooms and at all other times. 7. Managing your time for effective outcome. The value of time
at university or college is as valuable as the money you put into it.
The Bible urges us to be holy in all things (1Peter 1:15,16). This You can choose to be wise with your time or not. Either way, it
godly pattern is extremely important if we must win others to passes, and once it does, there is no gaining it back. You will have,
Christ. You must note that you are first a Christian before you
62 63
typically, three to six years to complete your certificate or degree making men in the Old Testament. Even our LORD Jesus Christ
depending on your programme of study, glean from academia what reemphasized its relevance in the building of a godly life and its
you need in order be successful in the work world, develop undoubted role in the foundation, growth and development of any
friendships to increase your network of people, and grow. Spending Christian ministry by applying the same pattern in raising His
your time outside of class in your hostel will get you nothing but an disciples. A Christian godly discipler is someone who is genuinely
intimate relationship with your bed. born again and saved in Christ, and has been with the LORD for a
long time with a proven testimony of fruitful ministry built on
Be diligent about the time spent on each of your concerns on holiness and maturity in the right teaching, interpretation,
campus. Your spiritual responsibilities must not becloud your understanding, and application of the Word of God. It is someone
academic pursuit. Most importantly, find a balance. If you have the whose walk with and experience in the LORD can be testified to,
tendency to overdo your schedule, be careful not to burn yourself who is also willing, available and is able to rightly point/lead such
out. The focus in this section is to treat time with value, to abstain Christian student to Christ at all times especially when such a
from idleness, isolation and irresponsibility. student errs from faith amidst discouragement that is capable of
8. Developing the pattern of modesty and temperance: Modesty obstructing his or her restoration back to Christ. This will go a long
can be described as an inner spiritual grace that recoils from anything way serving as a reliable way of escape from the devil (someone to
unseemly, ostentatious and impure. It is being chaste in thought and open up to) during some difficult trial times and life agonizing
conduct and is free of crudeness and indecency in dress and behavior. experience as a Christian student.
Modesty includes our appearance, dress, speech and conduct and can 11. Be realistic about marriage: Christian students are often
be applied to every situation. A popular adage on campus is, “you are advised to begin to have marriage in view and take it prayerfully
addressed by the way you dress!” Our character and self-image are towards the end of their college experience. It is wise for Christian
reflected by our apparel and mode of dress. The Bible urges us not to brothers (students) to begin to do so from their final year (praying
be conformed to the pattern of the world (Romans 12:2). for divine instructions, not engaging in/pursuing the process) while
The practice of temperance in our behavior makes us abstain from the sisters could be engaged while still in school. However way it
activities and attitudes that are offensive to our fellowmen and to comes, absolute care must be taken to ensure that place of the
God. You must not follow the patterns in dressing fads displayed in marriage Committee and Counselors in the Fellowship and in the
campuses, and thence be a tool in the hands of the devil to recruit Church is maximally taken advantage of. All marriage guidelines
citizens into his kingdom. The Bible advises that any man striving as originated from the Holy Scriptures and instituted in the
for mastery is temperate in all things (1Corinthians 9:25). You Fellowship and the Church should be observed.Any
should appear and dress in a manner that will enhance your convinced/prospective student brother or sister must first willingly
Christian testimony and will avoid pride, ostentation or sensuality. submit his or herself or themselves to the assistance/screening,
counsel and follow up of the Fellowship or the Church Marriage
10. Embrace discipleship and mentorship of a godly elder: This Committee. It is ungodly for such brethren to resort to engagement
has been the pattern followed by godly and renowned faithful or courtship without the prior clearance of the Fellowship and
ministers of old and today. It has been the kingdom principle of
64 65
Church Marriage Committees. No form of fleshy contact or indoor
lonely meetings by such Christian students should be treated likely
or taken for granted. Remember, holiness is the only thing that
attracts the presence of the LORD in the life of a Christian student Chapter Eight
and in the gathering of Christian Fellowships. A brother should not
get into marriage if he is not gainfully employed or seif-employed.
CONCLUSION
Changes in university or college culture scenes have caused great
changes not only in student lifestyles but also in student values.
Technological advancements have also placed their toll on student Family Finances in Season of Recession
values and attitude to the gospel and to their study. It is therefore
pertinent for the Christian students, with their distinctive, to
develop, pursue and practice these godly patterns if they must gain Written by
mastery of their goals and aspirations on campus. Prof Anyanwu Okoro
Dr Uche Nwobia
Bro Chinedu Onuoha
PREAMBLE
I n order to appreciate the topic, it is pertinent to understand

what family finance is on one hand and on the other hand, the
season of recession. Family finances means all income,
expenses and financial accounts related to the maintenance and
upkeep of an entire family. This includes all sources of income
such as wages, investments, savings .bills, grocery bills,
retirement plan contribution, insurance, education, taxes, credit
card payments, clothing and other sundry purchases.
The season of recession is a period when the economy seems to be
down and money is not flowing as usual. In this circumstance,
prices of commodities become high and may not be affordable for
66 67
an average income earner. In Nigeria, recession has affected prices (e) Business Failures: The lack of funding, coupled with a
of foodstuff and other things people use from day to day. downturn in spending, many families with small are business
nervous and unwilling to take risks resulting to downsizing and
The panic spreads slowly as people are finding it difficult to afford
the basic necessities of life. Although some families do their best to (f) Education: Many families cannot afford to send their children
carry on as if all is well, recession has a great negative effect on to school during a recession. Most schools experience fluctuation
their day-to-day interactions and their way of life. in number of students due to the fact that recession triggers off an
increase in school fees. Presently, in Nigeria, most Nursery school
It is therefore advisable for families to make some changes that can fees ranges from between ? 10,000 to ? 50,000 termly per pupil.
improve their situations and help them prepare for the future, while
they wait for an economic turnaround. (2) 15 WAYS CHRISTIAN FAMILIES CAN COPE DURING
RECESSION.
1. THE EFFECTS OF THE RECESSION ON FAMILIES.
(a) Budget: During a season of recession, it is vital to spend wisely.
(a) Loss of Jobs and Unemployment: Many people loss their One best way to do that is to have a budget. Whether as a family or an
jobs during recession. Job loss negatively affects the stability of individual that lives alone, a budget needs to be created for food,
families and individuals with respect to status, health, and general drinks, cloths, internet, recharge cards, e.t.c. Families must keep to
well-being. Recent statistics indicates that more than 20 million the budget and cut down on impulse spending.
Nigerians are unemployment. With unemployment rate running
high during recession, individuals and families struggle to find (b) Needs vs Wants: Families must understand the difference
something doing in order to pay their bills each month. The between needs and wants during recession. They need a safe
inability to find work can be frustrating, terrifying and depressing. residences, clothing, food and access to affordable health care, As
When parents are unemployed, there is trouble in the family. priorities shift for many families during recession, they can focus
on necessities i.e purchasing only those things that are really
(b) Family Life: The trauma of unemployment or lack of needed in the family.
sufficient income can lead to poor inter-family relationship that
can take years to mend. Sometimes, families may be constrained to (c) Avoid Eating Out: Families should reduce drastically the
borrow from relatives or friends and find repayment quite difficult. amount of times they eat out. Stocking the family with basic food
items such as rice, garri, beans, e.t.c will help reduce spending.
(c) Changes in Lifestyle: Reduced income results to reduced Mothers should not be lazy to cook in the family and package it for
entertainment, recreation and other extracurricular activity family members.
expenses. Families are forced to cut down on their extras during a
recession. Even their social life is not left out. (d) Avoid Borrowing: Recession is a time to cut down on
expenses and resist the temptation to spend due to limited
(d) Decline in Investments: Family budgets may not accommodate resources. Many find it difficult to repay any money borrowed and
short or long-term investments during a recession. Families may this can lead to serious embarrassment.
reduce drastically their investments due to lack of funds.
68 69
(e) Do Not Hold Back Your Giving: Most families try to hold substitutes or the cheaper alternatives as they experience a decline
back in times of recession, when their purchasing power is in income level. For families with entrepreneurial skills, it might
dwindling. However, God expects us to borrow a leaf from the be a good business opportunity for them to execute that business
Macedonia Christians that gave even in extreme poverty and idea. Families should seek investment that may yield returns
financial difficulties (2Cor 8:1 -7).It is our seed that brings a higher than the inflation level.
harvest not the state of the economy.
(l) Provide Solution to a Need: During the period of crisis in
(f) Use your Bank of Heaven Capital: Faith is the currency of Egypt, Joseph got the wisdom that transformed Egypt. (Gen 41:47-
heaven. It is what brings the unseen realities into manifestation. 57).Christian Families can trust God for the wisdom that will
transform the company where they work or their businesses, our
(g) Take Risk Under God: The lepers as stated in 2 kings 7:4
nation, and Church. Wisdom from God can help Families
decided to live their comfort zone and risk their lives for a better
experience the wealth transfer during the season of recession.
future. We should not allow the wave of recession to paralyse us
but have to take risk under God for financial increase. (m) Avoid Credit Purchases and Borrowing to Buy Liabilities:
(h) Be Sensitive to the Leading of the Holy Spirit: There was Families need to avoid credit purchases or borrowing to buy
famine in the days of Abraham and he went to Egypt (Gen liabilities e.g. cars, machineries e.t.c which needs maintenance and
12:10).When there was similar famine in the days of Isaac, he drains the cash flow of the family.
contemplated taking the same decision but God told him to stay in (n) Save Money: Families need to save no matter how little. As
Gerar. He obeyed and prospered. Christian families need to be you cut down unnecessary expenses, what you have been spending
sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.(Gen 26:1-6). on those things can be kept aside to handle emergencies that are not
(i) Fear Not: Faith brings God on the scene while Fear keeps the foreseen.
Devil on the scene. Fear, doubt and unbelief are associates and they (o) Talk to your Children about Recession: In the family, your
frustrate the Faith process. Do not look at the natural children may be operating on the old lifestyle, you should not react
circumstances. Peter started sinking when he shifted his gaze from negatively towards them but know that its because they do not
the Lord Jesus Christ and observed the wave.( Mark 6:30).As understand. Tell them about the economic change and encourage
Christians, our families should elevate God's word far above what them to make adjustments.
is seen in the natural. This comes by meditating and focusing our
mind on the word of God.
CONCLUSION
(j) Cultivate the Habit of Giving Thanks: The habit of giving As sure as the spring will follow the winter, prosperity and
thanks acknowledges God as our supreme source and shepherd economic growth will follow recession- Robert Bennett. Christian
and not the government. Giving thanks activates our Faith as our Families should change their mindset and depend on God for
focus shifts from lack to the all sufficient God.( Mark 6:41). sustenance. In Job 5:22, the bible says "You will laugh at
destruction and famine, and need not fear the beast of the earth."
(k) Look Out for Investment and Business Opportunities:
During the season of recession, people usually search for
70 71
Alexander the Great was able to unite the entire world. He did that
in a definitive and deep way, intellectually and linguistically,
militarily and also economically. The Roman world, which stood
Chapter Nine upon the ruins of the Alexandrine World, was a similar
globalization. This united "universe" and this one empire
contributed positively to the spreading of the good news of
Christianity in the entire world. The Apostles traveled with no
hindering boundaries and on roads that connected the world
together. This one empire, the globalization of that time, was in the
beginning the most suitable circumstance for the "fullness of
Harvesting Souls for the Kingdom time."
Using the Social Media Christianity is universal, and that's why globalization is suitable
for it. Universality is a gospel command: "Go and make disciples
Written by of all nations, baptizing them…" (Matthew 28:19). The
Kalu Okorie Kalu universality that we hope for will be implemented by the coming
Bro Emeka Ogbuji globalization.
Engr Yomi Oladeji
The explosion of social media so far is the fastest tool of
communication in human history. The way that we interact has
changed so much. Thanks to the rapid increase in the affordability
of the technology. People are now twittering, blogging, texting,
G lobalization preceded Christ first coming; even so would

globalization precede Christ second coming.' COVID-19,
a global pandemic is a wake-up sign to a new - normal that
would face the hopeless world. With COVID-19, the world's
communications and operations have changed. Even so, means of
live chatting, posting their opinions on social networks platforms
like Facebook, sharing their views and opinions with the world.
They do not have to be told what to think, like the case with TV, but
rather they share their minds instantly.
evangelism and missions operations change yet with the same One does not need to know anyone on a particular social network
eternal life message to the world. to air one's view. One has the opportunity to meet a great ton of
people online. The world is ours. We can reach out to a large
A comparative and careful historical study can can reveal the number of users at a time. Statistics show that the total number of
similarity that exists between the globalization of the New Facebook users worldwide is 1.2 Billion and that the total
Millennium and the one that happened in the time of the birth of percentage of 18-24 year olds who already use social media is
Christ and the early Church. "It came to pass in those days all the 98%. (Social Networking Statistics, 2012)
world was to register" (Luke 2:1), all the known world of that time.
72 73
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? •Communicate in a very friendly manner, both to attract and
Social media is "participatory online media where news, photos, retain the followership of your audience.
videos, and podcasts are made public; typically accompanied with •Make your message attractive and direct, without losing any of
a voting process to signal items considered popular."(Evans 2012) the essentials of the gospel.
"Social media provides a way for people to share ideas, content, •Be creative in the communication. Where possible, use
thoughts, and relationships online. Social media differs from so animations to complement.
called 'mainstream media' in that anyone can create, comment on, •Ensure that it is interactive and always address issues raised
and add to social media content. It can take the form of text, audio, from feedbacks.
video, images, and commentaries." (Meerman Scott 2011:38)
•Engage your audience with simple and useful tasks that will
SOCIAL MEDIA STATISTICS
l both keep them busy and constantly draw them to Christ.
lFacebook has 1.2 billion members •Remember that the central focus of your engagement with the
l3 out of 4 people are using social networks regularly. audience is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; hence all
distractions should be avoided.
lSocial media has overtaken email as the #1 activity on the web
•Use the social media you are very conversant with and always be
There are over 200 million blogs
l
eager to learn more about others. It will come in handy someday
l900,000 blog posts every day
l93% of social media users believe companies should have a THE POTENTIALS FOR EVANGELISM THROUGH
presence in social media. SOCIAL MEDIA:
There are a lot of potentials for evangelism through the social
SOCIAL MEDIA AND EVANGELISM media as discussed below:
The new frontline evangelism is based on Christ's method of
mingling with people where they are, sympathizing with them, • Downloadable Bibles, Books and Apps: A wide range of
meeting their needs and inviting them to repentance. "The Internet downloadable Bibles in many languages can be installed on
has brought media to a global audience. The Web has opened a mobile devices. Thus a Christian can now have access to a Bible at
tremendous opportunity to reach a great number of participants all times because mobile devices are so convenient to carry. You
directly with targeted messages."(Meerman Scott, p.6). Thus, lots can call up individual verses to share during a face-to-face
of barriers, hitherto, to effective evangelism have been bypassed. discussion, or email/text them to others. You can also download
and install e-books to read on a growing range of mobile devices
HOW TO USE THE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR EVANGELISM: using Mobipocket, Kindle format, or as PDF files. It is also easy to
In deploying the social media as an active platform for evangelism, subscribe to daily Bible verses, devotionals by email, text
it may be vital to take note of certain issues: message, or through an 'app'. Some ministries have found success
in positioning such daily verses as tips for daily living.
74 75
• Video Clips and Mini-Presentations: Many mobile • Wallpaper: Wallpaper on your cellphone can be a conversation
devices have the capability to download and store video clips, or starter with friends. Wallpaper can display a thought-provoking
even full-length videos. The huge growth of the video short is slogan, quotation or cartoon; unusual or musical ring-tones might
amazing, since the arrival of YouTube in 2006. occasionally be conversation-starters in a social setting as
someone asks you what your unusual ring-tone represents.
A video clip may be a short parable-like story, an animated Another ring-tone opportunity is to offer free tones on a website as
cartoon, or a 'talking-head' person. The objective or message of the an enticement to draw people to the site.
clip should not deviate from the call to follow Christ.
• Facebook (FB) Personal Profiles: We can use our personal
• Facebook via Mobile: Smartphones normally have Facebook profiles or the fan page we joined. We can share posts from Bible,
apps installed (or downloadable) which enable easy Facebook usage sermons, and literatures on our personal profiles so our friends can
within a smaller screen area. Mobile users can therefore use find out more about it. Being a part of some other groups or fan
Facebook for evengelism. To bear result, content of the post should pages we can promote evangelism lifestyle there by telling them
be creative, relational and dialog - based . Facebook is strategic in about our site and encouraging them to visit.
evangelism and discipleship. Scripture Union (Nigeria) Daily Guide
•
th
Review membership as at 11 April 2015 was 6572 members and has Facebook (FB) Fan Page: The great thing about Facebook
grown to be 39000+ members as at June 2020; Daily Power Review pages is that every time someone becomes a fan of our page all
members as at June 2020 is 4500+; the Union's Page has 2003 likes their friends see that they have become a "fan." This often attracts
as at 12th April 2015 and has grown to be 5400+likes; the Union's other followers, as well as creates a buzz regarding our network
Group members was 5880 as at 12th April 2015 and has grown to be and of course our Facebook pages. We can use our Facebook fan
9700+ members in June 2020. The writer's Facebook friends were pages to share our information as well as posting photos, videos,
2560 in 2015 and has grown to be 4167 friends in 2020. These are applications, messages and links to other videos and articles. Any
opportunities for both evangelism, discipleship and mentorship. activity that we perform on our Facebook pages is then broadcast
into the mini-feeds of our followers.
• Text Messaging: There are many 'verse of the day' or mini-
devotionals available to subscribe by text message. Christians may • Twitter: Having a twitter account creates an opportunity for
connect to such arrangement and share messages with friends and users who prefer to use that form of social media as their method of
their network of relationships. Text messaging is also used as a communication.
follow-up/inquiry medium.
• Writing Blog: Blogs are like websites, quick and easy to update.
• Games: There are increasing numbers of mobile games Our blog is where people can go deeper and find out more about our
available for mobile devices. Mobile games can be created to lead theology and philosophy of life and ministry. This is a place where
users through life choices, or task their minds to deep meditation we can educate, entertain, engage and enrich our readers. Therefore
and study of the Word. it's important to have a blog as part of the website.
76 77
• Using Forums: As a part of any forum we can direct members • God created all things (including the knowledge/wisdom that
of forums to our site and show them our values. We have to build established the internet) for His own pleasure. However, just as the
strong relationships with people on the Internet: turn "followers" enemy planted the tares amongst the wheat, the devil also has
into "friends". We need to develop a genuine connection— planted lots of evil on the internet. Nevertheless, where sin
strengthen the human bond. (Meyerson 2010). abounds, the grace of God abounds much more, therefore the
internet with its huge global followership, has become a strong
INTERNET DISCIPLESHIP: Jesus Christ used discipleship to
battlefield where many could either be won or lost. Cyber-
spread the gospel. We need to consider discipleship in our Internet
evangelism aims at utilizing this platform to reach out to the
ministry. We should see our contacts as potential disciples.
Discipleship on the web should look just like discipleship on the millions with the gospel.
ground. To be effective here, we must win the confidence of our • The internet is undoubtedly the single largest means of global
potential disciples. Pathways to achieving this include: communication. The information disseminated through this
•Connecting to Social networks, blogs, chat rooms, special platform is bound to reach a monumental proportion of the global
interest sites, etc community.
•Sharing relevant materials that meet the needs of people and • The use of social media for evangelism is much cheaper than
inviting them to visit and explore holistic life through videos the conventional physical evangelism (especially when operated
and articles. on a larger scale).
•Talking and chatting with your online friends in order to • There is a reduced risk of physical attack and direct stoppage of
understand their needs, and respond with the relevant preaching by antagonists of the gospel.
message of hope found in the Bible through the use of your • The social media is much more dynamic than the conventional
personal story. electronic platforms of television, radio, video recordings, etc.
•Meeting offline (face to face) to develop more trust and because it integrates all the known media types and operates
confidence in the life of Jesus Christ. mostly, real time and on time.
• All the information conveyed through the social media is
BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIATO GLOBAL EVANGELISM available for use anytime, anywhere and by anybody who is
To achieve massive global evangelism, it may be important to connected to the internet. Such information can be revisited as
consider the various benefits presented by social media. These many times as possible and can be further downloaded for
include: subsequent reading/viewing offline and at convenience.
• The greater percentage of the target group for the gospel • The interactive nature of the social media promotes functional
globally is technology savvy and largely digitized. The better part feedback.
of their time are spent on the internet, hence the need to take the
message to them where they can easily be met. •It provides the preacher with a global pulpit without restrictions.
78 79
CONCLUSION
The world has indeed become a global village. The pulpit is no REFERENCES
longer limited to the church structure. The World Wide Web and its http://www.ministrytopostmoderns.com/internet/208-social-media-and-
attendant activities including the social media has provided the evangelism Meerman Scott, David. 2011. The New Rules of Marketing and PR:
How to use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing, and Online
world with very quick, reliable and seamless means of Media to Reach Buyers Directly. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
communication and disseminating all manner of information. The Meyerson, Mitch. 2010. Success Secret of the Social Media Marketing
system is not waiting for anyone; hence the Church must rise and Superstars. Entrepreneur Media Inc. White, Ellen G. 1905. Ministry of Healing.
take advantage of this opportunity to ensure that the command of Pacific Press Pub. Assn.
our Lord Jesus is effectively implemented by taking the gospel to Electronic Sources: Evans, Dave. "What is Social Media." Social Media Marketing: An
Hour a Day, 2012. http://www.readthis.com/index.php/smmhad/part_i_chapter_03
the whole world. The social media platform is available. Can we (accessed November 8, 2012). faithHighway e-book. Social Media and the Church, 11.
dare to come on board and make the difference and stop http://www.faithhighway.com/faithHighway-eBooks-for-your church.php (accessed
complaining! November 8, 2012).
Fitzgerlad, Britney. "Sarah Leary, Nextdoor Social Network Co-Founder, Talks
Indeed, the call to evangelize as we see in Matthew 28: 19 – 20 Bill Gates, Startup Advice", August 2012.
gives us both a local as well as global task and as God will have it, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/10/
the social media enables us to reach people in the farthest parts of sarah-leary-nextdoor_n_1699094.html?utm_hp_ref=social-networking
the earth without a visa or a flight ticket. Scripture Union can key (accessed November 8, 2012).
into this avenue to intensify her global evangelism as we trust God Social Networking Statistics, Statistic Brain, 2012.
to bless the effort. http://www.statisticbrain.com/ social-networking-statistics/ (accessed
November 12, 2012).-end.
In social media evangelism, we should intentionally treat each http://www.internetevangelismday.com/books.php?id=bookreviews/viral-
visitor or contact as a potential disciple in every step of the way. We how-social-media-is-poised-to-ignite-revival.php
should take personal interest in lives. We cannot expect to disciple http://www.internetevangelismday.com/description.php
500 or 1,000 people individually, but we can certainly take time to http://www.ncregister.com/dailynews/18_ways_priests_can_evangelize/#ixzz
disciple a small group of people through personal relationships. 3VPfkQzFo
Ultimately every disciple we make should be envisioned to Yomi Oladeji, Belema Harry &Emeka Orji. Scripture Union (Nigeria) 2015
Convention Seminar Paper 'Global Evangelism through Social Media.
become a real member, in a real church, somewhere in his/her local Scripture Union Press & Books Ltd. 2015.
community. This is the goal of evangelism through digital
connections with real disciples. It leads to new membership in real
churches.
80 81
For the purpose of our discussion, we shall consider the following
key words: children, evangelizing, discipling and contemporary
times. Children in this case are restricted to boys and girls from
Chapter Ten birth to adolescence. Those in this age group are teachable,
curious, trusting, fun loving, easily influenced among other
qualities. They have peculiarities with respect to their physical,
mental, social, spiritual and emotional development. Hence they
are highly influenced by the environment they live in. Some basic
characteristic of their development are:
Segmental and orderly what they contact more often affect them.
Evangelising and Discipling Children
in Contempporary Times Continuous and gradual disjointed approach may not have lasting
impact on them rather what they hear, see and participate more
often impress them.
Written by
Dr Mrs Victoria Onu Most rapid in early stages of infancy and adolescent years. They
Bro David offiebor pick information fast and retain, thus it is the time to feed them
Mrs Uduak Ekanem with the right knowledge.
Occurs within a context and is multi –faceted: Since they are able
PREAMBLE to imbibe more things simultaneously, they provide a veritable
ground to sow and nurture the Word.
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time
my mother conceived me” Psalm 51:5 (NIV). Evangelizing: Is a process of sharing the love of God, His hatred
for sin and the plan of salvation with children so that they can
E very sinner (children inclusive) is under condemnation and

needs redemption. God's remedy for sin is available to all
but one has to hear in order to accept (Romans 10:14). It is
in the light of this that God gave definite instruction both in the Old
and New Testaments that people should get to know Him, meditate
become friends of Jesus through repentance and confession. It is a
process of befriending children, communicating Jesus to them by
sharing the word and our lives with them in such a way to stir their
curiosity, win their trust for Jesus and lead them to a decision.
continually on His word and diligently share it with the children so Discipling is a follow-up to evangelism. As the gospel is shared to
that they too can come to a personal faith in Him. engender conversion, the tender believing hearts are nurtured to
grow in grace, keep the faith and eventually enlist as soldiers of the
This paper attempts to show how this old time instruction is to be cross. As with natural birth, discipline entails watching over,
carried out in this present age to produce the desired result. guiding, and diligently teaching the young believers. This is
82 83
highlighted vividly by the N.I.V and the Message Bibles in the home with issues that were reserved for mature married adults.
rendition of Deuteronomy 6:7 ("Impress them on your children"; Since there is very little supervision and adults have abdicated
"Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children") their responsibilities, the children pick their teacher as role models
respectively. from the characters they see on the television, internet and their
neighborhood. The case of sexual assault on the children are
It involves systematic, conscious and unconscious verbal and non- increasing by the day while the children also experiment with all
verbal communication of the life of Jesus to the children. forms of illicit behaviors, moral education is fading in schools.
The contemporary times which is the times we are in, is characterized Unfortunately, while the decay continues, most churches are
by increased knowledge (information super highway) excessive playing the ostrich and refusing to tackle the problem head long.
freedom/rights, decrease in parental guidance. Excessive
materialism, diluted gospel and outright opposition to the truth. WHAT CAN WE DO?
Ours is an organization which started with children and so we must
The Bible refers to it as perilous times with attendant not just talk about returning to our old love, but must be seen to do so.
characteristics of self-centeredness, love of money, pride, There is a dire need (Lamentation 4:4) and God is counting on us.
abusiveness, disobedience, lack of holiness, lack of self-control,
brutality, love of pleasure as against love for God etc. This is the Children Ministry is very demanding-time, it need resources,
environment in which today's child is raised. emotion, spiritual intensity etc. We should earnestly pray for
burden. We ourselves must be abreast of the times and be
We are in a time where morality has been thrown to the winds, technologically savvy.
people do whatever suits their fancy because "the end justify the
means" It is the weird and bizare that attracts attention and children Since it is a specialized area, we should be open for training and
are not left out-cartoons that have the greatest appeal are those continuous updating of our knowledge.
having terrible characters with destructive tendencies. The mass We should not only love children but should strive to be like them
media (print and electronic) bombard our senses with stories and in humility, openness, innocence, and fun loving.
images that are vulgar and devoid of any form of decency.
We ourselves must be in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ;
Parenting is mostly carried out by proxy as the biological fathers master the contents of the faith, its history, biblical literature, classic
and mothers leave the children to care givers while pursuing and spiritual writings, theology, doctrine and Christian arts. This
careers and earning a living. Unfortunately, these children spend a will enable us counter the false information which is in the society.
greater part of their lives watching television, movies etc without
adequate supervision. We should know the children, the different temperaments, their
backgrounds etc to be able to interact properly.
The internet which is filled with the good, the bad and the ugly is at
their disposal to browse. The content of the programmes they We should be ready to spend in order to provide conducive
watch are anti –thesis to the gospel and young ones are now at learning environment that is consistent, warm and welcoming for
84 85
the children, in view of some government regulations banning
religious (Christian) activities in schools.
The contents/delivery of our programme must be lively and
Chapter Eleven
endearing in order to catch and sustain the children's attention,
bearing in mind that our teaching methods should be more
relational than the traditional didactic method. There is need to
produce relevant literature, visual aids and cartoons that can
positively replace the junks that abound.
WHERE DO WE MEET THEM? Developing Young Leaders For Ministry,

Children can be accessed anywhere and everywhere. Governance and Growth of
There is need to get involved in children department of our churches. Pilgrims Ministry
The children wing of our fellowships should be structured to meet the
needs of the times. This should involve the use of curriculum as well
as the environment; it must be inviting. We can organize street Written by
evangelism; but have definite follow up plans for the converts. Dr Elochukwu Moka
Prof Abuchi Igwebuike
Neighborhood bible clubs should not be left to few hands; we can Bro Steve Oluwalowo
also run in orphanages and remand homes. Let us borrow from the
Redeemed Christian Church of God and set a goal of establishing
clubs where every child can attend within a walking distance from
1. INTRODUCTION
his/her home. Also we should go beyond mere teaching but
training them as the bible admonishes.
Like every other aspect of evangelism, children ministry is serious
warfare because the devil is determined to keep as many as possible
in his grip, hence we must depend on the Holy spirit and utilize all
M any organizations have either fizzled out or lost their
original vision because no conscious efforts were made
to perpetuate them. Scripture Union is not immune from
such effects, if deliberate efforts are not made to develop future
leaders for the ministry.
spiritual weapons to turn these little ones from darkness to light.
To the glory of God, SU (Nigeria) has encapsulated in documents
CONCLUSIONS its strategic plans of perpetuating the Ministry without losing the
The task before us may be enormous but victory is guaranteed vision of the founding fathers. The fourth in the series of these
because the all wise and omnipotent God is with us. Where there is plans, the current one, is the 2018 – 2022 Strategic Plan. In the
a will, there will certainly be a way. document, we have many provisions for developing young
leaders, if only present leaders will own it and run with it. Again,
86 87
the Scripture has some examples where young leaders were 3. PRESENT SCENARIO IN PILGRIM MINISTRY
developed who eventually took over the leadership. The following information obtained from the analysis of the 2013 – 2017
SU Nigeria Strategic Plan Period, as presented in the 2018 – 2022
2. DEFINITIONS Strategic Plan, is quite revealing. On the membership growth within the
In this discourse, it is necessary to start with some definitions. period for the different ministries – Children, Students, Youth, SUCF, and
2.1 Leadership: There is no universally accepted definition of Pilgrims – we observed that while all other ministries grew in
leadership. For this discussion, we take the following definitions. membership, Youth ministry declined. The plan period ended with a 10%
drop in Youth membership between 2016 and 2017. In general, the
Leadership is the art of taking charge of people – leading people to growth in SU Nigeria for the period was not substantive. But the decline
achieve desired goals. Christian or Spiritual Leadership is taking in the number of youth is disturbing when considered against the
charge of God's people, giving them focus and direction with the background of the future of the Ministry. This raised the question of
aim of working with them to do the work of God on earth and to finding solution to growth problem.
ultimately make heaven at the end.
Again, looking at the students' membership and youth membership,
Leadership also involves influencing other people to pursue a while students' membership rose from 127,677 in 2013 to 162,642 in
common goal that is considered important; creating a shared 2017, Youth membership fluctuated between 25,007 in 2013 and
vision, building trust and confidence in others, and enabling them 20,925 in 2017. The disparity between students' membership and
to act towards the common goal. pilgrims' strength is also very wide. Where do these students end up
on leaving Secondary Schools? Membership of SUCF does not
2.2 Governance: This comprises all of the processes of governing reflect that a good number of students who have gained admission
(activity and the way of controlling) an organization, undertaken into tertiary institutions joined SUCF, since SUCF is the least in
by the leadership through laws, norms or power. membership. Further, one would expect that the balance or part of
Good Governance is one that produces results that meet the needs the school leavers would have joined the Pilgrim Groups.
or goals of the organization while making the best use of the A look at the table below from Enugu Region gives a picture of
available resources. what may be happening at the grass-root level.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, CURRENT STATISTICS ON YOUTH WINGS IN THE
consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective AREAS IN ENUGU REGION
and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law. Area Zones Groups Youths Students Youth Wings
2017 2018 2019
In the context of Scripture Union Ministry, SU Governance is the Abakaliki 9 71 758 7,047 5 5 7
activity and the way of controlling SU Ministry, with less Afikpo 5 29 435 1,546 - 3 3
bureaucracy, less centralized authority, but more on performance Enugu 10 98 2,160 7,140 42 48 48
Ngwo 7 89 1,353 5,688 48 45 46
with minimal activities. Nsukka 7 55 543 2,697 27 24 24
Total 38 342 5,249 24,118 122 125 128
88 89
The table shows the abysmal ratio of Youth wings to the number of leaders while they are still actually young. Paul leaves many
Groups and number of youths in the Areas. Out of 342 Groups in the examples and admonishments in his letters including
Region, only 128 of them have Youth wings. The Table also shows Timothy, Titus, Ephesians, and Colossians. 2 Tim. 2:2
that little or no efforts are still being made to grow Youth Wings. This
may be the scenario, if not worse, in some other Regions. 2. YOUTH LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND QUALITIES
How can we grow future leaders without viable Youth wings? These include, among others:
Youth wings are the key to raising future leaders, not only at Group i. Decision-making.
level but other levels also. But they seem not to have been given ii. Goal setting.
more attention. We must take the youth ministry in the Pilgrims iii. Problem-solving.
Groups and Zones more seriously if we must remain relevant.
iv. Relationship-building.
Our Strategic Plans have been skewed towards Youth (students) in v. Communicating.
Schools. Youth Camps and other youth activities should be vi. Listening.
structured to also address the needs of youths outside school.
vii. Self-esteem.
1. WHY DEVELOP YOUNG LEADERS? viii. Empathy
ix. Etc
For Scripture Union to continue to fulfil her vision, young leaders
need to be developed for ministry and governance for now and the In SU ministry, teaching of these lifeskills are usually handled at
future. The reasons for this include: our Holiday Youth Camp meetings. They have been very useful for
i. To forestall generation gap. Judges 2:6-11. developing leaders.
ii. To have a godly succession. 2 Timothy. 2:1-2. QUALITIES OF A GOOD LEADER
iii. For extension and perpetuation of our ministry standards, ethos Young leaders should be taught the importance of integrity,
and principles. accountability, empathy, humility, resilience, vision, influence and
positivity.
iv. They are most times more adaptable to new technological
developments. 3. WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS OF LEADERS IN SU
v. Most youths are still tender and more teachable than older NIGERIA?
brethren. i. Subscribing to the Aims, Vision and Mission as well as the
vi. Converted youths, while not having financial muscles, can Statements of Beliefs and Working Principles of the Ministry.
provide needed manpower for Christian service now and in ii. Knowledge of the history of Scripture Union
the next generation. iii. Understanding the organizational structure of the Ministry
vii. We have a biblical responsibility to begin developing young
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7th National Convention Seminar Papers 7th National Convention Seminar Papers
iv. Being trained by teaching, instructions and involvement in the
work of the Ministry. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE UNION
v. Commitment to the core ministry (Source: Joshua (2020b)
vi. Conversant with modern tools for ministry. While the Word of
God and the Gospel are not changing, the ways of
communicating them are changing because of emerging
Board of Trustees
technologies in a changing world.
4. FROM WHERE CAN WE RAISE THE YOUNG National Council

LEADERS IN SCRIPTURE UNION (NIGERIA)?
Young leaders can be raised from students' leadership in secondary National Executive
schools, secondary school leavers and SUCF. School leavers who Committee
continue to identify with SU Pilgrim Groups form a viable source
of raising dependable future leaders for the Ministry. Volunteers Structure Staff Structure
Chairman National General Director Advisory Committees
5. SCRIPTURE UNION NIGERIA ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
Scripture Union (Nigeria) is a well structured organization. It is Regional Committees Regional Coordinators HODs
governed by a Constitution and an Operational Guideline. In
addition, it has Strategic Plans that have been developed over the
years to enable it achieve its stated aims. It is also linked to the Area Committees Training Secretaries
Scripture Union International as one of the National movements.
Zonal Committees
Assist Training
Secretaries
Groups
92 93
1. SU NIGERIA STRATEGIC PLANS, GOVERNANCE (I) A strengthening of our core values of discipleship, integrity,
AND RAISING OF LEADERS and accountability, etc.
Over the years, Scripture Union (Nigeria) has developed a number (ii) A determined and definite plan to mentor the next generation.
of Strategic Plans, each spanning five-year period and building on (ii) The employment of modern digital tools for the furtherance of
the preceding one, with which to realize the vision of the Ministry. the work.
The current Strategic Plan is covering the period 2018 – 2022 and (iv) Annual monitoring and evaluation of our programmes in order
is the fourth in the series. to assess how far we are doing on actual implementation.
Jesus, in Acts 1:4 -8 gave his disciples the strategy of fulfilling the From the above, we can begin to see the place of young people in
Great Commission which He gave them in Matthew 28:19-20. the objectives of the Strategic Plan.
Evangelizing the whole world can be overwhelming for just the STRATEGIC OPERATIONAL AREAS AND BROAD
few of them but starting from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and OBJECTIVES OF SU (NIGERIA) FOR 2018-2022
the outermost part of the world sounds strategic.
There are six (6) operational areas: Ministries (Goals 1-5) and
In the same way, Scripture Union (Nigeria) vision and mission Planning, Research & Resources Development (Goal 6) viz.
statements are not different from the Great Commission which,
when summarized, are evangelism and discipleship. They are I. Goal 1: Children and Primary School Ministry - Children,
stated below: joyful in hope, growing in Christ and transforming the families.
ii. Goal 2: Schools & Aid for AIDS Ministry - Youths Raised
VISION and Nurtured unto Christian Maturity
“Children, youths, and adults nurtured to iii. Goal 3: Scripture Union Campus Fellowship & Youth
Christian maturity, following Jesus and Ministry - Matured Christians of Influence in Scripture
transforming families and the nation Union and the Society
Nigeria”. iv. Goal 4: Pilgrims and Volunteers Ministry - Pilgrims and
Volunteers Equipped, Deployed, and Effectively Working in
MISSION the Core Ministry Areas
“To reach children, young people and v. Goal 5: Missions and Bible Use Ministry - Scripture Union
families, nurturing them through Bible Members, Volunteers and Missionaries Mobilized,
engagement and training to become Empowered and Equipped for effective outreaches and
committed Christians of influence” discipleship.
The 2018-2022 Strategic Plan seeks to promote: vi. Goal 6: Planning, Research, and Resource Development
Unit - Increased Organisational Efficiency, Effectiveness and
Sustainability.
94 95
We can deduce from these Strategic Plan goals that the Pilgrims These preliminary training for young pre-leaders should cover
and Volunteers Ministry is a major source of the human resources some of the basics of leading other people. They need to know
for the other Ministries. Membership of Scripture Union derives some of the following:
from membership at Pilgrims Group level. Pilgrim Groups also I. Communication with teams and leaders, such as working in
serve as the basic activity level. Committees for which SU is known.
2. STEPS TO DEVELOP YOUNG LEADERS ii. Following through on commitments
We look at six steps to develop young leaders in ministry. iii. Managing projects with moving parts and multiple people
1. Start by Discipling Young People iv. Identifying self-sabotage characteristics in themselves and
Ministry is not a responsibility for someone who does not know others
how to maintain a close walk with Jesus. Activities in SU that v. De-escalating and resolving interpersonal conflict.
enhance close walk with the Lord starts with Follow-up Classes,
graduating into Bible Study Classes, weekly Sunday Fellowship, 4. GIVE YOUNG LEADERS REAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR
Bible Review to ensure brethren, including youths, are observing TASKS AND PROJECTS (DELEGATE RESPONSIBILITY)
their Quiet Time, occasional Quiz Competitions, etc Give your young leaders real responsibility for an area that
matters. We should care deeply that they do a good job with the
2. Identify Potential Young Leaders from the Discipleship responsibility. Maybe it is planning and executing a Zonal Youth
Process, Not Before It Outreach within their locality or moving Camping materials to the
It is tempting to identify future leaders based on their talents or Camp venue.
personality. However, charisma, influence, and intelligence are
not the dominant traits of leaders who thrive in ministry. There are 5. USE THE DIRECT - RELEASE - GUIDE - DEBRIEF
successful ministry leaders like Timothy who was timid but with METHOD
Paul's encouragement and mentoring/training, he was able to Of course, if we are giving our young leaders real responsibility
pastor a thriving church. over something that is important, then the pressure is on us to lead
Inward traits, those things that are grown through and from an them well. After all, if they mess up or falter, the buck stops with
obedient relationship with Jesus, are the most common among the leader that delegated the responsibility.
thriving ministry leaders. Those traits are a genuine care for In these situations, I love to follow the direct > release > coach >
people, a passion for God's Word, a firm belief in the institution of debrief method for getting new leaders going. It is pretty simple,
the ministry, and humility. but each part is important. Here's how each step works.
3. Provide Young Leaders with Some Preliminary Training I. Direct: Before our young leaders take on a new initiative or
When prospective young leaders are identified, they should project as drivers, give them plenty of direction and clear outcome
receive some level of preliminary training before being given any goals. They need to know the end result we want to see and why. A
responsibility as a leader. good number of the directions and goals are clearly stated in our
96 97
Strategic Plan document. Where the details are not contained in the made for Youth wings at Pilgrims Group level and at the Zonal
document, such as for a particular activity, we can do that. level, the Operational Guidelines have enough provisions to raise
leaders. The Programme of Activities is also strategic. What then
ii. Release: Once they have been given direction and goals for the need to be done by all?
initiative, then let them go lead. They will likely miss it a couple
times or disappoint themselves, but that is part of the learning This will be presented for different levels of our formations.
process. Train and Trust.
a. Group Level
iii. Guide: Being released to lead does not mean the mentor should
be completely absent. The leader remains their eyes and ears at a I. Every Fellowship Group should have a functional Youth Wing,
high level. This is done by being available, at Committee meetings with a Youth Secretary who shall be a member of the Group Exco.
or fellowship meetings, to answer questions about what to expect ii. Youth Wing activities should include, but not limited to, having a
as they continue with the responsibility. The composition of Youth Choir; serving as Ushers; Literature Agent/Group
Committees in SU allows for this arrangement as older leaders Library; Meeting and Praying together on monthly basis;
who are serving or have served at higher level come in as Ex- included in Group Roster for School visitation for the school
officio members. leavers; engaging willing ones in Children's work; and any
iv. Debrief: This is the time to discuss with the young leaders how other area the Group Exco may want them to serve. Assign
they performed. The young leader needs to learn how to evaluate duties to them – Luke 9:1 – 6; 2 Tim. 2:14, 4:2
their own performance. This will help them self-evaluate as they iii. The Youth Secretary gives report of the Youth Wing activities
lead. at the monthly Group Exco meeting.
6. HAVE A PLAN TO HELP THEM LEARN FROM OTHERS iv. Every Group member should together recite the aims of SU
CONTINUALLY during Sunday Fellowship during time of announcement.
Finally, have a plan to help our young leaders grow continually. This will ensure that both old and new members will be
This can be done by encouraging them to attend Committee conversant with the aims and thus understand how out
meetings, Camp meetings, Trainings and Conferences. At these activities are in line with our aims.
meetings, they learn from others.
v. The current Bible Review on Sunday Fellowship day should
8. DEVELOPING YOUNG LEADERS FOR MINISTRY, be sustained, to ensure that our members, including Youths
GOVERNANCE AND GROWTH OF PILGRIMS MINISTRY are having their Quiet Time.
Having seen that our Strategic Plan documents contain what it vi. Young people should be allowed from time to time to moderate
takes to raise leaders both for now and for the future, our problem Group Programme or make some presentations during
has been its full implementation. Apart from very few areas in our fellowship meetings. They should be given a sense of being
Operational Guidelines where adequate provisions have not been part of the fellowship.
98 99
vii. The Group Programme of activities should be run religiously ii. Young promising leaders should be encouraged by their Groups
as doing so will ensure strategic plan goals are achieved. to attend Leaders' Meetings in their Zone, at whatever intervals
they meet. This will definitely expose them to the inner
viii. Attendance registers to Bible Study classes and contributions workings of the Ministry. This will qualify them to attend Area
during Bible Study classes and participation in activities can Grassroot Retreat and/or June Workers Retreat where History
reveal potential leaders. of the Union, its Ethos and Working Principles, Operational
ix. Group leaders should mobilize for all the programme of Guidelines, Strategic Plan Goals may be discussed. Knowledge
activities. of these may heighten their interest in SU ministry.
b. Zonal Level iii. Young people should be seriously engaged in Camping
In Enugu Region, a Zone is termed viable if the following criteria Activities, the planning and execution. They can serve in the
are met: Equipment Committee, Registration, as Platoon Leaders,
Security, etc. This will practically expose them working in a
1. Ability to produce leaders from within team. Of course, in the process, they should have received
2. Ability to sustain itself financially without external intervention some training during Camp Officers' training. Their
participation at the level will equip them to be veritable tools
3. Having functional activity wings (including Youth Wing) for other Conferences/Retreats.
4. Ability to hold Scheduled programmes as at when due iv. The Zonal Pilgrims Committee should have a youth
representation.
5. Having a good membership ratio of 45:35:25 for children,
youth and Pilgrims, respectively v. Young people can be used as Zonal Planning, Research and
Statistic Officers (ZPRSOs) because of their versatility with
6. Maintaining Staff & Office remunerations duly modern ICT tools than older generation, many of whom are
Of course, not every Zone meets these requirements, but a good analogue. From this crop of young dynamic leaders will
number do. The first of these criteria is ability to produce leaders emerge veritable hands that will be needed not only at this
from within. time of the new normal but in the near future.
Leadership at Zonal level is drawn from leaders from Groups. The c. Area Level
following can help in developing young leaders at the Zonal level. In addition to some of the statements under Zones which should be
replicated at Area Level, the following should be done:
I. Having a functional Zonal Schools/Youth Implementation
Committee that meets regularly and reports the activities of I. Every Area Committee member should be expected to own the
Schools work and Youth work to the Zonal Committee following documents: Operational Guidelines for Pilgrims
through its Coordinator, who may be a young person. Ministry; Strategic Plan and any other documents on policies
developed at their Regional Level.
100 101
ii. Orientation may need to be done for new Area Committee With much prayers and mobilization at various level, SU will
members as is the case at National level. continue to be a source of manpower not only for the Ministry but
also for the Church at large. Many church leaders today in Nigeria
iii. There should be one youth and one SUCF Alumnus lay claim to having SU as their root. We thank God for that. But we
representatives as Area Committee members who will have need to work on not only how to develop young leaders for now
the normal tenure as other members. Unlike, SUCF Area and the future but also on how to retain a good number of those that
President and the Secretary who serve only for the period of pass through this Ministry in schools and SUCF to continue to
their leadership in school. perpetuate the work through the Pilgrims Ministry. This is what
iv. Also Area Pilgrims Committee should have one youth and one this paper tried to do.
SUCF alumnus representatives who are active in the Ministry. The Lord will help us.
This will serve as a means of not only retaining them but
growing them for the work. REFERENCES
d. Regional Level 1. Ayeni, Peter O. (2019) Running Effective Youth Ministry in
At this stage, if what we have stated is strictly followed, we would Pilgrim Groups Seminar Paper presented at 2019 JARC, SU
have had enough pool of leaders to draw from the lower formations Enugu Region at COF, Okigwe
to serve at the Regional Level. 2. Joshua, E. E. (2020) Highlights of SU History and Structure,
Scripture Union (Nigeria) , 2020 New Council Members
I. Composition of membership of Regional Pilgrims & Volunteers Orientation.
Advisory Committee has number (iv) Three Nominated 3. Scripture Union (Nig) Enugu Region (2015) Pilgrims Work in
members. Again, one of these three can be an SUCF alumnus Enugu Region: Way Forward and Pilgrims' Operational
and another a youth from either an Area or a Zone. The third can Guideline
be chosen from any other category.
4. Scripture Union (Nig) (2018), Operational Guidelines for
ii. A young person can serve as Regional Planning, Research & Pilgrims Ministry (Handbook for effective operation of
Statistic Advisory Chairman, if an older person is nor Pilgrims Ministry)
available. 5. Scripture Union (Nig.) – Scripture Union (Nigeria) Strategic
12. CONCLUSIONS Plan 2018 – 2022
We can safely state that many of the provisions we need to develop 6. Scripture Union (Nig), Enugu Region (2019) – Criteria for
young leaders for ministry, governance and growth of Pilgrims Decentralization of Zones in SU Enugu Region
Ministry are already enshrined in our SU Nigeria principal
working documents. One major setback is members owing the
documents and exhibiting the spirit to drive the realization of the
clearly stated goals.
102 103
God is not made to rule. Like a natural man (Rm 8:5-9), a natural
home is hostile to God.
Chapter Twelve Since the home or family is the basic unit of society, an unhealthy
home is then a disaster not only to its individual members, but also
the Church and the society, especially as it becomes a breeding
ground for monsters that would afflict individuals and society.
Healthy homes make healthy Church, community and society.
Thus the only home that is clearly healthy is the spiritually healthy
one. By composition, it consists of individual persons in whose
respective lives God dwells and rules. Otherwise it is a mirage. A
Building the Gates of Our Lives: choice for a spiritually healthy home can only be made by persons
Maintaining a Spiritually Healthy Home who have earlier chosen to have God's own life in them. By
accepting the Son of God and submitting to His lordship, the seed
of God, the Divine nature, is given them, marking the start of God's
Written by:
indwelling. His indwelling is then sustained by constant obedience
Bro Jide Olusola
to God's Spirit (Gal5:16) as against the temptation to obey the
Rev E. Onyenagbagha
carnal nature.
Prof Ugo Ugoji
To build a spiritually healthy home is like building a house: its
‘ foundation must be strong and serious, if it must stand and stand
the test of time. Thus serious thinking is needed to decide the
1. INTRODUCTION
purpose, nature, structure, resources (quantity and quality), and so
W e may commence the discussions by introducing on. Constituting a home begins with getting married. It begins with
some of the terms or expressions which are key to a one man marrying one woman. No child gets into it. No
clearer understanding of the concerns of this topic, by adolescent! It's about responsibility; so only mature and
defining them: responsible human persons may consider to marry; but it must be
God's business (I will make for him a suitable helper Gen 2:18;
A 'home' here may be a place where someone lives or lives Unless the LORD builds the house … Ps.127:1)
permanently. It may also refer to a family or household. When
spiritual, God is the spirit in it. When it is spiritually healthy, it is A 'gate' may be a doorway or an access, apart from being an object
God-centred, God-dependent and God-driven. God is that Spirit or device that could open or close a way, a passage or door. A
whose presence is in the home and rules in the home, making it spiritual gate stands for access or access point. Through it God and
spiritual and spiritually healthy, by which it is also a happy home. the mysteries of God and godliness could be accessed. It could be
There is a contrast; namely, a natural home, which is a home where God's access to individuals and the home. It could also be access to
104 105
individuals and the home by forces. Gates are usually manned, to Anyone who ignores His manual does so at his own peril and at the
regulate access. For individuals, the mind is one gatekeeper, peril of the home. Also, purpose determines structure. God has the
regulating access to the soul; and for the home the man is the chief structure, defines the personnel and their roles and responsibilities.
gatekeeper. Where the home is a miniature society or nation, then Could one introduce and use one's own template and be successful
manning the gate of the home is critical to the wellness of society. with the home? No! is the answer and the truth. So anyone who
At the wider circles, leaders are the chief gatekeepers. No wonder tries altering the structure introduces a disruptive spanner to the
when the leadership fails God, the whole people are in trouble! Cf. home structure and function, making it dysfunctional.
Prov. 29:2
We shall further discuss this question guided by two perspectives;
What does God say? …and thy seed shall possess the gates of his namely: the church as a family or home, and given families or
enemy (Gen 22:17). It is the case that the person that takes homes:
possession or controls the gate has dominion. a. A church family: we shall consider the profile of the
following church families:
Our discussion is directed towards building and maintaining a i. At Philadelphia
spiritually healthy home, and requires us to consider the following ii. At Jerusalem
questions: what it means for a home to be spiritually healthy, how it iii. At Laodicea
could be established and how it could be maintained. We shall
consider them in turns. At Laodicea (Rev. 3:16-20), their spiritual health characteristics
include being lukewarm (vs.15,16) earning them divine rejection not
2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR A HOME TO BE SPIRITUALLY approval. They had a false sense of riches, and a false independence
HEALTHY? from God (vs.17). There was ignorance, wretchedness and misery,
blindness and naked (vs.17). The very worse is that they ejected
In answer to this question, we consider questions whose answers Christ (vs.20); hence, being outside of them and their lives, He stood
indicate the true spiritual health of the home: 'where is God in the at the door, knocking, to be allowed in.
home'? And is there a concerted pursuit of God's purpose? Purpose,
as we know, defines function and meaning. A purposeless living is The above are indices of bad spiritual health. Other indicators of
putatively a meaningless living. Since God made all things and made bad spiritual health in the family may be examined from the
them all for a single purpose, His own pleasure, a home that fails in churches at Pergamum, Thyatira and Sadis. While we find spiritual
this regard fails indeed. It fails because God is not central to it: so If it death in Sadis (Rev. 3:1), there was weak and compromised
fails to serve its purpose, it is useless; then it would not be saved leadership in Thyatira, where the leadership lacked courage to
damning consequences and misery; for it is the way of obedience to provide control and discipline. Because of this, an evil prophetess
God that leads to peace and rest for the human soul (Jer.6:16). took hold of the family, taught among them and infused the spirit of
seduction and looseness. If pampering means removing control
It is also the case that God and God alone created marriage and and discipline, it is ungodliness and wickedness against God,
family. He therefore is the custodian of its manual for operation. individuals and society. It raises monsters that would inflict
106 107
violence against the faith of the saints, the doctrine of Christ, the Ghost and holiness, power and purity, character and
body of Christ, the peace, the community, and all. incontrovertible testimony both within and outside the family, etc.
The indices of a good spiritually healthy family is seen at In the world today, critical areas of the life of nations and persons
Pergamum. The family had false doctrine and false teachers (Rev. are shown to require special devotion, especially in training and
2:14). The doctrine of Balaam was a satanic counsel aimed at retraining operatives and handlers. This explains part of why some
breaking the will of the people of God, (the saints, who aimed to be courses or programmes are called 'professional courses'. They
holy), to get them defiled so that they abandon the belief that usually require longer formal training period and many
holiness is achievable and eternal life is real. It was to make professional levels of monitoring, regulation of practice and
unchastity a culture and to re-unite the church to the world. It was supervision, as well as retraining from time to time.
also aimed consequently to make them break the hedge; so that
they can be attacked and destroyed. Notably, while they lived If the home or family is central to individuals, communities,
faithful and holy lives, they were not vulnerable; their defence or societies and nations and to the general making of life, then, a
hedge could not be broken (into). (Cf.1Jn. 5:18). Their enemies spiritually healthy family is a most vital and critical organ of the
laboured in vain to destroy them; so their enemies were frustrated. human society. If this is true, then it is unfortunate that the handlers
and operatives of family are neither trained nor considered for
Also, at Philadelphia (Rev. 3:8, 10), the family's health was training; hence the health and happiness of nations are thrown to
characterised by faithful and totally obedient to God and to His chance and to the winds; so the hope for a better tomorrow is
word. They kept the faith, even when their strength was small. putatively a mirage or an imagination. Having a spiritually healthy
They obtained divine approval and were encouraged by Christ to home should be obligatory.
keep it up. Equally at Jerusalem (Ac. 1: 13 -14; 2: 1; 6, etc.) theirs
include togetherness and oneness (Ac. 1:13,14, 16 – 16, 24; 2:1; b. Examples of Spiritually Healthy Homes:
4:23,31; 12:5); staying (fellowship) and praying together – all in Zacharias and Elizabeth: family life features (Lk. 1: 5-25, 39 -45,
one accord. There was one heart, one mind, inspite of being many 57-67-80). They were both righteous before God vs. 6. They
people and coming together from many tribes. There was believed and practised the commandments and ordinances of God
submission and obedience to leadership (Ac. 1:15-25;6:5. There vs.6; the word of God was believed and behaved. They were
was commitment to consistent attendance to fellowship, bible blameless/ faultless vs.6; but had no child vs.7. Zacharias was
study and care and sharing (Ac. 2: 41-47). They depended on the leading a prayer meeting' then, an angel of God came to him vs. 10
word of God and His promises (Ac. 1:4,8,14;16 -20; 33). They -11. They were filled with the Holy Spirit: Elizabeth vs.41,
ascribed glory to God and Christ (Ac. 3:6,12-18; 14:14-17. They Zacharias 67, their son v.15. They prophesied: Elizabeth vs. 41 -45
preached the gospel without ceasing (Ac. 2: 38;3:19; 4:10- streaming forth the mysteries of God; her husband vs 67 -79. They
12;5:42;8:4-8; 9:20). They were zealous not lazy and seized every worked with the Holy Spirit vs. 59 -63, with whom together they
opportunity to preach the gospel (Ac.2:14; 8:36-39; 13:5; 14:3). named the child; because the spirit is one
There was discipline and holiness (Ac. 5:1-11; 9:31;11:24; and If a home is God-centred, husband and wife, and the individuals
leadership was by men grounded in the faith, men of the holy and the home are administered by the Holy Spirit, it is spiritually
108 109
healthy as we can see from the Zacharias. They were barren; they obstinate 2: 25. Eli and his sons sinned against God 2:29; 3:13.
became too old to hope for a child, yet the family was spiritually They earned God's anger 2:31; 1:3:11-14. Males in their family
healthy. When the husband doubted what God could do about their and lineage would forever die young 2:31, 32, 33. Their family
rather hopeless situation, he was disciplined, and he took it well; members and lineage would live as beggars forever 2;36. They
then, God intervened. were forever rejected from the priesthood, for their being
unfaithful 2:35. Eli was slothful, not fervent in spirit 1 Sam 3:18.
Joseph and Mary Lk. 2:1 -5: Mary was a Virgin (Lk. 1:27, 34) and Eli, his two sons and his pregnant daughter-in-law died the same
Joseph was a just man (Matt. 1:19). They listen to God and day 1Sam.4:11, 18-21, and the glory of God departed from Israel.
meticulously obey (don't argue) Matt. 1: 20-25; 2:19-23; Lk. 1:38.
There's clear evidence that the family was made of people who Note: if a man inherited gold, should he leave behind brass? Eli
surrendered totally to God and to His will and instructions. Both and his sons and family inherited privileges, honour, blessings and
travelled together from Galilee to Bethlehem for a Census glory; but left behind curses, dishonour and shame. They
exercise, while Mary was heavy with child v.5; Matt. 2:13. She disinherited Israel of 30,000 warriors (1 Sam 4:10-11), excluding
gave birth in a lowly environment, the conditions were not the best the earlier 4,000 1 Sam 4:2. In their generation they inflicted pain
– all hotels were fully booked because of the large population upon the people. What a home! One spiritually unhealthy home
movement for the census exercise; it seemed baby kit or bag was could brew (inter)national disaster.
not available or was incomplete; hence, the new first baby was
wrapped in swaddling clothes vs.7 and laid a manger 7, 12. So they 3. HOW DOES ONE MAINTAIN A SPIRITUALLY HEALTHY
had challenges and took them together, without disagreement, HOME? (Eph. 5: 22-6:9; 4:16)
grumbling, fault-finding, buck-passing, anger or disaffection. Here we consider the home formation and structure and examine
They returned to Israel when God instructed them (Matt. 2: 19-23) the things that maintain them as God (its Maker) requires. These
and were directed to resettle in Nazareth not Bethlehem in Judea. include recognising the structure as God's construction and not
They were of the same mind and pursued doing the will of God in tampering with it; sticking to God's purpose and aiming always to
all matters together. They had readiness to do the will of God. They fulfil God's goal; maintaining God's home administration order
obeyed the word of God, the law and the statutes Lk. 2: 21- 24, 29. and respecting it; minding the duties and responsibilities;
They attended worship meeting together 2: 41 – 42. They were maintaining constant dependence on God and praying always; and
together in joy and sadness 2: 48. Their son was subject to them maintaining respect for the roles and role payers, with love, trust,
2:51 care, and dignity.
Eli and his family (I Sam. 1, 2): Eli and his two sons were priests in The structure, according to God, is that the husband or man in the
Shiloh 1 Sam 1:2. The two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were sons marriage is head. The woman or wife is under this head. Both as the
of Belial, worthless miscreants 2:12. They did not know God 2:12. parents in the home are co-heads. The children, the house
They were fornicators and rapists, against female worshipers in the assistants, relations, dependants, and others are under the co-
temple 2:22. They were doing so much evil 2:23-25. They were heads. This structure must be understood well and maintained if
110 111
the home must be spiritually healthy. The roles and responsibilities strategies for operations. The plans may be long term or short term;
and resources are managed or administered by them. We further the human resources development plan; the financial resources
examine the latter next, but simply as positions and and cash-flow; the assets and liabilities; contingencies, etc. He
responsibilities not statuses. The roles are rigid in principle, so must have capacity and competence for this position.
may not be swapped; but supporting is permitted. It should be
noted that all people irrespective of age, status and position are He is the leader. He makes the decisions.
considered equal; but roles and responsibilities assign duties to act The leader in, say, a meeting, must be knowledgeable to qualify to
or to restrain actions. They also ensure orderliness, inherent in all lead, but does not have all the knowledge or ideas. He makes others
social animals and beings. There must therefore be mutual respect: express their ideas, opinions or views; and harnesses the ideas and
in this sense adults deserve respect as children do; superiors opinions of members; synthesises them; and relates them to the
deserve respect and give respect to subordinates; men give respect vision and organisational goals, and reaches a decision. Note
to women and get respect from them, and so on: Eph 5: 21; 6: 5-6; therefore that in the home, the ideas of the wife are counted upon; the
Col 4:1 ideas of the children, and others must count; and so must be
THE HEAD IN THE HOME considered; but the decision is made by the head. The decision must
The head of the home is also referred to as the man, the husband, then be binding on all within the domain of his leadership. It is
the male parent or father, and the master or ruler (Eph 5:23, 25, 31; therefore the response of the members of the home to the decision
6:4,9; 1 Pet 3:6-7; Gen 3: 16). He is 'head of the woman' (Eph 5: that defines their loyalty. Insubordination is estimated therefrom.
23); how? Exactly the way Christ is the Head of the Church. He Where loyalty questions arise, the person who bears the rule has a job
loves, honours and saves (cares, protects) his wife (Eph 5:25,33; 1 to do. He asks the relevant questions, reviews the situation, asserts
Pet 3:7); how? Exactly as Christ does to the Church. He cleaves to the direction, insists on correction, considers training or retraining
his wife Eph 5:31; and is one (flesh) with her. He is father Eph 6:4. needs, deploys disciplinary measures, among others.
He teaches and trains members of the home and provides The head bears the rule over the home. The home is not a
discipline and control Eph 5:26, 29; 6:4; Deut 6:6-9. He is democratic unit. Joshua could therefore be categorical and stated
master/lord Eph 6:5; 1 Pet 2:18; 3:6-7; 1 Tim 3:4-5 'As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord!' It is a demanded
The position of the head of the home comes with enormous Divine duty for the man to do. If he fails, he and every person under
responsibilities, some of which may be quite daunting but his headship would face the consequences. This is to be recognised
required, if the home must be spiritually healthy. Let's examine by both the head and other members of the home and respected as
some of them, guided by the scriptures: such. It is a duty position assigned by God for the spiritual health of
the home and for Gods honour. Neither the head nor the wife nor
Headship demands that the man is the manager of the organisation the children are house members representing different
called home, managing all human, money and materials for the constituencies. Each position is given, not elective. Structure and
common good of the organisation and to meet organisational principles are Divine.
goals. He generates the vision, the mission and plans out the
112 113
He is the head teacher and training officer of the home. offerings according to the number of them all. For
Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned,
Curiously, he trains his wife! There is a natural demand that a head and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did
has a fitting body. So Christ as head of the Church labours in love to continually' Job 1:5
process the Church to fit Him, to be a suitable and unmistakable
part of Him, in knowledge, belief, behaviour and share of rights THE WIFE IN THE HOME
and privileges. By discharging this role in love, His work purifies In the home, the wife is also the female parent or mother, and co-
the Church, to present her perfect. This duty and role, the head of head with the man in the discharge of the responsibilities conferred
the home must exactly copy, to prepare his wife and get her to be on them. One aim or goal, echoed for a spiritually healthy home is
that perfect fit to him. Giving his life for his wife is a metaphor for captured in the expression, 'as unto the Lord/ as service or worship
him being single-heartedly devoted to seeking the good of his wife, rendered to the Lord' Eph 5: 5:22; 6:9; Col 3:18, 23-25; and that
bearing her burden and pain, helping her overcome her there are rewards. That means that the roles and responsibilities are
shortcomings, and for her perfecting. What a duty! One test: would assigned by God. So the job is His job. He assigns positions and
you keep deeply loving her even when it hurts? In a training, duties as he wants. And all must work for His pleasure (Rev.4:11).
success may be determined by how much the trainee or leaner He is also the one who pays and rewards.
learns. What if the learner does not obey instructions or cooperate
with the teacher? What a trouble! That is why God's demand is She obeys and submits to her own husband (Gen 3: 16; Eph 5: 22,
'wife, obey (submit to) your husband…' What if the trainer is not 24; 6:9; Col 3:18; Tit 2:5; 1 Pet 3: 1-6). She teaches and trains,
devoted? Another trouble! The assessor of the success and cares and provides 1 Tim 5:8; pro. 31:10-24; Deut 6:6-9; Tit 2:3-4.
rewarder is God Himself; and He assesses the learner and the To 'obey' is to comply with or conform to or follow the instructions,
teacher. He is also the rewarder; and He rewards them respectively. guidance, restrictions or desires. To 'submit' is a higher
requirement than to obey. It is obedience plus a conclusive
The head also trains the children and other members of the family deliberate surrender and yielding of the entire self to the actions,
Eph 6:4 in tenderness and discipline. The children take his position, control, and authority of her own husband. In her duty
instructions and obey him. What if they don't? post as wife, she conceives her own husband as master or lord to
whom she is delighted to owe submission and service. In her
He is the priest, pastor and shepherd of the home. considered position, a deliberate self-humbling lowness is a
This is further to his duty to teach, direct, lead, and to provide care culture she is wholly persuaded to practice for the spiritual health
and protection. So, as the head of his home, he shows dependence of her heart and her home. There is further insight to this; namely: a
on God who would build the home and presents his people before depth of love. Whereas it does not seem obvious in Ephesians
God and makes intercessions for them. chapter 5, it is within the instruction to submit. As the Spirit states,
'But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they
“And when the days of the feast had run their love him…1Jn 2:5 'Loving God means keeping His
course, Job would send and consecrate them, and commandments…' 1Jn 5:3 (NLT). So it shows that the submission
he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt
114 115
demanded is evidence of love or sacrificial love. In other words, God and to humans and society. Which do you choose? A
where obedience or submission is difficult, love is missing. Little spiritually healthy home is constituted by persons in whose life
wonder Eph 5 ends with …let each man of you…love his wife as God dwells. For God to indwell them, they are born by God
…his own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences through Christ.
her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honours him,
prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to Considering to marry is therefore a serious business. Would you
him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly] AMP make it God's business or you think you can handle it? Making it
God's business from outset is ultimate wisdom. Read Prov. 3: 5-8;
Examine now yourself most sincerely before God, and allow God Rev. 4: 11
to help you.
A home has ownership. It is owned and manned, not left to chance
As co-head with her husband, she provides teaching and training and vagaries. Whoever controls its gate has dominion. Who has the
for her children, members of her household and the church women. dominion over your home? That being controls its health index. Ps.
127: 1-2
THE CHILD IN THE HOME
This position refers to the non-adult or any person yet under the For Further Reading
care of parents. The critical goal attached to the performance of this Scripture Union (Nigeria), (N.D.) United for a Purpose: Aid for
responsibility is captured in the expression 'this pleases the Lord' Couples in God's Field
Col 3:20; and there are rewards, including longevity and wellbeing
Eph 6: 2-3 Ugorji, U. (2009) God's Will and Marriage. Ibadan: SUPB limited
SERVANTS IN THE HOME
They are domestic assistants, apprentices, employees, and may
include dependants who live-in and support the home. The aim or
target in the discharge of this responsibility is captured in the
expression 'as unto the Lord Eph 6: 5-6,7-8,9; and there are
rewards 1 Cor 3;14; Eph 6:8-9; Col 3;24. They obey and respect
their masters/mistresses with a single heart Eph 6:5; 1 Pet 2:18 and
without eye service Col 3:22-25.
CONCLUDING NOTES
A home, family or household is a micro unit from which
community, society or nation is built. It can be spiritual or carnal
(natural). Where it is spiritual God is the spirit in it: He determines
it and drives it for it to be healthy. Otherwise it is carnal where God
is not made to rule. By being carnal it is a disaster to the kingdom of
116 117
phenomena in child development.
Within the human lifespan, there are critical developmental stages
that must take place. They are:
Extra 1 Babyhood/Infancy (1 day to 3 years of age): Even at childbirth,
a baby can develop neurosis if the mother is not properly
guided/guarded when the head of baby comes out of the womb . This
was a common occurrence before the emergence of orthodox
Upbringing, Evangelising and Discipling maternity care in the country in the 1930s when such babies become
dull and imbecilic.
Children In Contemporary Society
2 Kindergarten: Children within this age (4 - 6 years) are very
Written by inquisitive, restless and impulsive. They must be well protected from
Samuel A. Ogungbemi falling down head-long to prevent injuries to the skull which can lead
to neurotic disorder later in life.
3 Life-script/Formative stage [6-8 years]: This is a formative stage
I n this topic, definition of some terms is necessary. The terms are

upbringing, evangelising, discipling, contemporary and
society. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current
English defines:
where mental retentions or assimilations are experienced and practised.
Children in this stage are very inquisitive. They assimilate and practise
whatever their parents and the society where they live do. They retain
what they see, hear or do in their brain .
Upbringing as a knowledge acquired during formative years; In this topic, we want to examine the impact and challenges of child
helping someone to grow up to be an accepted member of the upbringing, evangelising and discipling in our present
community. (contemporary) society. There is no doubt that upbringing,
Evangelism/evangelising as trying to persuade people to become evangelising and discipling children in our society today is tasking
Christians. and so calls for concerted efforts. In these days of high level of
immorality, cultism, gangsterism, drug abuse, sexual pervasion, gross
Discipling as the act of helping people become followers, indiscipline, yahoo-yahoo plus get - rich - quick syndrome, worldliness
particularly of Christ. It is also the art of follow up of young convert and many other threatening vices, child training has become a
of Jesus Christ. The emphasis is on love, guidance and teaching conscious activity. Trainers take due diligence to scrutinize what the
given to a young convert to grow to maturity. child is exposed to and made to imbibe since many training aids and
Contemporary as belonging to the same time; belonging to the media, directly or indirectly patronize or advance these vices, the only
present time. reliable option left is the gospel . Therefore, there is no doubt that
Society as people in general, living together in communities. evangelising and discipling children, to snatch them from the hands of
Satan, should be the priority of the body of Christ. More so, the
Before discussing this topic, it will be necessary to consider some
scripture says that in the last days, perilous time shall come and men
118 119
would become lovers of their own selves; covetous, boasters, proud, the son of man cometh, shall He find faith on earth?” looking at things,
and children would become disobedient to parents. These predictions end time is with us. We are like fighting the last battle. Shall we continue
are already with us. We need to be more aggressive in evangelism to to sit back in our comfort chairs and watch the wolves (the enemy)
prepare the children against them. The deplorable situation of our devour the gentle lambs our master desires us to keep in wait for His
country's moral edifice is frightening and very much alike to that which second coming? I can hear someone saying, “God forbid!” God can
existed in Israel in the time of Jeremiah. Read Lamentation 2:11-19; only forbid if we can sit up to our responsibilities. Read II Timothy 3:1-
4:3-4; 5:21-22. 7. The urgency to evangelize and disciple children should be the
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. But why did he weep? It priority of the body of Christ.The following steps can be taken:
is true that he was moved by the spirit of God to weep over the plight •Evangelising and discipling the children must be now because
of the little children in the land. But have we followed the pattern of tomorrow may be too late
the prophet? Have those of us called to children ministry wailed for
the children?What is the state of our commitment to the children. •Jesus Christ may come at any time from now and there will be no
Children in Nigeria are actually starving for the “bread of life” and excuse for our nonchalant attitude to children evangelism.
many are dropping into eternal hell! The sad thing is that many of the •Evangelising and discipling of children is an obedience to Jesus
adults with potential to help do not seem to bother or care. It would Christ's instruction, Matt. 28:18-20, Mk. 16:15-20.
therefore not an over-statement to say that we are facing crisis in our •The society is polluted with vices of the devil or sinful acts.
land. Thousands of mothers have become working class and so have
no time for their children. Multitudes of children are left to nannies
and care - givers who in the real sense do not give any care. Children WHY DO WE NEED TO EVANGELISE AND DISCIPLE
are left to play and hawk on the streets and pick their trainings CHILDREN IN OUR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
everywhere but the real source.
•Scriptural basis for children evangelism. Read Matt. 18:1-14,
In view of these, we may ask ourselves these questions: why do we Matt. 19:14. It is not God's will that one of these little ones
need to evangelise and disciple children in our contemporary should perish.
society? Why does a child need Christ? Why must it be now? Whose
work is it to evangelism and disciple? •The present and coming generations must not grow without
knowing the strength and wonderful works of the Lord. Read
Let me start with why must the work of evangelising and discipling be Psalms 78:1-8.
now? Evangelising and discipling the children is an urgent task,
because action without delay is the secret of success. Procrastination in •God commanded us to bring the children to hear the word of God
evangelising and discipling the children is dangerous because that they too will learn to fear God. Read Deut. 31:12-13.
tomorrow may be too late and there will be no remedy to bring the •Every household is responsible to maintain constant teaching of
children to personal faith in Jesus. It is also urgent because Jesus Christ the word of God for its children, wards and their peers. Read
desired to meet faith when He returns. He had said according to Luke Deut. 11:18-21.
18:8 “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when
•Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and
120 121
when he is old, he will not depart from it”. Parents and all entirety.
Christians including Sunday school teachers should not fail in •Out of the mouth of babes and suckling thou hast perfection,
this divine responsibility, otherwise the devil will be at Psalms 8:2, Mk. 21:16.
advantage to derail children Eph. 6:4.
•Jesus commanded us to feed the lambs, children inclusive, John
•Parents are saddled with the responsibility of training their 21:15.
children suitably and adequately from infancy, childhood,
teenage, adolescence and adulthood. How many children today •
Children are easily exposed to devices of the devil and immorality
can say they were taught the way of salvation by their Christian propagated by the media and the ICT including pornography.
parents? Appropriate training is an essential process of raising •Children are humble, feeble, soft and have teachable hearts. In
children. other word, they respond to teaching quicker and easily, Mat
•Parents should have standard and purpose in training their 18:3 They absorb and practise whatever they hear and see with
children. relative ease. Sometimes they improve on such things faster
than could be imagined.
•They should teach each child in the way to go. Proper training is
not a vain or misplaced effort but one that brings definite results •Jesus laid the foundation for children evangelism, Mark. 10:14.
when the child reaches adulthood and attains maturity. •Children are the leaders of tomorrow, Prov. 22:6.
•We need to evangelise and disciple children to have leadership •Children are future historians, Ex. 12:26.
successors like Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Timothy, Titus and
Philemon, Jesus Christ and His disciples, etc. •Children are in darkness and they need people to show them the
light, John 3:19.
• A child is called and anointed right from the womb Jer.1:5.
Discipling immediately after birth is essential to keep the child •Children are sharpened in iniquities; hence they need godly
focused. direction, Psalms 51:5.
WHY DO CHILDREN NEED CHRIST OR WHY DO WE •Children will die in their sins if there is nobody to show them the
LEAD A CHILD TO CHRIST? right way, John 8:24.
•It is the commandment of God, Matt. 28:18-20, Mk. 16:14-20, •
Children are endowed with potentials Psalms 127:4, Gen 37&38.
Deut. 6:49. •The value of the soul of children is very important to God Matt.
•God loves children, Matt. 18:10,14. 18:5.
•
Children are part of sinners, Romans 6:23. They should be tutored •The time is evil and we must catch them young, Eph. 5:16. It is
to blend squarely into Christian faith. better to teach children than to mend adults.
•Children have always been neglected and not cared for, Zech. •Children are easily influenced by the environment and would
8:5. Such avoidable negligence should be discontinued in its need a good pilot to show them the way, John 8:12.
122 123
WHAT CAN HASTEN CHILDREN EVANGELISM IN OUR
TIME?
In this era of hastening evangelism, we must not deceive ourselves,
Scripture Union Nigeria needs to invest more on the promotion of
children literature, in English and vernaculars. Good enough, Daily
Power designed purposely for older children is being subsidised.
But, that may not be enough. It will not be too much, if Scripture
Union can work to have Daily Milk or Daily Power distributed free.
It is a question of focus, determination and objective of the union on
evangelism.
A good lesson must be learnt from “The Book of Hope” ministry by
Bob and Rob Hoskin who give their publications, e.g. Affect Destiny,
free of charge to people all over the world. What about the Jehovah's
Witness, whose publications are given out free too? Daily Power and
Daily Milk are not too much to be given free to children and youth to
assist them draw closer to God. Individuals or groups can even
sponsor productions of these Notes and God will be glorified. The
earlier this is achieved the better because Satan and technology are
projecting their “evangelisms” vastly and sharply practically at no
costs.
In conclusion, upbringing and aggressive children evangelism are
very much needed in our decaying society of today. Let us join hands
and resources to help our children locate the path of life and walk
thereon. God has commanded us to train and evangelise the children
who would remain to ensure continuity after we had gone. The
future of the church depends on the obedience of all believers to the
great commission.Presently, many Christians are like a cake not
turned. There seems to be over-developed adult evangelism at the
expense of children training and evangelism. One should expect that
children evangelism should be given equal, if not better attention
than adult evangelism. Adults, no doubt, will fade away but, children
will invariably take over the stage. If we miss the children now, we
may miss the future church and that will be failing Jesus.
124

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Scripture Union Nigeria

The Ancient Paths

Chapter One: Mentoring: Key to Enduring Missions Among

W hy is Scripture Union Nigeria bothering itself with the

O ur theme constraints us to remember and consider some

wonder and challenge to every successive adult generations. Every

T he adolescent period is special time in life for so many

I. THE MEANING OF FAITH

E very book begins with a simple thought that, when written

DEFINITION OF GODLY PATTERN

U niversity and College campuses have the uniqueness of

In his relationships. He should not be unequally yoked with

I n order to appreciate the topic, it is pertinent to understand

G lobalization preceded Christ first coming; even so would

E very sinner (children inclusive) is under condemnation and

WHERE DO WE MEET THEM? Developing Young Leaders For Ministry,

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I n this topic, definition of some terms is necessary. The terms are

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