Anglican primate calls for synergy among churches to build Nigeria

Church leaders in Nigerian have been enjoined to rise up to the challenge of sponsoring Christian pilgrims to holy lands in order not to give room for unbelievers to exploit the advantages in pilgrimage.

He also called on Christians to find means of building spiritual force for the nation’s growth.

The Primate of Anglican Community, Bishop Nicholas Okoh, who stated this during the convocation of all church leaders and pastors organized by the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) in Abuja on Tuesday, also said that church leaders and pastors, should see church proceeds as God’s money that should be spent on bettering the lots of the worshipers.

According to Bishop Okoh, who is also the board chairman of the NCPC, said the reason for the gathering of all the church leaders is to find a way to take up the challenges of the work of God, to avoid instituting ideas capable of disuniting the church.

“It has become imperative that Christians should take over the sponsoring of pilgrims to Holy lands and due to Government withdrawals from given subvention, we have allowed native Doctors and politicians to hijack the sponsoring of pilgrims to their selfish ends,” the cleric stated.

He further noted that if churches in Nigeria, should take up the sponsorship of Christian pilgrimage, the purpose will well be archived, stressing that if allowed to be controlled by politicians, the integrity of pilgrimage would be defeated.

Bishop Okoh also lamented the challenges of theological variety which has become a negative influence on the growth and spread of the word of God. He stressed that issue of different existence of doctrines among churches introduce divergent opinions and disagreement.

Said he: “If we are not careful, the others would take the advantage to take over. Pastors and other church leaders, should see church money as God’s money and should use it to better the lots of their members, more especially sponsoring them to the Holy lands.”

Speaking on the insinuation that pilgrimage has become ordinary business trip to Israel, the cleric said that pilgrimage is not a jamboree neither is it a picnic of which any body who wishes to make the trip must meet the prerequisite to attend.

Speaking during the occasion, the executive secretary of the pilgrims commission, said that in order for Christian leaders to grow spiritually, they should embark on pilgrimage to holy lands at least once a year, for spiritual guidance.

“I would recommend that before any pastor graduates from pastoral school, that one of the prerequisite is to attend pilgrimage to a Holy land to obtain this spiritual backing.

It became known to me that the Bible is better explained by visiting the Holy land than what we read in the Bible theoretically.

And that is why some pastors elope from the parent churches, because of absence of spirit of God.”