“My brothers and sisters, when I first came to proclaim to you the secrets of God, I refused to come as an expert, trying to impress you with my eloquent speech and lofty wisdom. For while I was with you I was determined to be consumed with one topic—Jesus, the crucified Messiah. I stood before you feeling inadequate, filled with reverence for God, and trembling under the sense of the importance of my words. The message I preached and how I preached it was not an attempt to sway you with persuasive arguments but to prove to you the almighty power of God’s Holy Spirit. For God intended that your faith not be established on man’s wisdom but by trusting in his almighty power.”‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭TPT

‬‬Looking back after 30 years of the inauguration of Global Harvest church as a ministry fills me with a mixture of emotions. A feeling of cheer at the many successes recorded, pain at the failures, renewed faith for the future and determination to finish my part of the journey strong. Over the years, I have seen values eroded and success redefined in the church in nigeria. Success is only measured in numbers and quantum’s of material wealth, whereas in the sight of God, it is simply obedience to God’s mandate and faithfulness to His calling on our lives. My standards of measurement are therefore not ephemeral. Yet, I know we could have done more, reached more, changed more…but while we are not yet where we are going, we are far from where we started from and her filled with overwhelming gratitude.

David, though a teenage boy was not totally a rookie in shepherding his father’s flock at 17 (1 Samuel 17.36-37). He had confronted the lion and the bear, and defended the flock successfully. However, he fought with a slingshot and pebbles in addition to his bare hands. He would find himself stirred up to take up the challenge of confronting a giant by the name Goliath who was terrorizing the entire nation of Israel. The attempt by Saul the king to equip him with his armour did not work. His dependence was not in a Sword and Shield but in God who can use ANYTHING and ANYBODY to accomplish His Will. This is reminiscent to our journey with God in the last Thirty years. Personal expertise, eloquence, packaging and human efforts have not worked. It has been God all the way who has used some smooth stones for His own glory. Like Paul, we have nothing in the flesh to be proud of.

A DEFINITE CALL

The Great commission has always been at the heart of our calling as a ministry. We have endeavoured to be missional from the first day and only tweaked structures and strategies for more effectiveness. In our local churches, our focus has also been to help our members with the discovery and accomplishment of God’s purpose for our personal lives. The discovery of our potentials as pointers to purpose has been an essential part of the process. It is pertinent that a ministry have their guiding philosophy rooted in the Word and that they stay consistent with it.

THE WORD FOUNDATION

The Word of God is the final authority. A commitment to obey the Word and uphold it as final authority is a guarantee of success (Joshua 1.8). Building on the Word is building on the rock (Mathew 7.24-27). The storms of ministry will definitely come but a ministry built on the principles of scripture will stand the test of time. Even God has magnified His Word above His name (Psalm 138.2). Giving the Word the final say in every circumstance remains a major part of our consecration.

THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS

Paul did not care to know anything among the Corinthians except the everlasting Gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 2.1-4). The message comprises of repentance from sin, faith in the sacrifice of Christ for justification and salvation. Trust in the resurrection of Christ, reception of His forgiveness and the impartation of eternal life. The message saves souls, heals the sick, delivers the captives and transforms lives. This message is foolishness to the perishing world but the power of God unto salvation for us (Romans 1.16, 1 Corinthians 18-21). All ministry without the true gospel of Jesus Christ at the center of it is nothing but empty rhetoric and religiosity. God only conforms His Word with signs and wonders (Mark 16.20). The message is timeless and the power endless. Watered down and strange versions of it have produce between zero and weakened effect on people’s lives. The real, undiluted gospel of Christ will transform the worst of sinners, destroy the strongest of yoke and heal the worst of disease.

THE LEADING OF THE SPIRIT

The partnership of the Holy Spirit has been emphasized for day 1. Every success can be traced to obedience clear directions and every failure to disobedience. The comforter has been our help and dependence. An intimate relationship with Him guarantees being in the center of God’s Will and provides opportunities for course corrections and realignment when we stray away. Since the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been in charge of the affairs of the Kingdom of God on earth (Romans 14.17). The early church sought His direction and followed His instructions (Acts 13.1-2).’They gave Him recognition and revered His presence. They treated like a person that He is (John 15.16, Acts 15.28) and also treated Him as their God (Acts 9.31). This resulted in a supernatural ministry that was unstoppable (Acts 4.33).

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT

God gives seed to the sower and bread to the Eater (2 Corinthians 9.10). To everyone are given spiritual gifts, human, financial and material resources. The effective management of these resources will either attract more or lead to the loss of the one at hand. The parable of the talents teaches this truth very clearly (Matthew 25). A ministry well structured with guiding policies and processes will achieve order and productivity. Where there a lack of order in the way a person or organization operates, it will not realize it’s potentials. Resource allocation should be according to priorities. Since resources are usually limited in nature, there ought to be a simple scale of preference guiding the allocation. In the same vein, Human Resources are maintained by effective social skills that give them a sense of security. There just be confidence in the leaders genuine interest in their development , otherwise, there will be a high level of staff turnover which weakens the organization. I have no big arm or nor intimidating shield, but these five smooth stones have helped us this far and as we hone our skills at their use with the propelling power of the Holy Spirit, we will destroy our giants and take the kingdoms of this world for our Lord and master.

Victor Adeyemi

Global Lead Pastor