Our Ijaw Pastors and Student Pastors…
We currently have 3 full-time Ijaw Pastors, Alade, Ebitebe and DeRock. Before my trip we had 3 student Pastors being trained by Wilson at the headquarters church in Lagos and scheduled to graduate this June '04. At that point they will go into full-time ministry pastoring our Ijaw churches and our veteran pastors will pioneer new churches as we move into new villages.
(L-R) DeRock, Ebitebe, Alade
I learned that 2 of the student Pastors who will be graduating this June came to the Lord at my Abere Crusade Nov. 2002!
At the end of my visit 3 more Ijaw men joined the Pastors Discipleship School at HICC, Lagos. One of them is a man in his mid 40s named John. He has been serving the Lord for several years and being Ijaw, he felt compelled a few years back to take the Gospel to his own tribe. For the past few years he's been conducting crusades in the river villages of the Ijaw and planting churches. However, upon returning to the churches he had planted he found that none of them remained, and that he was unable to successfully disciple the new converts. Hearing about the success of HICC and NIM, he left his wife and 4 children in Sapele and traveled to Abere (his hometown) to meet us. When he arrived he asked if we would take him into our school and ministry, train and use him to pioneer churches among the Ijaw. He will complete his training at Lagos in June, and then gather his family and take a HICC church wherever Wilson decides to send him.
Pastors and Student Pastors Are Supported By NIM…
We (NIM) have had the sole responsibility for supporting the Ijaw Pastors of HICC. This year we will be expanding our support to include the full-time Student Pastors in training. This will more than double our Pastors' salary budget. NIM sends $70 a month per Pastor. Though this may seem small, that amount supports a Pastor and his family.
(L-R) Alade, DeRock, me, Ibe, Danye, Ebitebe, Joseph, John
(missing from above) Emole (2nd to my right) and John (far right)
The training these Ijaw young men undergo is intense and their commitment is very deep. They are some of the finest Christian servants you will find and the ministry is very blessed to have them as Pastors. They are sacrificial hard workers and deeply committed to prayer and the ministry of the Gospel.
We need your financial help in providing support for these Ijaw Pastors who are taking the Gospel to the Ijaw nation. NIM has doubled it's number of supported Pastors from 2003 and we are believing God that He has ordained this expansion and will move hearts to meet the need.