By Aramide Oikelome - Lagos
As Christians in Nigeria and other parts of the world prepare for the 16th edition of the Annual Holy Ghost Congress of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), the Special Assistant to the General Overseer on Administration and Personnel, Pastor Johnson Odesola has assured that this year’s Congress will be different from past Congresses as adequate arrangements have been made to host the mammoth crowd that the power-packed event is going to attract.
He said the church is leaving no stone unturned and has embarked on significant investments on a number of infrastructures such as accommodation, conveniences, construction of additional motor parks and so on, to ameliorate the hitherto unpleasant experiences and hiccups associated with past congresses.
Odesola said this at a media parley organized to intimate the media and by extension prospective participants with the great things God is set to do in the lives of His people through this year’s event.
Speaking on behalf of the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, popularly known as “Daddy GO”, Odesola said the theme of this year’s event tagged: “The Overflow” is strategic in the agenda of God for the nation because it is meant to assure Nigerians that in spite of the fact that many people are already disillusioned because of the ugly turn of events, Nigeria will get better as God translates individuals, families, communities and the nation at large from the quagmire of defeat and despondency to the pedestrian of overflowing blessings and peace.
The preacher, who also acknowledged that the Holy Ghost Congress has since transcended the confines of the Redeemed Church and become a national affair, added that, “The essence of the theme is to assure Nigerians that “contrary to the opinion of many that Nigeria is on the verge of total collapse, things will get better through the power of God.”
“The Congress is not for the church alone but for the nation. There is still hope for our nation even though we have challenges at hand. No nation is immune to problems. Nigeria will get better beyond 2015 even though many are disillusioned already.”
Buttressing his point with the scripture, which says that the powers that be are of God, he enjoined Nigerians to come together and seek divine help so that the nation can be restored to its rightful position.
Adding his voice, the Managing Editor of the Church’s magazine, Redemption Light, Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi debunked insinuations that the programme of the church is responsible for the daily heavy traffic experienced by commuters along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“The incessant Lagos-Ibadan Expressway traffic is not caused by the programmes of RCCG because, even when the church does not have any programme, the traffic jam and its harrowing experience still persist daily. Hence, in order to ensure that the church is not in any way responsible for such, we have invested heavily on constructing as well as improving numerous car parks to ensure that during this Congress, nobody parks along the road,” he said.
“As far as we are concerned, there will be no traffic jam induced by the programme because many outlets have been opened and in terms of accommodating the crowd, the church is investing so much on infrastructure to ameliorate the suffering and inadequacies that are usually associated with such crowd,” he added.
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