By Chimezie Godfrey
Bishop David Abioye, First Vice President of Living Faith Church Worldwide, called on Christians to step up their efforts in the area of church governance to advance Christianity.
Abioye made the call during his remarks at the inauguration of the Stakeholder Forum and unveiling of the Church Leaders Management Clinic in Abuja.
The program was organized by Church Management Support Ministry, led by its President, Dr. Kayode Nissi.
Abioye, during his presentation titled “The Need for Sound Administration in Church Management,” said the church must have a purpose and a mission.
According to him, the church is a spiritual organization and must be born and regulated by God, emphasizing that it must begin with purpose and mission.
“A church exists to turn people from sin to righteousness, to prepare people for heaven, and to turn people from the power of Satan into the power of God.
“Therefore, there is an absolute need for order, skills and structures where the administration and management of human and other resources are important to the church.
“Additionally, there is a need for church/office operations, membership operations, and policy guidelines to govern church processes and operations.
“If you don’t follow the process, you can’t get a good product. Church leaders must also follow the structure, policies, orders, and guidelines. They cannot set guidelines and not follow them.
“The church must be in order. Accountability is essential to advancing Christianity.
“Everything matters in the church; staff, management, transportation, seating arrangements, etc. You leave nothing to chance,” Abioye said.
Abioye was represented at the event by Dr. Yemi Oyeniye.
Similarly, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, the former marshal of the Federal Traffic Safety Corps, said that the ministry of support for the management of churches is not a church, but a ministry of support to enable churches to develop.
“I want to line up with one of the speakers who said you may be very good at speaking in tongues, but if you don’t have the church management skills, everything will fall apart.
“This ministry aims to help all churches under the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and those not under CAN to speak with one voice.
“I all want to make sure that we will give our support to the leadership support ministry of the church to fulfill the mission and vision that God gave to Dr Nissi,” Oyeyemi said.
Speaking earlier, Nissi said the Forum should support churches across the country in administration, finance and management.
According to him, many churches have management problems and by the grace of God, this ministry has liaised with CAN to organize training programs covering the five blocks of CAN.
“To date, we have in our roster about 2,400 certified church management pastors. We did a lot in the South, before moving to Port Harcourt and Abuja.
“And by the grace of God, we will continue the work here and from what we have on the ground, we will continue with the certificate program in church management and finance only.
“The basic foundation of our training is scripture as well as to ensure that our teaching is provided by seasoned professionals and is free.
“CAN management supports our programs. I want to assure you that as pastors you have people who will help you work better,” Nissi said.
The event brought together pastors and other clergy from different denominations.
Highlights of the event were the inauguration of the Stakeholder Forum with Oyeyemi as chairman and the unveiling of the church leadership management clinic.