The 42nd edition of the Ministers Apostolic Fire Convocation (MAFCO), an annual spiritual retreat and leadership development conference organized for ministers of God by the Christ Livingspring Apostolic Ministry (CLAM), was successfully held from January 9 to 12, 2022, at CLAM’s corporate headquarters, Omole, Lagos.
Over 300 delegates from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, United Kingdom, USA, and Australia participated in the Retreat whose theme was The Power and Wisdom of God for your Next Level, (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Speakers included Pastor Wole Oladiyun, Senior Pastor, CLAM Global, who conducted an impartation session on Divine Direction for Your Next Level, and Pastor (Mrs.) Bukola Oladiyun, Director of Family Life, CLAM, and Founder, Voice of Joy & Gladness International Ministry.
Other speakers were:
- Pastor Dele Johnson, Senior Pastor, Jesus Liberation Army (Help from on High, Psalms 121.
- Pastor Femi Faseru, Resident Pastor, KICC Maryland, Nigeria (The Church & Digital Influence, Acts 1 v 8).
- Bishop Wale Adekoya, General Overseer, Get Equipped Ministries, (Discipleship and The Seven Mountains, Micah 4: 1-2).
- Pastor Akintunde Kolade, Centre Pastor, CLAM Prayer Centre, Lekki (Divine Intervention Prayers).
- Pastor John-Debo Adeyemi, President/General Overseer, Glory Impact Apostolic Global Ministry (Preservation Prayers).
Pastor Wole Oladiyun, the convener of MAFCO, told the participants that the wisdom and power dimensions must be balanced in this era in order for Christians to have dominion, do exploits, and possess their possessions. “This is the time for us to imbibe new values, learn new things, and be strategically positioned to excel and earn global acclaim”, he added.
Quoting Proverbs 25:2 (It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of Kings is to search out a matter), Pastor Oladiyun admonished ministers and indeed all Christians to learn to know the mind of God and seek divine direction before they take any action.
“We are in a season where the God factor cannot be ignored or underplayed. It is inevitable that we know the mind of God for us to have access to newer and higher dimensions of His blessings. We must learn to seek and obey divine instructions; it is no longer business as usual”, he noted.
Pastor Dele Johnson of Jesus Liberation Army, who ministered on Help from on High, (Psalms 121), charged participants to constantly remind themselves that the only source of help that is reliable, dependable, and sustainable is God.
Pastor Femi Faseru of KICC, who spoke on The Church and the Digital Influence, advised ministers to embrace digital technology as a means of preaching the gospel, spreading the message of salvation, engaging with Christians, and winning souls for Christ.
“The space of the Ministry is beyond the four walls of the church. No matter the dimension of your ministry, you must focus on saving and winning souls. We are called to win souls anywhere and everywhere, hence we cannot afford to abandon the digital space”, he stressed.
Pastor Faseru identified three types of leaders in the church according to how they see the digital revolution. These are leaders who willingly and gladly embraced the digital clarion call, leaders who were forced into embracing digitization, and those who have continued to ignore the use of digital technology.
He pointed out the dangers of being an analog church, citing the challenges churches faced during the COVID-19-induced lockdown. “For the analog church, there was no corporate worship, no corporate bible study, no evangelism, no gathering of the people, no payment of tithes and offerings. Their churches were totally locked down and hence could not fulfill their mandate”, he added.
