Today is a watershed moment for me, and I woke up in tears.
This morning, the Present Truth Ministry will celebrate a new beginning
The Present Truth Ministry is the only legacy our parents left for us
Other people’s parents left them houses, cars and other assets but ours left us with this humble church
The church was set up in 1959 nd I am the oldest member having been born into it
It has gone through a lot of transformation, tribulations and trials but my parents kept their faith in it and remained solid and true to it
Times were hard. My father lost his job and we were poor left to hawk bread in the streets of Shomolu which I did with class but he never left his bible
Many nights, he would pray till dawn, do fasting and my mother who was the senior deaconess would support him by pulling in members, engaging them and generally just being his right-hand man
When he passed, my brother Ernest took over the mantle.
He was a natural fit. He was pious and loved the lord. He worked in the vineyard and grew the flock
Then he had to live in Canada, and my mother spotted a talent.
I had gone to her secretly to ask her to ordain me, she looked straight into my eyes and said NO
Instead, she chose Etim. Etim is my sister Mayen’s handsome husband
My mother’s choice was a master blaster as Etim with the support of Ernest has taken the church to another level
Flock is growing with new instruments, better programs and a general feeling of growth has come over the church
Then the devil struck. They gave us a quit notice and with no time, the church reeled
Etim stood. The family gathered around him, his senior Pastor, Ernest, took the reins, and pronto, a new location was found, and today we will be consecrating it.
I have been elected Chairman of the BOT, which is purely an advisory and fundraising role.
I am taking this role with all seriousness as it combines with the headship of the family
Our family is very humble. We come from a poor agrarian stock with my grandfather losing all his 16 brothers
This is why anytime my mother gave birth, he would proclaim – This is my brother coming back and would then promptly give us names
Joseph, Ernest, Charles – Charles was named after Charles de Gaulle, the stubborn French President at the time he was born, even though his native name was Ime, which conformed to my grandfather’s wish.
Bernard was an exception as my mother insisted that he be named after her father.
My only sister Mayen was named after my father’s elder sister – I think.
My father would say we are a perfect family of seven
Today we are plenty and have contributed no less to ramping up membership
We have moved from our village Anyiam Nsit in Akwa Ibom and gave spread all over the world – Uyo, Lagos, London, Canada, Qatar and America and much more importantly, we have kept the legacy
Today we will be launching a new location in Bariga and we will be celebrating the continuation of a legacy that has kept the family together
The Present Truth Ministry is on to a new pathway.
A pathway of growth and deep spiritual reflection and I am so happy that we have kept the only legacy our parents left for us alive.
Come na and see the Lord in action
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu