Focus more on salvation, Bayelsa deputy governor tells churches

Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has again called on churches in the country to boost their end-time messages by focusing more on the gospel of salvation than prosperity and prophecy.

Ewhrudjakpo made the call when the Bishop of Western Izon Diocese of the Anglican Communion, The Rt, Rev. Victor Okporu, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Yenagoa, on Wednesday.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, the deputy governor also stressed the need for Christians to live the life of sacrifice as exemplified by God, to build a virile church.

The statement quoted Ewhrudjakpo as saying that although the Church as the body of Christ is doing well in some respects, its current efforts had not yielded much-desired results in terms of saving souls for eternity.

He said: “With the expansion of the church, can we say we are getting the same results the 72 disciples appointed by Christ achieved in their time? Have we been able to make converts or we are just bringing people to church?”

“I really want to interrogate us: Do we really need to change our strategy? Or is it that the message we are giving out is not coterminous with the reality of our time?”

Responding to the Diocese’s appeal for support, the deputy governor said the government would carefully consider their requests with a view to giving assistance within the limits of available resources.

Earlier, Bishop Okporu, had told the deputy governor that the young Western Izon Diocese, which cuts across two councils in Bayelsa and four in Delta has been grappling with teething challenges.

He appealed to the government to support the efforts of the diocese to acquire land for its cathedral project.