Worshiping under makeshifts hoping that God will provide

When this medium visited the Christ Light Solution Ministries at the Area One roundabout, Abuja, members of the church had defied the intense heat of the sun. They were singing hymns and praises to God. A member of the church who identified himself as Deacon Amos Inyang, explained that the church’s building at Karmo was […]

When this medium visited the Christ Light Solution Ministries at the Area One roundabout, Abuja, members of the church had defied the intense heat of the sun. They were singing hymns and praises to God.

A member of the church who identified himself as Deacon Amos Inyang, explained that the church’s building at Karmo was demolished by the FCT authorities.

In his words, “we were formerly at Karmo but when the building was demolished, we decided to hold our services in the open air pending the time when God will provide us a suitable structure. I have no doubt in my mind that God will make available a befitting place of worship for His people.”

Also speaking, Mariam Ojuolape, a member of the church’s choir, described the decision to hold church services in the open space as “a manifestation of our commitment to serve God even in hard times.”

Ojuolape who is the choir mistress of the church’s choir group explained that “God usually takes His people through some trying moments in order to make them strong. We saw in the bible how God took the children of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years thereby demonstrating His miraculous powers to them.”

Reverend Paul Omotoye, the Senior Pastor of the church also explained that “the church, is presently working to acquire a permanent structure that would be able to seat over 2,000 members in Jikwoyi, in the outskirts of Abuja. But until then, we cannot just go on holidays. We must come together as a church to pray and seek the face of God concerning our lives. And don’t forget also that the bible urges us not to neglect the gathering of the saints.”

When asked about the possibility of their structure being demolished by the FCT authorities, Omatoye was quick to add, “I don’t see that possibility because we do not disturb anyone with our service here. As you can see, all we have here is a canopy  which serves to protect us from the sun and immediately after service, we remove the canopy so there is no way they can come and demolish us because in the first instance, there is nothing to demolish.”

Comfort Adekunle, another member of the church, said, “You can see that the demolition exercise is not affecting residents alone. It is also affecting churches.”

But when asked why she left the comfort of her home for the make shift church, she replied, “God is only concerned about your inner mind. He wants to see whether you will falter in your loyalty to Him if He takes you through some rough paths in life. I cannot leave the church because of some temporary setbacks and besides, we are working on our permanent structure so we can’t be here forever.”

A drive round town on Sundays also reveals that while a handful of churches  hold their services under tents, which would be removed immediately after service, others have wooden structures which serve as a temporary place of worship.

One of such wooden structures is the First Baptist Church, Kpegyi, Abuja.  According to the church’s head, Rev Mathew Obasi, “this wooden structure here is just temporary. As God gives us the Grace, we intend to erect out permanent structure very soon. The challenges many churches in Abuja are confronted with these days border largely on accommodation which is why I would suggest to the FCT minister to give the demolition exercise a human face.”