Church Leaders Should Pay Attention to Christian Education to Move the Church Forward – Prof Andreas Olufestus
The Global Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Chartered Christian Instructors Int’l. (ACCI), Professor (Archbishop) Andreas Olufestus has advised that, the way things are in Christendom, the Church and its leaders should embrace Christian education.
Professor Olufestus made the statement during the ACCI International Conference held at CPM Camp, Ogun State, with the theme, “Christian Education in a Changing World: Challenges and Opportunities”.
He said, “If we are satisfied with the way things are in Christendom, among Christians, and churches, with Christian education, we will not need to converge and be discussing how to find a solution. But because the way things are, are not what we are expecting from the church, that is why we are here doing what we are doing”.
He advised church leaders to give attention to Christian education like every other department. “As we talked about secular education everywhere, so also Christian education should be our topic everywhere, and people should know what Christian education is all about. Church leaders should create a Christian education department in their churches and make sure the right things are done so that Christian education will take its rightful place”.
Admonishing the Christian educators, Professor Olufestus said, as Ambassadors of Christian Education, we are not just educators, we are shapers of destinies, custodians of godly heritage, and vanguards of transformational truth.
He further appealed to Bible school proprietors to avoid certificate racketeering and stop running Bible schools or training centres purposely for monetary gain. “Let us stop the abuse of Christian education by offering degree certificates after just three weeks of training. This brings dishonour to Christian education”, he said.
Condemning illegal operations of some Bible schools and issuance of irrational awards with honourary certificates, “all these must stop. Christian education is not a platform for self-glorification or for fabricating credentials, inflating academic titles by awarding “Doctor”, “Professor” without merit. It is disturbing to see Bible schools operating without proper government registration; legal registration is not carnality, it is responsibility”, Olufestus declared.
Lamenting on the state of doctrinal and teaching value in the church today, he said, “There are churches today, what they are teaching is dogmas and not doctrines. If we are teaching doctrines, it should be one. The Bible is supposed to be our main doctrine. But when churches and leaders bring different doctrines, it becomes a dogma and is no longer a doctrine. Church leaders should uphold the scripture doctrine and not bend into dogmas.”
In his remarks, the Global President of ACCI, Prof (Pastor) Afolabi Ojo, said, as a professional and spiritual body, ACCI expect the Christian education to move to the next level of advancement and development in Nigeria and around the world with the necessary tools that will foster genuineness and seriousness of Christian education among Christians.
The situation of the church in Nigeria is questionable and worrisome. One way or another, the church has been enmeshed in corruption, with abnormalities happening around the church being read, heard, and seen on social media. But through ACCI conferences, seminars, and workshops, we will address these issues and bring normalcy to Christendom.
Afolabi Ojo called on church leaders to return to the source, the Bible, to get educated and be deeply rooted in abiding by the word of God, which is our constitution.
Let us return to our source, the Bible, to correct ourselves and our members with happenings in the church today. And this can only be done if our leaders are knowledgeable, educated, and are in tune with what is happening in the world. And that is the essence of ACCI and the message we are preaching in ACCI.
Highlights of the well-attended 3-day conference, which featured notable Bible scholars from different denominations as guest speakers, including Pastor Adedeji Kayode, a Superintendent in Christ Apostolic Church, and Pastor Abiodun Sofola, an Assistant Provincial Pastor in RCCG, with other speakers, also inaugurated some state chapters and honoured some of its members.
