It is an unrighteous venture to go on a mission that is not Christ-centered, Pastor Oladele tells Missionaries

Pastor Samuel O. Oladele

By Boluwatife Oparinde

The President, Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, Pastor Samuel O. Oladele, has described a mission not Christ-centered as an unrighteous venture, calling on missionaries to be Christ-centered while going on mission fields.

While he capitalized on Christ as the focus and essence for missions, Pastor Oladele, represented by the Youth Officer, Pastor Samson O. Gbuyiro at the 2nd Mission Conference of Christ Apostolic Church Nigeria and Overseas, declared that the entirety of missions is about Christ.

In his lecture delivered at the Missions Conference on the 20th of September at the All Saints Chapel, CAC Secretariat Ibadan, the cleric, explaining the need to allow the Holy Spirit in mission field selection, strategies, and operations to effectively achieve the mission of God; also highlighted the reasons missions must be Christ-centered.

He said, "winning souls is the heart beat of God; It is the only assignment He has called people into and sent them to go and represent Him; It is the only project He commissioned here on earth; If we are not Christ-centered, then we are self-centered and by that we would miss our legitimate and rightful place/field of operation."

Describing the man fit for Christ-centered missions, Pastor Oladele disclosed that, "the basis for Christ-centered missions is Discipleship and the right man for the job must be a disciple of Christ. Discipleship is the basis for Christ-centered mission as it emphasizes on personal encounter with Christ."

The CAC President also told the missionaries that, "to be Christ-centered in missions is to be first conquered by Christ and come to learn of Him. We choose to obey His commands out of love and honor for their Lord, not from fear of being caught in sin. The greatest desire of Christ-centered missionaries is to please Him, grow to be like him and live to glorify Him."

He urged the conference participants to note the task of mission; mission in the midst of hostility; the interdependent mission; that the mission is entrusted to all disciples or followers of Jesus; and to focus on the ultimate goal of receiving rewards and reigning with Christ in heaven.

While he encouraged his audience to give priorities to kingdom values, stand firm in the midst of opposition and persecution, Pastor Oladele charged them "to lead a simple life-style, completely free from the accumulating, consumeristic culture and to be dependent on fellow believers for their daily subsistence."

"In Christ centered mission, souls were led to Christ for salvation, exposed to Christ life in discipleship, nurtured grow into the full stature of Christ, encouraged to express Christ life in all dealings and admonished and instructed to win souls for Christ," he concluded.