Yep, the ‘Centre of Excellence’ is the slogan for the amazing city of Lagos in Nigeria where Bill and I arrived on May 6, just after lunch, and stepped out into a brick wall of humidity!
Our brother and CCI’s Field Director for Africa, Pastor Elijah Samuel, gave us this wonderful feedback and testimony on our visit.
There were no better times than May 2011 for the much anticipated visit of Cells-church Consultants International to our Lagos and Ibadan church. The meetings were well publicised and attendance at the two location were very encouraging.
Bill and Nick came to Nigeria with the aim at strengthening our ministry and empowering me as the African Field Director for CCI, to take more of the land for the Kingdom through the small groups’ development ministry.
The team arrived in Lagos on May 6th and started training of church pastors and leaders on Saturday May 7th. This training session went for 7-hours and was strengthened with power point presentation (which made it much easier to communicate the simple message of small group ministry to the audience). The training session was also interactive. The participants were allowed to share their new understanding. Amazingly people rose-up to air their views, and thanked Bill for coming to equip and empower them.
Sunday 8th May was a Cells-Celebration worship service where several testimonies on cells activities were received from members. One common feature of all the testimonies heard was that of answers to prayers in the entire small group operated by the church. This gave us the confidence and assurance that God is with us during our small group activities as much as He is with us during the celebration service. Thus cells and celebration is meant to compliment each other.
We would like to share the testimony of a member by name: Friday Adams. He is presently a cell pastor and our youth leader. He got married late last year and he and his wife are expecting their first child this year. Friday used to be a non-believer (the type who doesn’t like meeting with pastors, because he avoids being preached to or invited to a church service). Pastor Elijah is a regular visitor to his compound, ministering to others. On each visit, Friday would go into hiding in his bedroom, waiting for Elijah to leave before coming out.
However, one day, things didn’t go as Friday had planned. He met with Elijah and that was the day that the salvation of God came into his life. 
He accepted Jesus into his life and joined he church. Elijah listened to Friday’s story of his endless search for a good job, without success. He had visited several shrines and practiced fetish things to get a job but all to no avail. Elijah prayed with him and promised that the church would assist. With God, and through His church, Friday in less than six month of staying in fellowship with God secured a good job in a private cargo clearing and forwarding company. Friday loves his work so much, and is disciplined and dedicated to his duties. This led the management of the company to honor him with a company car, two years later. The pictures show Friday with Lydia his beautiful wife. And him alone, dancing at the altar, during a worship service.
Elijah Samuel
You can read more about Dominion Impact Church in Nigeria, and some of the other amazing things that God is doing in Africa on a new website, ‘Africa for the Kingdom‘
Please prayerfully consider making a donation to support Pastor Elijah ministry in Nigeria. Your gifts for this ministry go towards providing a permanent internet service for the church and the pastor (about $300 set up plus $1,100 per year subscription); rresources (food, clothing, etc.) for community outreach groups, reaching out to women, orphans, the unemployed and illiterate and to support small groups training courses for in-church leaders and other churches in the community.You can do this right now simply by clicking on the PayPal button below.
