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| Cross section of Ushers at the conference |
By Boluwatife Oparinde
In line with the ongoing vision of Pastor Samuel O. Oladele-led administration for Christ Apostolic Church on leadership training across every wing of the church, CAC Akinyele Regional Ushers Conference has held.
The conference for church protocols and ushers was majorly an educative one that attracted members of the department across the Akinyele region.
In his welcome Address, the Regional Superintendent, Pastor S. A. Adedayo welcomed the attendees to the conference themed “The Character of an Usher who grows in Grace and Knowledge of God” (Rom. 8:35-39), describing character as the particular combination of qualities in a person that makes them different from others.
Noting that ushers are spiritual ambassadors for the local church who also help in ensuring smooth running of church service and ministers to people in a variety of practical ways, he urged that ushers must "be people who grow in the grace and knowledge of God with evidence of good and honest report, full of the Holy Spirit, full of wisdom, and full of faith" citing the Biblical Stephen, who was both a deacon and an usher as case study.
According to him, "when you serve as an usher, you set the stage for the worship experience. You are literally part of the continuing story of God’s redemption. Your spiritual readiness and act of service plays a huge role in the life-change that takes place that day. The qualifications of an usher aren’t clear in the Bible, but there are some qualities that great ushers must have which must be evidence through the help of the Holy Spirit."
Pastor Adedayo, who also delivered the conference lecture on the theme, differentiated the works and the fruits of the Holy Spirit, explaining that "the works of the Holy Spirit is a result of the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to men for the work of the ministry. The fruit of the Spirit is the result of giving in to the Holy Spirit and obeying him."
"As workers in the church, our lives should be full of the fruits of the Spirit. Many followers of Christ are chasing for the gifts of the Spirit but they have never prayed to bear the fruit of the Spirit," he said.
Focusing on the fruit of the Spirit as stated in Galatians 5:22-23, which are, love, joy, peace, endurance, patience , kindness, faith, meekness and self-control, the Superintendent capitalized that they are worthy characters that must be found in the lives of every usher.
"By the fruit, a tree is identified. The fruit is important. Our lives as followers of Christ, and true ushers must be filled with the fruits of the spirit that we have discussed in this teaching. If we have not seen these fruits in our lives, it means that our lives are full of spiritual un-fruitfulness . This cannot make God happy (Joh. 15:2)," Pastor Adedayo concluded.
In his speech at the conference, the Head Usher, CAC Akinyele Region, Pastor I.A. Omoyeni said an Usher who grows in grace and knowledge of God must see himself/herself as an embodiment of Christ chosen as a servant by a divine opportunity (Psalms 65:4; 1 Cor. 1:26; II Timothy 1:9; I Chro. 9:17-18 and Ezek. 44:11).
According to him, Usher who grows in grace and knowledge of God must refrain and resist himself/herself from worldly immoralities (II Tim. 2:22, II Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-16; James 4:4; Gal. 5:19-21, 1 Tim. 5:6 and I Tim. 6:9-10.)
"Ushering profession must be done in a best quality of manners and characters without blemish or shortcomings and that is why an usher must be a worthy living Ambassador of Christ in the ministry and at the Lord's House, whom is tested and trusted in all ramifications," he sta
ted.
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