GOD WILL LIBERATE HIS CHURCH

started in this ministry with the founding fathers, and the years I have served alongside the founding fathers gave me a deep understanding of the mission’s founding principle which is the pure power of God at work.

Did the founding fathers introduce certain practices like assignments?
No, no, no! What the church is known for, for instance, is that if someone is sick and is being prayed for, there could be a prophecy directing anyone in the congregation to fetch water from tap for the sick to drink, or the pastor can anoint the sick with olive oil. Everything is done in the open.

Eventually, the sick person drinking that water will testify that he actually drank the water of God, not the visible water.In the days of Prophet Elisha, Naaman was directed by the prophet to go and bath in the Jordan River seven times – that was an assignment. Last year, an incident occurred in this church, one young man was brought from the US; he had issues with his stomach.

They tried all they could medically overseas, there was no solution. When they brought him here, he was rolling on the ground. As I observed him, I told him I will anoint you with the anointing oil. We were having a one week prayer session then.
We conducted prayers for him, and he saw as in a vision how a snake got out of him. He alone saw it and he was completely relieved. So you see, in that circumstance, there is nothing like secret assignments that could be conducted. If any pastor of this church tells anybody that an assignment would be conducted at the night; that is not from this church. Bishop, it is alleged that some ministers of the Mount Zion will even demand for some articles for the assignments to work.

Does Mount Zion generally allow that to happen?
Well, it cannot happen in my own Diocese. The entire church knows my stand on issues like this, because I openly condemn such practices. That was not what the founding fathers taught us. Yes, there is a serious abuse of assignments here and there but not in my Diocese.

Didn’t the founding fathers put a disciplinazry measure against such practices?
Unfortunately, the authority cannot arrest the situation. One reason is that if you are a beneficiary of a particular project, you will want to encourage it. I’m very bold and frank. We are very few, might not be up to five, who worked with the founding fathers.

Could this be why there are fragmentation? You see Mount Zion with different types of names every day?
But this one is Mount Zion Lighthouse, the mother of all of them. When the founding fathers were alive, they did not condone what they saw as inimical to the faith.

Does the Church believe in the new birth?
Mount Zion Lighthouse is an evangelical church. We are both Pentecostal and Evangelical. That is why most of the time we combine Pentecostal by prophecy and we also preach the Gospel to ensure the people believe the Word of God, which is the power of God unto salvation. Without the power of the Word of God, there will be no salvation. Prophecy is an additional thing that God gave us as a gift to empower Christians for effective ministry, just as he did with the Apostles.

What is the church thinking about the future?
My hope for the future of this church is that the Lord will actually redeem Zion, because once you have somebody who is focused, who knows his onions; like God called Peter and sent him to evangelize Cornelius and his family, he was focused. I believe that the time will come that we will have a Messiah who will liberate the Church from her present fragmentation and fracas. When there is misunderstanding, there will be crisis, but crisis if not properly managed, can lead to anarchy.
So, this is exactly what has happened, but once the God of Zion actually stands up to liberate this Church, the Church will be liberated to the surprise of everyone.

In 2017, the Senator Godswill Akpabio was invited to our church at Mbiabong Etoi, and his chief detail informed me that the Senate President would spend about 10 to 30 minutes, I said, okay, let me just recognize his presence before he leaves. When I introduced him, asking the Church to appreciate his presence, he sent back the same man to inform me that I should relax, that he would love to stay till the end of the programme.

During his remarks, he said he just sat down there and watched keenly the administration of the Church, the order of service and everything, and that this particular Mount Zion Lighthouse is quite different from the public perception of Mount Zion, even the last Mount Zion church he attended. He asked me what made us so different. The difference is the person behind the ministry.

I have said it before now that I was privileged to meet the founding fathers, and I know the doctrine they handed over, it is a very clean doctrine that is presentable at all levels. Unfortunately, corrupt minded people later came in, and infiltrated the doctrine of the church with all sorts of spirituality that is untenable to the Christian faith. But I am confident the church will be liberated.

What are these crises?
Most of these crises happen when the authority infringes on the rights of the congregation, that’s when you see the members revolting. Even the present crisis in our Church now revolves around some leaders who have refused to comply with the constitution of the church. We have guidelines in electing senior ministers, especially trustees but non compliance with these guidelines has been an issue.