HUMANITARIAN SERVICE ISSERVING GOD & GOVERNMENT – DR. DAVID UDONSEK
Dr. David Udonsek is the Bishop-Elect of Christ Army Church GBC, Akwa Ibom State. He’s a quintessential leader, who is committed to changing the negative narratives of people through teaching of the word and ministry of helps. Quest Inspirational Magazine presents here the first part of the interview with Dr. David Udonsek. In our next issue, we will publish the second part which is so stimulating and revealing on how believers can deal with some serious foundational issues.
Your Lordship, you’ve been involved in humanitarian services to communities, orphanage homes, and educational institutions. What motivates you for all these magnanimous shows of love to the vulnerable?
The Bible says esh and blood can never please God; no one can serve God or do anything good without the leading of the Holy Spirit. So, what I am doing, sometimes I myself don’t even know. I can’t even explain to anybody, but I know it’s always the leading of the Holy Spirit because God sees the heart than the face. So it’s a work of God, It’s a move of the Holy Spirit, that is what God wants me to do.
Within the short or the long period of time that I will spend on earth, trying to see how I can make a difference, make a change, instead of complaining, instead of criticizing others. We’re often quick to criticize, but slow to act when it’s our turn to make things right. It’s not enough to point fingers, “this one isn’t doing well, and that one shouldn’t have done it that way, but what about you? What have you done in your own little way to correct the wrongs? Real change comes, not just from criticism, but from doing what you can to make things better. So, I believe that the proper way, the only good way to make a difference is not only to criticize, but to also do the little you can to correct what has been done wrongly.
Some criticize government for what not done. Government is doing its own, we citizens are also supposed to equally do our own. The Governor will not do everything because he is human who also needs our support to succeed. If we don’t support him, there’s no way he can succeed, because he’s being surrounded with people, and many of them may not have the kind of heart that the Governor has.
So, we the citizens who are patriotic, though far from government, we have to do what we can to support government instead of criticizing, because what you did to others will also be done to you. It’s good to be good, a little you can that’s within your capacity, you can support the government of the day by giving to the communities; not minding the party the government of the day belongs.
Also, when we support communities, we are supporting government. The impact of government on people is much more than the impact of the church and after God isgovernment. Whatever policy they come up with, whatever thing they say; be assured that the impact will come directly on you. We don’t need to play with government. Government is also God and we need to support the work of God by supporting government. Even in the area they’re not doing well, we support them so that they can do well.
I’m surprised that as a private citizen you’re speaking so much in favour of government. How is Pastor Umo Eno doing by your own assessment?
Yes, our Governor is trying his best. He’s doing well, I don’t think the citizens are complaining about his government. He is doing a lot that he’s supposed to do. That is why everywhere is peaceful. Nobody complains! Where he needs to fix the road, he goes ahead and fixes it. The part that interests me so much is that he will not sit in his office but will leave his comfort zone to supervise some of these projects personally. You will see him going outside at night to inspect those projects. This means that he has the interests of his people at heart and he wants to make sure that everything he promised his people is not just done but done well. So he’s doing well, I’m not complaining. He’s a good man and has a good heart, So, I’m always in support of him, irrespective of anything. And I will continue to support him till he leaves the office in 2031.
He conceived too many things for the office as the governor, that’s why God brought him and before he leaves the office, I know that he will birth all of them. We need to support him till he births them. Whatever he births, all of us will see; that is why I encourage everyone to also rally around him, to support him; not to deceive him, but to support him holeheartedly, let him succeed as a brother.
You are the State Overseer of Christ Army Church, is your humanitarian activities born out of the doctrine of your church?
The church I came to meet, started with the giving ministry; it was reaching out to the vulnerable and the less-privileged. That is the foundation that I saw built in Christ Army Church GBC – to give out. Whatever comes into the church goes out to the service of humanity, to the community people around. That’s the foundation of Christ Army Church GBC, and that is what we are trying to portray. We are living on the vision of the church also, apart from my own personal humanitarian spirit that I have, the church is also built on that. We cannot stay for one full year or six months without giving out something to the needy.
The essence of the church is in the area of spirituality and humanitarian services, because people need to see the love we preach by our actions. Love cannot exist unless expressed by giving. So, if we said we love, we have to give. So, in Christ Army Church GBC, giving is our foundation. We engage in humanitarian activities very regularly, though sometimes we do them off camera but there are those ones that we need the world to see, because the world has to see the love that we preach. If they don’t see it, there’s no way changes can be affected. It is not a showoff, the world needs to see our love, and maybe at least one or two persons might be inspired through that.
Christ Army Church GBC has a unique history, can you tell us a little about it?
It’s a long-standing church. The one I am serving is Christ Army Church, GBC. GBC means Garrick Braide Connections – the name of the founder of the church. He established the church as a movement because I think when Christianity came to West Africa, our people did not have knowledge of the gift of the Spirit like prophecies. He was the first person that God used at that time as an Anglican priest; but when the gift began to manifest, the Anglican Church rejected him. However, members who saw the gifts of prophecy and healing manifesting through him, visited him at home for healing and for more understanding of the scriptures.
So, the Anglican leaders fought him to leave the church. It was around 1904 he relocated to Port Harcourt by the waterside to actualize his ministry. A lot of people followed him. According to the history that we came to meet, he converted 3,500 people in a day through his prophetic ministry and sound teaching of the word. The Anglican Church then fought him and took him to court. He spent only three and a half years before he died.
