WELCOME TO OUR SEASON OF NEWNESS- PASTOR UYEH

A NEW YEAR WELCOME ADDRESS PRESENTED BY THE LAWNA TERRITORIAL CHAIRMAN & VICE PRESIDENT OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH NIGERIA, PASTOR DR. S. G. O. UYEH, JP DURING THE NEW YEAR, 2024 SPECIAL SERVICE HELD ON MONDAY, 1^st JANUARY, 2024, AT THE LAWNA INT’L. CONVENTION GROUNDS OLORUNDA KETU, LAGOS BY 9:00 AM.

The National President – Pastor Dr. S. E. Igwe,

The National President Emeritus,

Members of the National Executive Council,

Members of the LAWNA Executive Council,

Members of the LAWNA General Executive Council,

Members of the LAWNA General Council,

Ministers of God in their various categories,

Overseers, Elders, Deacons and Deaconesses,

Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

WELCOME TO OUR SEASON OF NEWNESS

The Word of the Lord declares in Isaiah 43: 18-19:

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?

I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

On behalf of my dear wife and family I welcome you into the year 2024. It is our year of newness in Jesus Name! The past year, 2023 was eventful in many ways, in our Nation and the Church. One of the significant events of the outgone year was the smooth transition in leadership that took place in our Nation and in The Apostolic Church Nigeria, LAWNA Territory. We thank God that the Church is still standing strong in spite the threats of the gates of hell, which shall not prevail against the Church.

Let me at this juncture sincerely appreciate our dear father in the Lord, the National President of the Church, Pastor Dr. S. E. Igwe, for his prayers, support and fatherly guidance. Also, I acknowledge the backings of our dear grandfather and President Emeritus, Pastor Dr. G. O. Olutola. I will not forget the immense contributions made by my immediate past predecessor Pastor Dr. E. S. Awojide, while in active service to make policies that we are here building upon. Furthermore, I deeply appreciate the members of the LAWNA Executive, General Executive and General Councils, who gave their support in various ways to ensure that the transition programmes leading to this new regime in this Territory happened successfully. God bless you all. I will not forget to thank members of the Induction and Farewell Committees for their relentless and sacrificial efforts that resulted to the successes recorded in the both events. We have already laid our hands on the plow and cannot afford to look back, by the grace of God. Now that the fanfare is over we are poised to work by hitting the ground running this year, since the Lord has given to us the privilege of another 365 days.

In our opening text He has declared that He will do a new thing. This year is our year of newness. Do you believe God that new things are coming your way in this year? That is what the Lord has declared and He will do what He says he will do. He will visit your family with new things. Your job will take a new shape. Your finances will increase. The womb of the barren will bear children. He will make waters to flow in the wilderness, he will make a way where there is no way. The hopeless shall be made hopeful. The jobless shall be gainfully employed. This Church will see a new dimension of the move of God in this year, 2024.

On our part as leaders, this New Year provides for us a brand new opportunity to pursue the goals that I have already set for this new administration in my maiden address on the day of my induction. For the records, I will like to reiterate that the commission of this administration is to RAISE the old Apostolic Christianity and identity that we are known for. This mandate has been captioned under the following policy steps:

R – REMOVE: The Lord has mandated that we should remove uncleanness and impurity that has elevated itself in the Church. We are poised to cleanse the Church, through the help of the Holy Spirit, from all forms of dirt. Unfortunately, we find clannishness, tribalism, nepotism and even occult associations in the Church. The Lord says we should remove them. The temple must be cleansed and sanctity must return into LAWNA Territory. We will pursue that this year.

A – ADMIT: Going forward, this administration will give room for holiness in its practical sense to prevail in the Church. We will admit a rekindling of the fire of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Consequently, our Pentecostal Remembrance Services should be revived. Our team of evangelists should take note that we need to feel the impact of their number through Pentecostal revivals in the Church, this year and beyond. There is room for constructive ideas from well-meaning sons and daughters of the church because of our open door policy that gives room for cross pollination of ideas that will lead to real growth, in membership of the Church. We will admit merit and not favoritism to guide our choice of ministers for promotion and this will also serve as a significant consideration for approval for creation of Areas and Districts. We will admit transparency, probity and accountability and demand same from all ministers and Church Officers.

I – INSTITUTE: In creating a robust and friendly Apostolic Family in LAWNA Territory, we will institute a pattern of fellowship that is devoid of dogmatism. The Apostolic Church is a family where every member should be considered bonafide. No individual, tribe or race owns the Church. We insist on warmth Christian fellowship in our various Assemblies. There should be no force. People should be treated with dignity and emphasis should be on teaching the Holy Scriptures for change. We must ensure that our focus in all our activities and programmes should be for the spiritual development of the saints. There is no room for materialism under my watch. Our Sectional Movements will be reinvented to give room for dynamism. Our Annual Conventions, especially at the Area levels will be re-examined to reduce the avoidable burden it places on members. Our current approach to Evangelism calls for attention.

S – STRENGTHEN: It is very obvious that there are arms of the Church that have been weakened. There are observable loopholes in the operations of some of our establishments in the Headquarters Compound. Most of our Headquarters staff who work their hearts out needs our motivation and we are going to do so immediately. We would strengthen and restore the faith of Apostolics to their mother Church in LAWNA Territory. Those of you that are preparing to leave the Church, let me tell you now to rethink your decision.

E – ELEVATE: Finally, the Lord has asked me to elevate many souls that have been abandoned and suffered shipwreck in the faith. It is going to be a spiritual and physical elevation for all saints of The Apostolic Church in LAWNA Territory. You will rise up and walk again. One of our burdens in this administration is to put a smile on the faces of all ministers of the Church and their family members. So, there will be a significant increase in the remuneration of ministers beginning from this year. Also, this year we will be absorbing a total of four hundred new ministers into the Territory, to ease the quest for ministers to man vacant Assemblies. This month (January) I will be giving my approval for the ordination of one hundred Assistant Pastors into the Pastoral Office in furtherance of the work. Therefore, I challenge our ministers to get focused and truly face the work that the Lord has called us to do for Him. The Lord says that He will do a new thing in His Church. We are the instruments that He will use in accomplishing this great task.

We will continue our prayer for the deliverance of the economy of this Nation. As a nonpartisan Church, our daily commitment is to pray for our leaders in politics. We know that God answers prayers and he will answer us concerning this Nation. Nigeria will rise again to take her place in the comity of prosperous nations of the world. As a church, we appeal to the State Government to harken to our request for a pedestrian bridge across the express in this our Headquarters. We are unfortunately losing lives on that road, which can be avoided if there is a bridge.

In concluding this address, let me wholeheartedly again welcome you all into the Year 2024, Our Year of Newness. Expect new and wonderful blessings from the Lord. It shall be well with you in Jesus Name!

Long live the Glorious Vision of The Apostolic Church Nigeria

Long live The Apostolic Church Nigeria, LAWNA Territory

Thank you for listening. Happy New Year!