Conversation Summary
“Wealth is not just the money in your bank account, but the number of lives you change”
I got to speak to pastor sometime last year. He was born in what is now called Ekiti state but what used to be part of Ondo state in Nigeria. He’s from a little village in Akure which is arguably the origin of Ofada rice … arguably.
The Decision to Change
I’ve never really spoken to a Pastor about their story before so I was very curious on how he made his from his village in Ekiti state to now being the main pastor in a growing church in Minneapolis…Literal miles apart from where he started.
He was trained in accounting and started his professional life working for a government agency. When he first started out he envisioned that one day he may go into pastoring or working in the church but it was more of a long-term thing than a today thing(though it seems God sped up the timeline).
He was more interested in going into politics and at that time Nigeria was under military rule which meant that he wanted to join the military.
As if by design though, he fell sick for a season whilst working, and made a promise to God that when he was healed he would dedicate his time to serving God and the church. And he was healed! He didn’t jet off to America straight after though. He started off doing some pastor work on the side whilst keeping his main job. He joined an organization FECA (federal Ex Student Christian Association) a group started with some of his old schoolmates. Though it started small it grew in the 90s and by 1995 had spread over 22 states in Nigeria.
As it grew, he found that he needed to dedicate his time to the mission and the promise he made to serve God, and so he did! He pastored for multiple years and eventually joined the Redeemed Christian Church and moved to Baltimore as an associate pastor.
Coming to America - The missing Chapter
As it grew, he found that he needed to dedicate his time to the mission and the promise he made to serve God, and so he did! He pastored for multiple years and eventually joined the Redeemed Christian Church and moved to Baltimore as an associate pastor.
Coming to America, was an interesting transition because prior to coming, he had the idea that America was the land where money grows on trees. Because when people used to come home from being in America, that’s what they showed off. But coming and experiencing it for himself he learned 2 major things, besides the fact that money is indeed not growing on trees. First, you need a lot of discipline. To succeed in America, to not be mediocre and to positively influence those around you, you need to be focused and disciplined. The second thing is that there are people in America with genuine faith in God, people who actually love God and are not just putting up the tele evangelist front.
Faith and Reflection
Faith became a whole topic in itself because there’s an intriguing difference between faith in Nigeria to that in America. Pastor said that these two environments required different types of faith. Faith in Nigeria is need based faith, you’re praying for your day to needs to get by, however, in America for the most part the basic needs are met so then faith there is more around building a relationship and building your character in God.
Right now Pastor’s focus is on making an impact in his home in Nigeria, and building “kingdom seekers” in his community in America. He works with local organizations to make an impact in Nigeria as they are on the ground, and see the day to day problems rather than diagnosing issues from far away. And in America he’s focused on how to build a community of people that are more spiritually aware so that they may positively impact those around them
- Some parting advice for people on the come up:
- You need God to help, as in order to be truly successful you need to have proper character
- You need to be determined, cause life is not easy but you must stand firm
- Have a mentor, so you don’t need to re-invent the wheel every time
Pastor very much stays hungry
