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Testimonies at Lord’s Chosen crusade — Mgbidi 2017

By Chris Irekamba (who was at Mgbidi, Imo State)
05 February 2017   |   3:43 am
Surprisingly, each of the attendees had one amazing testimony or the other to share. The first person to speak was Brother Segun Agbaje, a Lagosian. He described the venue as a place, where stubborn issues are dealt with.

General Overseer, The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Lazarus Muoka (right) welcomes the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Honourable Simeon Achuba, JP, (middle) to the podium, during Kogi 2016 Crusade, last week.

• This Is Where CNN, BBC And Al-Jazeera Should Come And Report Events

As a guest to the General Overseer of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, at Mgbidi Crusade in 2015, held at the Chosen Int’l Secondary School, Mgbidi, Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, governor of Imo State, was overwhelmed with the crowd he saw at the crusade ground and he observed the following: “Let me say to you that are here and listening to God’s word, it cannot be for nothing. We have heard what the good Lord is using Pastor to do, may God bless you Pastor, you need our prayers and support, because there are over one million people here…”

If he had visited the programme this year, the governor would have discovered that the crowd he saw two years ago has since multiplied. During the church’s three-day international crusade, tagged: Mgbidi 2017 with the topic: “What God Has Determined Shall Be Done,” which held from January 6 to 8. The huge crowd of worshippers that graced the event were seen sitting on bare floor in the open field and listening to the man of God’s message of hope.

The Guardian interacted with some of them.
Surprisingly, each of the attendees had one amazing testimony or the other to share. The first person to speak was Brother Segun Agbaje, a Lagosian. He described the venue as a place, where stubborn issues are dealt with.

“It is a place where serious-minded believers should come. A lot of people don’t miss it. They may miss any other crusade, but not Mgbidi. It’s a place to visit for spiritual rejuvenation. You know that this is a congregation of people from all walks of life and you may not be able to see this kind of gathering elsewhere. I stand to be corrected. Mgbidi is a ‘mecca’ of some sort and I would like to advise every Christian, and not just Chosen members only, to come and see what God is doing here. Thank God the moderator announced the presence of some officials of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) from Bayelsa State, led by its Chairman, Archbishop Jacob Akpiri, showing the dimension this Migbidi crusade is taking. It is a global affair; you can even see the Filipinos singing Igbo songs. So, it goes beyond tribe, creed, nation or continent. It’s a global affair. Every one wants to be here.

“The crowd you see here yearly is not a fluke or make-believe. What kind of magic would have brought a mammoth crowd like this, if not God? No man can do this.

“Anybody who is saying this is an Igbo church is a liar. I think it has to do with perception. This is a church for all nations, all tribes and all creeds. Otherwise, the church would not be talking about 10-billion soul mandate. The Igbos are not up to one billion. The church is talking about the entire world. And I tell you that the anointing upon this man of God is beyond Ndi-Igbo.

“This is where CNN, BBC and Al-jazeera should come and report events. That is an avenue to project this church to the entire world. The problems that are going on in the world, for instance, HIV/AIDS, lesbianism and gay marriage can be solved here. So, it is not about Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa or Nigeria. This is a global vision, and maybe we need to do more in terms of publicity to let people know that we don’t talk about tribe here.”

Asked to mention specific miracles he received since he started attending, Agbaje said: “As a member of Lord’s Chosen since 2006, I used to be a contract employee in Chevron. When I needed a change of job, Brother Willie of blessed memory took me to the GO. And he asked me: ‘young man what do you want me to do for you?’ I showed him my resume and he just pointed his third finger and said: ‘Father grant his heart desires.’ Not long after, I got a job in Ghana and they lodged me in a hotel for six months, until the company got an accommodation for me. The job takes me to Togo, Republic of Benin and Nigeria. Whenever I am coming to Nigeria, it’s like a royal welcome. This is what the God of Chosen did for me, and I am really grateful to Him.”

Sister Anna Daniel, who came all the way from Adamawa State with her husband and children, also recalled God’s goodness thus: “The God of Chosen has been so good to me and my family. Any time the programme is around the corner, I am always eager to attend and as you can see, I came with my family. If you receive something without suffering for it, you cannot value the essence. We don’t care whether the weather is harsh or not. Serving God requires perseverance, and when you see this kind of crowd, you are encouraged.

“This child here is a miracle, because each time I conceived, an evil woman would press my tummy in the dream and I would experience a miscarriage afterwards. But when our pastor asked us to write down prayer requests, I tabled them before the God of Chosen and He blessed us with this child, Destiny Daniel, who is three years old. Other miracles include the acquisition of plots of land, which we have started building. One has been roofed, while the others are still being built.

God’s Gift Tempo, who graced the event for the first time, came from Bayelsa State, with her family. She said: “My husband was the one attending Mgbidi programme all the time. But this year, I decided to come and show appreciation to God, Who has blessed my husband with a good job, and He is also building a house for us. Since then, I changed my mind completely about this, for God to have blessed my husband in such a wonderful way. So, I came to receive more blessings from Him.”

Brother Chukwubuike Ekwuruke is 68, and had this to say: “I think people should be concerned with the purpose of coming to a programme like this. This is not my first time of coming here. I came a day before the programme started on Friday. If I sacrifice these few days for God and go home blessed, is that not profitable? Remember the saying, ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ I have been a member of Chosen for 11 years now, and I have received immeasurable blessings from God, including good health.”

Sister Esther Palmer, who came from Isoko North, Delta State, believed that being present at the event would afford her the opportunity to tell her story better. “I joined Chosen since 2013 and I am really happy to be here,” she explained. “Some things are better experience than be told. I’m overwhelmed with the number of people here, with their unbelievable testimonies, which are real. For me to have closed my shop and come here, is showing gratitude to the Lord. As a single girl then in Lagos, I lived a reckless life. But then, I listened to different messages of my pastor and I was touched. And through the grace of God, I abandoned the old life and embraced Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal Saviour. He changed my life and gave me a new one. So, come rain or shine I am here for a serious business with the God of Chosen.”

Brother Effiong John Umoh, 51, a civil servant from Ikono local government of Akwa Ibom State, said he had severe stroke and other sicknesses for over three years. He was full of joy as he told The Guardian: “Whoever saw me then would not have believed I would be alive today. A brother, who saw my condition, introduced me to Lord’s Chosen. And as I experienced the hand of God in my life, I became a member, together with my family. If you should see my picture then, only that I don’t want to keep the memory of such sorrowful event.

Doris Peter is from Delta State. “I have been a member since 2014, but I left for a while. I later came back to my senses and returned to the church. Ever since, my life has changed and even that of my family. I have promised God that I will not go back to the world or any other church.

“When my elder sister was looking for a child, I presented her case to God of Chosen. He opened her womb. My brother was also at the point of death, and I also presented his case to God. Today, he is healed, hale and hearty. I shared these testimonies in my state. God brought this man of God, Pastor Lazarus Muoka to save languishing souls. I always tell people out there that the light is here.”

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