The Witness Ministries
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind
Acts of the Witness
Beloved of God,
Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord Jesus. We are taking a break from our exploration of the Bible to share with you some of the dealings of God in our lives.
In 1992, we compiled an account of the first three-and-a-half years of ministry, which we did not publish because we later realised that the time to go public had not come. We have since updated that account.
We believe that the time to tell our story is now, and the first step is to circulate it among those who have been receiving our messages. ACTS OF THE WITNESS is a record of the first seven years of ministry and we are sharing it with you in a serialised format, starting with the Introduction.
ACTS OF THE WITNESS
INTRODUCTION
This book is a record of the dealings of God in the lives of two individuals, two families and one people, all united by a common understanding. As you read, it is important to know that things have not always been this way. There was a time when The Witness Ministries existed only in God’s mind, when there were no corporate prayer or study times, no joint journeys, no collective inspiration and no joint ministry. But that was until the morning of November 22, 1988. On that day the vision of the Ministry was given to us, in seed form. Subsequently, we have seen a gradual unfolding of the overall picture.
The Witness Ministries is a non-denominational body raised up by God to be an example, or a pattern, of God’s ways. The highlighted aspects of the preceding sentence effectively describe the purpose of the Ministry. In addition, we present to you the vision, the wisdom of our operations and the issues of timing, as they relate to us.
The Vision
Our vision is three-fold:
· As a people, we are called to be witnesses to God’s holiness, faithfulness, blessedness and majesty. This we are to accomplish by testifying first with our lives, and then with our lips.
· As God’s servants, we are called to reach out to the Body of Christ, informing, building and restoring, raising up men after God’s heart.
· In addition, we are called to reach the lost, turning men from darkness to light.
Current Assignments
At the moment, the Lord has provided the following platforms for the fulfilment of the vision. Some are ongoing, while others are about to commence.
· Fellowship meetings in Kpeyegyi and Asokoro, Abuja, Nigeria.
· Outreaches and programmes in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
· Media, publications and internet outreach.
· The Witness Trust (involving projects and funds under our management for the benefit of others).
· General charity programmes targeted at the poor and needy.
· Outreaches to villages/rural communities.
· A care school (to provide educational opportunities for the underprivileged.
· A care clinic (to nurse those who need care and attention).
· A resort base (a place of fellowship and training).
· A home planted by the Lord (to provide shelter for the homeless).
The Wisdom
Apart from a basic commitment to living by God’s Word, the Lord has taught us to lay emphasis on the following:
· A lifestyle of faith in God and absolute dependence on Him for all things, including material sustenance. As a result of this, we neither collect offerings in our meetings, nor do we solicit for funds. Yet God uses men to meet our needs.
· A lifestyle of following the leading of the Spirit in all things. This includes family matters, journeys, preaching engagements, and so on.
· The corporate nature of our walk and work. The vision was committed to two men, who have, over the years, combined the prophetic and teaching ministries to fulfil an apostolic calling. Yet the Lord has spoken of a multiplied ministry, a vision He has started to fulfil.
· The place of readiness and availability to fulfil, at all times, the demands of the Lord. This attitude is conditional to the second strand of wisdom highlighted above, namely following the leadership of the Spirit. The implication is that we, as well as our schedules, are open to the demands of the Spirit.
The Timing
We received the vision in 1988, at a time when we were resident in Kano, Nigeria. In 1994, after a six-year sojourn, we got married to our respective wives and moved to Ibadan. Pius is married to Nnenna, and they are blessed with three children. Daniel, on the other hand, is married to Tofe, and they have four children. Both Nnenna and Tofe are “full-time” workers in the Ministry. After spending seven years in Ibadan, we moved to Abuja, where we are presently located. As the LORD grants opportunity, we shall yet explore these items of information in a more detailed manner.
Conclusion
What we have sought to do is build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph.2:20). For the avoidance of doubt, we believe that every generation of believers has a mandate to look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2). In addition to this, we believe that God has ordained an unbroken flow in the manifestation of His counsel and will on the earth, even though He has to depend, in part, on mortal man to actualise same. It is not surprising therefore that everything Jesus did was declared to be a beginning (Ac.1:1). Naturally, what the disciples did was a continuation or follow-up (Eph.2:20, Heb.2:3). Likewise, what we are doing is a continuation and not a completion (2 Ti.2:2). Even though not every generation of believers has been faithful, the Lord has always reserved a remnant for Himself.
As in chapters 1-3 of Revelation, the Master is continually visiting us and inspecting our formations. He expects to see order and discipline in our ranks; He expects to see faithfulness. As He passes by, He blesses and promotes. He also rebukes and chastens, to ensure that His standards are upheld. When He is through, He steps back to inspect the work of His hands. He sees the order and the glory, the maturity and the fruitfulness; then He returns. This time, He does not inspect; Instead, He takes His people home.
What shall we say to these things? If John the Baptist needed to bear witness of Him that was to come (to live, die and resurrect), how much more do we need to bear witness of Him that is to come (to uplift, reward and glorify)!
ACTS OF THE WITNESSES