By His Grace, I Am Saved

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat...” Matthew 7:13.

OGECHUKWU Onyemanze is my name and I worship at the Sari-Iganmu Parish of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Lagos.

 I am glad to share with you the testimony of my salvation. Sometime in 2005, while I was living with my aunty whose husband is one of our pastors, God used him to pray for me and a great change occurred in my life.

My eyes were opened and the scriptural text that came to my mind was Ephesians 6:6: “Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”

    Later, I went back to my parents and in no time, I lost everything I had gained spiritually at my aunt's place and it was as if I had not received any spiritual instructions at all.

 But God being so faithful that He would not want any of His children to perish beamed His searchlight on me and directed me to the Watchman Fellowship Centre, Sari-Iganmu, where I fully surrendered my life to Christ.

    Before my conversion, I dressed purely to suit the dictates of my mind, even when I was going to fellowship. I would dress the way I used to when leaving home for church but before I arrived at the fellowship centre, I would remove my earrings, clean up the make-ups and adjust my head-tie  so as to appear moderate and decent.

That was purely hypocritical, but it was my way of life. This continued until I had a dream one night and a voice said to me clearly that I was a hypocrite and that I could only hide my ungodly way of life from man and not God.

until I had a dream one night and a voice said to me clearly that I was a hypocrite and that I could only hide my ungodly way of life from man and not God.

    There was a particular favour I was asking God to grant me, but it soon dawned on me when I read Matthew 6:33 that what I needed first and foremost was to seek the kingdom of God.

   By June 2008, I noticed that God had really dealt with me by saving and redeeming me totally from the hands of the enemy. I began to drop the bad habits one after the other. I threw all my weave-ons and wigs away and told my unbelieving friends that it was all over.

They thought it was a joke initially but when they saw the seriousness with which I spoke, they saw it was no use dissuading me, because they realized that indeed, there had been a rebirth and spiritual reawakening in me.

   With my new found zeal and love for Christ, the Lord showed me a ministry (Music) to which I belong and God has since been helping me. I am glad that today, I am saved by His grace.

    Praise the Lord”.

Devil's Attempt To Paralyze Me Defeated

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”  Revelation 21:4

I am Comfort Eziagbor, a member of the Orile Coker Parish of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Lagos. I want to testify to the glory of God of His divine healing upon me. Tuesday, July 20, 2010, has come and gone but the memories it left behind have remained indelible in my mind.

It was a Charismatic Hour day, and the minister who officiated that day told us that after he returned from the pastors' preparatory vigil; he decided to have some rest. As he slept, he had a dream in which he was called upon to raise somebody who was dead.

Few minutes after he woke up from the sleep, his phone rang and it was our district pastor calling to mandate him to handle the fellowship of that evening. He told us that as soon as that instruction was given to him, he immediately associated it with the dream and began to have the feeling that God wanted to do something spectacular in the lives of the people that day. Interestingly, the topic of the message for that day was, God, The Restorer.

   When he was through with the Charismatic Hour message that evening, he prayed diversely and extensively against the spirit of death.  Little did I know that an affliction was lurking at a corner to strike me.

I left for home that day fulfilled and satisfied. When it was time to go to bed, I prayed with my family asking God to give us a good night's rest and we all slept. When I woke up early in the morning to assign to my children some domestic chores they would undertake before going to school, I noticed some pains in my body but I did not allow it to bother me.

 I later went to the sitting room and lay down on a chair but when I wanted to reposition myself properly on the chair, I discovered that one part of my body had become stiff, and within some minutes, I couldn't raise my hand and feet again. I felt a terrible pain on my neck and it dawned on me that the enemy had struck.  

   I groaned in anguish and called the name of Jesus, which attracted the attention of my children who rushed to me wondering what had gone wrong. By the time they helped me to my room, I wasn't able to talk again and my heart was panting.

 Some of them started praying while others made contacts with some brethren living around. And when some brethren came, they prayed and after a while, I got some relief. They suggested I should be taken to the hospital but I declined, saying that I did not want to be placed on any injection or drip.

 At that juncture, my pastor who had also come asked the general choirmaster who was one of those that had come to see me and pray for me, and he started with one of our choruses: The changer of the laws of the Medes and Persians. By the time he was through with the prayers, I felt refreshed and my condition began to amend.

   The pain, however, was still so severe that I cried profusely unto God for His divine intervention. While still writhing in pains, another set of brethren came and when they heard what happened, they also prayed for me. God eventually answered the prayers of all the brethren.

Soon, I got enough strength as some sisters helped me to the bathroom to take my bath, massaged me, and applied some balm on my body, and by the time they were through with that, I came out of the bathroom without help. I walked into my bedroom, dressed up and came to the sitting room to join the brethren and that gave rise to another service of thanksgiving to God.

   I went to the hospital later in the day as I was advised because of the pain but today, I am totally healed. No more pains, no limping, no paralysis, no stroke.

    Praise the Lord!”

Delivered From Ritual Killers

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds“ 2 Corinthians 10: 4.

WATCHMEN, praise the Lord! My name is Grace Ohiri and I worship at Bariga Parish of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Lagos. I want to thank God for delivering me from the hands of some ritual killers.

 On that fateful day, August 21, 2010, I was returning home from a business seminar I had attended. I boarded a commercial bus from Ikeja hoping to come down at Palmgrove.

While the journey progressed, we encountered a traffic build-up as a result of an accident that had occurred along the way and so the driver diverted and followed another route to escape the hold-up. Or so we thought.

There was calm as the journey progressed until we noticed a signpost indicating the way to Sagamu and that gave rise to strong protests by the passengers who began to shout and scream. The driver shouted at us and asked everyone to keep quiet that we would soon get to our destinations.

 I had a ministration immediately that we were in danger so I started praying. My fear was confirmed when I saw the conductor spraying some powdery substance on us. By this time, I was reading the Bible. In no time, all the passengers, except me, fell asleep.

When the driver looked back and saw that I was still conscious and alert, he asked the conductor why I was not affected by the spell. The conductor looked at me and snatched the Bible from me. I started singing aloud and after a while, the other passengers who had slept off began to regain consciousness.

Despite our protests by shouting and crying, we were driven into a forest in one of the towns in the outskirts of Lagos and like a sheep about to be slaughtered, we were led to a shrine.

When we got there, we also saw many people, children and adults alike, who had equally fallen victim to these wicked people and were as it were, waiting for the hand of God to deliver and save them.

It was indeed a harrowing experience and as I was praying in my heart for God's intervention, one fat woman came out and said she could sense a strange spirit among us. She moved round and when she got to me, she asked one of her orderlies to take me away that she did not need me.

  The person looked at me and was reluctant to come near me. Now sensing the sudden change in the situation of things, I told them that I would not leave the place unless they also released all the other people in their custody.

My action provoked the woman to anger and she said I was joking and that because of my audacity, she would now slaughter all of us by nightfall.

She started mumbling some words which I suspected were incantation and so I also started my own “incantations” (that is, prayers to God). At a point, she stopped and demanded to know from me what gave me the audacity to challenge her, stressing that I was courting the wrath of her gods.

   It was an opportunity that offered itself on a platter of gold so I needed to make the maximum use of it. I told her that I served the God that created all things and that her god was a lesser god that had no power. She got infuriated the more and went into the shrine and reemerged with a stick that was burning with fire and pointed it at me.

 Brethren, I marveled at what happened next.  Almost immediately, there was a sound of thunder which struck her, and before our very eyes, she fell down and died instantly. There was sudden commotion and panic, and when her assistants examined her and found out that she was dead, they all took to their heels.

 Without wasting time, we ran after them and by the time we all came out from the bush, we found ourselves in Ikorodu.  Jubilating over our regained freedom from the hands of the ritual killers, we got a bus that conveyed us to Palmgrove and it was the subject of discussion throughout the journey.

By the time I got home, it was past 11.00pm and that was how God saved me and the others from what could have been premature death. Praise the Lord!”

Delivered From The Bondage Of Idols

“Thus shall ye say unto them, the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens”  Jeremiah 10:11

MY name is Pius Chima Okechukwu; I worship at the Lagos Island Parish of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Lagos.

 I have come out here today to give glory to the Lord for granting me the salvation of my soul. It happened that my family was the custodian of the community idols which my people believed were dedicated to the goddess of the land.

In fact, the shrine had been there even before my mother was married into our family. And so the custom had been that the chief priest of the shrine would always come from my family. After the death of any priest, they would consult the oracle to determine who would take over as the new priest. The last occupant of the position was my uncle.

Now when he died, I was told that the oracle had chosen me to succeed him as the new priest. Though I was still young and not yet a Christian, I rejected the priestly office in my heart, because I didn't see any benefit derivable from it. 

 I wasn't just interested.  Along the line, those evil forces manipulated me somehow, and I returned to the village, discussed with my mother and told her that I had changed my mind and was now willing to serve as priest to the idol. My mother was very happy at my decision and even told me of some efforts she had made to ensure I did not die prematurely for refusing the priestly office.

In fact, she said she had spent a lot of money in that regard. Her fear was fuelled by stories of people who were said to have died in times past for refusing to serve the idol when they were chosen. She even cited specific examples in the village.

Before that decision, I had noticed that there were lots of problems in the family, so I resolved that if serving the idol was going to provide solutions to them, then I was ready to make the sacrifice to appease the gods.

 When eventually I became the priest, I found out that my expectations were not met and it was like going from bad to worse. The problems worsened rather than move away. I continued to ponder my life and happenings around me which made life very boring.

Now, one fateful Saturday, as I sat in front of my shop, two sisters passed by and after they had gone a little distance, they returned and asked if I could spare a little time, so they could share the word of God with me and I obliged them.

Though I was serving an idol, it didn't stop me at that time from sometimes reading the Bible or even making some kind of prayers which I did sometimes with kola nuts and incantations. After their message, I sensed a strange thing happening in me.

I found myself itching to open up to them, to tell them what I was into but some forces prevailed against me and I couldn't muster the will to do that. After they had gone, I started sensing some kind of light inside me and I wondered what was going on. I kept my fingers crossed until they came again after some time to invite me to church.

I honoured their invitation and came to the Watchman fellowship. The message that came from the pulpit that day really broke me down, because it was all about my life and I made up my mind to pitch my tent with the Watchman.

Two weeks after my first encounter with this Ministry, it was announced that there would be a crusade in Ajegunle titled, 'Heaven And Earth Will Meet At Ajegunle'. I attended the crusade and after the programme, I noticed a great turnaround in my life; and without much ado, I made up my mind to renounce my priestly position.

Though nobody spoke to me one-on-one on the matter, I did not know what moved me to make that decision and go to the village afterwards to announce it.

At the village, I informed my mother that I had decided to quit the priestly office, and surprisingly, she saw reasons with me and said there was no problem if that was what I wanted. Having gained her support and confidence, I proceeded to the home of the eldest person in our kindred and after narrating my story to him, he also gave me his nod to do as I wanted.

The next hurdle, as it were, was what to tell the community but while ruminating on that, God provided an answer. God put it in me to ask the elders when they gathered whether the shrine belonged to the community or my family.

 If they said that it belonged to my family, then I would tell them that we intended to take full possession of it and do whatever we wanted with it; but if they said that it belonged to the community, then I would tell them to take what belonged to them that we no longer needed it.

As I threw this question at them when they gathered, their spokesperson answered that it belonged to the community. I now told them that we were handing over to them what belonged to them since we were no longer interested in being its custodian.

When I said this, the spokesman looked at the direction of the eldest man in our family and asked him whether he heard what I had just said. He answered that he was in support of my action.  And with that there was nothing they could do again. That was how my family was delivered from serving the idol and I ceased to be its priest.

My testimony serves to confirm that the Watchman is indeed a place of encounter with the Almighty God and where the stones of this life are turned into pillows. My experiences demonstrate the truth in what Bible says in Hebrews 2:15, 'And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.'

Because we had been in bondage all these years, nothing was working out fine in my family; we had been in poverty and relegated to the background even in the village, but since I gave my life to Christ, there has been a turnaround spiritually and materially.

   Praise the Lord!”

INTERVIEW: The World Direly Needs Christ Now, Says, Pastor Joseph Chike

IN MARCH (2003), the Diocesan Pastor of Port Harcourt, Pastor Joseph Chike, fielded questions from Charismatic Signs at his Aba Road office in Port Harcourt. In this our first  published interview with a Diocesan Pastor, Pastor Chike spoke with candour and wit  on the early stages of the Movement, its vision, their first encounter with the Watchman General Overseer in the early 1980s, and much more...Excerpts:

Could you please recall how you came in contact with the General Overseer of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, and, by extension, the Movement?

    I think it was in early 1981.  By then I was in the Charismatic Renewal Movement at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Ebute-Metta, Lagos. Before I came in contact with him, I had developed this hunger and desire to know God; hunger for the pure Word of God. The Charismatic Renewal in those days was just a smokescreen and because of the knowledge we had begun to acquire about the Bible, we had become tired of what was being taught there. 

Pastor Joseph Chike

So there was a day, at the St. Paul’s Catholic Church compound, I stood somewhere and prayed unto God asking Him to send us a teacher, a teacher of the Word.  Because whatsoever we were being taught in the Catholic Church, we had become tired of them and it made no impact on our lives. Indeed, there was this desire, a vacuum created, that needed to be filled with the Word of God.  So I made that prayer, just a simple prayer, a straightforward one. Right now, I still can recall the very spot where I stood and made that prayer. Well, little did I know that God answered that prayer? He then sent His servant from Enugu. At Enugu, the Lord had told him to return to Lagos, and specifically to Ebute-Metta.  So, the day he came to the Charismatic Renewal meeting, I was the person moderating that day.  It was our manner to welcome newcomers warmly and to introduce them to other members.  So at the end of the meeting of that day, we welcomed him as our custom is; but we didn’t know the stuff he was made of.

As a new comer then?

Yes, as a new comer!  (Laughter) He was very quiet and humble.  Then at the end of the meeting, I went to him. I asked him where he came from, in what part of Lagos he was living. Then he told me that he was living at Amuwo-Odofin. And I said, No! That place is very far from here. I then advised him to join the Charismatic Renewal at Amuwo-Odofin. But he said no, that it was at Ebutte-Metta that he wished to fellowship. At that time we didn’t know the mission he had. So he continued to fellowship with us and remained very humble and quiet. And at that initial stage, he didn’t discuss anything with anybody.

In those days, every evening we would be at St. Paul’s Ebute-Metta, because we were very zealous.  Also, after his day’s work at G. Cappa at Oyingbo, he would also come to St. Paul’s. We didn’t know what he had in mind.  So he continued to interact with us, and to observe us. So, one day, at fellowship, I asked him to help us say the closing prayers. The prayer he made that day was very unusual to us (as Roman Catholics).  We were so touched that those of us who had a burning desire for the pure Word of God, knew immediately that he had a different spirit.  That was how he won all of us over.  We immediately followed him and we became friends, interacting with him. But he was still observing us. Then one day, he asked me to visit him.  I took some of the brethren and we went to where he was living, at Amuwo-Odofin.  He began to tell us about the vision, but at that time we knew next to nothing about vision. Later, I invited him to join the Core Group, and he joined us. One day, we asked him to prepare a topic to teach us during fellowship.  So he prepared a topic and delivered it at the meeting that day.  It was a pure salvation message, which we had never heard before!  It was quite different from what we were used to.  That was how many people were born again. So after that, I said to him:  You will be teaching us from now because you have something higher than what we have, and that thing you have is what we need.

So, when we started giving him teachings on regular basis, opposition came from the Core Group members. They said his teachings were not Catholic teachings. But we continued following him. One day, Fr. Cooney, the parish priest, called me and advised me to beware of Aloysius [Ohanebo]. They trusted me, because at that time, I was the Catechist, and I was very vibrant and zealous for the Catholic Church. But he continued to teach us nevertheless. And even though we had opposition from among the Core Group members, we still desired to have him teach us every time.  We decided to establish a forum that would not be headed by a Core Group member. And we called it:  Movement For Total Repentance, and we usually met after every Sunday evening mass. Also, we called it Come And See. So, we obtained permission to use the Social Centre of the parish. And there, as we gathered continually, he continued to teach us and taught us through to salvation.  Many of us were born again and our eyes were opened.

So, he became our darling; and we followed him; we didn’t know him from Adam, but we followed him because of the qualities we saw in him. That’s how he continued to teach us and guide us. And when there was uproar in the Church as a result of our meetings and his teachings, they banned us from using the Social Centre for our evening meetings. Then, fortunately for us, two weeks before we were banned, I had got a flat at   No. 5, Ojo-Oniyun Street,Ebute Metta; so, we moved straight to that my flat, with about 15 people or so.  That was in May 1983.  He started teaching us everything, exposing all the deep truths of God. So, that is how we came in contact with him and by extension embraced the vision.

Pastor A.C. Ohanebo (Left) Arrives For The Opening

Ceremony Of 'Mbaise On The Hill' - A Two Weeks 

WCCRM National Evangelistic Outreach Held In Mbaise,

Imo State, Nigeria  In April 2001. Right Is Pastor Joseph

 Chike, Diocesan Pastor, Port Harcourt.

At the initial stage when the vision was shared, were there some fears?  Because when you look at what the vision entailed, I mean, confronting such a   large institution ... seeking to get it revived, and all that?

There were no fears per se, but we were at a loss as to how this small group of people can execute the vision. But we believed him. That was one thing that was going for us. We believed our teacher and the teachings from the Scriptures. Yes, we believed him. We never doubted him. Though there was still that slight fear. When we looked at the whole ecclesiastical order, we sometimes wondered how this small group of people could really execute the vision. But he kept on imparting the vision into us, until our eyes were opened to the living truth.

Okay, let’s look at the foundation; certainly there must have been some special qualities in the people that were there at the beginning ... in short how was it in the beginning?

     In those early days, we had things in common.  Every person bought the vision. Our eyes were set on a single target; we didn’t look at any other thing.  Some of us were business people. But the vision became our rising thought and our sleeping thought. We were ready to forego anything in order to achieve the vision. Indeed, the entire membership at that time had one single purpose. There was nothing like inordinate ambition.  We flocked together as brethren. There was total trust, no suspicion whatsoever.  So, whatever virtues we had in those days, that made us what we were, they were the qualities we imbibed from our leader.  He was humble, selfless, honest, and sincere to the core and had a desire to make heaven himself.  He tried so much to inculcate these qualities in us. He told us about the danger of failing to perform, that if people perished because nobody warned them, that God will require their blood at our hands.  

 

In This 1999 File Picture, Pastor A.C. Ohanebo (Middle)
Welcomes The Representative Of The Minister Of Education
 To The Opening CeremonyOf Logos International Secondary
School (LOGISS), Awo Omamma, Imo State,Nigeria,
On Saturday, 16 November 1999.

So nobody felt that whatsoever he owned belonged to him; we were just like the believers in the early Church.  We were so given to the vision. Indeed, our knowledge that the person we were following was a very honest person, sincere, humble and righteous helped beef up our confidence.  Our pastor used to tell us in those days that we should not be dismayed because our persecutors are  people who do not pray, but we pray;  they don’t have the truth, but we have the truth; they are not living right, but we live right.  Indeed, God would always be on the side of the righteous.

What is your counsel now to younger Watchmen?

My counsel is that they should continue to follow our footsteps, eschewing every inordinate ambition, keeping their minds focused on heaven and endeavouring to see that souls are saved.  We were not aspiring for leadership, and there was no love of money at all.  Let their eyes be single, following the vision.  They are even in a better position now, because in those days, we were still very few and the servant of God has not reached this height he has reached now. But he was able to carry us along at that time and we submitted to him, let alone now that God has elevated him to this height. In those days when we looked at the multitude of the unsaved, we were moved with compassion. Our popular Scripture at that time was Isaiah. 62:1: “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, for Jerusalem’s sake will I not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth”. So my advice is that first and foremost, they must ensure that they make heaven, and secondly, endeavour to take   multitudes to heaven through this our work and vision.

What do you think is the world’s most pressing need now?

The world’s most pressing need is very, very clear and plain, that is the salvation of the billions of souls.  The world is made up of about seven billion people and the entire world lieth in darkness. You see and hear of wars and rumours of wars, man’s inhumanity to other human beings, wide-spread murders. Immorality has become a culture all over the world and these are great sins that will take people to hell.  So what the world needs now is not the United Nation or any of the Unions, African or European, or NATO for peace. No, what the people of the world urgently need now is to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and then have the peace of God that passeth every understanding.  So the greatest need the world has presently is for people to be saved; they should give their lives to Jesus Christ.

Pastor Joseph Chike At  The Opening Ceremony Of

LOGISS On November 16, 1999

How is the Watchman responding to this need?

I thank God that the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement is responding to this need of the world; hence God gave us the Three-fold End-time Project, which will ultimately result in the salvation and revival of the entire world. God has given us to host the annual International Gospel Ministers Conference of the Hour (IGMC), as a forum where our pastor explains God’s programme for salvaging the world in this end-time. I can say that this three-fold end-time project which God has committed into the hands of the Watchman is our response to the need of the world right now.

Thank you, Sir. Now, tell us about Port Harcourt.

We thank God for what He is doing in Port Harcourt. He has made us a lot of promises which we are pursuing with every vigour, faith and patience. He has promised us revival, unprecedented revival! That is what we pray for everyday; there is no day that will pass without us mentioning this promise of an unprecedented revival of souls in our prayers. It is gathering momentum also because God has equally promised us a lot of financial blessings with which to execute the job. God has said that Port Harcourt diocese is going to be the Joseph of the Watchman and we believe the Word that God has spoken through His servant.
---------------------------
March 2003

REPORTER'S DIARY: Thursday Afternoon With The Diocesan Pastor Of Port Harcourt

PASTOR Joseph Chike was in the company of two other men when I arrived his Aba Road office in Port Harcourt that Thursday afternoon.

The sun was shining at its most brilliant best, warmly bathing the Garden City with its golden rays.  Despite the near-stinging effect of the sun, it was indeed such a bright, beautiful afternoon, one that provoked pleasant feelings and encouraged extra friendliness even towards total strangers.

 Indeed, it was an afternoon well suited for the equally pleasant assignment that had brought me to Port Harcourt that day.

Pastor Joseph Chike During The Interview

The visit to Port Harcourt was a recent idea conceived to serve a most significant need of today.  Indeed, the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement has continued to record a tremendous influx of men and women seeking to know God better and craving His intervention in several aspects of their lives.

The pure, undiluted Word of God being continuously dished out from the Watchman Pulpit of Many Colours and the sound, examplary   Christian conduct which the Movement is known for and which it promotes with matchless zeal has continued to constitute great attraction to many sincere seekers of God.

Indeed, tremendous blessings and deliverance have reached many people, even outside the Movement, as God continues to demonstrate to all and sundry that the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement is a place He has chosen to place His name, His Word, His Spirit and His power. 

Also, a  couple of years ago, God gave a revelation to the Watchman General Superintendent, Pastor A. C. Ohanebo, on His Three-fold End-time Project, which He, also, has committed in the hand of the Watchman as the instrument He has elected to use to champion the project. 

Pastor A.C. Ohanebo, General Superintendent, Watchman Catholic

Charismatic Renewal Movement

This Three-fold End-time Project has given rise to the International Gospel Ministers’ Conference of the Hour (IGMC) organized annually by the Movement as the forum where Pastor Ohanebo gives series of expository lectures to explain the details of the vision and the modus operandi for its execution as he received it from the Lord.

This conference has been a great blessing to many pastors, evangelists, Church leaders, missionaries and several ministers from Nigeria and several parts of the world who are embracing the vision in great numbers.  The number of participants to IGMC has continued to swell tremendously every other year.

Given these developments, questions are beginning to be asked by observers and other Christians in several quarters: what is the history of this Movement and wherein lies its strength   that makes it possible for it to stand and tower even in the midst of abounding decay, holding aloft   the time-tested, God-honoured, cherished ideals, life-style and practices of Apostlean era Christianity and propagating same with equal zeal and strength? 

Pastor Joseph Chike

The answer is not far-fetched.  Indeed, the strength of any building is in its foundation.  So, what are those exceptional Christian virtues and qualities with which the foundation of the Movement was laid, and which those very early Watchmen and direct converts of Pastor Ohanebo had learned from him, have continued to abide in, and have  passed on to later generations of Watchmen? 

These same virtues have continued to constitute the Movement’s distinguishing character.  And it is only from those early Watchmen who heard directly from Pastor Ohanebo at very close quarters, who observed him closely, and imbibed the exceptional Christian life and character he lived and advocated who would be in the best position to provide the answers.

This will help older Watchmen to seek further consecration  and closer walk with the Lord in order not to be swept away by the ravaging wind of these last days. It will also serve as an essential orientation to new entrants and some others outside who are coming in contact with the Movement from time to time in order to help them become better Christians and remain in the experience.

At Charismatic Signs, we thought it urgent to go after one of the elders, get these information from him and publish same for the edification of our readers.

So, when I got Pastor Joseph Chike on the telephone and shared these concerns with him and he agreed to talk, I was elated. 

And when I was shown to his office that afternoon, the serenity of the place was a direct contrast to the bustle of human and vehicular activity at Aba Road whose clear view I could still command from his first floor office.

Pastor Joseph Chike And His Wife, Fidelia,  At A
WCCRM National Leadership Conference  At Logos  
International Secondary School (LOGISS),  Awo Omamma,
Imo State, Nigeria, In 2003 

His visitors soon left and we commenced talking. We spoke for about fifty minutes.

It was Pastor Chike who had prayed at a spot he could still remember at the premises of St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Ebute-Metta, Lagos, in the early 1980s asking God to send them a Bible teacher because of the deep yearning of his heart to know God more. 

And when eventually God sent Pastor Ohanebo to that parish and Pastor Chike discovered the stuff he was made of, he embraced his teachings with all his heart.

 He was particularly struck by his humility and exceptional, transparent Christian character. So he was stuck to him. It was also the same with some others with whom he had been in the then Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

And despite the strong opposition that arose from those who were averse to true Christian doctrine and practice, they still continued to meet in the evenings, learning at the feet of Pastor Ohanebo until they were all taught to salvation.

In May 1983, they were shown the way out of the place by those who could no longer stomach their new faith and new lives. At that time, Pastor Chike had found and hired a flat at Ojo-oniyun Street , Ebute- Metta, and his palour became their maiden fellowship centre.

Pastor Chike spoke more. He told me of their selflessness in service   which they had learnt from Pastor Ohanebo, their obedience, lack of inordinate ambition, right-living and strict pursuit of heaven as a singular ambition.

In the next edition of Charismatic Signs, I will publish the interview with Pastor Chike.

It is my belief that we so much need the counsel of these early Watchmen, born out of genuine experience, in other to survive these last days.

Incidentally, the Sunday before that Thursday, Pastor Ohanebo was at the 16B, Elechi Beach Fellowship Centre of the Watchman in Port-Harcourt.  And Pastor Chike in a pre-message remark told the audience that they were  about to hear his pastor and mentor under whose ministry he had sat for over twenty years; the man he yearns to hear always.

Strange miracles happened during Pastor Ohanebo’s ministrations in Port Harcourt that Sunday.  You can be sure that Charismatic Signs   will not fail to give you every detail of it.

--By The EDITOR

    May 2003
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Click Here To Read The Pastor Chike Interview