The Minister, The Message and The Ministry (1Timothy 4:16)
The 2022 NBTS Student body day was held on the 10th of November, 2022 and the programme highlight are as follows.
Morning Session (Teaching)
Minister: Rev’d Dr Matthew Awujoola, Conference president Lagos East Baptist Conference
Excerpts from the Teaching Session
- Ministry is a sacred assignment. A divine assignment with a specific job (task/message) description and specific audience to reach. Be clear about your call.
- The minister must belong to God unreservedly, his message must be from God and God must be at the center of what he preaches and communicates.
- The minister must watch closely the following:
- His Discipline (vs. 11-12): Be exemplary with his/her life, speech, relationship, faith and purity. By keeping his head (2Tim. 4:5), being temperate, self-controlled, disciplined, check his/her appetite and keep his/her body (1 Tim. 3:2)
- His Diligence (vs. 13-15): Demonstrate commitment to his/her spiritual formation (through reading of scriptures, praying, fasting,), develop his/her spiritual gifts and ministry skills (teaching, preaching, singing, people management, church administration skills, financial skills, leadership skills etc.)
- The minister must watch his/her doctrine (belief system) closely (vs. 13-16): understanding that his/her belief system is formed by his/her spiritual foundation, the resources one frequently exposes his/her mind to( through books, video, radio, social media), and also by the company one keeps.
- The minister must give close watch to his/her destination (vs. 16): Putting the end into consideration is very important. The life, message and ministry of a minister have huge impact on how he ends his race, the legacy he would leave behind and the impact he would have on the lives of people around him.
- A minister must reflect on these following question:
- Why are you in ministry? When last did you truly hear God speak to you? Between when you were called and now what has God said differently?
- Ministry is not for a lazy man. It is also not for a man who cannot has not conquered his appetite.
- The Lifestyle of a minister gives more credibility and acceptance to his message more than his knowledge and charisma.
Afternoon Session
The afternoon session included time of variety and fun moments which included Male cooking competition, Tying of gele, Female knotting of neck tie, and an inter-departmental debate on the Topic: Churchless Pastor in our Baptist Denomination: Is it an Individual (Churchless Pastor’s) Problem or our Denominational Call System?
This was followed by a round table Symposium anchored by the Student body President Pst Adekanbi Adeyemi and the Post-Graduate Student Fellowship, with Revd. Prof. John Enyinaya and Revd. Taiwo Abiola as the guest. The interaction included questions and answers along the lines of the theme for the day. The invited guest shared various experiences from their call, ministerial experiences as well as denominational issues along the lines of ministry call and placement.
Evening Session (Revival Hour)
Music by Pastor Esther Oba & Pastor Dammy Go-Ye
Revival Minister: Revd. Dr. Sola Lawal, pastor of Oore-Ofe Baptist Church Ogbomoso
Knowing God (Daniel 11:32, 1 John 1:1)
He challenged ministers to seek to deepen their knowledge of God, notably because the more God in a ministers’ life, the more of his grace and power that would flow through the life and ministry of the minister. He emphasized on the need for a minister to seek to hear, see and touch God personally. He challenged ministers to hunger for more of God, else life and ministry will be without impact and meaning. He led ministers to pray for a seeing eyes, hearing ears and a divine encounter with God.
The student body day ended with students and family feasting with food and drinks alongside music and dancing.
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