Glory be to Almighty God for His faithfulness in the success of the Faculty and Staff Retreat to start the 2026/2027 academic session. The venue of the retreat is Odo Oru Baptist Church, Ogbomoso and the church Pastor, Revd Dr Gbola Aremu, and representatives of the church came to welcome every participant of the retreat.  The hospitality of the church is excellent, for which we are grateful to the Almighty God.

 The retreat has various features that have impacted the moral and spiritual lives of every participant. The theme of the retreat is Character Refinement for Competence, and the texts are Proverbs 25:4-5 and II Timothy 2:9. The Seminary President, Revd Prof. Stephen Oladele Ayankeye, led the interpretation of the theme.

He emphasised the imperative of character refinement for competence in ministry and encouraged every participant to be intentional in spiritual formation.

The Guest Preacher of the retreat is Revd Dr Kehinde Olumide, and he spoke the mind of God on the theme. He reiterated that character refinement has benefits for today and the future, and that purity of heart leads to purity of hands. God watches our hearts, and our work will end one day, but our worth lives on.

During the retreat, there was a heart-touching symposium titled “The Beauty of Diverse Responsibilities”, the panellists included Dns Victoria Akerele, Revd Lola Akano and Dr Gbenga Adebayo, and the moderator was Dr Adetola Ipadeola.  The retreat concluded with preparations for the new session and the closing prayer and benediction from Prof. Simon Kolawole.

Abraham Olutoye Odeleye
Deputy President Advancement