BUILDING ON THE ROCK ERRAND MISSION (BOTREM)
‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men’ (Math 4:19)
THE BEGINNING
A faithful servant must always wait on his master for directives. I will forever be grateful to my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who saw me through my forty-four years of ministry (missionary and church ministries); beginning from 1970, the year of my call into the ministry to 20
14, the year of my retirement from active service of Methodist Church Nigeria. The Lord, in Luke 19:13, called his ten servants and delivered to them ten pounds and said unto them ‘occupy till I come.’ Having waited on the Master for two months for the next errand, He reminded me of the six-fold ministry of Jeremiah, which He had assigned to me originally; four of which I had concentred on during my last thirty years of ministry in the Methodist Church; and thus left with two (that is, ‘to build and to plant’) yet to be accomplished. Roberts Liardon says ‘one must remain with the original anointed plan of God for one’s life and allow Him to open the avenues to administrate it.’ Based on this truism that also confirms the dream to complete what is left in my original vision, the Lord directed me to set up an errand mission, named “Building on the Rock Errand Mission” (BOTREM). This, to my mind, is aimed at building believers up in their most holy faith and in sound doctrine so that they can become Christ’s disciples. In line with this vision, I could see that in this present contemporary time of ours, the apostolic authority is fast declining, and heretics are becoming bolder. There is lack of respect for the authentic message of the Scripture among believers of our generation. There is therefore an urgent demand for people who are ready to defend the Christian message today. In the face of religious pluralism, christo-paganism, widespread syncretism, theological liberalism that denies the deity of Christ and also a widespread mixing of witchcraft with the Bible, there is an urgent need to contend for the faith handed over to us. Apostle Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and brother of James (Jude 1) also sensed a destructive fire in the congregation and felt constrained to alert the saints and urge them to contend for the faith. By faith, he means simple teaching regarding Christ and the salvation that was presented by Peter. (Acts 4:8-12) and Paul (1 Cor 15:3-5). Peter and John defended this teaching before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem (Acts 4:8-12). Paul and Silas were thrown into jail at Philippi for proclaiming it (Acts 16:16-40); and John was banished to the island of Patmos because of it (Rev 1:9). Standing in the same tradition, Jude calls on his readers to fight for the purity of the faith. It is an ongoing struggle in every age and generation (1 Tim 6:12). John Wesley made it a centre of his evangelistic ministry, which he called ‘Scriptural Holiness’. The false teachers in our age assume that grace gives them the right to sin without restraint or that their sins only magnify the grace of God. So, Jude calls for vigilance when we encounter self-made leaders who bear no resemblance with Christ. My second observation is the ignorance predominant in many members of the church, and even in ministers today. The Scripture says “where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18). God’s ordained ministry is an appointed means to communicate divine blessing and therefore the main instrumentality of conversion and subsequent Christian perfection. There can be no greater calamity, therefore, than the removal of the vision (God’s instruction), which eventually results into famine. The temporal famine affecting only the body is a light judgment scarcely to be mentioned compared with that, by which the people are unrestrained- a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. For “when there is none that can edify, and exhort, and comfort the people by the Word of God, they perish. They become (enslaved) captives unto Satan. Their heart is bound up. Their eyes are shut up, they can see nothing. Their ears are stopped up; they can hear nothing. They are carried away as prey into hell because they have not the knowledge of God,” says Bishop Jewell. It is believed that millions of Nigerians are living in habitual separation from the worship of God. Whether from the guilty neglect of leaders, or the wilful neglect of individuals, the things which make for peace have been hidden from their eyes. If being without vision is the mark of a perishing state, what ray of scriptural hope is there for the heathen world? Being ‘separate from Christ,’ they are described as ‘having no hope.’ However, salvation is indeed free for ‘whoever will call upon the name of the Lord.’ But how shall they call without faith; believe without hearing; hear without a preacher? If therefore there is no vision, how can they not but perish? Thirdly, John Wesley was known in history as the father of Pentecostalism whose works are adopted and expounded by many frontline evangelical leaders of our time. Sadly, numerous people called Methodists are ignorant of the life and teachings of this great servant of God who upturned Great Britain for Jesus Christ and prevented a disastrous revolution from swallowing up the land. Moved by the fear John Wesley expressed when he was about to leave the state that Methodism could become a mere religion without power, I am persuaded to make available Wesleyan doctrine as part of the teachings of this mission to interested Methodist people, thereby building them up spiritually. I am convinced that ‘the hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.’ 2 Tim 2:6. It is therefore the mission of building the faith of the saints through ‘Building on the Rock Errand Mission’ (BOTRREM) that I am committed for life by God’s grace. These messages are by God’s grace circulated in form of leaflets to interested people who are ready to be equipped for service in their various local churches. Two forums have also been established to discuss what is read, one with another every second Tuesday of each month at my residence by 4.30pm (see address below) and every third Saturday of the month at Immanuel College Chapel, Samonda, Ibadan by 4pm. Each person is expected to come along with a writing pad to write down lessons learnt from the discussion. Some questions to help assimilation and get each student equipped for the next discussion may be drawn and dispatched at each meeting. In addition, the outreach has now been extended to the online community through this page. Each month’s edition will therefore also be uploaded on this page. All enquiries should be directed to: Building on the Rock Errand Mission (BOTREM)
Grace and Truth House,
P.O. Box 6103
Methodist Church Nigeria Area,
Sago Farm, Ogungbade Road,
Kukumada, Ibadan. (Mobile: 08037169521; Email: [email protected], [email protected])
God bless you. BUILDING ON THE ROCK ERRAND MISSIION (BOTREM)
AIMS & OBJECTIVE
To complete and fulfil the last two of the six-fold mission given to me by God, that is, ‘to build and to plant’ (Jer 1:10)
HOW TO CARRY OUT THE MISSION
i. By circulating monthly leaflets containing messages and uploading same on social media to build or grow the church. ii.Ministration of the Word on invitation
iii.Ministration of the Word as led by the Holy Spirit
iv.Discipleship, fellowship and counselling for volunteers at Grace and Truth House at Kukumada and/or at a given location. MODE OF READING
i.To grasp the message for proper understanding and action, please, read slowly and painstakingly; read the scriptures quoted in it also
ii.Take note of the main points in the message for record and reference purposes. iii.You may thereafter pass the leaflets on to others at home, place of work or anywhere. In the same vein, you may share on your timelines for the benefit of your friends. iv.By this act of (iii), you would have joined the team of secret disciples of Christ like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arematia etc. God bless you. ABOUT THE ERRAND BISHOP
Rt Revd John Adeleke Bamgboye (Rtd) hails from Aagba in Boripe Local Government of Osun State. He encountered the Lord in 1970 when he was a student in the School of Agriculture, Akure (1970-1972). He is a Christian and a priest of the Episcopal class of the Methodist Church Nigeria (now retired). He is happily married to Janet Monisola Bamgboye, a nurse; and the marriage is blessed with promising and God fearing children and grand children. To God be the glory!
