How I Combine Politics With Church Work

• Sen. KWANKWASO’s Ex-Running Mate, Bishop ISAAC IDAHOSA

Bishop Isaac Idahosa, is the Senior Pastor of God First Ministry’s, also called  Illumination Assembly. He was the running mate of Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP at the 2023 presidential elections. A few days back he narrated how he combines being a Pastor and Politician, as well as his church turning 34.

He made this known at the 34th celebration of his ministry in Lagos. The cleric who spoke to City People in a chat after the event, revealed how he feels celebrating 34 years of his ministry. “34 is actually a journey. So far so good we say it’s a venture of grace. So far so good we started in Niger State on the 25th of August 1989 and what started small has become global by the grace of God,” he said. We continued by asking the cleric many other questions and he answered them one after the other.

What inspired him while growing up, why did he choose ministry and how does he combine ministration and politics? “I didn’t choose the Ministry, the Ministry chose me. John Chapter 15 says You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you, left to me I shouldn’t. When I went to Bible School in 85 I only went to acquire knowledge, I didn’t go there because I wanted to be a pastor, I thought I wanted to be a medical doctor, so I could be saving the lives of people, unknown to me that a divine call is a divine call, it wasn’t that I chose it, it chose me to work with it.

For the second question, as you all know, I was picked by Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso to be his running mate. I didn’t even see that coming. But since we didn’t emerge, all we need to do is support the present government and believe that it would turn good.

What were his parent’s reactions? “Ahh, none of them objected, in fairness, they said if that is what God called me to do they are in full support.”

In the next 20 years, where does he expect the ministry to be? “God First Ministries Inc. is already a global ministry, and it is just to increase our capacity for impact, for people’s destinies to be brightened up, empowering people to attain their God’s given dreams. We have a lot going on for us. If you Google, you will know what we have been doing with the motherless, the orphanage, and schools, all those things are there in the public domain, just for us to do some more, to duplicate the love of God across the world.”

How will he advise young ministers in this era of materialism? “Materialism in what sense?”

In this era when ministry is going in a  down ward trend? “What trend is it going?”

If there is chaos in the ministry, how will he advise the smaller ministry that is coming up? “The truth is that you only changed the question.

Materialism must be separated from comfort. Materialism is when you prefer yourself at the instance of others, that’s why the bible called something in Joshua good success, someone who minds material things than people.

People should be our greatest asset. They should be our greatest asset, but when your so-called job is, because some pastors today, when you say that they are materialistic, it’s not that they are materialistic, some of them are into other businesses, and when you say gift your members, you don’t know if they have given to their members. They must have done well enough to have their own comfort. So, for instance, for those who have private jets, it couldn’t be from church, some have invested in training people, and those ones are beginning to say thank you, and that’s what God wants.

Jesus helped 10 lepers, only one came back to say thank you, you see. So some people appreciate their fathers or mothers in faith, while some have their businesses. So will you now say because they are pastors they should not enjoy what they have invested?

But when you do it at the expense of the vision of your people, people’s comfort, that’s when it’s wrong.

Crisis in ministry is normal, To the second question, you and your wife do have challenges from time to time, teeth and tongue have challenges, and the ability to have that resolve mechanism, to resolve issues is very important, that’s my take on that.

–Benprince Ezeh

08068599879