Pastor FEMI EMMANUEL Explains
Pastor Femi Emmanuel is the founder & presiding Pastor of Livingspring Chapel International. He is one of the most sought after pentecostal pastors in the country today.
Last week, City People asked him how he copes with his very many roles, as he runs 2 churches and handles his most sought after programmes on Radio/TV and various social media platforms like TPGF. He is always on the move, travelling for church events across the country and delivering lectures and speeches all over the world.
He is needed everywhere by both his church members and other churches, to be part of their events. How does he cope, we asked him last Thursday at his church on Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos.
(Smiles) “My responsibilities have even become more. It is now bumper-to-bumper. It is the Grace of God. One thing I have discovered is that when God gives you Grace and calls you for a thing, he empowers you to be able to do it.”
“Sometimes, I also wonder how I cope because my schedule is so tight.”
“I Pastor 2 churches. One in Ibadan and another one in Lagos, even though I have Resident Pastors there. But there are major programmes that I must hold. I am online., 2 days a week, one and half hours for my online audience. I have been on TPGF Global family everyday in the past 33 years. When you do something daily you get used to it. I am the General Overseer of this ministry with a lot of regional Pastors and district Pastors. We just came out of the Annual Pastors And Leaders Retreat. You have Quarterly, you have Regional Retreats. In the next 2 weeks, I will be at our Abuja headquarters. Once in a while you have to show your face. TPGF has globalised us. The last time, we were in Florida TPG Conference, we are going to the UK for a Conference, We are going to Canada Conference as well.”
“But I must say that I have good people working with me. I am not doing it all alone. I have personal assistants in different areas. They help me to cope.”
“All they do on a daily basis is to tell me this is your schedule. You have to be here at this time. And we plan for it.”
“But it is the Grace of God that counts. My strength comes from God Almighty”.
For how long has he been doing this, we asked further. “Hmmm! The church marked its 30th Anniversary in December last year, on December 18th last year. The Church Livingspring Chapel International, (the church arm) clocked 30. But the Turning Point, which is the Media arm is 34 years. I have been on that before the church started. I am actually a called Evangelist and my high point, my joy, my fulfilment is on Crusade, showing people Christ, calling them to give their lives to Christ. But at a point, we discovered we need the church arm. The church is the basket. He said I will build my church. So, when you go on crusades and you invite people to give their lives to Christ, where will you put them? Initially, we started co-operating with other churches, but there is always rivalry between Evangelists and Pastors.”
“It is as if, if you come, you are popular, you are accepted, miraculously the Evangelists will come back to establish churches. There is always this suspicion, except foreign evengelists like the late Reihard Bonke. People like him are not coming to establish churches. So it was wisdom for us. We have the church arm, so that we can put people. So the church is 30 years, the media TPGL is 34 years, and I also have the responsibility of the church.
The Pentecostal Fellowship Of Nigeria appointed me to be the National Director of Directorate of Politics & Governance. And we have been letting them know that praying for the country is good but prayer alone will not save this country.”
“You can’t change a system you are not involved. And because I have been in Politics before, I understand this. I have been the Deputy Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, and I have an understanding of what Nigeria’s political structure and system is like. The national body now invited me to take up this role as National Coordinator. That in itself is another responsibility.”
“So, I have had to be travelling round the 36 states, attending national meetings.”
“But God is helping me”.
