Mission’ comes from the Latin word meaning ‘to send’. It implies that the person sent goes in service of others. The meaning of ‘mission’ is not limited to the purely geographic sense of going to a foreign country. Mission has no borders, no particular geographic location, but is among us and around us wherever we are. Our Baptism invites us to be missionary in the way we live each day. God sends us to be people who make daily efforts to announce the Good News of Jesus and to allow the Reign of God to be more visible in our world. St Ignatius. of Loyola understood that he himself and those who would be inspired by his vision should see themselves as sent with Christ to labour in God’s world for God’s glory and for the spiritual or material good of all men and women.
“God is the subject of mission”, Fr. Anthony Gittins, a Spiritan priest, writes. “We don’t take the initiative; we respond to God’s action. God’s mission is brought down to us in the coming of Jesus, who made it visible and understandable by sharing himself with us.” “Jesus’ job was evangelizing – not just by proclamation, but by sharing himself. He looked for trouble and did something about it. The center of his mission was at the margins, among the poor, the weak, the oppressed.”
Fr Gittins continues, “Jesus asks us to do as he did . . . to break through the boundaries of comfort, privilege and security, and share ourselves with the needy.” “In a changing world these things remain constant: God’s call, the human need for solidarity, and generous people who find life’s meaning in having their own lives turned inside out so that hope is kept alive and the human spirit is not quenched.” Jesus defined his call as “to bring Good News to the poor, liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour” (Luke 4:18-19). This is what Apostle Eugene Ogu @ 50 golden jubilee with 27th years of fruitful and faithful ministry in God’s vineyard and 24th years anniversary of Abundant Life Evangel Mission, Port Harcourt, Nigeria stand for.
Apostle Eugene Ogu: The Icon and journey to greatness: Eugene Egwuatu Ogu, humble servant of God, top rate apostle of Jesus Christ, preacher par excellence, administrator non-parreil; tireless philanthropist-cum-humanist, four-star General in the Army of the Lord, was born on July 22nd, 1962, to the family of Mr. & Mrs. Boniface Ogu, in Ndiuhu Amuzi, Obowo Local Government Area of Imo Sate, Nigeria. Consequent upon the demise of his loving mother, Madam Eunice Ogu, Eugene’s life was without form and void, as a cloud of darkness covered his horizon. The future looked bleak and hopeless. He had no option than to drop out of school, without a certificate, at Elementary 4! Nothing, therefore, prepared him for the task ahead. His academic, social, and economic background had neither comeliness nor beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected of men.
He was given to Mr. Edward Ikwenilo of No. 13 Mbende Street, Limbe, Cameroon, where he served as a houseboy who hawked palm oil and did general house chores for five years. Buoyed by zeal to make a fantastic sale on a fateful day, Eugene missed his step and fell while carrying a box containing over a dozen bottles of palm oil. He wept uncontrollably, refusing to go back to the house because he knew what fate had in stock for him. However, God arranged a stranger from Nigeria who took him to the house to explain and plead with the Madam to temper justice with mercy. He was beaten blue black the moment the Good Samaritan left. And Eugene wept and cried unto God. Pronto, his cries of agony reached heaven, and God Almighty saw his affliction in Cameroon, and heard his cry. His deliverance was akin to that of the children of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians as recorded in the book of Exodus. The stranger came back and reported to Dee Paulinus, Eugene’s elder brother, the deplorable situation he saw Eugene in Cameroon. Paulinus proceeded to Cameroon to effect his release after five years of servitude. Rather than being ‘settled’ or assisted to start life as a young man, his master gave him a sheep to go and train and make a livelihood or eke out a living on his own. But God was working, shaping his future as this unusual gift was symbolic of the role of a shepherd, he was to play later in life.
Thereafter, he was brought back to Nigeria and was given to Mr. Joseph Nwaobi, to serve as a carpentry apprentice at No 114 Wetheral Road, Owerri. There, he was visited by a lady who preached Jesus Christ to him with some banana, oranges, and paw-paw. This singular show of care by this born-again Christian sister marked a turning point in his life as it exposed him to the caring aspect of Christianity. He gave his life to Christ in December, 1979 at the age of 17 and on the 27th day of September, 1983, the LORD GOD appeared to him and called him by his name, while he was asleep on the carpenter’s table. God promised to transform his life and use him mightily. In a dream, the hand of God came from the altar and pulled him out of the congregation where he was seated and brought him to the altar. Just like Moses and all other people God called, he never liked it and tried fruitlessly to resist the call. He became a member of Deeper Life Fellowship, under Pastor Jonathan Otuonye at Uzii Layout Primary School where Deeper Life began its first fellowship in Owerri. His commitment and dedication exposed him to Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, who gave him the counsel that, “The Way Down Is The Way Up”. This wise counsel inspired Eugene as he chose the way down being simple and humble.
Having heeded the Master’s call, he proceeded to the Redeemed Bible College, Lagos in 1984, under late Papa Awubajo as principal and Pastor Enoch Adeboye as a lecturer. He graduated in 1986 and returned to CPM Owerri. The zeal for soul wining, versatility, resourcefulness, and leadership gusto came to the fore when he was sent by Rev. Dr. O. Ezekiel, the founder of Christian Pentecostal Mission, CPM, after a historic interview, to CPM, PH at No 11 Egede Lane, to serve under Rev. Francis Nwogu. He was later transferred to CPM, Market Road, Rumuomasi as the pastor, for about one year eight months.There he met beautiful and elegant Sister Milly Uboho Raphael, and on the 5th Dec, 1987, led her to the altar to tie the nuptial knots. The marriage is blessed with a son, Emmanuel Ozioma Ogu. During this pastoral assignment, Eugene’s intellectual prowess and savvy, deft diplomatic mien, contagious interpersonal relationship, humility, simplicity and boldness, marked and sign-posted him as a battle axe and, a ‘star’ to watch in kingdom matters. Trust Eugene, and he never disappointed!
The story of Abundant Life Evangel Mission (ALEM) is a story of fulfillment of the Word of God; His faithfulness, the breaking of fallow ground to a pleasurable habitation of souls in Christ. It is all about the ability of God to make something out of nothing! The Abundant Life Evangel Mission (ALEM THE OASIS OF LOVE) began by divine leading after Pastor Eugene Ogu resigned from CPM and was prayed for by Rev. Dr. Francis Nwogu and some elders of CPM, PH. ALEM began its first fellowship on Wednesday 6th of April 1988 with about 27 members in the home of Dr. & Dr. (Mrs.) Felix Okafor at Air Force Base, Port Harcourt. On the 1st of May 1988, the Church moved from Air Force Base to a more convenient and spacious building at # 112 Aba Road Port Harcourt, (Formerly Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC building)a place donated by Elder Friday Okorie, of Assemblies of God Mission, Silver Valley, Port Harcourt. At No.112 Aba Road, the numerical strength of the Church started to increase with signs and wonders following. God’s power and glory manifested greatly and in no distant time, the Church with only 27 members grew into an enviable number.
Due to this rapid growth and increase, the Church bought a water logged & swampy area at Omoi / Orosi community in 1990. Seeing the water logged area frightened some of the members who questioned why the Church should be sighted in a swampy area. However, the General Overseer through the eye of faith saw that it was the ‘promised land,’ encouraged the brethren to accept the place that God had provided. Through sacrifice and exemplary life of the General Overseer the first place of worship was built and the Church relocated to the permanent site on Sunday 8th December 1991. The signpost at the gate of the church depicted the mission, vision, and motto of the new church:“Except We Care The People Perish” and “An Oasis In A Desert” (with a beautiful tree with 9 edible fruits), appealed to the minds of the people as the Holy Spirit directed men and women to come to this oasis in a desert for spiritual refreshment and nourishment with cups of pure cold water. The young church lived up to her motto, Except We Care The People Perish, showing care and love to the people. Again, Pastor Ogu’s ministration in heart-touching songs and seasoned messages were usually accompanied by salvation, healings, restoration, and diverse miracles. The stage was set for the harvesting of souls for the kingdom, and unprecedented growth in geometric progression.
To Pastor Eugene Ogu’s chagrin, the worship auditorium he labored so hard to build just some months back could no longer contain hundreds of worshippers. ALEM began to hire canopies and chairs every Sunday to accommodate the people. The burden which Rev. Ogu had each time he preached on Sunday mornings and saw the multitude sitting under canopies outside the auditorium, come rain or shine, went a long way in explaining a shepherd’s love for his flock. He often declared at the altar how he wished he could mount the pulpit outside, just to be able to see and feel the way those who sat outside felt. Consequently, ALEM made the first church extension within two years. Again, God’s faithfulness shined through and touched many more hearts that swelled the membership. This necessitated yet, the embarking of another extension project. Rev. Eugene and wife, Milly led the entire congregation of ALEM in digging the foundation for the extension and carrying of concrete mixture of cement, sand, water, and chippings. This project involved all members, their families and members of the body of Christ. Not too long later, Rev. Ogu realized again that he required a very spacious and befitting sanctuary to accommodate the ever increasing worshippers. He conceived the idea of building a multi-million naira ALEM EMBASSY, which served as operational offices to plan and execute the mega project: ALEM CATHEDRAL, christened, ‘The Temple of Favour’.
Hear Rev. Ogu in 1997, “….the prophetic scripture of what the end-time church will look like is my motivation. I look ahead of time to see what the Lord has said about the church of the end-time. I cannot rest but work to ensure that ALEM is not left behind. Since 1991 till date, ALEM has always been building for God. Rev. Ogu once said in 1997, “God called me to build”. True to his words, Ogu has spearheaded the commencement of various building projects as the life of ALEM as a church has been characterized by building, both spiritually and structurally for the kingdom. With the vision of a glorious church, he embarked on the greatest near-impossible task of building a magnificent and great architectural splendor that would resemble a golden spaceship atop a mountain, on completion. As a great leader who leads by example, Apostle Ogu and wife led the congregation in digging the foundation and carrying of concrete mixture from start to finish. This motivated the members a great deal.
The commencement and building was birthed amidst ample stiff opposition from the community, colleagues, ‘trusted’ members, pastors, and financiers. Like Abraham, Ogu staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, he relentlessly worked in faith, against hope, he believed in hope, despite the absence of building materials and ready finance that stood before him like a Red sea. This could be likened to Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The only language he understood during this trying period was the language of cement, chippings and rod. He was undeterred and unstoppable. Hear him again, “Any dream or vision that doesn’t encounter an opposition, is just a mere dream and really inconsequential. But if there be an opposition, it connotes that the vision is a threat to the devil and of great value to God”. He went further to say, ”…the abundant life cathedral is a vision translated into reality, amidst thick and thin, pains and difficulty, challenges and opposition etc. A vision cannot die, it is a spirit translated into the physical through faith and sheer courage”. He never looked back when some of his loyal members abandoned him in droves, because of his vision to build with a zero bank account. He and the wife sold every property they owned and every valuable item in their possession and pumped the money into the realization of the noble dream, the temple of worship.
Dr. Lewis Akpogena
08055059656
E-mail: akpogena@yahoo.com
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