The Anglican Diocese of Nike in Enugu State is set to embark on massive healthcare and welfare scheme in its forthcoming 2nd session of the 5th Synod of the Diocese.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Bishop of the Diocese, Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia, in Enugu on Monday.
The statement said that the Diocese would during the synod embark on electrification of rural churches and schools to encourage posting of pastors to rural areas.
According to a statement, the church, as the greatest movement in human history, is meant to be perpetuated; rather than to be maintained as a monument.
It said that as Christians, God had not called us to be caretakers of a monument; rather, “the Church is called to genuinely reach out to the unreached, the lost people in the community. Christ called us to reach all peoples, not just those that look like us’’.
The statement reads in parts: “In furtherance of the ministry of the Great Commission and in recognition of the Ministry of Jesus Christ, which was not confined to a church building or even a corner, the Diocese will be holding this year’s synod in a rural church in Owo.
“We are not only taking the message of salvation to the people; but, we are also taking medical outreach, food, and education to the community and other communities around the synod venue.
“As part of the synod programmes, the Diocese shall dedicate St. Luke’s the Physician Hospital, Enugu and Justice Dame Ijeoma Onwuamaegbu Hospital and Maternity, Neke-Uno in Enugu State.
“In this Diocese, we focus more on rural communities as our Diocese is 30 per cent urban and 70 per cent rural and rural mission is our target.
“We have been planting churches and schools in rural areas to bring evangelism and quality education to the people.
“ In addition, due to lack of basic infrastructure in these areas, the Diocese has started fixing solar panel electricity in rural communities in the state in order to win souls for Christ and also to encourage pastors posted to rural areas,’’ he said.
It said that Jesus’ vision for His followers is that they propagate a movement of multiplication, adding that “the Church is supposed to a transformative and restorative movement that cares for the spiritual, physical, emotional, health, and general well-being of the people’’.
The statement said that the Diocese’s 2nd session of the 5th Synod with the theme, “Church a Movement, not a Monument’’, would hold from Nov.1 to Nov. 4, 2020 at St. John’s Church, Owo in Nkanu East council area of the state.
It further said that the Church lives only when “it is a movement, not a monument’’; adding that if the trend toward mediocrity is not arrested, the church would decline and become a mausoleum, a place of death.
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The statement said; “The church as an institution may have enough social momentum and financial resources to keep churning on, building new structures that would eventually be occupied by nobody.
“Currently, there is a drastic drop in attendance at these buildings (monuments) in Europe and the Americas and the trend is catching up in Africa.
“Most of the church buildings have been converted to stores, cinemas, mosques, etc as more persons have become less interested in Christianity’’.
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