How I got my calling.
I remember I was a choir member and I used to drum. From drumming I graduated to another level, which was helped by a life of sanctification, fasting and prayer and the reading of the scriptures. The new level I moved to was that of a composer -I could sing and compose - songs and God was helping me.

Perhaps, it was the zeal for praising Him that God saw in my life that made Him multiply the gifts He endowed on me. Shortly after this I heard a voice that instructed me to go to the mountains because He wanted to use me. I then went straight to our fathers, Prophet Obadare and Prophet Akande, Baba Abiye in Ede, Osun State , and they confirmed that it was true God called me and that I should submit myself to Him.

Of course, I had to submit myself to God who then gave me the gift of prophecy. In fact, before I started the ministry, God asked me to go and get a staff, Bible and a bell to formalise my calling. He also told me to proceed to the mountain for seven days where He asked me to prostrate on three objects for seven days. And to God be the glory, I thank Him for what He has done in my life and that of the ministry.

I received God's calling in 1989 and since then He has been doing his work. It all started at Ketu through House Fellowship, which later metamorphosed, into this church. The name of the ministry then was New Life Evangelistic Ministry, Agbala Itunu.

Around 1992, there was a leadership tussle in the church I was attending then that made me and some others to leave the church. First of all, I went to seek the face of God. God now instructed me to leave that church, I then left around March 1992, to establish The World Bible Church. Since then God has been doing a lot of mighty works in my life and that of many. There have been testimonies that gave me confidence that it is God who has truly sent me. A lot of miracles have taken place in the life of so many people and they are living witnesses to God's wonderful deeds in our midst.

And also he has expanded His works to many parts of this great nation and beyond. We have so many branches of the church, even abroad.

... pastors these days are after worldly materials with absolutely no time to deposit the word of God into the lives of their congregation. We are no more preaching sanctification, what we are preaching now is prosperity. But they have forgotten: what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lost his soul?

Proliferation of churches and religious crises in the country.
The reason for all these is that - if we like it or not -it is heralding the Second Coming, of Jesus Christ. That is one reason. The second is that pastors these days are after worldly materials with absolutely no time to deposit the word of God into the lives of their congregation. We are no more preaching sanctification, what we are preaching now is prosperity. But they have forgotten: what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lost his soul? Heaven should be our target. We must find out why God, called us. We must know that the craze for worldly things, which to me are momentary, would lead to perdition.

Look at what is happening today in the country. It is a reflection of the rot in the church. What we should ask ourselves is: what are the duties of a pastor in the face of all the rots and crises in the society. That is why the Bible says that the judgement will start from my church. We are experiencing what will happen at the end time where pastors would no longer speak the truth again, where members would behave anyhow, where women would wear trousers to church and leave their heads bare.

Churches have been commercialized. For instance, a jobless university graduate after staying at home for a number of years would just decide to go to theology school even when he has no calling to be a pastor, and after, seeks satanic or marine power to perform miracles and; money keeps flowing in. This is the sign of the end time. Many are being led astray. Perhaps; this is why government is contemplating taxing the churches. You see a pastor using about five jeeps and none of his members is using that kind of vehicles. Why won't government pry into churches' affairs? It is because of these useless ones smearing the images of the truly called ones.

Interestingly, some people now build churches as investments and employ a pastor whom they pay as their employee and the proceeds from the church come to their bank account. This is happening and it is worrisome.

Should miracles be the basis for establishing a church and its patronage?
We should not use miracles as pillar or basis of any ministry. We are to use the word of God as the pillar of any ministry. Miracles will fade away. During the time of Jesus Christ our Lord, the Bible tells us that Jesus was going to many places doing good to many people. Miracles were being used to draw many people unto God but the problem here is, if a man of God fails to give them the word of God, which would lead them to salvation, the people would not stay.

The problem of miracle is that if God gives you the gift of healing and miracle, and you don't have the word of God, people will not stay as I said; they will just grab the miracle and run away. What will it then profit you as a man of God? If you win a soul for Christ that is where you will receive a crown in heaven. There are about five crowns in heaven that await a believer but the most important of them is that crown of evangelism. When you take soul winning unto God as an important part of your life, God will increase the gift that he has deposited in you. God has given this as great commission to us that, "go ye into the world and preach the gospel and those that believed would be saved".

So, it is imperative to use gifts of God to draw people nearer to God and when you draw them nearer with miracles, it is then important you impart His words into their lives. Let them see this impartation into their lives. If there is no word of God in their lives they will just grab the miracles and run away. I'm not saying that miracles are not good but my worry is that these miracles are polluted. This perhaps is the reason why the government has banned all these miracles broadcast on television.

If God truly gave you the gift of performing miracles, you don't need to cry because the government has banned its transmission on air, you can confine it to your church.

Sometime ago, I attended a church and while ministering God asked me to tell the congregation to place their hands on areas where they have problems - and to the glory of God - the lame walked, the blind saw and the deaf heard.

In fact, appearing on the television is a sheer wasting of time and money. When Jesus was alive there were no television stations those who received miracles and those who witnessed miracles told others. The best way of proclaiming Jesus is through testimonies and witnesses. The reason why everybody is rushing to the television is that they want to be known. But if truly God calls you, you cannot and will not be hidden, He, Himself will make you known to everyone.

So, many so-called men of God abound, whose names regrettably are not written in the book of life. And if your name is not written in this book of life, there is no shortcut to it. You would be cast away on the judgement day. So, the truth of the matter is that if truly God calls you, you don't need to crave for popularity, God Himself would popularise you. Simplicity should again be the watchword of a true man of God. You don't need all these high-falutin titles for people to truly recognise you as a man of God. I usually don't like identifying me as a pastor for recognition. It is when God uses me to work wonders in your life that you would know that truly I'm a pastor.

Related to this is that people should know that not all pastors are prophets. The calling of a prophet is different from that of a pastor. But everybody wants to be identified as a prophet because their belief is that through making claims as prophets, you can get rich quick. This unfortunately, has smeared the image of those true prophets, whose calls by God are pure and blame-less, some use marine spirit, while some use babalawo, and occult power to perform their miracles. And this again fulfils the prophecy of Jesus Christ about the end time. This has bastardized the faith of many now and they believe that any man who can not perform miracles is not a man, of God.

So, if you are an evangelist, your calling simply is to evangelise and spread the good news of Christ Jesus. And if God has not given you the gift of prophecy, why are you forcing yourself to have it.

Why don't you make use of the little gifts or potentials God has deposited in you? God can multiply it beyond your expectations.

The unique difference in his ministry.
If a man of God received a call, he must know that Jesus should be the pillar of his calling. Every minister of God whom God truly calls has his own area of calling. Some are called as prophets, some as evangelists, some are also called as teachers, but I thank God that my own call is a little bit different. This means that I have the gift of prophecy, and I am happy that God gave me the gift of a teacher and I am also a pastor. God also gave me the gift of song. Although there are many other men of God like that, I can tell you that with these gifts working in our church, it means God is the pillar of the church and His unique powers are working there.

Everybody is with his own calling as I said earlier. So, in my life I thank God for what He has deposited in me and which He is using in our church and, it means God is the pillar of the church and His Unique powers are working there.

The Journey so far
Starting off, of course, you would agree with me has not been easy. For a new ministry to start and expand this far, God definitely must have been the driving force behind it.

Personally, I experience a lot, talking about predicaments, calamities, ups and downs and of course, progress. Before I got to this position, I went through a lot but for God, I would not have been where I am. I really thank God for His tremendous work in my life and that of the church.
. Culled from The Guardian