Founder and Presiding Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare has challenged the Church in Nigeria and across the world to rise above current global trends that are threatening to overwhelm and mar its identity.
Speaking at the 14th anniversary of the Fourquare Gospel Church in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, the outspoken and respected pastor of the Lagos-based church, called for a governing church that will produce the blue print to guide Nigeria and the nations currently in economic recession out of the woods.
According him, the current economic recession in Nigeria provides an opportunity for the Church to reveal its capacity as the salt of the earth, which requires an interface with the world rather than withdrawal.
“Since we are called to be separated as light in the midst of darkness, and have an express commission to bail out nations, our posture must change from one of conformity to one of actively engaging and re-engineering the spiritual, social, economic and political landscapes of the nations of the world,” he explained.
For Pastor Bakare, Christians should live out the instructions contained in the word of God and not conform to or let the world set lifestyle standards for them.
He added, “It is the best of times for Jesus the Saviour to save the economy of our nation through the manifestation of saviours from Zion. It is the best of times for the emergence of the true church that brings healing to a dying world. It is the best of times to enthrone the righteous in our land in preparation for Jesus, the Soon Coming King.”
He cited the examples in bible days of men such as Joseph who provided an economic blue print that kept Egypt afloat in a time of recession in the then world.
Pastor Bakare, however, warned that disobedience towards God which manifests in a church that seeks its own desires and pleasure rather than God’s will and plan, would leave Christians as confused as the world in a time of recession and crisis.