Greetings!
Let me begin this brief report with a simple declaration: The Lord showed Himself faithful and strong at the 2023 Crusade! We have so much to be thankful for.
The people came!
This year’s Crusade edition, tagged Odeke 2023, kicked off on Thursday February 2, and was rounded off on Saturday February 4 (it actually ended in the early hours of Sunday 5th). On each of the three nights, the Primary School Field venue, located at the nexus between the twin communities of Odeke and Ihile, was filled with an eager and excited crowd that clearly exceeded records from previous editions of the Crusade series. By our estimates, over seven thousand people gathered for each of the nights’ events. The morning sessions on Friday and Saturday, designed primarily to build up and equip believers and to provide special ministrations (two simultaneous meetings – for youths versus adults) were also very well attended.
Collaborations
As usual, this edition of Ibaji Liberation Crusade was executed in collaboration with Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ibaji Chapter, and other interested partners of groups and individuals. The local chapter of CAN (Odeke/Ihile Area) under the able and dynamic leadership of Rev. Christopher Arome demonstrated a commendable degree of commitment and hard work – such as we would want to see from future hosting communities. We are sincerely thankful for the great hospitality we were accorded by the people, and we truly appreciate the spirit of teamwork and cooperation deployed and manifested by the brethren of the Odeke/Ihile communities.
Ministers & Ministrations
Our line-up of ministers did not disappoint!
Evangelist Elijah Abdulmalik delivered the main message on the first night: a powerful yet simple presentation of the Gospel of Christ that generated decision-for-Christ responses from about 700 persons. Many cases of healing and deliverances also attested to the presence of the Holy Spirit in power. It was awesome indeed!
On the second night of the crusade, the main message was presented by Apostle James Ocheje, culminating in an altar call that saw a much larger crowd trooping out to the front than we had witnessed the previous night. The open space was so filled and the atmosphere so charged that we simply gave up on passing out decision slips! Again, healing miracles were also recorded, and many were delivered from demonic oppression and possession.
The third night was devoted majorly to prayers and declarations over the land. Apostle Daniel Idih gave an interesting expose of the origins of Ibaji people, detailing some of the factors that have worked against the land and its occupants. He thereafter went on to make prophetic declarations over the land – declarations that point to a bright and an enviable future for Odeke/Ihile in particular, and Ibaji in general, in no distant time. His declarations were later further affirmed and upheld by Evangelist Elijah Abdulmalik as he made powerful proclamations over the land to round off the night’s ministrations.
Each night session witnessed beautiful song ministrations from the singers and musicians present. The Odeke Area CAN Choir was fully on ground throughout the event, as were the Unale Area CAN Choir. Singers like Elijah Agbajahson, Endless Akor, Ele Hassan, John Adone and several others also made their giftings available to the glory of God. Evangelist Joe Ifah also ministered on the last night of the crusade.
The morning sessions were rich indeed! As stated above, these were designed primarily to benefit believers, and we had two different sessions running concurrently: one for the youths and the other for adults. The adult sessions focused mainly on home and marriage matters, while the sessions for youths focused on stirring them up for revival. Our primary focus notwithstanding, the sessions were also marked by altar calls and necessary deliverance ministrations. As one brother said in amazement, ‘So many of those youths needed deliverance!’ Our ministers and resource persons included Apostle Daniel Idih, Pastor Felix Boyi, Engr Friday Ugbenyo, Pastor Peter Ukoje, Apostle Friday Hosea and Rev. Dr. Emma Enwuchola.
Funding
What could we have done without funds? Thanks to our not-so-many donors, the funds needed to execute the crusade were secured. It is interesting that the number of donors we had this year was less than half the number of donors we had last year, even though we spent more on the event this year than we did last year (owing in part to escalation in sundry costs). We imagine that the Lord, knowing already that not so many would give this year, went ahead and prepared a few to give more generously. Two of our donors gave twice; another gave three times! To everyone who gave, despite the hard times: we rejoice with you! Your reward will surely come, and your seed must yield to you most bountifully. To those who just couldn’t afford to give: May the Lord provide for you, and make your heart very willing to support His move in Ibaji land. And to those who couldn’t care less, we say: Have a great year, and may the Lord turn that switch within!
Project Option
Because we did not have so much extra funds come in, and because it actually seemed we couldn’t get our brethren (especially our Odeke brethren!) to show significant interest in a community project for Odeke, we couldn’t pursue any project at this time. In any case, a community project for a hosting community will always depend on availability of funds beyond the execution of the crusade event itself. In other words, the event is primary; other things are secondary. But our brethren back home impressed us greatly. Their zeal and the vigor deployed to host this crusade was highly impressive. We therefore decided as the crusade was ending to still do something to benefit the community. From constructing a bridge at Unale in 2021, to initiating a water project at Ayah (work pending) in 2022, we did not want to offer Nothing to Odeke in 2023. So, we decided to pledge a community development gift of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (₦500,000) to the community, to be sent into an account designated by the community leaders, and to be used for whatever the leaders believe would benefit the people the most. But we had just a little over Two Hundred Thousand Naira left in the purse at the close of the crusade, so some of us committed to helping to raise the balance while we await word from the people back home. If you want to be part of this (we now have about ₦390,000, so we need just ₦110,000 more), please use our account details as given here: UBA 1017063257, Gospeleon Media.
Summary
Crusade 2023 was a huge success, and we have the Lord to thank the most. We’re also very grateful to everyone who played some part to pull it off. May God bless you all very richly and may the fruit of this endeavor abide forever to God’s glory and praise.
Joe Ifah (for Crusade Planning Team)
