APPEAL FOR CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

I send my greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. May His promised return in glory strengthen our hearts and arms for the Gospel of the Kingdom. I am a Christian minster and the writer of THE KINGDOM HERALD , a weekly online publication that is also represented on Facebook and Twitter. (You can click here to reach the website.) Although I studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, I gave up my secular pursuits to heed the call to the ministry, which I had been notified of before graduation and was confirmed to me in the written Word: “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” ( 1 Timothy 4:13). A hearing challenge I developed in high school, which I nevertheless expect to overcome soon, has proven to be a vehicle providentially used to constrain me to heed the call. As such, the last seven years since I took a definite step to respond has consisted in my being prepared and positioned for the actual fulfillment of my ministry, which I had previously been pursuing in a more or less casual way. A major part of this preparation has consisted in the writing and editing of the 95,000-word manuscript of my proposed book, THE COMING GLORY: THE KINGDOM REIGN OF CHRIST AND HIS REDEEMED SAINTS . ( You can click here to learn more about the book.) This appeal has been prompted by a series of more recent experiences, some of which I will mention here. I have prayed much and waited on the Lord about the issue at hand and it was at a time of deep contemplation that I was inspired to follow this course of making an open appeal. It is my hope and prayer that it would be brought to the attention of the right person, or people, who would respond to it. The Lord works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. I had lived in Lagos all my life until I recently heeded another longstanding call to move to Ibadan, Oyo State, also in southwestern Nigeria. Indeed, it wasn’t until I came here to Ibadan that I was actually able to take my ministry online, although the Lord had shown it to me a long time ago that the Internet would be my primary medium of ministration. Before this, I had been sending THE KINGDOM HERALD out by email and had limited reach and readership. Since coming to Ibadan, my vision has been sharpened and I have a better understanding of many things the Lord had shown me in previous years. It is with this realization of the work that has to be accomplished that I came to terms with the definite challenge I was facing. This challenge was particularly put in context by three recent experiences I had – two dreams and a Scripture chapter that was impressed on my mind to read. In the first dream , I saw myself “fired up” to take part in a football match. But when the match started, each time the ball came my way, I was demobilized, held down by a strange force and unable to kick it. Then the scene of the dream changed and I saw myself working online in connection with my ministry. I was trying to send some email messages but was having difficulty getting them across. Then I heard a voice that said, “Oleg Salenko.” Just then I woke up. I knew that the name I heard was significant and so I wrote it down immediately. I went on to do some online research on “Oleg Salenko” and learnt that there was actually someone that bore the name, a Ukrainian footballer who had played for the former Soviet Union and held the world record for the highest number of goals scored in a single World Cup match . Obviously, this is an allegory of something the Lord was conveying to me. In the second dream , I was looking at something that looked like my email inbox . There were three lines that contained what appeared to be the titles of three email messages . The first (from bottom, that is) read “Account Dissolved,” the second read “£25,000,” and the third read “£200,000.” Now, I could see that the dreams were addressing the major challenge that my ministry had been facing, which was financial . But not only was the challenge being confirmed, there was also the divine testimony of the need being met. This was substantiated by the Scripture passage, Isaiah 46 , that was impressed on my heart to read. The portion that was quickened to me reads: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, MY COUNSEL SHALL STAND, and I will do all my pleasure: calling a ravenous bird from the east, THE MAN THAT EXECUTETH MY COUNSEL from a far country: yea, I HAVE SPOKEN IT, I WILL ALSO BRING IT TO PASS; I HAVE PURPOSED IT, I WILL ALSO DO IT” (Isaiah 46:9-11). Amen This confirmed to me that the Lord has a purpose for me to fulfill and that He will send the needed resources. Moreover, he tells me to “remember the former things of old,” which I feel holds the key to understanding the implication of the “Account Dissolved” of the second dream. It so happens that after I had first stepped out to heed the call to the ministry, I needed funds for a publishing project and was prompted to appeal for support. The Lord provided funds from two major sources. Indeed, one of them looked at the manuscript of the proposed book and practically sought me out to give exactly what I had requested for, although I had allowed for the possibility of being given a loan. I recall that the emissary I got the funds through had said, “It is God” – in other words, “It is the Lord’s doing.” The Lord went on to prosper the project, but it remained that I was still in Lagos and had not heeded the call to Ibadan . As such, not only was I not able to really settle down in Lagos, but I started experiencing some rather severe problems, including with my health. Eventually, the flow of returns from the project was practically cut off and I was literary forced out of Lagos, albeit with the grace of prior notification and provision for the “escape” (that is actually what it was revealed to me as). So I see in this a very possible implication of the “Account Dissolved” of the second dream. Providentially, the other UK-based source of the funds for this “ former things of old,” being aware of the difficulties I was facing again, had asked in an online chat if I had thought of leaving Lagos . I told him that I had in fact been considering moving to Ibadan . He said, “Maybe your money is at Ibadan” – or should I say “your needed funds would come to you at Ibadan.” Beloved, it is the light and spirit of the above that I have decided to act upon my faith by making this appeal. I believe that the Lord knows the whole purpose He has for the two amounts that I saw in the dream ( £25,000 and £200,000 ) and I am convinced that He will fulfill it. Nevertheless, I have chosen to place the emphasis on the £25,000, which can readily identify with as my immediate need , knowing that if the vision is indeed of the Lord He would also provide the other amount in His own way and instruct me in what to do with it. The Word He spoke to me is, “ MY COUNSEL shall stand, and I will do ALL MY PLEASURE… I HAVE PURPOSED IT, I WILL ALSO DO IT.” Amen To the best of my present revelation, below are the things that I need funds for: 1. Computer and Internet Facilities : My present ministration is primarily online and I need suitable computer hardware and software and reliable access to the Internet. I have so far been visiting Internet cafés to get online and using free Internet services in hosting my website and for my emails. These services impose some constraints and limitations, including as regards access time, space and flexibility, and I would like to make better arrangements for the ministry. 2. Book Publication : It has been revealed to me and I have also been humanly encouraged to the effect that I have a global message. I therefore need funds to arrange for the international publication, promotion and distribution of my book THE COMING GLORY: THE KINGDOM REIGN OF CHRIST AND HIS REDEEMED SAINTS I have approached some publishers and literary agents with the book proposal, which has attracted some really outstanding reviews and comments. However, primarily for reasons of my location and my not being a “big name,” I am yet to secure a publishing contract. Some suggestions have been made for getting over the hurdle, some of which I am already utilizing, but funds have been the major challenge. Nevertheless, I also feel that it may actually be the will and plan of the Lord for my ministry to retain publishing rights of the book, for optimum long-term financing of the ministry. 3. Other Publications : I also plan to make my Internet articles available in the form of a monthly digest (a small sized magazine, Kingdom Digest ), especially for those who do not use, or have limited access to, the Internet. Hopefully, the works of other Christian writers and ministers with a similar vision would be incorporated. Likewise, my book will also be made available in serialized booklet form for lighter readers who might not have the motivation or orientation to approach the full book as a whole. Depending on how the Lord directs and makes provision, the Kingdom Digest might be sold or sent out freely. 4. Bible School and other Training : Although I have been thoroughly nurtured and prepared over the past years in God’s own “wilderness” Bible school, I have the inclination to obtain a formal qualification, at least for the purpose of being “made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some,” as the apostle Paul said. Besides, going by a night vision I saw, I feel that my place of verbal ministration is not at the pulpit but in the classroom . Furthermore, considering the dynamic nature of the Internet, which is my primary and ongoing medium of ministration, I would like to make provisions and arrangements for a means of keeping abreast with trends in the industry so that I can make the best use of them. 5. Accommodation and Other Needs: Since I heeded the call to come to Ibadan, Oyo Sate, I have been staying with a senior Christian friend and his family. It is approaching four months now and I strongly feel that it is time to move on, ideally to a personal place, which will also serve as my ministerial base (at least for now). Besides, it has been said that no man ever accomplished anything of significance singlehandedly. As a 36-year old bachelor, I would like to enlist the help of at least one assistant. And except this comes in the form of my expected life partner, I may be constrained to immediately get an office space also. Beloved, it is in the belief that I have heard from the Lord that I have made this appeal, believing that the need would be met and the work of the Lord would have a prosperous way. “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). The Lord has been really faithful in the journey so far. I have restricted myself to the immediately pertinent issues, but as I once remarked to a senior minister, telling my whole story would require a book of its own, which I imagine being titled “All The Way My Savior Leads Me,” the first line of one of my favorite hymns. Despite the many challenges that have been encountered so far, one thing He has told me, and to which He has been faithful, is, “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 17:14). I may not fully understand the details, but I feel that the promised rain has indeed started and He would bring in the “firstfruits,” and then the “full harvest.” Moreover, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). In closing, I would say that somewhere along the way, I got the inspiration for the establishment of a very promising Christian enterprise, CANAAN LITERARY INITIATIVE (CALIN) . I prepared the detailed proposal, became so impassioned with the idea and began to believe that it was my actual my life purpose. Nevertheless, I have so far been constrained in the spirit about pursuing it and some earlier plans I had to share it with some people were kept in check. I have been repeatedly impressed to give priority to the ministry. I do not know, but maybe the Lord wants me to give the proposal to someone, even as He would provide the funds needed for the work He has called me to. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all His people. Thank you and God bless you abundantly. In His Service, David Olagoke Olawoyin, THE KINGDOM HERALD www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com kingdomherald@live.com http://mailto:davolawoyin@yahoo.co.uk