|PIC1|Pastor Enoch Adeboye is General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, the fastest growing church in London and Europe.

Here he speaks to Christian Today about staying hopeful in times of hopelessness.

CT: Christmas is just around the corner but many people are feeling hard pressed from the credit crunch. What message of hope can you bring to people who are perhaps finding it hard to be hopeful right now?

EA: Whenever we see a lot of shaking it is God’s own way of saying I am still there on My throne, I haven’t changed, and if we would return to Him, He will be there to solve our problems. He said in His words that in the last days He would shake the heavens and the earth but all that cannot be shaken will remain and we know that His words can never be shaken. No matter the amount of battles we face there is still a lot of hope. If we return to Him, He will give us victory.

CT: The RCCG has experienced a lot of growth in Europe and London. What do you plan to do with this growth? Do you feel under any pressure?

EA: The goal is still far. The goal is to make the whole world come back to the Lord Jesus Christ and the more people that do come in, the easier will be the job because the one who is saved and discipled will be available to witness to others so that the Gospel can spread more and more. So the more people who come the easier it will be to reach our goal and I believe in God that this goal will be reached during my own lifetime. That they are coming in large numbers brings joy and encouragement to me, not pressure.





CT: What do you think has been key to the RCCG’s growth?

EA: There are three things. One is the covenant between God and the father of the church. God told the father of this church way back in 1952 that if he did certain things God would make sure that the church started by him would spread throughout the world. My father in the Lord kept his part of the covenant until he died in 1980 and God fulfilled His part of the covenant.

Number two is that by the grace of God the vision of the Redeemed Christian Church of God is made clear. God said to write a vision and make it plain. Our people know exactly what we are after, they know our goal. Our vision is to make heaven and we want to take as many people with us as possible.

The third one is connected to the second. God has blessed me with a lot of committed Christians who are willing to do everything for the God who saved their souls.

CT: How do you see Britain’s growing black-majority churches like RCCG and the traditional, largely white-majority churches in the UK synergising?

EA: I believe the reason why we are called black-majority today is because whenever God wants to do something He goes from the known to the unknown. Jesus’ original message was to the Jews, His own people, and later it expanded to include the Gentiles. We have started with the people we would call our own people. But definitely the Lord is going to open doors for us to walk along together because the message is for the whole world, not for the black people alone.

CT: You mentor church leaders in Africa, where the church is flourishing. What would you say is their greatest need?
EA: The greatest need has always been prayer because God said it is not by might but by My Spirit. You can have all the material resources but if God is not behind it you won’t go far. So it is prayer. That’s why we place so much emphasis on prayer, prayer, prayer.

CT: What kind of season do you think Christianity in Europe is in now?

I would say Europe is on the brink of a major revival. There was a time when Europe was at the forefront of missions, sending missionaries to the rest of the world. Then there has been a period of cooling down, so to say, of the zeal and fervour, and that led to people trying other faiths because there is no room for a vacuum in the human spirit. If Christ is not there you want to fill the vacuum with something else. But I believe that right now Europe has seen for itself that the alternatives are just not as good as Christ himself.

That’s why I believe they are on the brink of saying let’s go back to the Lord, which is one of the reasons why we are here. I believe that God who knows the end from the beginning knew that the seed these people sowed in Africa would germinate and they would invest in what they sowed at a time like this when they need a new revival.