Pastor Mrs. Gloria Onuoha, the founder of Victorious and Glorious Ministry Lagos, came to Abuja to plant another branch of her ministry. In this interview with Jonathan Lois, she spoke on the empowerment programme of her ministry, how to ensure and impact Christ -like character to her members her in Abuja.
Can you tell us when you were called in the ministry and what you have done to take the mantle of leadership in the ministry?
By the infinity mercy of God, I started with God immediately I finished my secondary School. I went to Lagos to process admission into the university and before you know it I began to experience some ugly situation, which I did not understand what the reason was then. I was taken to different hospitals by my senior brother and in the course of taken me to series of hospitals we came across a woman Doctor and the doctor asked us to present the results of tests we had in other hospitals we had gone to. Fortunately, my brother was with it and
The woman looked at the files and said my case is with God. She said I should go and settle my case with God. By by then I was with the Apostolic Church. There was a program I attended and a man of God called me and told me that I had a calling from the Lord and I said that it is not my line. I do not want to answer the call but after the encounter I had in the hospital I could not forget what the doctor told me “go and settle your case with God that you are not sick , your case is with God”. We went back to the church and the pastor told me that I should accept that I will do the work and I will see what God will do but I refused. Then the following day, I notice that nobody was Around the church and I decided that I will go and fall into the Apapa Marine River. I never knew that Pastor Ikeze went to buy kerosene and he saw Me running towards that river and he pursued me and brought me back and asked me where i was going. And I told him, let me go and end my life instead of doing this work. So, when he brought me back, he said do you know that if you entered the river you will not die and God will still save you but I said I do not know but all I want to do is to go and end my life. He said why are you struggling with God just make up your mind that you are going to serve God. Then, the man of God poured anointing oil on my forehead and that was the end of my sickness and from there I started with them. I was in with them fo six years and before you know, I was ordained a pastor.
Before you join the ministry were you a business person?
Business was part of me, I took my goods to Togo, Cotonou, PortHarcourt; infact I enjoy business because I love business.
I’m Pastor (Mrs) Glory Onuoha and my purpose of being here in Abuja is just to have time and see what is happening at the branch that the Lord has opened for us here in Abuja that is being led by Pastor Chris Okere, that is my purpose of being here in Abuja.
Are you married?
Yes I’m married to Mr Godwin Onuoha from Omudiawa from Umuahia, Abia State and by the grace of God the Lord has also blessed us with children.
During your business trips what difficulties did you encounter?
I encounter so much difficulties that I cannot explain but I cannot forget when they started telling me I should stop the business and go into the ministry work but I did not pay attention to it. I remember one time I went to Cotonou, after buying the goods I left the goods with my sister at a place just for me to pick one or two things and my sister left the goods and before I could come back everything was cleared and I went to sought for money again. I borrowed and bought goods and then decided to come to Abuja with my sister to visit one of my friends called Ngozi with the goods. On getting to Abuja, my sister saw that I could not sell the goods they borrowed money and gave me. We decided to go back to Lagos while going back to Lagos, I began to see how I could make it and along the line I got this information on how to sell in Port Harcourt. In my going to Port Harcourt, I met a madman at No:3 Ilumola road. I did not know where the man came from; he asked me a question: “why are you going about? Why can’t you go and do what the Lord want you to do?” Do you know that the place I kept my goods the following day, all the goods got burnt and that was how I returned to Lagos empty handed. Coming back to Lagos, I still continued with my business. I went to a place called market Bus Stop, rented two shops at the same time. But the business was not progressing as I was not selling. I contemplated whether to give up the business or to find another thing to do and by then I had gotten married. So, one particular December, I was going to Cotonou and my husband said okay let me go with you and buy things for myself and my son. On our way, we had a fatal accident and that is where I broke this leg, but I did not stop. Even with this I continued until Prince Onuoha, my son, was almost dead and the man of God asked me “why can’t you make covenant with God that you will do the work of God?”. That I cannot see my son die and I had lost three already and I said okay I will submit. I will do the work and God by his mercy saved the life of the boy and that is how I found myself doing this work.
Since you accepted to work for God, how do you enjoy the ministry?
I want to bless the name of the Lord. If I had known that pastors have different experiences about the ministry and what they experience is not meant for every body to go through, I would not have refused God calling. I would have
obeyed the calling because since I obeyed God and I accepted to do his work, God has been so faithful. When I mean faithful I mean God has been so faithful to me. I do not know how to appreciate him for what he has done to me. Greats are the battles that God has fought for me since I began. We started in one room. We were living in one room and parlour and we used the parlour to start the ministry as the Lord said. I started with my younger sister until one day God brought in somebody who went to buy garri and she said she heard a voice that she should go in and join us and she came. God has been so good. In that place we started the ministry, people tried to rise up against us and one of the things that made me believe that this is pure God calling was in the place we started where we are living when they started making issues that our prayers were disturbing them in one thing or the other and the kind of lives they live. They took us to police station that we were using prayers to disturb them but before we got to the police station, God was already in the police station waiting for us. How do I mean? When the DCO said I should signed that I will not pray that we are not going to pray in that compound again, I said I will not do that and he said “do you know that I’m the DCO?” I said yes, I said I will not sign. She said and I will put you in Cell and I said if I enter that Cell your uniform will be off your body and she replied that “who give you the impetus to reply to me that way?. I said we have just spoken so she carried the Cell keys and said that I’m about to go and put my enemies inside the Cell and she went to the DPO and said that sir I want to inform you that I’m going to lock this woman inside Cell and the DPO asked who is this woman and he asked what has she done? Then he said when this woman enter here the Lord has spoken to me that this woman is a winner member. He said God has spoken to me and I do not want God vengeance on my head. What has she done? When the woman narrated it he said because you are a police officer that is why you feel you can deal with her and I do not want God’s wrath on me. He said “go madam”, that is how I left. Then when we came back I said to my daughter that for what they have done I will prove to them and because of them, we left the place and went to place called “The warrior” where the pastor asked us to come and start with him and we stay there for good seven years and immediately we left there God started dealing with them God gave them the kind of punishment they will not forget in their lives. One became deaf and dumb and the other one committed suicide and one left his property in his house and ran away. In fact I do not know where to start but it has been a great experience all through.
In this few years that you have served do you have a mentor?
Yes I served under Pastor Godwin Ogbede for five to six years. I have been before to the Victorious and Glorious Ministrt. I also served Pastor Solomon Oganze power in Christ Ministry for two years.
What were you doing while you were there?
I was the women president in that ministry for eleven years and I was the general harvest coordinator and assistant. I was also the children
coordinator and at a time they gave me general worker’s assistant leader and also a pastor.
Coming to Victorious Ministry, the church is a day service can you tell us your experience for this one year that God has given you land?
Yeah, I know that when God has appointed you for an assignment and if you are ready to allow him to be in the lead he will really manifest himself. You know, when we were are about to kick off, there were a lot of discouragement from pastors but I said if God stand by myself I will succeed but I will not say there are no challenges because it is
a foundation whatever thing that you are laying foundation for you must encounter somethings but in all, God has been so good in helping us out, doing what we least expected that he is going to do. This is barely one year that we started our Sunday service and even before we
started the Sunday service, we had gotten a mandate to open a branch at Abuja, which is where we are for today so God is so good to the
ministry.
For the up coming ministry do you have other branches that…..
The fact remains that I boldly said we take instructions from him the Lord, the one that owns the church. No man owns the church, no man owns
the ministry, it is owned by God himself. Even before we started the church, he gave us the mandate to start the programme called feed the nation. On this feed the nation programme, we ran it for four to five years. The first time we started it was great, in 2013 which we did the programme it was marvelous; we recorded not less than fifty one Muslims that attended that programme and they were highly praised because in that programme,we made sure that we touch lives and that is our mission. To reach to the less privileged; in fact that is one of the greatest vision that we have and there are other up coming ones. I believe that victorious will go to a level where by we can have schools and not the kind of school where parents will sweat before having school fees, it will be easy, they will enjoy God’s kingdom; but for now we are running
This particular programme to prove that anything that we acquired from the church is not just for the pastor alone we will extend it to otherpeople. There are parents up there that are crying.
Right now you are minister of God and we have social cultural things.
The body of Christ has been doing so much but the reason the nation is still existing is because of the prayer of the body of Christ. The Bible says the prayers of the saints’ value much.
