By Patrick Iwelunmor
On Saturday December 17, 2022, Pastor Evelyn Joshua, leader of the Synagogue, Church of All Nations, adds one more glorious star to the firmament of her existence here on earth. To celebrate this occasion, it would be worth the while deconstructing some of the reforms she has made with regards to offering strategic leadership to the flock at The SCOAN.
Shortly after the demise of her husband and founder of The SCOAN, Prophet T.B. Joshua, cynics had said she was a too soft to step into his shoes. Many had even whipped up sexist sentiments, arguing that the Christian God has no place for women in the leadership of the church.
Irrespective of the spate of those Mephistophelian mudslinging from people who hold humility in scorn, Pastor Evelyn Joshua has demonstrated great wisdom and temperance in steering the affairs of the church in the post-T.B. Joshua era. While there is a deliberate and sustained campaign to preserve the life and legacy of the late prophet, the new leader of The SCOAN believes that the administrative running of the ministry should be placed in the hands of competent people.
It is for this reason she has since set up a Human Resources department to ensure that charlatans draped in Christological robes do not hijack the ministry and hide under some questionable spirituality to perpetuate their holier-than-thou sensibilities while destroying the public image of the Church. This strategic decision has led to the admittance of church members who are experts in their fields into the various church departments and committees to offer service to God and humanity.
Chartered accountants, auditors and other finance experts are now involved in the ministry’s financial management system. Today, the smooth running of this very important department depends largely on competence and the fear of God. Not even her blood relations are allowed near this department even if they have the expertise. For her, there are no filial sentiments in the physical administration of the house of God.
Under her administrative watch, young people have been given opportunities to utilize their talents for the advancement of God’s work through evangelism in diverse ways. The church choir, for instance, has been transformed into a singing spectacle animated by spellbinding performances amid verve and versatility.
Experienced teachers and educationists have been saddled with the responsibility of grooming the Sunday School children to understand the full import and essence of Christian religious knowledge. The intention is to groom future Christian leaders who would champion the actualization of God’s kingdom here on earth at a time when the rules of national and international morality have been twisted to pamper the whims and caprices of some Satanists disguised as world leaders.
More so, the children department has enjoyed huge investments in terms of study materials. Two editions of children’s Christian literature (written by award-winning literary scholars) have been published. This project running into tens of millions of naira is the first of its kind in the history of The SCOAN.
Overall, the atmosphere in the church is convivial and devoid of the alarmist tendencies that characterized it in the past. Workers are more than ever united and no one goes to report anyone to Pastor Evelyn Joshua. It is either your work is speaking for you or you quietly discharge yourself on account of your incompetence. There is no room for pretense.
Just one year under her leadership, the achievements of The SCOAN on the international front are also attestations to the fact that the life and legacy of Prophet T.B. Joshua will be honourably guarded and preserved. In the course of this outgoing year, the Emmanuel TV Team under her leadership, has been on missions to Ghana, South Africa, Ukraine, Spain, the United States and Pakistan, where evangelical and charity works were carried out with the primary yet multifarious goal of changing lives, changing nations and changing the world.
Finally, while I join all SCOAN members (the world over) in celebrating the wisdom and humility of one of the world’s most resilient women, I pray God to continue to crown her selfless doings with glorious outcomes, in Jesus’ name!
