By Ejiofor Eze and Ndubuisi Emedosi, Ughelli
The Primate of All Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Rev. Dr Henry C. Ndukuba, has urged communicators in the Church that they were duty bound to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world through their profession.
He explained that the position of communicators in the Church was a divine call to preach the gospel to all the nooks and crannies of the world, insisting that it was a mandate they could not afford to miss.
He said it was an assignment they ought to strive to execute with everything within their capacity.
The Primate made the call Thursday while declaring open this year’s Communicators and Media Officers Conference of Church of Nigeria holding at the Ughelli Diocesan Christian Centre, Ogoni-Olomu, Delta State.
Speaking through the host Bishop of the diocese and the Archbishop of Bendel Province, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Rev. Dr Cyril Odutemi, the Primate said that church-based communicators should understand the direction of the leadership of the church so that they could resist the promotion of opposition.
He also asked them to always avoid unverifiable stories as well as be available to defend the Church in public domains using all equipment available to them and also for them to shun all forms of financial inducements in the course of such engagements.
The Primate had while calling for peace in the country and in the Church said that the media should not allow themselves to be used to cause division and hatred anywhere but should instead use their positions to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
Earlier Archbishop Odutemi had in the homily he delivered during the opening church service charged the communicators to be consistent in preaching the gospel, asking them to make disciples of all men, baptize and teach them.
Underscoring the importance of communication among human beings, he noted that God first started communication with man.
“Since communication is a very essential instrument that could make or mar the society, communicators should therefore not communicate things that are not worthy of building the Church of Christ.
“As communicators you cannot afford to communicate things that are not worthy. Communication is a veritable tool, it can destroy if not carefully handled,” Archbishop Odutemi said.
He made reference to Abigail, wife of Nabal, Nehemiah and Prophet Ezekiel in the Scripture who he said deployed effective communication to achieve their target, and without mincing words, he asked the Anglican communicators: “What are you writing? Are you building the church or destroying it? What you are writing, is it effective? Is it demarketing the Church, your diocese? We must communicate Jesus always.”
Also, quoting Apostle Paul in 1Cor. 9:19, the Archbishop said that propagating Christ was a compulsory assignment for Anglican communicators, reminding them that everyone would give account of one’s stewardship as he said that God is taking record of one’s activities.
He appealed to church communicators to be diligent enough to save the Church of any form of crisis.
Speaking on the theme: “The Great Commission; Contending for Genuine Christian Faith in the World Today (Part One)” taken from Matthew 28:18-20, the Expositor, the Rt. Rev. Prof. Dapo Asaju, the Bishop of Ilesha Diocese, told the communicators that they were priests of God and therefore ministers of the gospel.
“Yours is a calling from God. You are the most needed in the current work of evangelism. You are called by God to communicate the gospel to the world, to advance the implementation of the Great Commission. It is technology that has the capacity to take the gospel to the world. Don’t allow them to be hijacked by the devil,”Bishop Asaju who is also the Bishop Theologian said.
