Teaching Them To Catch Fish

At this period of economic difficulties in the country, over 100,000 members of the Deeper Life Bible Church, DLBC, and invitees thronged the church’s conference centre on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway recently to seek God’s intervention in their plight. Every available seat was filled with participants eagerly awaiting the move of God in their lives.

The event was the monthly programme of the church and this time, it was tagged: Night of Supernatural Deliverance. Pastor William Kumuyi, the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, was the host. Many expected the prayers of the revered man of God to change the precarious situation in their lives, which did occur, but the main focus of the event, which held between 20 and 21, April, 2013, were the seminars, aimed at teaching the large congregation how to ‘catch fish’, rather than giving them ,fish’ all the time.

Kumuyi knew that his prayers of breakthrough and financial empowerment for his teeming members will not be complete if most of them sit aloof doing nothing to shore up their income to meet the needs of the family. He had prayed intermittently for financial breakthrough and good jobs for his members, but knew that being self-reliant and self-employed is key to financial empowerment, thus, the series of  seminars held at the event.

Thousands of participants listened with rapt attention and keen interest to the seminars presented by seasoned technocrats and business moguls in the church. For the two days the programme lasted, participants had undergone eight seminars on how to start their own businesses and how to keep them growing.

Kumuyi had quoted the popular Biblical passage: “A little one shall become a thousand…”  This is to buttress the fact that a business with little beginning could grow into a thriving one in the nearest future. It also connotes that a business started with little capital could generate much if well managed.

This set the ball rolling for the various seminars that took place at the event. Seminar topics include: Building Strong Business Foundation, Setting the Pace in the Market-place, Cutting and Controlling Costs for Profitability, Overcoming the Devourers in Business, Starting Small and Growing Big in Business, Faith for Business Breakthrough in Difficult Times, Discovering and Seizing Business Opportunities, Prosperity in Business through Godly Principles, Growing Business by Applying the Law of Sowing and Reaping and Successful Trading with God-given Talents and Abilities in You. Participants could choose any of the seminar topics to attend as long as it suits their taste and area of interest.

On Building Strong Business Foundation, participants were taught that they must be available to supervise their business, update their knowledge to be relevant in their business, have good knowledge of the business they are going into, bear in mind that every business has a risk and adopt the principle of honesty in their business.

They were also urged to adopt the ‘SWOT’ analysis in their business. The SWOT analysis is an acronym for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. They were urged to explore the strength of the business they intend to go into, the weakness inherent in such business, the opportunities in the business and things that could pose a threat to such venture.

The participants were told to acquire information concerning their lines of business and investigate to know what their competitors are doing; possess the needed leadership qualities; profit from strong business foundation, rely on God, pray and be diligent in making the business venture thrive as well as strategize every five years.

Speaking on the topic: Prosperity in Business through Godly Principle, Pastor Pokpachu Edor said: “it is not the quality of money one puts in business that matters, but diligence. You just have to start and when you begin, you will discover that growth will come. The law of sowing and reaping is impartial. If the law is applied, your business will grow; before you can record growth in your business, something must be planted. You must start something before you will think of growth.

“Don’t just sit down there and be day-dreaming that you want to be rich, without starting up a business. Housewives should not just sit down depending on their husband. We need to be industrious. It is bad for a Christian to be under-utilised, don’t give yourself to gossip, some people are so lazy, not doing anything and wants to depend on others.

“Some say they are prayer warriors and will pray in the morning, without going out to look for what to do and they quote the Bible wrongly; can the Bible put food on the table? The Bible says if any man will not work, he should not eat.”

Edor said it would be fulfilling if Christians would discover their talents and utilize them as a little beginning shall become a thousand, stressing that “study your environment to know what is needed. Ensure that what you want to do is needed in your environment.”

“Growing your business is based on your personal decision and determination. You may encounter difficulty in starting your business, but you will triumph if you are diligent. What you sow, how you sow and where you sow is very important. What you sow will depend on what you harvest. If you sow laziness, you will harvest laziness. If you want to have bumper harvest, you have to cultivate much.

“Where you sow is very important, you need to identify the right place to sow.  Where you sow your seed will determine the harvest. You must know how to sustain growth in your business. If you apply the law of sowing and reaping, you will succeed. You have to visualize, organize and actualize your business dream,” he stated.

The event was not all seminars. Kumuyi’s messages ministered healings and deliverance to the oppressed. All his three messages were inspiring as they tend to draw the people back to God before praying healing prayers for them, at the end of which are usually spectacular testimonies.

The revered man of God, in one of his messages: Restoring the Falling Foundation of the Righteous urged Christians to trust in God and that no evil would befall them as long as they had connection with God through Jesus Christ.

“Any hand that is stretched against you, against your success, child bearing, progress, shall dry up in Jesus name. Those people who thought they could destroy you, every step they take, they are asking for their destruction.

“The brain that is not functioning will be restored. You shall be built up, when there is no joy, joy will come, and victory will come. Return to the almighty and you shall be built up. Put away iniquity. The almighty shall be your defense. You will not beg, you will be great, you will not decrease, and you will increase.

“You will decree a thing and it shall be established unto you. All forces of darkness are driven away from your family. Where there is failure, success will be restored unto you. The hole in the heart, kidney problem will be removed. God will restore to you all that you have lost. Tonight is the night of restoration. Children are coming for the barren. He that touches you, touches the apple of His eyes,” Kumuyi said in his message.

Kumuyi stressed that God would never destroy the righteous with the wicked as he always made a distinction between them, saying that the righteous man “is the salt and you are the salt in your family. There will be no more death, no more barrenness. The wrath of the wicked shall not rest upon the righteous. Thou shall be far from oppression. Oppression will be so far away that you will not see them, thou shall not fear.

“Whosoever shall gather against you shall fall. No weapon formed against you will prosper. Arise and shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. A little one shall become a thousand,” Kumuyi challenged the congregation through the scripture.

At the event, many participants claimed they received miracles from God, which they shared with the congregation. Mr. Nwanduche Nkedirim said he was healed from a heart problem after Kumuyi prayed.

Mrs Arit James was knocked down by a commercial motorcycle (okada)  last year and had her leg broken. She said she could not walk when she came to the programme. She said after prayers were offered, she could now walk unaided. She demonstrated this by walking to the podium to give her testimony unaided.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga