Mission to Nigeria - August 2012

​Dear Friends and Family

Greetings in the precious and mighty Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
I am happy to report that I have safely arrived back from a very successful and enlightening Mission to Nigeria.
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I was privileged to be part of a team from Shalom Ministries (better known for their Mighty Men's Conferences) that had been invited to Nigeria to witness and assist in the vision for God's Kingdom in Taraba State, Nigeria.

​Arrival, Welcome and Security
We were received very warmly by a welcoming party who were very excited to have us in Nigeria. We were shown to the vehicle in which we would drive to Jalingo. This vehicle was part of a four-car convoy with Police and Army escorts. The lead vehicle would clear out any obstructing traffic with its Police siren and horn effectively pushing them off the road to make way for the vehicles that would follow. It really seemed extravagant to us. Wherever we went, we were accompanied by seven government security officials - three soldiers and four policemen, who ensured that our journey was a safe one.
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The Vision
I was amazed at the great vision that our host in Nigeria has for the Kingdom of God and his selfless sacrifice of pouring 90% of his income into this vision.

The Great Gospel House Permanent Site
We went to see a few projects that Col Kefas had initiated and still funds in Jalingo. We went to the Church building site (The Great Gospel House permanent site) where they are in the process of constructing a 5,000-seater auditorium. Much of the basic construction has been completed – the walls are up and most of the roof is on, but there's still a lot of work to be done. It is a massive and impressive structure in its design and stands out quite boldly. The highest point is about 7 storeys high and the top floor is what he calls the “Upper Room” which will be a prayer room where one will have an amazing view of the whole of Jalingo.

He desires to have this project completed by early 2013 and then have Evangelist Angus Buchan dedicate the building at the opening ceremony which is scheduled for October 2013.

Much of the land around the Church has been bought up for security reasons so that adequate check-points can be put in place to protect the church from car bombs. He also has a vision of building a 'large Christian town' on these premises with a school, shopping mall, clinic, and other amenities. This 'town' will be fenced off and walled in order to keep Jihadists and ‘Boko Harem’ terrorists (who have been waging war on the Christians) from entering.

Blue Oasis Bottled Water
We then went to the bottled spring water plant that Col. Kefas has set up in Jalingo. The water factory is ready to start production as soon as the license is obtained from the government. Proceeds from this operation will fund ministry work. We were given an in-depth guided tour of the factory after Mr Pletts had given some advice on bottling water. This information had been gleaned from Shalom Ministries Origin Water in Greytown. The name of this water will be Blue Oasis. They are really progressive and well equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, which ensures a very professional operation. This bears testimony to their research.

Vision for a School
We also visited a rural area called Kona, not far from and overlooking Jalingo at the foot of the nearby mountains. Col. Kefas has purchased about 5 hectares of land here and envisages building a Christian Boarding School for the community. He wishes to obtain advice from us on how best to design and construct such an establishment.

Col. Kefas has already been instrumental in funding and organizing the restoration of two other schools that had been neglected and abandoned by the government of Nigeria.

Other Projects
We were also taken to many other sites to view various projects that Col. Kefas has initiated which will support and facilitate the overall vision that he has for God's Kingdom in Nigeria. Among these were various lands which have been acquired with the idea of turning them into commercial farmlands for which he was asking advice and direction from David Pletts, as he is a professional and successful farmer in South Africa.

Weekend Revival Crusade
The highlight of this Nigeria Mission was the ‘Liberty to the Captives’ Revival Crusade that we were invited to speak at. It was a three-day Crusade which was held over a weekend with the first meeting being a six-hour meeting starting at 10pm Friday night and continuing until 4am on Saturday morning. The Crusade continued through the weekend with many great opportunities to preach the Gospel, to encourage believers and to pray for many who were in bondage, troubled by illness, or just seeking to know God more intimately.

God used Uncle Dave in a mighty way during this Crusade as he shared some personal testimonies of how God delivers from hate and revenge and instils forgiveness. This was very appropriate in this context as many of these Christians have lost loved ones to evil men who are enemies of Christ.

Sunday Worship Service
On Sunday morning I shared with them an encouraging vision that I have for Taraba State and for Nigeria. “The sun rises in the east and moves across the sky towards the west; Taraba State is on the east of Nigeria, and I see a great light shining in Taraba and spreading across Nigeria and covering the entire country. May God start in Jalingo and may the Light of His glorious Gospel and Grace shine here in Jalingo and then may it spread from here across the whole country and even on to the rest of Africa.” I also encouraged them through Hebrews 13:5b [Amplified] 

“for He [God] Himself has said, 'I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]'” 

Encouraging Pastors
We had a really blessed meeting with about 30 pastors of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria. Uncle Dave spoke about Discipleship being a crucial focus for our churches today. While so much importance is being put on Evangelism (which is vital) not enough attention is given to Discipleship. I continued from 2 Timothy 3:16 showing that the Word of God is vital in Discipleship being “useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” I went on to show that we are instructed to use the Scripture: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus… preach the Word… reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” I also highlighted 2 Timothy 4:5 “do the work of an Evangelist, fulfil your ministry” 

Distributing Literature
After we concluded speaking to these pastors I was able to distribute some of the valuable Discipleship and Evangelism training material that I had brought with me from South Africa. I was able to give each pastor a copy of Mark Cahill's book The Second Greatest Lie and I gave each pastor a choice of any one of our AV discs. I was also able to selectively give some other books to pastors who seemed eager and trustworthy to use effectively the resources.

Baptism
We were privileged to baptize about 60 believers in the river that winds its way past Jalingo. I stood at uncle Dave's right hand and Agbu at his left. The folk who were to be baptized came in a long line, ladies first. One at a time they came to uncle Dave who asked God's blessings on them and baptized them 'in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Agbu, Emmanuel and I assisted in taking them through the water.

Mission Overview
We were privileged to have about 11 opportunities to minister on various occasions. We were also taken to see more than 12 different projects that are linked to the vision and ministry of Col. Kefas and at each place Uncle Dave prayed for God’s blessing to be upon the project.

Valuable Resources Delivered
I was able to take 60kg of valuable literature for the Christians in Nigeria, some of the titles included: Practical Discipleship, Slavery Terrorism and Islam, Shooting Back, The Christian at War, Security and Survival in Unstable times, Holocaust in Rwanda, Mohammed's Believe it or Else, The Ten Commandments, The Second Greatest Lie, Power from on High, and the Discipleship Training Manual.

I was also able to deliver vital DVDs. Amazing Grace - The History and Theology of Calvinism, Herman Who?, What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?, Evangelizing in the War Zones, Islam Rising, Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust, Radical Islam, A Call for Discernment, and More Than Dreams. 

Some of the MP3 discs and Audio CDs that I was able to deliver included: Revival, Muslim Evangelism Workshop, Answering Skeptics, Soldiers for Christ, and the Basic Christian Training boxset.

Conclusion
So I believe that all in all, we had a very successful mission to Nigeria and we have come home with some great info and valuable data to share with those who may be able to help to get this vision for the Kingdom of God in Nigeria become reality.

I believe that there will still be many challenges to face, but I strongly believe that God is doing something great in Jalingo and wants to be glorified in Nigeria through the ministry of Col. Agbu Kefas.

“He Who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” Philippians 1:6 

Thank you very much for your love, your prayers and your support.

Mission to Malawi and Zambia
Please continue to pray for me and my teammate, Tian as we have already embarked on our next Mission to Malawi and Zambia to encourage, equip, and train needy pastors, teachers and Evangelists. Our vehicle is fully loaded with about a tonne of valuable Gospel literature and tracts. Please pray that God will give us favour with the border officials and protect us from all evil.

May God continue to be your joy and strength.

In His service

Michael Watson
Missionary Field Worker

Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Email:  [email protected]