“CHURCH IS a living organism, not a building," heard the 131 delegates at the first Pan-African Conference, held in Lagos, Nigeria from 8 to 10 November 2007.

Delegates came from the west, east and southern states of Nigeria like Ibadan, Ogun and Osho, and from other West African countries like Ghana and Cameroon for three days of intensive and comprehensive teaching on "the church".

Three of the Sierra Leonean brethren had to take a seven-day journey by road to reach the conference, while the luggage of Victor Shefford and Clive Strudwick, representing Multiply UK, was left behind so they were three days without a change of clothes and wash or shaving gear! But nothing hindered the enthusiasm among the leaders to give and to receive during the conference.

"The message was timely, inspirational and met the needs of the people," said Matthew Oluwalesin, chief organiser, senior pastor of Glad Tidings, Lagos, and Multiply apostolic leader for Nigeria. "Individualism was denounced and unity for a common purpose was acknowledged."

After a 10-point introduction to God's church from Victor, Matthew expounded on the ministerial gifts:

"Teachers are like the little finger in a man's hand, called to dip into God's word and teach His body. Pastors are like the ring finger and so married to the church. They must be compassionate over the flock of God like a mother and must be ready to feed the flock at all times."

In a time when many Christian leaders are falling around the world, integrity is of critical importance. "Leadership has very little to do with what you can do and is fundamentally a matter of becoming who you are," said Desmond Thomas, apostolic leader for Sierra Leone. "The world is filled with supervisors and managers but few leaders. Leadership is like beauty: it is hard to define but you know it when you see it."

Interspersed with the teaching were Holy Spirit-filled worship times and fellowship. "The worship was motivating. People were not tired and did not feel like going home," said Matthew.

"I want to thank the Jesus Fellowship who, with the love of God in them, want Christians to come together as brothers and sisters," Matthew concluded.

"I want to thank Multiply leaders all around the world for their vision all over the world. The network is expanding every day and we are seeing the fruit in the nations in Pan-African countries of Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Ghanaian Multiply has been inaugurated and we believe other countries, such as Cameroon, Togo and Benin Republic, will follow suit."

Multiply is on the move!

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