Apostle Dr. Joshua Afolabi says the major aim of his ministry, Palace Fire Chapel, in 2025 is to intensify its efforts at leading more sinners to Christ through the church’s strategic and intentional evangelism model tagged Operation Bring the Chronic Bad People to Church” through the preaching of the gospel to die-hard sinners at market places, motor parks, brothels, drugs/alcohol joints and yahoo/cultists groups among others. In this interview with Christian Benefits, the global preacher and a nominee for the 2025 Benefits Awards for Missionary Excellence (BAME Award) for Christian Service, further reveals that Palace Fire Chapel will also increase its community service support to the needy as part of the Church Social responsibility (CSR) activities to couch the effects of the current economy recession in Nigeria. Excerpts
Please, share with us God’s moves and power at Palace Fire Chapel in the just concluded year 2024, with some testimonies
God moved powerfully, mightily and greatly at Palace Fire Chapel in 2024 with awesome testimonies as proofs of his mighty presence in our midst. We had a major testimony of one of our pastors who had been looking unto God for a child for about 15 years, blessed with a baby boy in 2024. One other pastor in our church also got married in 2024. One of our daughters also had a baby. God added more souls to the church, including a devoted Muslim converted. We also had a number of testimonies of some of our members who got visas and traveled abroad, and several who secured gainful employment offers. Our branch church was expanded and renovated to take a capacity of 400 congregants. Aside the construction works at our Lekki church we also started our church fellowship in Abuja in 2024.
As a global preacher one will expect Palace Fire Chapel should by now have branches in some of the countries you have traveled and preached the gospel.
By the grace of God we have registered the church in some countries, and presently making efforts to put some things right lest we started the branches and be idle. We are raising some citizens as partners to start our overseas branches. By the grace of God we are optimistic of starting our branches in America and Europe this year.
Aside this, what are other major projections of the church for 2025?
By the grace of God, we are opening our Lekki and Abuja branches this year. We will increase our community service to couch the effects of the current economy recession in Nigeria on the less privileged in our church community. We started the community service in 2024. We are going to do more this year. Our community service entails giving free medicals, free food stuffs, free empowerment, including cash support to start businesses, to the less privileged in our church community. By the grace of God we will hold our first community service this year in February.
Aside meeting the physical needs of the people, what are the church’s plans aimed at meeting the spiritual needs of the people as well in this year 2025?
We are planning more outreach programmes this year to win more souls for Christ. We are going to make more noise organizing revival services in all our branches to boost the faith and the growth of the believers. We are also going to market places, motor parks, brothels, drugs/alcohol joints, the yahoo/cultists groups and other dangerous zones to preach and lead die-hard sinners to Christ through our strategic and intentional evangelism model tagged: Operation Bring the Chronic Bad People to Church.” Our targets are not the already churched, but the unchurched roaming about the streets or staying in their homes on Sunday morning instead of been in church, like touts, hooligans, drugs addicts, criminals, prostitutes, yahoo gangsters and street urchins. In this model, we encourage our members to invite at least 10 persons each that they know are very bad in their neighbourhoods to church every Sunday, including the backsliders who for one reason or the other have lost the faith and those who have never known Christ or heard the gospel at all.
You are a prophet yet you don’t release New Year prophecies. What’s your take on preachers releasing New Year prophecies at the start of every year?
I don’t believe in making public prophecies. First, you might say publicly today what God had shown you and only for God to change his mind the next day. God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah to put his house in order; that he would die soon. But the same God later changed his mind and added 15 years to Hezekiah. If it were to be today many people would label Isaiah fake. Most times prophets don’t know when God has changed his mind. God, who told Jonah to prophesy to Nineveh that he would destroy the city, later changed his mind and spared the city. That angered Jonah that his prophecy about Nineveh didn’t come to pass. Second, God might not change his mind but postpone the time of the prophecy. Prophecy has to do with past, present and future. God determines the fulfillments of prophecies in his own time. So, prophets should handle the declarations of prophecies with caution. Third, there are lots of people out there on the streets that need prophecy for their deliverance, healing, fruitfulness among others. So, why do most of these prophets that release yearly prophecies concentrate only on the nations, politicians and the famous, and not go to the ordinary persons on the streets and prophesy to them? Most of the prophecies by these yearly prophets put fears into people. They often make declarations of bad thing as if God doesn’t have good plans for the people. Most of them release yearly prophecy for personal recognition that God is using them. Ironically, what many of them declare as New Year prophecies are predictions, guess works or forecasts. Prophecy is none of these three practices.
How do you distinguish prophecy from prediction, guess work and forecast?
Most genuine prophets of God don’t seek public recognition and applauses. In fact, many of them don’t want people to know about them or their ministries, less their prophecies unlike most of the yearly prophets showboating. Most genuine prophets hide themselves. They are often afraid or reluctant to declare what God has shown them (prophecies). How did I know this? When Elijah complained to God that he was the only prophet that remained, God showed him other 6,000 prophets that were hiding in the caves from public recognition. You don’t announce yourself that God is using you with public declaration of your prophecies. It is God that will announce you by himself like he announced the 6,000 prophets hiding in the caves.
What is your take on New Year resolutions making at the start of every year?
I don’t believe in New Year resolutions. Rather, I believe in New Year revelations. Making New Year resolution is like building confidence in yourself these are what you will do, and these are what you will stop doing; whereas nobody can do anything if God does not give him the grace to do it. Apostle Paul said, I am what I am by the grace of God. Any resolution without the grace of God backing it will be fruitless. That’s why you hear most believers saying, I will do this, and that, by the grace of God. Any resolution without the grace of God is frustration. Grace is the enabling power of God that will make you do things, or not to do things. Believers live by revelations; not by resolutions. As a believer and preacher of the gospel of Jesus I live by revelations. So, I will rather say these are my New Year revelations.
