A frontline legal practitioner and General Overseer of Jesus is Light Ministries (Light Chapel Worldwide), Pastor Bayo Funso Adaramola, has drawn a parallel between his calling as a pastor and his practice as a lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking in an interview with Christian Benefits on Apostles in<\/strong> the Marketplace<\/strong><\/em>, the cleric-lawyer dismisses the popular assumption that many successful lawyers, including himself, belong to occult societies. According to him, his pastoral calling positively influences his legal practice and guides his conduct in the courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pastor Adaramola also likens the role of lawyers to that of Jesus Christ as an advocate, noting that the legal profession and Christian ministry share common principles of justice, truth, and advocacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on nearly 40 years of experience as a legal practitioner, Adaramola explains that his primary assignment is to preach the gospel while he only practices law to pay his bills. He shares further insights into balancing the responsibilities of the pulpit and the courtroom in the interview below with Christian Benefits. Excerpts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200bHow would you like us to introduce you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I would like to be introduced as Pastor Bayo Funso Adaramola, a lawyer called into service in the Vineyard, and who by grace is the General Overseer of Jesus is Light Ministries, Light Chapel Worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us have a look at your background, including your salvation encounter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I was born to Professor Funso Adaramola Ph.D; OON, (a law lecturer until he passed away) and Mrs. Elizabeth Adebisi Adaramola, a registered Nurse and Midwife, Nigeria and England. I am the first child of my parents. Both my parents were\/are committed Christians. I went to school in Ilorin, Kano and Maiduguri. I graduated from University of Maiduguri in 1985 earning LL. B degree 2nd Class Upper Division and the best student in the Common Law Department. I was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986 also in the 2nd Class Upper Division. I am a Notary Public of Nigeria and Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants. The Lord found me in 1988 and I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues in Light Chapel, Kano Assembly. I was ordained a Pastor in 1993 by Apostle Gbemiga Babalola Ola-Ojo Jp, founder and General Overseer of Jesus is Light Ministries, Light Chapel of blessed memory. I am married to Mrs (Barrister) Ibijoke Adaramola and we are blessed with four children, three sons and one girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since when have you been a legal practitioner, and how would you describe your experiences as both a preacher and lawyer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I would have practiced law for 40 (forty) years by October 2026. I already established my law office, Summit Law Firm, Bayo Funso Adaramola & Co. before I was ordained pastor in 1993. One interesting experience I had when I became a Pastor was the reaction of my colleagues who wrongly believed that a lawyer cannot truly be born again and be a pastor. They thought becoming a Pastor would stop my legal practice, some sincerely held this ignorant belief while others used it as a weapon to de-market my practice before clients. I had a senior colleague who started calling me Baba Ijo derisively but I was not deterred. On the other hand, some ordinary people even Christians held to this long held view about lawyers always being members of one secret cult or the other and gossiped behind my back about the genuineness of my call. Unfortunately, they never read their bible or else they would have known that Apostle Paul was a lawyer. I never bothered to explain myself or justify my call, I allowed my results to answer them all. And thank God, lawyers who heed the call to serve as Pastors have multiplied over the years and such misunderstandings and misconceptions have faded. Being a Pastor has impacted my practice as a lawyer positively in that I see every of my clients as an opportunity to build relationship and share my faith whenever the right opportunity arises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How would you draw a parallel between being a lawyer and a preacher, considering the common perception that lawyers are liars while preachers are righteous?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A lawyer, especially a practitioner is described as an advocate who pleads the cause of his clients in court, that is a straight parallel in the role of Jesus Christ who is described in the Bible as the Advocate of humanity. A pastor as a good shepherd tends the sheep and defends them against dangers, a good lawyer by and large does the same for his client. This is the reason Lawyers make the good pastors, the similarity in roles is striking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To what extent does your ecclesiastical calling as a preacher impact your practice as a lawyer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To a large extent. Being a lawyer means I have had opportunity of being well trained in relating and interfacing with different kinds of people. A lawyer is a problem solver who guides his clients out of trouble and this background thoroughly prepared me to be a good and successful Pastor. A General Overseer is first and foremost a Pastor, G.O is but only an office. Conversely, being a pastor has greatly taught me patience and temperance in dealing with clients and guided me in being acutely aware that I represent Christ and the Kingdom in all my dealings as a lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Isn’t your dual responsibilities as a preacher and a lawyer contracdictory; considering that one involves condemning wrongdoing while the other involves defending those accused of wrongdoing; specifically crimes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I see no contradiction here. The Bible tells us that Jesus defended us, advocated for our forgiveness before God the father, he defended us against the accusations of Satan so the sinners may repent and come into the kingdom of the justified. As lawyers, we are sometimes called to defend people accused of wrong doings of criminal nature, these are not criminals until the court pronounces them so. We defend accused persons because from the information received from them they claim to be innocent, in many instances many of these people you call criminals were later found innocent and were acquitted by the court, so they were taken to court on false accusations just as Satan, the accuser of the brethren delights in arraigning and accusing the brethren before the court of heaven\u2014and happily such accusations are cancelled by the intercession and advocacy of Jesus Christ the highest and greatest defender of the accused sinners. However, as a personal choice, when I began my practice I decided not to go into sundry criminal litigation, the focus of Summit Law firm is civil litigation, corporate practice, Intellectual property and legal consultancy. The principles of compassion, empathy, and integrity. These biblical principles are deployed in my interactions with my clients and I have over the years benefitted from the reward in the way clients testify to how they have come to trust and rely on our services. It has also helped us to build longterm relationships with our clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What challenges do you experience as a pastor in legal practice, and how do you manage those challenges to sustain your legal practice in business?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nigeria as you know is multi-religious and sometimes the uninformed and less educated may choose their legal representation based on religion and where you are an active Pastor like me attracting such clientele will be by special grace. Another effect is once some know you are a Pastor, they believe you should not receive remuneration commensurate with service rendered. They plead and sometime blackmail you to accept less. These are things that may be regarded as challenges. However, our deep root in the word of God carries us and causes us to surmount the challenges. The Lord will never allow the righteous to lack. David said the lions may lack and go hungry\u2026 Psalm 34:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n As an apostle in the market place; a practising lawyer, how do you maintain your Christian faith in a professional enviroment without cutting corners, particularly in matters of financial obligations and accountability both in the courtroom and in the church? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That is indeed true about me. I trained and became a lawyer in 1986 but even before Christ found me the father had chosen me to shepherd his people, even while I was still in my mother’s womb He had elected me to be who I am today (Jer.1:5). And in the order of Paul the Apostle who was a tentmaker to support his livelihood while serving the Lord, the Lord has allowed me to have income enough with which I have supported myself, trained my children and support the ministry for as long as I have been called onto the vineyard. Being able to pay my bills through my tentmaking activities also has liberated me from being a burden or liability to the church and now has it pleased the Lord to make me lead it. This is without prejudice to those who depend solely and totally on the church for their upkeep, that is their choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have been afforded the opportunity to reflect Jesus and his attributes in court rooms in the way I carry and comport myself. In fact to the extent that Judges who are of a different faith acknowledge and attest in open courts as to how being a Pastor had guided my general conduct in the Court\u2014one particular instance is Justice Shehu Atiku, of blessed memory, who as the Chief Judge of Kano State while sitting who had the pleasant habit of would pause to speak highly of me once he sighted me in his courtroom, telling people my attributes of contentment and gentleness as a reason for my good health and young appearance. Being a legal practitioner has allowed me to speak about Jesus and reflect the character of the saved to a different class of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do you balance your duties as a General Overseer of a church with multiple branches and your practice as a lawyer without one affecting the other?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many years back when I was the Resident Pastor of our Kano Assembly, a man I regard as a father in the profession and my guardian in Kano, Baba Olajide Ayodele SAN, after attending one of our services asked me this same question. He said Bayo, with all the books you read as a lawyer how have you been able to have time to be an effective and active Pastor. I simply told him, sir it is by grace. When God gives a vision He makes the provision. It\u2019s God who can really break this down more so that I have never been known to be an alpha male (laugh). He has given grace to balance both and succeed in them, to Him be all glory and honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you recall the stages leading to your eventual appointment as the General Overseer of a very large church like Light Chapel Worldwide; considering the demands and tight schedules of being a practising lawyer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like I said my call preceded my birth, as God knew me and had called me in the spirit but the call physically manifested in 1989. I was then made an announcer in the church and I executed my duty flawlessly, and joined the Light Chapel Bible School. Thereafter, I was made a minister, a sort of assistant to the pastors. This is when my gift and call blossomed and in 1993, our General Overseer\/Founder Apostle Gbemiga Babalola Ola-Ojo JP., was led by the spirit to give an official seal to my call when he ordained me as a Pastor in our Kano Church. In 2024 April our immediate past General Overseer, Pastor (Mrs) Emily Morenike Ola-Ojo JP chose to step down at the good old age of 86 years old. After waiting on the Lord and deploying wide spiritual consultation announced the new General Overseer on the 7th April 2024 during the final day of the Church’s Jubilee celebration, the 50th anniversary of the church. The senior pastors including me never were aware that the General Overseer was going to announce me as the new leader of the ministries before we assembled for the jubilee convention, not until the Saturday before the Sunday service when she summoned all of us and disclosed the decision to us. Again, while God did not expressly reveal to me that I would someday be the General Overseer He had consistently revealed to me through personal dreams that my ministry would bless multitudes beyond my imagination beyond just the four walls of a church. I believe my elevation serves to fulfil this revelation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifically, what are the vision and mission of Jesus is Light Ministries, also known as Light Chapel Worldwide, and what is your personal vision for the church as its General Overseer over the next 10 years if Christ tarries?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The vision of our church is “Reaching the unreached with the word of God, everywhere and anywhere,”while the mission is to “Win souls through aggressive evangelism and fervent prayers.” \u200bMy vision for the church is to by the spirit of the Lord and His leading turn the ministries into a leading global voice in the Kingdom, pushing the boundaries of righteousness to the end of the world. Shalom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A frontline legal practitioner and General Overseer of Jesus is Light Ministries (Light Chapel Worldwide), Pastor Bayo Funso Adaramola, has drawn a parallel between his calling as a pastor and his practice as a lawyer. Speaking in an interview with Christian Benefits on Apostles in the Marketplace, the cleric-lawyer dismisses the popular assumption that many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-apostle-in-the-market-place"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4294"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4329,"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions\/4329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianbenefitsmagazine.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}