The President of Bearers of Light (BOL) Mission World Outreach, Igando, Lagos, Dr. Sam Oyemade shares in the below interview with Christian Benefits magazine the place of spiritual maturity in the lives of  believers in their quest for eternal life just ahead the 5th BOL Int’l Ministers Conference starting from October 1-2, 2021 at BOL Knowledge Centre, Igando, Lagos. Excerpts.
Please, can we meet you sir?
I am Dr. Sam Oyemade, President of Bearers of Light Mission World Outreach
What is the annual BOL Int’l ministers conference all about?
The annual BOL Int’l ministers’ conference is like a family meeting where ministers of the gospel come together to discuss critical issues about the church and the gospel. It is a conference specifically for ministers of the gospel where we freely talk and look at critical subjects and then debate them. It is also a medium of learning from one another.
How will you describe the impact of the conference over the years?
The major objective of the conference is to present Christ properly in the way that he should be presented to the people. We know that cannot be a day job. We need patience to correct one another on issues that border on the right gospel. We are aware that most of us have deviated and we are trying to bring ourselves back on track. We cannot rush at making corrections. The annual conference has been very impacting. We believe the impact keeps increasing every year.
Is there any mechanism for the evaluation of the impact on the participants?
We have large participants at the conference every year. The participants, that is, the ministers come from different denominations and locations. So, in view of this it is difficult to evaluate the impact of the conference on the participants. It is difficult to draw a line in difference cases. However, for those of them that are close to us we have seen a lot of changes in their characters and conducts. The perceptions and orientations of most of them have tremendously changed. To some extent we evaluate the impact based on the changes in the conducts of those that are close to us. The main goal is for us to do the work of Jesus, and be able to relate with people in the image of Christ that we preach to them.
What is the drive of the theme of this year’s conference, Equalization of Salvation, Spiritual Maturity and Eternal Life?
We know salvation and eternal life are essential factors to our faith, but what we do not often talk about is spiritual maturity as if that is not essential. Growing in our Christian life is very essential. Success helps us to mature. How can we impact our communities when we do not grow? There are things we must outgrow that when people look at us they will see the difference; not because we told them, and they will be attracted to Jesus that we are offering to them.
What could be responsible for the lack of spiritual maturity in some believers?
Basically, I think most believers are not paying attention to spiritual maturity. We expect God to do all things for us including spiritual maturity. We do not make intentional efforts to mature spiritually in our race to eternal life. As a Christian or a child of God, what is expected of you or what the world wants to see in your life is the image of Christ. The world wants to see Christ in us. As we mature spiritually in the faith the world expects to see the difference in our life from what they used to see or know about us before we accepted Christ. We are more of a Christian by people’s perception of us than our own confession. The Bible said when the disciples of Jesus Christ saw Paul they instantly noticed that he was now a changed person from the Saul that they used to know as their persecutor. The disciples saw Christ in Paul. If we do not mature spiritually in Christ how will people come to Christ through us. We are Christians by our characters indeed.
What informed your choice of discussants for this year’s conference?
We choose people who can adequately discuss the subject; not essentially by popularity. They are ministers who understand the subject, and are able to throw light on it. Finding discussants for our conferences is one difficult effort. Â This is a meeting where you must know the subject soundly so that when the participants throw questions at you on the subject you will be able to answer the questions satisfactorily. This is a meeting at which we disagree to agree with convincing reasons. It is an interactive meeting where all the participants are allowed to speak, ask and answer questions on the subject matter. Christianity is not about most of the things we do. Christianity is about Christ. People must see the life of Christ, the light of Christ and the Love of Christ in us. The life of Christ is his person, the light of Christ is his word and the love is his care.
Tell us about the graduation coming up at the conference?
It is about the passing out ceremony of BOL Academy graduating students. BOL graduates students every three months. We are closing the conference with the graduation of another set of BOL academy students. Any potential applicant for admission into the academy should come to our office to pick the admission forms. The next class starts in January 2022. We have Stephen Class, Andrew Class, Master’s class and Teenage class. The academy is interdenominational. It is open to all applicants from all denominational backgrounds.
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