Primate Dr. Victoria Fabusoro, the Spiritual Head of The Salvation Church of Christ, Isolo Jakande Estate, Lagos, has clearly pointed out the differences between the church and fellow while garment churches. In the below interview, she takes Christian Benefits through the vision, the history and the doctrine of The Salvation Church of Christ, and strongly declared that the church, founded by her late husband, Archbishop Peter Fabusoro is a Pentecostal ministry in white garment.
Please, can we meet you ma?
I am Primate Dr. Victoria Oluyomi Fabusoro, the wife of the Late Archbishop Dr. Peter Olusanmi Fabusoro whom the Lord gave the vision of The Salvation Church of Christ as the founder of the church until his transition to glory.
Tell us about the vision that birthed The Salvation Church of Christ?
The vision that birthed The Salvation Church of Christ was received from God by my late husband and founder of the church, Archbishop Dr. Peter Olusanmi Fabusoro. But before he founded the church he had an encounter when he was a child. According to him, when he was 8 months old, he was struck by a strange ailment that made his parents take him to several places for solution to no avail. At that time his parents were not in Christ. So, someone advised them to take their ailing child to a white garment church where they ring bell and pray into water for the healing of the sick. His parents obliged and took him to that white garment church, and he was truly healed with prayers and water in that church.
What subsequently happened to him after his healing in that church?
After his healing in that church God ministered to his parents that they should not take him away from that church until he clocks three years old. When he clocked three years in that church his parents were told to offer a thanksgiving unto the Lord before they take him back home. His father brought a ram to the church for the thanksgiving, but the Holy Spirit told the prophet in charge of the church to tell his parents that the Lord does not want the ram, but their healed child as the thanksgiving unto Him. That was how my now late husband was offered as thanksgiving unto the Lord and became a white garment Christian before he later founded The Salvation Church of Christ as a servant of God.
Briefly share with us the vision, the history and the doctrine of the church
Before my late husband, Archbishop Peter Fabusoro founded the church God had called him to be a fisher of men; that is a soul winner. We started as a ministry in our house. When the attendance at the ministry kept increasing we bought a parcel of land and started the church on November 15, 1987. We had hardly spent a year on that land when some people started complaining that we cannot site a church on the land. So, we moved away to another site. Before we moved to a new site my husband told the person who sold the land to him that some people protested that we cannot site a church on that land. And the person told him that the land was truly not marked for a worship centre. About the doctrine of the church, we do not use red candles for prayers. When there is a need to use candle we use just two or three white candles. My husband received from God the doctrine of rolling on the floor while praying to deliver people.
What distinguishes the church from other white garment churches?
There are quite a lot of things that distinguish The Salvation Church of Christ from most white garment churches. As I said earlier, unlike most white garment churches we do not use red and other coloured candles except white candles. We use candles only when the Holy Spirit leads us. We believe in rolling on the mercy ground for deliverance. Like most white garment churches, we also burn incense before our Sunday worship service to drive evil spirits away, and also before our Wednesday meeting commences. We burn incense with Psalm 24 to sanctify our surroundings. We move with the incense round the four corners of the sanctuary as the Lord instructed our father, late Archbishop Fabusoro. Those of us who are truly the undiluted white garment worshippers know ourselves. Unfortunately, many people cannot differentiate us from the others. Our mode/ patterns of prayers are not the same with CCC and C&S. CCC and C&S do not wear their shoes with their Sutana, but we can wear our shoes with our Sutana, but we will pull them off at the doorstep when we get to the church. Our white garment designs and patterns are not the same with that of Celestial Church and Cherubim & Seraphim We are Pentecostals that put on white garment.
Please, share with us your experiences as a female church leader in Nigeria
I pray to have the same encounter and experiences that my late husband and founder of the church had as a church leader until his transition to glory. He was a warrior who came, fought and won battles as a true soldier of Christ. The few challenges that the church had before his passage have been rolled away. When I was appointed by the church elders to succeed him as the church leader, I was afraid I would face the challenges that he faced in the ministry. But barely three months after his passage the Lord conquered the fear and the church progresses. All the elders and leaders in the church that worked with my late husband are still with the church. To the glory of God there are no antagonists among us.
How do you combine your two roles as a mother and church leader?
By the grace of God I have been able to combine both roles very well. Since my appointment as the church leader God has been helping me because He ordained the ministry. If the ministry was not ordained by Him I would not have been able to lead the church. I regularly attend the church services, trustees meeting and engage in all the activities that my late husband engaged in before his death. My children are grown up, so I will not say I’m facing challenges as a mother.
Finally, as a church leader what is your view on the problems in Nigeria today and your advice to the government on how to solve the problems?
As children of God what we can do is to pray. The sad occurrences happening in Nigeria today; herdsmen attacks, banditry, kidnapping and so on, I strongly believe God will wipe them out and bring back peace to Nigeria if we seek His intervention by prayers. We are blaming the herdsmen attacks on the farmlands for the famine in the land, but we also share part of the blame because we are not farming enough to feed ourselves. It is not many Nigerians today that want to be farmers. Sustainable farming is the only way we can have and enjoy foods surplus and end famine in the country. My advice to the government is that the President should ensure government officials are working for the benefits of the general masses; and not for their individual families. As Christians, we should continually pray that God should intervene in the situations of our country.