Testimony of Conversion
My name is Ruke I. I was born into a ‘Christian’ home with strong religious upbringing. My father was a clergy with the Anglican Communion until his death in 1991. All through my early years I recall being exposed to moral teachings and a disciplined lifestyle. Although I carried out my religious activities dutifully, there was no sense of true Biblical repentance and believing in the Saving Work and Person of Christ.
After the loss of my father (and my mother a few years later), I began my journey into Pentecostalism. All through this journey, even while attaining sensitive positions, the conviction of my sins and the need to seek the Lord was still absent. Though still deeply religious, my Christianity was more outward. By now I was aware and struggling with known sins. I was blinded by the ‘Grace-covers-all’’ doctrine and paid lip service to my sins at the best. The prosperity and health gospel was all I pursued and believed in as the way and proof of salvation.
After, my university education sometime in 2005 and during my mandatory one year National Youth Service Scheme, I was exposed to expository teachings on the Gospel pf Christ. For the first time, I began to study the Bible for myself, and conviction of my sins and God’s judgment began to grow. Upon the conclusion of the one year service scheme, I returned home with a deep sense of emptiness especially when I went back to my Pentecostal ways. As I continued to study the Bible, the Pentecostal teachings became very distasteful as they did not address the deep hunger I was feeling in my soul. I began my search for a Biblically sound church and in God’s providence found a church that was very apologetic and with some expository teachings as well.
With more exposure to biblically sound teachings, I began to respond to the Gospel preached with deep repentance and faith in my Saviour. The joy and peace I felt were palpable as I began my new birth experience and the call to mortify my flesh and strive for holiness.
To God be all the Glory, this journey still continues 16 years later!
Call to Ministry
Joining a biblically sound church gave me an opportunity to be exposed to expository teachings. I now also had access to biblically sound reading materials. With more of the growth and manifestation of the grace and knowledge of Christ, the desire to see the truth of God’s Word began to grow. I began to be involved in the work of ministry in my local assembly always looking forward to joining other brethren in preaching the Gospel of Christ and discipling others through various means and to diverse people.
Sometime in 2019 as I began to take on more responsibilities in my local assembly, the need to step down from secular employment came to a crescendo and I resigned my Banking job in other to give more of my time to serving the course of Christ in my local church. I identify with the desire of my local church in being committed to helping spread the gospel to the ends of the earth, especially in my home country, Nigeria that is heavily under the bondage of false teachings. We believe the most effective way to do this is through the planting of biblically sound churches with trained and godly men who are committed to preaching the word alone as the Apostle Paul commended Timothy to do. I was, thus, drawn to register as a student with the Seminary of my local Church enrolling to be trained in Pastoral Ministry, albeit with great trembling and sense of ‘unqualifiedness’ knowing the enormity and implications of undertaking a spiritual task as this. The ministries in my local church (for example, the Bible Club in secondary schools and Universities as well as the Children ministry) have also afforded me the opportunity to serve in various capacities. I currently serve as a Deacon in the church. I recently concluded a Pastoral Internship program at Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka, Zambia after which things have become much clearer as to what the Lord will have me do as pertaining to Missions and Church planting in fulfilling the Great Commission.
As a man who continually runs the race toward the perfect Day of the Lord, I believe I exhibit a token of love and passion for Christ, and possess, by God’s grace, a godly character and the desire and potential (I count all these as not fitting to meet the holy criteria of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ) to serve in a vocational ministry as the Lord would have me do.
My current elders, my wife and my brethren in Church attest and are willing to support me in one way or the other with respect to this call, but I ultimately submit myself to the eternal purposes of God. I am committed with God’s help to serving the body of Christ in any capacity that the Lord Himself would have me do.