PROF. Stephen Lazi akhere

THE EFFECT OF PRAYER IN CRISES MANAGEMENT: CASE STUDY OF PROPHENT NEHEMIAH

BY Stephen Lazi Akhere, Ph.D.

Prayer is the connecting link between mortals and the Immortal; God and man. Prayer is considered important to believers who are called by the blood of the Lamb and it is cherished in every part of the world. The men, women and youths engages in various spiritual rite call “prayer” in order to spiritual seeks God’s divine intervention, protection and blessings. Prayer constitutes the bedrock upon which Christ built the church when He taught the disciples the “Lord’s Prayer in Matt. 6:9-13. Every society have their different forms of prayer, in this study, we are researching on the effect of payer in crises management in the church, reference to prophet Nehemiah. However, despite the importance attached to prayer and the fasting, there are serious conflicts in churches globally. No church grow or develop outside the efficacy of prayer, satanic attack is prevalent on prayerlessness Christians today whereby exposing believers certain untold predicaments resulting in difficulties in managing the affairs of crises in Christendom. This paper examined what impact of prayer in churches, the causes and consequences of crises in the body of Christ as a result of poor managerial ability and poor prayer circles. The study therefore, recommended that the prayer and fasting should not be abandoned, rather intensified in order to have spiritual understanding to manage church crises or avoid it completely by acquiring skilled knowledge, according to James’ teaching in James 5:16.

AN EVALUATION OF WOMEN PROPHETIC MINISTRY: A STUDY OF RUTH AND ESTHER

By Stephen Lazi Akhere, Ph.D.

This research work is an evaluation of women in prophetic ministry with special attention to Ruth and Esther. The first attraction was that, were there women prophets in the Bible? Yes, there were, in both the Old and New Testaments. The Hebrew word for prophet, navi’, [feminine, navi’a] comes from an old word for speaker and came to mean a speaker or spokesperson for God. We can see how the term is used by comparing Exodus 7:1: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet,” with Exodus 4:16: “He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.”

The prophet and prophetess declared God’s message. This did not necessarily include any prediction of the future; although the future could be brought in to help the people understand God’s will for the present. Miriam, Moses’ sister, is the first prophetess mentioned in the Bible. Part of her ministry was leading the women in singing and dancing (Exodus 15:20). The women sang responsively with the men, and the Holy Spirit inspired the words of her song. …

To encourage women to rediscover their prophetic role, we need to emphasize further 1 Corinthians 12:11, “All these [spiritual gifts] are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” Clearly, the Holy Spirit is sovereign in distributing the gifts. We need to look to Him and be open to Him, for He knows what gifts will meet the need and He knows who He wants to use to minister the gifts. The gifts remain under His power and remain His gifts. He is the source, no matter who is being used, (ICorin.14:1).

DELIVERANCE, A NECESSITY FOR CHURCH GROWTH: A CASE STUDY OF MFM KUBWA CHURCH

By Stephen Lazi Akhere, Ph.D.

This study is on the very controversial context in the body of Christ: Deliverance, a necessity for Church Growth: a case study of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Kubwa North Central Region 5, Abuja.

However, this study is subdivided into five chapters. Chapter one entails the introduction, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, statement of the problem and the entire organization of the study. Chapter two captures relevant existing literature on the subject matter. Chapter three is based on biblical and theological perspective on deliverance, a necessity for church growth; a case study of MFM Kubwa, role of deliverance in Old and New Testaments, importance of efficacy deliverance ministry vis-a-vis its benefit to believers and church growth. Chapter four is on research finding analysis. Finally, chapter five summarizes the entire study accompanied with findings and recommendations.

EFFECT OF CHARACTER ON EVANGELISM: A CASE STUDY OF LOCAL MFM CHURCH

By Stephen Lazi Akhere, Ph.D.

Various Biblical Periods, in both the Old and New Testament, have articulated the Concept of Evangelism at different times. These era include Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses (Exodus of the Israelites), and the era of Prophets and Kings, such as Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, David. The era of Christ came with an explosive method of evangelism matrix. These dispensations have expressed one salient fact; that is, propagation of the supremacy of the sovereign God as the ALMIGHTY. Hence, it is not farfetched to say that the evangelism that started from Abraham to Jesus Christ is still ongoing and will remain so till the end of time. 

Evangelism is the preaching of the Christian Gospel or the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others with a view of conversion.^[1] The term is not restricted to any particular Christian tradition, and should not be confused with Evangelicalism, a common term for a wide range of “Evangelical” Protestant churches and groups.

EVANGELISM: A PRE-REQUISITE FOR CHURCH GROWTH

By Stephen Lazi Akhere, Ph.D.

Church Growth can be judged by simply counting heads. “How many people were attending last year as opposed to now?” Numbers, however, can be deceiving. Simply counting heads or bodies does not tell you anything at all about the spiritual growth of the people in a congregation. Counting heads also does not indicate whether or not the individuals in your church are new converts or if they simply transferred their membership from another church or denomination. Church Growth is our true goal as Christians. When new souls are added to the Kingdom of God through evangelistic efforts, the angels rejoice. (Luke 15:10).

Our goal as Christians, doing the work of an evangelist, is to lead lost souls into a relationship with Jesus Christ. In trying to help churches develop effective outreach and evangelism ministries, we need to understand that many growing churches have fallen into the trap of being comfortable and satisfied with numerical growth. This is a dangerous trend that can easily lull the Christian church into a false sense of security, leading to a community that develops a social services mindset instead of an evangelistic outlook.

HOUSE FELLOWSHIP, A CATALYST FOR CHURCH GROWTH

By Stephen Lazi Akhere, Ph.D.

A house fellowship, home cell, or home church is a Christian brand-name used to describe a group of Christians who frequently gather for worship in private homes of their members. This group remains an integral part of a larger Christian body, such as a parish, branch and province within a locality where the church is located. However, some independent-minded groups have seen the House Fellowship Centre as the primary form of Christian community.

Sometimes these groups meet because the membership is small and a home is the most appropriate place to assemble, as in the beginning phase of the British New Church Movement. Sometimes this meeting style is advantageous because the group is a member of a Christian congregation which is otherwise banned from meeting as is the case in China and other countries centuries ago.

Some recent Christian writers have supported the view that the Christian Church should meet in houses, and have based the operation of their communities around multiple small home meetings. Other Christian groups choose to meet in houses when they are in the early phases of church growth because a house is the most affordable option for the small group to meet until the number of people attending the group is sufficient to warrant moving to a commercial location such as a church building. House church organizations claim that this approach is preferable to public meetings in dedicated buildings because it is a more effective way of building community and personal relationships, and it helps the group to engage in outreach more naturally. Some believe small churches were a deliberate apostolic pattern in the first century, and they were intended by Christ.