POST COVID 19 CHURCH (1)
Revelations granted by God
Greetings and Blessings of the Lord.
Thank you for enrolling in this seminar. While His anointing is multiplied also in your life, amen.
If you are taking part in this Post Covid 19 Church;
It is because God has preserved your life and ministry thus far.
I pray that His blessing will continue to manifest in your lives
While His anointing is multiplied also in your life, amen.
I am sharing with you what the good Lord has revealed to me concerning His church post covid 19.
I am going to itemize the information and revelation in a manner that it will be easy for you to remember.
You may therefore need to grab a pen and a paper
To jot down some points.
Of course, my name is Pastor Niran Fafowora;
Lead Pastor of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Jesus Embassy Los Angeles.
I am also by His grace the President of a new vision, The Open Pulpit! The Open Pulpit is a platform and a pulpit that is open and that cut across denominational boundaries for the exposition of the truth. If you want to know more about The Open Pulpit, please visit us on FaceBook, Youtube, Instagram and on our website at www.theopenpulpit.org
Now let’s get into business concerning Post Covid 19 Church.
Let us begin with absolute relevance.
1.0 The Church Structure
1.1 Life Streaming of messages must continue alongside onsite services. This is because God desires all men to be saved and to come to know the truth as exemplified by Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 2:4)
1.2 The quickest way by which the gospel can reach all men is through life streaming of services to all the nooks and corners of the world.
1.3 Your experiences of life streaming will show you that those who log in to participate in your online services are more than those who normally gather together physically at your church locations.
1.4 Hitherto, most churches often keep instrumentalists and worship leaders on their pay role even at the expense of adequate remuneration to the pastor. This should continue.
1.5 However, post covid 19 church will require an extra staff on the pay role. This extra staff must be highly skilled in the technicalities of online streaming. He or she must also be versed in the management of all available tools of social media, e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, website, etc.
1.6 As a matter of necessity and absolute compulsion, it will help if the technical staff has experience in video editing and posting of same.
1.7 The post covid 19 church will require investment on audio-video media equipment and tools, at the same of priority to attends to purchase of good equipment.
2.0 The Pastor and His Sermons
2.1 The Pastor should globalize His sermon, moving forward. How do I mean? A Pastor should have the consciousness that he is preaching to the entire world and not just those who are physically present at the service.
2.2 A globalized style of preaching will appeal to the audience worldwide. Therefore examples of reference must have meaning to everyone who listens to the message.
2.3 When examples given have relevance to a particular culture, the pastor must give explanation and or interpretation to the global audience.
2.4 The pastor must train and retrain himself and his ministers on the art of virtual communication.
2.5 It is assumed that most pastors are already charismatic on their presentation. They must however learn how to effectively coordinate their body language to be in harmony with their virtual communication.
2.6 I heard a pastor said “praise the Lord” 36 times in a message of 30 minutes. This means he was shouting “praise the Lord”, almost every minute of the message. Another pastor kept on prompting his audience to shout hallelujah almost at the end of every sentence. I did not bother to count the number of, “amen?” because they were too many. These are signs of poor communication in onsite gathering not to talk of in virtual communication.
2.7 The post covid 19 church will require sermons and messages that have the nature of simple conversation or dialogue.
2.8 The delivery must be smooth and appealing. It must be engaging and patronizing.
2.9 The post covid 19 church will do better with short, impactful and Holy Spirit inspired sermons that should flow fluently with 30-35 minutes, for effectiveness.
2.10 Pastors must learn to manage time in good proportion; giving priority to the essentials of the gospel. A good hymn, excellent worship and a sound sermon full of revelation, one or two exemplary stories or testimonies.
2.11 Preachers who like to gyrate and jump up and down for the benefit of kinesthetic audience should have the consciousness of not jumping out of the view of the camera.
2.12 It will help a lot if the camera is located in the direction, in line and view of the preacher towards the people, so that the preacher will not have to keep shifting shi his focus between the camera and the congregation.
2.13 Pastors should avoid or limit speaking in tongues during the message or even during the opening or closing prayer. Speaking in tongues make sense to those who are born again and who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We definitely do not want to alienate those who are not born again from the full privileges of the service.
2.14 Of course, during any prayer session, prayer meeting, night vigil, deliverance service, etc., a minister can pray in the spirt as may be led by the Holy Spirit.
3.0 Fresh Fire on the Altar.
3.1 Covid 19 has instilled the fear of God into many lives worldwide. Many people therefore now thirst for the authentic gospel. They thirst for the gospel that will transform their lives; that will guarantee them protection, provision, preservation, providence, etc.
3.2 People are now desperate for the pastors they can trust.
3.3 The Lord has promised to release fresh fire on His altars under anointed Pastors with the following conditions;
3.3.1 Any pastor who requires fresh fire on the altar of God under his ministry must no longer yield his pulpit to motivational speakers. The place of the motivational speaker is the podium not the pulpit.
3.3.2 A podium is a small platform for the conductor of an orchestra, a public speaker, recipient of awards, etc.
3.3.3 Whereas the pulpit is a raised platform or structure in a church from which sermons are delivered or the service conducted.
3.3.4 Many motivational speakers confuse God’s people by teaching principles that are not consistent with the doctrines of love, being the fundamental message of Jesus Christ.
3.3.5 The fundamental message to be preached from the pulpit in a post covid 19 church must be Christ-centered.
3.3.6 Prosperity message from the pulpit must be taken from the threshold of miracles back to the doctrine of, “He maketh rich the hand of the diligent.”
3.3.7 Comedy should be taken out of the pulpit in order to preserve the sacredness of the altar.
3.3.8 Comedy can still be retained in the church for the purpose of entertainment at church functions which may include, dinner outings, workers appreciation, fathers/mother’s day, weddings, etc. The comedian can use a platform allowed for their presentation, but not at the altar.
3.4 Feeding the Flock of God:
3.5 There are seven areas that post covid 19 church must specialize;
3.5.1 Answering the need for Personal Realization
3.5.2 Establishing the roots of spiritual enablement
3.5.3 Cultivating the health of corporate church life
3.5.4 Securing the lifestyle of the maturing believer
3.5.5 Solidifying the base for the ministering believer
3.5.6 Training the warrior for the spiritual conflict
3.5.7 Crossing your Jordan and finishing well.
In order not to waste your time but just whet your appetite; the first of the seven, i.e. answering the need for personal realization is based on Ephesians 1:1-7
In the post covid 19 church, the people of Jesus want to know
*Where they stand with God!
We must teach them The Basis and Dynamics of Full Forgiveness
*Who they are in Christ!
We must teach them The Meaning and Implications of Sonship
*How to grow in practical ways!
We must teach them The Principles of a Daily Walk in the Spirit
*That God’s grace assures their victory!
We must teach them The Inevitability of His Triumph in Us.
By the grace of God, I will teach the remaining 6 areas next month at the same time on June 20, 2020.
Now let me conclude by giving us a few hints on virtual communication from one person to many people.
Hints on virtual communication
1. Make your intention and objective clear
2. Demonstrate honesty and truthfulness in your messages.
3. Be natural and communicate the way God has created you.
4. Be open and inclusive, i.e, be interactive by asking questions and answering them.
5. Make the construction of your language simple and direct
6. If you are using a humor to break the ice, use a humor that will fit into the global setting.
7. Yah, you must be well package, but comfortable.
4.00 Tithe and Offering
Finally, it is not enough to quote the scriptures when taking the tithe and offering.
It will help your online givers when you briefly but in general time the financial responsibilities of the church that include but are not limited;
i. Wages and Salaries
ii. Mortgage and Rents
iii. Maintenance of utilities
iv. Welfare to the needy
v. Etc.
*Revelations from Papa Jack Hayford of Church on the Way