​    Before leaving the Washington, DC area for Nigeria, Pastor Tom and Pastor Austin were already celebrating several evident victories that The Lord had secured for the upcoming mission. As many of our readers know, Pastor Joe Jacowitz had just recently entered remission from AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia), and was beginning a hopeful road to recovery, although he was far from having any ability to travel or to lead a mission team into Nigeria. “As we recounted The Lord’s grace in his healing, I was especially thankful for The Lord raising up Pastor Tom Smith who was willing to accompany me in the difficult work ahead.” Without Pastor Joe, Tom’s assistance was desperately needed. Nigeria is a much more difficult area to move around and work in when compared to some of the other nations and regions FirstLove ministers in. For that reason, and the very difficult visa and expensive application process, the Nigeria mission teams are usually the smallest. Once in Nigeria, Tom and Austin would be joined by Pastor Murungi Igweta, the newest Branch Leader of FirstLove in Kenya. Apart from these, the ministry team would be accompanied by precious African friends, such as Adamu Maga, formerly of ECWA, and then Pastor Choolwe Mwetwa of Zambia, who would later join us upon arriving in Lagos. Along with Joe’s healing and Tom’s agreement to come, we had also received word that a faithful brother somewhere in Georgia had paid for all of the upcoming radio expenses! (Radio is a key element of our outreach and conference work). Despite the financial resources being low, The Lord had provided for His work! With these praises in view, we flew over the Sahara Desert from Germany and arrived in Abuja, Nigeria midday on October 23rd where we were greeted warmly by many brethren from SGBC, Lagos, a couple from SGCC, Abuja, and Pastor Abutu of TBC.

​    The theme for this year’s conference in Abuja and Lagos was simply and appropriately entitled, “The Gospel of Christ”. A one-day conference would be held Saturday in Abuja and then, a week later, a fuller version would take place in Lagos from Thursday evening to Saturday morning. Two days before the first conference began, however, the mission team was already engaged in mass Gospel outreach via local radio.

​    Pastor Austin anchored the program and was joined by Pastor Tony Okoroh, Pastor Tom Smith, Pastor Murungi Igweta, Pastor Adamu Maga, and Pastor Abuta Joshua (our new host Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Abuja). To accommodate the large panel, the later chair was rotated between multiple speakers.
 
    Radio responses were excellent! Many signed up in response to the program, many called in with good questions, and the first caller was so impacted by the content that he simply asked where we were, saying: 

    ​The call was so out of the ordinary and unexpected that it brought great encouragement and surprise to the team in the booth. God’s miraculous grace never fails. Later, one man informed us he was bringing eleven men with him to the conference!

   
​    As stated above, the conference was scheduled to occur Saturday. That fact, however, is that there was no venue to have the conference until only days before the event was to occur. Up until this point, there had been some unexpected difficulties in obtaining a useable location for the conference. The brethren were discouraged in the hopes of finding a place to host within the minimal financial resources available. What was quickly becoming a frustrating occasion that might lead to the cancelling of the conference, however, was seized upon by Pastor Abutu Joshua of Trinity Baptist Church. Pastor Abutu was sent by Conrad Mbewe from Kabwata Baptist Church to church-plant in Abuja after he had completed his studies in London. While still in his first year of the new church plant. He had previously been meeting in his living room, which he had arranged and accommodated for Church services. With the need of a larger meeting area for TBC, and the need of a conference venue, trusting The Lord, he quickly went out and rented a large enough building in enough time to prepare it for the Abuja Bible Conference and offered its use free of charge. 

​    On Saturday morning, 250 precious souls poured into that facility. (It was remarkable to see what the Lord had done. By comparison, last year there were perhaps 80 attendees. Not only this, but this new crowd, as we would soon find out, was very agreeable) Several members of SGCC, including brother Sam who had been sent to assist us in our travels, were also in attendance and assisted with some of the moderation functions, this was encouraging.
  Austin Huggins was the opening speaker, followed by Adamu Maga, Murungi Igweta, and concluded by Tom Smith. The Q&A sessions were lively and, again, surprisingly positive, as it began to appear that the topics and subjects being handled were being understood and received. Even when one or two pushed obvious questions that leaned toward and assumed certain Word of Faith heresies, when the truth of scripture was applied by one of the speakers on the panel, something amazing happened..., the room applauded the truth almost unanimously. “I have never seen this before, especially not in a gathering this big, not in Nigeria.” By the end of the conference, some pastors and ministers were coming up to the speakers and confessing that they could no longer continue in their denominational directions. Some others asked us to pray for them as they sought to bring the true Biblical Gospel back into their churches! Praise be to The One True Living God!

   
​    As the conference concluded, many books and booklets were distributed free of charge from FirstLove Publications and Chapel Library. Saturday ended with encouragement and anticipation to see what else The Lord would be pleased to do in the days ahead.
    As Sunday morning came, Austin and Tom were traveling to attend a local charismatic church in the area. The pastor attended the Abuja Bible Conference the previous day and requested Austin to come speak based upon Abutu Joshua’s recommendation. Considering the many important truths that this pastor had just heard the previous day during the conference, Pastor Austin felt it fitting to bring a message regarding the mirror of God’s Word and the importance of not being forgetful hearers. It seemed well received, even as Pastor Tom was able to pray, speak, and exhort the message as well. Please pray for their continuing meditation upon this message and the pastor’s reflection from the conference.

   
​    After church services were concluded, the already early day was only just getting started. It was a race to return to the small hotel room, gather luggage, and catch the flight from Abuja to Lagos. Some of the brethren had already gone out ahead, even Pastor Murungi, who had left in order to preach that Sunday morning at the Lekki church. Upon our own arrival in Lagos, it would be another fast-paced relocation to the radio station where we would regroup and would conduct our third mass radio outreach.

​    The team arrived at the studio just in time and met back with Murungi and the other brethren from SGBC, Lagos. It was evident though that the day’s hectic schedule was affecting the tired travelers. Along with the fatigue, and once inside with the radio session commencing, the team discovered the studio was playing a movie on a T.V. inside the booth! The other monitors were remotely operated and distracting, and the host received callers without prompting or giving sufficient notice to the team moderator. With only 45 minutes to discuss vitally important Gospel related issues, (minus one interrupting news break), the team left feeling a great sense of inadequacy. The mood was quiet, pensive, and unsatisfied. Their discouragement, however, was later met with the news that over 30 individuals had responded to the radio segment, and that one woman had even called in tears desiring to hear more of this kind of truth. What more can be said? Truly, in our weakness, The Lord’s strength is made perfect!  
    Monday provided one final radio outreach segment at UNILAG (University of Lagos) Radio. Pastor Choolwe Mwetwa of Zambia also joined the team at this point. His flight had been delayed, cancelled and then rescheduled and thus had arrived a day or two later than planned. With his addition on the radio panel, sufficient rest for the team, and a much more suitable studio environment, The Lord was pleased to strengthen and enable the team for the final radio session. We were also provided a full hour of time to gain traction! We recognized The Lord’s favor as we very quickly covered grave and vital topics related to the churches in Nigeria with clarity and accuracy. Overall, it went very well, as the team had good discussions regarding the current offices in the church (elders and deacons). Many false teachings and “apostles” with healing powers are prevalent in Nigeria. Most of these “mega churches” do not ever hear the Word of God, and so the battle is raging, but the opportunities are great.
    On Tuesday, a seminar was held on How to Interpret the Bible at Lagos State University. Over 150 students attended, which exceeded Pastor Tony’s expectation of 50 or so. Pastor Choolwe opened, followed by Tom, Murungi, and then concluded with Austin. Pastor Tony Okoroh moderated a very well received Q&A thereafter. Despite the short time available to speak, the positive responses from those in attendance were so obvious that Pastor Tony ventured a public question as he asked the room if they would like us to come back again. Not only did those in attendance reply with a unified “YES”, but the team was asked to extend their next visit to a three-day conference. Pray about that!

​    Wednesday and Thursday would carry the same seminar to two more locations, Wednesday was to about 100 students of WATS, just outside the campus. Thursday’s seminar functioned, essentially, as a pre-conference to the LBC 2019, where there were another 90 or so gathered. Responses were good and continued to be well attended and well received. FirstLove Publications and Chapel Library material were again distributed freely.

    The final Hermeneutics conference came to a close shortly after lunch on Thursday. After a couple hours’ time for break and transition, The Lagos Bible Conference of 2019 would begin with Pastor Tony Okoroh opening the event with a message titled, “What is NOT The Gospel.” This message served to highlight the proliferation of false gospels, false Christs, and false promises that are become so prevalent throughout Nigeria. This is an essential and vital first step that must be taken. The thick layer of heresy laid upon the professing Christian religions in Nigeria is so thick, it takes purposeful and calculated efforts to point it out to a people who are so steeped in it, they cannot see it. Pastor Tony would address the problem, and it would be the rest of the speaker’s responsibility to clarify the Biblical understanding of the various Gospel related subjects, such as: Sin, The Law, Salvation, and God Himself!
    Each speaker would address their specific subtopic consisting of two messages for each subject. Once or twice a day, time would be allotted for an open forum, Q&A panel, and discussion segment to answer any questions or clarify any confusing points for those in attendance. Pastor Murungi explained the sinful condition of mankind, Pastor Austin explained the proper role of The Law in Redemption and Sanctification, Pastor Choolwe explained the Gospel and the Attributes of God, and Pastor Tom explained what salvation is and what man is saved from. At the end of the conference, remaining literature was again distributed free of charge from FirstLove Publications and Chapel Library.

    ​Please continue to pray for those that have heard the word preached, and the true Biblical Gospel of Christ. May The Lord turn back the tide of false narratives and unbiblical teachings that have seduced the hearts and minds of this people, and may the Lord turn them unto Himself at the appointed time!
 

    Immediately following the conference, a ceremony was held to present Certificates of Completion to two individuals who had completed the course requirements of Christ Pastors’ Seminary. One of them was our very own Alaba Ajileye! He is a missionary with FirstLove. By the end of the conference, over twenty persons signed up to undergo the 18 to 24 months of theological training offered by SGBC, Lagos at Christ Pastors’ Seminary.

​    Sunday would be the last day in Nigeria, although a full day. Austin and Tom were sent out to Sovereign Grace Community Church, Lekki. The Lekki church is a new church plant out on Victoria Island, who is currently without an elder. Tom and Austin hoped to strengthen the church in perseverance and holiness, knowing that false professions are dominant. Pastor Austin preached a message from James regarding the value of a public visible witness and a testimony of Christ that validates the message we preach. The idea was to understand the need of holy lives and to understand that faith without works is dead.

​    That same evening, after celebrating the 17th anniversary of SGBC together, the FirstLove team members boarded the plane and began their return journey home. By the end of the two weeks since departing the United States, although very tired, Tom and Austin were very hopeful for the work being done in Nigeria. The local brethren are on fire and are serving the Lord with fervent zeal and love for Jesus Christ. The work before them is so great, the darkness before them is so black, and the heresies and false Christs are so many and so prolific. Yet, these few men, rejected of the world, are charging into the darkest part of their land and lifting high the banner and light of the Gospel of Christ. Though the difficulties are many and assistance is little, they are remaining steadfast and are believing God for great things.

    FirstLove Missions will be departing the U.S. on Monday October 29th and arriving in Lagos, Nigeria on the 30th. Of all the nations that FLM ministers to, our history goes back the furthest here. Even before FirstLove Publications launched in 2006, Pastor Joe Jacowitz had already been working closely with a brother named Tony Okoroh, and had overseen his installation as Pastor over Sovereign Grace Bible Church many years prior. Today, Pastor Tony and his fellow elder, Pastor Femi, minister to the dear brethren of SGBC of Lagos and have overseen the progress of several new church plants even recently. Pastor Tony is The Branch Leader of FirstLove Publications to the nation of Nigeria, and is a dear old friend of the family. 

    FLM’s mission this year to the nation of Nigeria will include 2 large pastor’s conferences, one in Lagos, the other in Abuja, literature distribution, evangelism, and radio ministry.

    “God is Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth”. In Exodus 33 :19, God promised to make His goodness pass before Moses, and spoke that He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious and will show mercy on whom He will show mercy. God’s goodness includes His Love, Grace, Mercy and patience. His Love is infinite, eternal and unchangeable.

    The Bible in 1 John 4: 7 and 8, says that God is the source and origin of Love and all true love derives from Him. God’s Love is manifested in all His attributes to the praise of His glory.

   God’s Love is an attribute that is communicable, and man has been commanded to love God supremely and to love others as oneself.

   Sadly, the world and popular culture are filled with various notions of love disconnected from God and His revealed Word. And these notions are creeping into the church and into the minds of professing Christians, raising a number of questions within the church regarding the proper application of the royal law of James 2:8.

   Should we love those in the church who teach things contrary to the Scriptures? Does the command to love mean unity at all cost, regardless of doctrinal positions? How would one distinguish between that virtue of God’s love in the heart, and the blessing of natural love? Does having that virtue of the love of God in the heart matter?

   These are some of the questions we will seek to answer at this year’s Lagos Bible Conference. We invite you to join us this November 2nd and 3rd as speakers from the USA, Zambia and Nigeria bring messages on God’s Love to the praise of His glory.

​​Pictured Above: The FLM Team consisting of Bro. Eric Santos, Bro. Gerard Limtiaco, Pastor Joe Jacowitz & Pastor Austin Huggins take a group photo with the members of Sovereign Grace Bible Church of Lagos, Nigeria during their 15th anniversary.

​   Approximately 24 hours later, after two layovers, FirstLove Missions arrived in Lagos, Nigeria on Friday 8:30pm local time with 500lbs of literature for free distribution. Upon arrival, as the team was moving through customs and the other checkpoints, a gentleman nearby introduced himself as Pastor Jeffrey. Pastor Jeffrey shepherds a Nigerian Church in Denmark. Apparently, he had seen us during our layover in Paris; more specifically, he had noticed the word ‘Christ’ and the scripture verse emblazoned on Brother Gerard’s jacket. We were able to gift him a few of our FirstLove materials, as well as pamphlets containing our ministry overview as we exchanged contact information. We hope to hear from each other soon.
 
 
    Pastor Tony Okoroh showed up just in the nick of time at the airport. Just before, and just after encountering Bro. Jeffrey, the team had been solicited multiple times for bribes: at the shot card checkpoint, once at the baggage claim, and then again at the final checkpoint before exiting. The Lord was gracious, however, both in the fact that we were able to give away some tracts and books to these people, and that Pastor Tony arrived when he did.
 
 
   Along with Pastor Tony, (The Branch Leader of FirstLove in Nigeria) several members of his church (Sovereign Grace Bible Church www.sgbc.org.ng) met us and escorted us through the crowds outside the airport to the vehicles. They joined themselves to us and watched us closely as they moved our luggage down the crowded walkway and led us to the church van. It was an amazing experience to see the care and love of these believers. As we transitioned, the team was able to witness to and give gospel tracts to about 20 people or so. Once the team made it to the accommodations provided by the local church, after enjoying a very short time of fellowship, they soon retired for rest as it was already late in the evening.
 
 
   The next day began early. Brother Gerard and Brother Eric went with some of the indigenous brethren to an area on Victoria Island, with the intent to witness and evangelize. The area was chosen due to its proximity to another work that is being planted locally in that area by the members of SGBC. Both Gerard and Eric engaged these people with a biblical gospel that confronted much of the health, wealth, and prosperity teachings that are so mainstream and prevalent in Nigeria.

    Sunday morning would be a celebratory occasion commemorating the 15th anniversary of the official planting and organization of Sovereign Grace Bible Church in Lagos, Nigeria. There were about a hundred believers in attendance as Pastor Joe Jacowitz gave the morning sermon on the subject of “A Spiritual Vision for the Local Church”. He reminded the church to persevere and to overcome the temptations that would have the church lose their zeal and life in the expanding enterprise of church planting in Nigeria. The morning service was then concluded with a fellowship meal and group photo on the church property. [Pictured on first page of report]​

​       That same evening, the FLM Team arrived at a large radio broadcasting station. Part of FLM’s usual ministry in Nigeria includes radio evangelism. Since the radio station is a main avenue for news and information disbursal for many tens of millions of Nigerian people within a short area, it lends itself as a primary platform to engage the populace with the Gospel, and to address false teachings. During the broadcast listeners were also invited to come and join the upcoming conference on Wednesday through Thursday where literature would be distributed free of charge to those in attendance. Several people called in engaging the hosts with pertinent questions relating to the Gospel. The radio program was originally intended to last a total of three days airing each evening through Tuesday. Due to the overwhelming fruitfulness of the radio teachings and evangelism, the program was extended until Thursday evening.

 
​​     After Sunday, the ministry tempo escalated significantly. Due to the density of pertinent information that resulted from the team’s combined ministry over the ensuing week, the report is divided up with each day having its own heading and specific recap in order to better keep track of events.  

​Monday

     Early Monday morning Pastor Austin, along with two brethren from SGBC, Joel and Osagie, traveled approximately 50 miles outside of Lagos to a town called Ijebu Ode. A Pastor named Wale, of Calvary Hill Ministries, had requested a member of the team to come and share a message at his church as a “Cloud of Witness” prequel to the upcoming conference by SGBC. This Pastor had recently come out of the Word of Faith prosperity movement and just finished his first year with Christ Pastor’s Seminary (CPS), a ministry of our sister church in Lagos (Sovereign Grace Bible Church). Preaching the true Gospel message of the Bible is actually rather unheard of these days in Nigeria.
 
     Since Pastor Wale was beginning to teach these doctrines in his remote church, he was thankful for an opportunity to allow the members there to hear biblical doctrines presented from a missionary. Although he did not specifically request us ahead of time or know about us before we came, he hoped to make use of our recent arrival to Nigeria. We, of course, saw this as an opportunity to build a closer relationship with him, to do whatever we could to strengthen Christian unity, and to encourage the teaching and preaching of the biblical Gospel narrative.
 
     Austin brought a Gospel message, as well as advocated for the inspiration, authority, and sufficiency of scripture. After the message, the church members participated in a Q&A session with the team from Lagos, where many questions were answered and provided scriptures. Brother Osagie gave the church a homework assignment to read John’s First Epistle.

​     Due to the conference service ending at a late time, and the distance being as far as it was, the team stayed overnight in Ijebu Ode before returning to Lagos the next day.
 
   Meanwhile, fifty miles away, Eric and Gerard were accompanied by another team from SGBC, and were witnessing near the University of Lagos (UniLag). There they evangelized and met with people representing varying degrees of heterodoxy as well as several Muslims. In one particular instance, one young man was standing with a group of other young people and said he was not interested in having a discussion about the Gospel. He then indicated that he was Muslim. Bro. Eric instead passed a Gospel tract to one of the friends standing nearby who thoughtlessly took it. Once the rest of young Muslim men noticed that one of their friends were able to get a tract, they must have felt left out. About ten of them began to press Eric to see if they could have some tracts too. Eric obliged.
     Overall, the team was able to speak directly with about thirty people or so. With the exception of the one Muslim man in Eric’s case, all the others were positively engaged and asked thoughtful questions about what was being shared with them. Gerard passed out tracts to several store owners and had success with two people, specifically, who received the good news of the Gospel with great intrigue and seemed to express a clarity in understanding.

​    That night in Lagos, Pastor Joe and Pastor Tony continued with the “Open Forum” radio program as Joe began the first five of nine main elements in a full Gospel presentation. Some of the listeners called in asking questions like: “How do I find a good Pastor?” and “Is it normal for church members to have to pay their Pastors for spiritual counseling?” 

​    Back in Lagos, Gerard and Eric were right back at it again outside a technical school near the place they had been working the previous day. Hundreds of young people were walking up and down the main walkways. All in all, the team was able to distribute over two hundred tracts and directly engaged more people than the previous day. Several of them wanted to find out more and showed interest in coming to the conference.
 
    Shortly thereafter, they diverted to the University of Lagos, and began to setup and make preparations for the conference. The chapel there was located between a catholic church on one side and a mosque on the other. After the chairs, tables and other arrangements were taken care of, they headed back to the house to find that Austin had returned safely from Ijebu Ode.

​   That night, Pastor Joe finished his last four of the nine Gospel elements with Pastor Tony and Austin as the “Open Forum” team had regrouped. Of the many listeners that attempted to phone in to ask their questions, the ones that got through were in respect to doctrines surrounding the trinity, the New Testament view of tithing, and biblical explanations concerning the Kingdom of God philosophies (Essentially, the idea was this: they preach that when you “Seek first the Kingdom of God...” it means that you must always give all your tithe to God’s Kingdom or else you won’t be blessed by God. This, along with scare tactic, is a common way that Nigerian Word of Faith and Prosperity Pastors coerce their often destitute members to keep providing monetarily).  Lastly the team addressed the “Once saved always saved” slogan in light of the true Perseverance and Preservation of the Saints. 

​    After the program was over, the team rushed back to try and get some rest. It was 9:30pm before making it back and everyone needed to be up early for the conference. After we finished jotting down the journal entries for the day, and getting showers, most of the team would only get between 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night over the next few days

​    Today was the big day. The 2017 Sovereign Grace Bible Church Conference in Lagos, Nigeria themed, “A Cloud of Witnesses”, had finally arrived. Registration began early at 9am and continued until about 10am before the first session began. After welcoming the attendants, a quick poll was taken asking how many had come to the conference in response to hearing the “Open Forum” program on Eko FM. The team was surprised when about fifty people raised their hand in response. Apparently, the subjects being discussed on the airwaves had resonated with a lot more people than we had originally thought. Beyond radio, about twenty three students, including their professor, had come from a local seminary to attend the conference as well.

   ​Even over the duration of the conference, the quality of the questions asked by many of the people in attendance would indicate a real depth of hunger and a seeking after truth that, admittedly, had not been seen in the past. Now there was a sense of encouragement and a hope for real fruit to be harvested from the labor. There, however, was still a great need to plow up more ground and cast a lot more seed. Our prayer was that, perhaps, The LORD might be pleased do a real work in our midst.

     ​With this hope in mind, Pastor Joe Jacowitz kicked off the conference with Part One of a two part presentation on the doctrines of Christ’s atonement. Laced throughout the message were exhortations to fully know Christ and to hold fast to the true Gospel. Deep subject matters including redemption, substitution, justification, and other pertinent doctrines were defined, explained, and provided scriptures for. It was apparent that the messages had garnered the full attention of the people. 

​The momentum carried into the second message which was brought by Pastor Tony Okoroh. His sermon, How to Build The Church of Christ, centered upon the issues relating to what a church is according to its biblical definition, as well as the responsibilities of its people and its offices. He discussed the nature of the true church and how that discipleship was one of the marks that identified the body of Christ. Many of his applications related directly to the unbiblical and unscriptural practices that are common and rampant throughout his nation. His message was certainly strong, poignant, and much needed.

​      Before the last message of the first day commenced, the conference attendees were broken up into four main groups and were paired with one of the speakers. The topics were related to the messages that were being delivered within a format that facilitated group discussion and Q&A. This was done to ensure that everyone on an individual level was receiving and understanding what was being preached. Not only was there a healthy degree of participation from the groups, but the quality of the questions that were asked again showed their attentiveness to the messages preached. This helped us to confirm that they indeed understood what was being taught, and were making a right application in their own lives. 

​    Lunch was served after the breakout sessions concluded. All those in attendance were provided a meal free of charge by the members of SGBC. In the words of one of the indigenous brethren who helped work to facilitate the conference please be reminded that “nothing in Nigeria is free.” Moving in this context, we were blessed for the opportunity to demonstrate something that was not only contradictory to the greed inherent in the prosperity churches, but that was consistent with the biblical model in how we serve others after Christ’s example. Even through lunch the intensity was high. Much of this time was spent connecting attendees with specific people based upon their requests, needs, and desire for counseling. Several were coming forward wanting to find a way to join in the work.

​   Once lunch had finished, and after a hymn, Bro. Gerard came forward to share his testimony with the assembly of how he had been led to Christ. It is important for us to highlight the nature and the effect of the new birth. Most of these people not only aren’t educated in the Gospel, but have been told that they are “Christian” simply because, at some point, they attended a “signs, wonders, and healing” crusade. For the most part, true salvation is not understood nor even taught

    ​Now it was time for the third and final message of the day. Pastor Austin Huggins spoke concerning the need for continual personal reformation and the necessity of a broken, repentant, and crying people in every generation. Men like King Josiah and Ezekiel were given as to show that God rises up such men, even in times of great darkness. With the Gospel and the Word of God being hid from the minds and hearing of the Nigerian people for so long, there was great need for God to bring revival and reform. The assembly was reminded that such reforms begin with individuals in whom The Lord has done a great work of conviction first.

​     After a final prayer, one last round of Q&A would conclude the first day of the two day Lagos Bible Conference. So many people came forward desiring to join in the work. Many applied for Christ Pastor Seminary. Some applied to labor as a FirstLove Missionary, and many were looking for a church that preached the things that were being taught here. Several of the radio listeners that were present came to us and expressed great concern on the moral decay of their nation, and how the messages were hitting dead on with what they were actually dealing with, and were even shedding light in other areas. Many others admitted that this was the first time that they had ever even heard a biblical teaching on what the Gospel actually is.

​     With little time to spare, the team loaded up in vehicles to begin their way through dense traffic toward the radio station. The program had been such a fruitful means of ministry that it was decided we would continue with the “Open Forum” for the remaining two evenings in Lagos. Even while waiting at the radio station, everyone was still recounting the events at the conference from earlier with much excitement. Needless to say, everyone involved was greatly encouraged by the responses thus far and looked forward to what doors the Lord might open next.
​

    That night on the radio, the Gospel was again hammered into the ears of the listeners as well as asserting the inspiration and the authority of the scripture as the standard of faith and practice for every foundation of doctrine, worship, and government of the church. We identified that the loss of the true gospel had come at the hands of an emphasis upon superstitious heterodoxies that bolster the glory of men. The call to study the scriptures and to rediscover the true Gospel and the preeminence of the true Christ was a recurring exhortation in each message.
 
 
     The team finally made it back home around 9:30pm again, exhausted from the work pace, and ready for rest. After another round of journaling, showering, and preparing for the next day was completed, the members one by one made it to sleep.
 

​​Thursday

​    The second day of the conference began after prayer as Pastor Joe once again addressed the audience with a second sermon. He finished up the all-important Part Two of his presentation of the biblical doctrines of Christ’s atonement to which was greatly anticipated.

​   Pastor Femi followed after with a message titled: Culture and The Church. The message gave the history of protestant Christianity in Nigeria, brought numerous scriptural implications to bear in response, and levied many practical admonitions to the hearers. The sermon excelled in providing a historically and biblically objective perspective on how the nation of Nigeria had arrived where it was today. It also gave heed to the biblical responsibility to return to the old paths.

    ​Pastor Austin then delivered the third sermon of the day using the Parable of The Seed and The Sower as a launch point to understanding how we may know a tree by its fruit, understand the cost of discipleship, and walk in the narrow way.
 
 
    Lunch seemed to come quickly as time was quickly running away from us. With one final session remaining, Brother Eric Santos shared the testimony of his salvation before Pastor Joe took the pulpit one last time. His final message, The Righteousness of Christ, showed the conflict and the incompatibility with the righteousness of Christ and self-righteousness. The sermon highlighted the exalted perfection of our Lord, the final climax of His righteousness being on display for all creation to witness, and the self-righteousness of men perishing on that final day. With that final word, the messages of the conference were now complete. 

    With the conference concluding, all the slips of paper containing everyone’s questions were gathered together, brought to Pastor Tony, and then redispursed to the speakers for the last Q&A. Many questions about the churches confessions, the security of the believer, the holiness of the church, the exclusivity of Christ’s saving efficacy, identifying false prophets and false teachers, the issues of tithing, and many other things were discussed, explained, provided scripture, and given admonishment to. 

​    The response rate was almost immeasurable. So many people had come privately to each of the speakers between messages, during lunch, and after Q&A sessions to share what was on their heart. There were so many stories and so many testimonies confirming our worst fears. There was also, however, so much conviction of truth, so much thankfulness, so much desire for more bible preaching, and a desire to have fellowship that it was immensely encouraging. Not everything done in the hearts of men by the Spirit of God can by quantified and calculated. We see only the externals of the man and what the man chooses to communicate. We make no assumption that our litmus tests reveal the true measure of what The Lord has determined to do or not do. We only have insight based on the fruit that we are able to see. With that in mind, take a quick look at some of the things that we do know happened and that we can speak to:

       ​Once everything was finished, the FLM team and SGBC met with the head chaplain of the university that had allowed us to host the conference there. A door was left open for us in the future, including if we need larger facilities next time. As a token of thanks, we left the chaplain and his staff with six sets of four books each as a gift.
 
     Half asleep and barely coherent, the team pressed on for the last night on the radio at Eko FM in Lagos. As the Open Forum program finally wrapped up its concluding thoughts for the final evening, the listeners were exhorted to try what had been taught thus far and to see if these things were true. They were challenged to be more noble as the Bereans and to not take what we had said at face value, but to search the scriptures for themselves. With that, the program ended and the mission team began to turn their attention towards the next ministry location: Abuja.
 
       As everyone met back at the hotel for the last night, thanks were given to the Lord for his graciousness and His faithfulness to us and the people of Nigeria. The next morning was coming early and it was already late. The team had to pack up all their belongings, consolidating what would be needed to take with them, and leaving behind what wasn’t. After journaling and showering, some members would only get two to three hours of sleep. 

         ​The team was up at 5am. Since the flight was leaving at 7:30am it was necessary to try and be at the airport by 6am. With a few close calls on luggage and losing our bug spray through the security checkpoint, the FLM team along with Pastors Tony and Femi made it onto the plane. After safely landing in the next mission area, the team was met by the brethren of Sovereign Grace Community Church (SGCC) at the airport who took our luggage, loaded us up, and navigated us to where we would be staying. SGCC is a sister church of SGBC that was planted in Abuja a little over three years prior. The flock is pastored by Chris Okogwu and gathers in a multi-story building that houses three or four other congregations of word of faith prosperity groups.

     The team arrived at the hotel for breakfast exhausted and half asleep. They received the agenda for the day where they discovered that they were scheduled to go evangelizing 15 minutes nearby in a large local park within just a few hours. With a short window for rest, everyone in the group seized the opportunity and went down for some sleep. As Pastor Joe and a couple others rose up later for a status update, they received word that a large faction of Shiite Muslims had rallied in that particular park and that the demonstration had turned violent as local law enforcement was now attempting to disburse it. We were advised by the local church to stay put, so the team ended up catching a little rest before the outreach bible study.
The outreach bible study is a ministry of SGCC that meets in other people’s homes where they intend to teach the doctrine of the new birth to mixed groups of locals professing various forms of doctrine. Pastor Joe was invited to bring a short message where he spoke on the Sufficiency of Christ.
 
     It was here at the house that the team met up with Pastor Chris, which immediately after Joe’s message, left and came with us back to the hotel to discuss the conference that would occur on the following day. This would be a one day version of the same conference held in Lagos, with the addition of Chris as one of the speakers. Pastor Christ was excited to get to know the team and was tremendously thankful for our arrival.
 
    Saturday morning began with final preparation for the conference. As the remaining 100lbs of books that were brought with the team for this event were consolidated together, SGCC and the FLM Team converged on the public building that would be the host location for the occasion. 

​    After a welcome address by Brother Adeola Ogundele, Pastor Chris began the first message with a sermon titled: Trusting God’s Word. The theme of the sermon emphasized the sufficiency of the scriptures in the midst of a culture that looks to extra non biblical revelation to guide the church. The message ran center with everything that had been addressed thus far and was integral to the overall message of the conference. Pastor Tony spoke second, followed by Pastor Femi. After another free lunch had been provided, this time by SGCC, Pastor Austin gave the fourth message and Pastor Joe concluded the conference with another presentation of the doctrines of Christ’s atonement.
 
    Once the last message ended, the speakers were called back to the stage for another Q&A session. The questions were very similar to those that had been asked at the previous conference and by the callers during the radio program. The speakers gave scripture for the answers provided as well as gave exhortations to the attendees to continue in the things that were being taught, and to rely on the Bible for verification of all things.

​     The next morning would be the final sermon given by the team. Pastor Joe Jacowitz preached the Sunday morning message. Afterwards, once the service was ended, the church of SGCC surprised Pastor Tony with a cake and sang another round of Happy Birthday. This was actually the second time during the trip that his 73rd birthday was recognized. After the first day of the first conference back in Lagos, The brethren at SGBC had surprised both Tony and Eric each with their own birthday cake. (Eric turned 52) So, even though Pastor Tony had intended to avoid having his birthday acknowledged, he ended up eating two birthday cakes by the end of it all. 

​     That night, the Team flew back to Lagos. The next day, Monday, was a day of final analysis, journaling, fellowshipping with the brethren, and planning for the next mission and conference. Many pictures were taken and gifts were exchanged. The Lord was thanked for His goodness towards all of us, and with a bittersweet tone we shared our goodbyes with one another. The team was taken to the airport and began their way back home.     

Mission work in the nation of Nigeria presents unique challenges when compared to some of the other countries that FirstLove has the privilege of ministering to. Some of these challenges may be encountered as early as the visa application process which is required for entry. Praise The Lord, however, for He gives more grace. Even before the FirstLove Missions team had physically arrived at the airport for the departure to Nigeria, The Lord had already been mightily at work opening every door that was needed.

Almost a week after each of the mission team members had originally sent off their passport to the Nigerian embassy for visa approval, we were met with the news that because the embassy had run out of stickers, they were not approving visa requests at that time. As you can imagine, with tickets and flights already paid for and booked, we began to pray. Thursday morning, the day of our departure, the team stopped by the postal office to pick up the recently arrived, visa approved passports with two hours to spare, on their way to catch their flights. Praise God.
 
Approximately 24 hours later, after two layovers, FirstLove Missions arrived in Lagos, Nigeria on Friday 8:30pm local time with 500lbs of literature for free distribution. Upon arrival, as the team was moving through customs and the other checkpoints, a gentlemen nearby introduced himself as Pastor Jeffrey. Pastor Jeffrey shepherds a Nigerian Church in Denmark. Apparently, he had seen us during our layover in Paris; more specifically, he had noticed the word ‘Christ’ and the scripture verse emblazoned on Brother Gerard’s jacket. We were able to gift him a few of our FirstLove materials, as well as pamphlets containing our ministry overview as we exchanged contact information. We hope to hear from each other soon.
 
Pastor Tony Okoroh showed up just in the nick of time at the airport. Just before, and just after encountering Bro. Jeffrey, the team had been solicited multiple times for bribes. One at the shot card checkpoint, once at the baggage claim, and then again at the final checkpoint before exiting. The Lord was gracious, however, both in the fact that we were able to give away some tracts and books to these people, and that Pastor Tony arrived when he did.

Along with Pastor Tony, (The Branch Leader of FirstLove in Nigeria) several members of his church (Sovereign Grace Bible Church - www.sgbc.org.ng) met us and escorted us through the crowds outside the airport to the vehicles. They joined themselves to us and watched us closely as they moved our luggage down the crowded walkway and led us to the church van. It was an amazing experience to see the care and love of the these believers. As we transitioned, the team was able to witness to and give gospel tracts to about 20 people or so. Once the team made it to the accommodations provided by the local church, after enjoying a very short time of fellowship, they soon retired for rest as it was already late in the evening.
 
The next day began early. Brother Gerard and Brother Eric went with some of the indigenous brethren to an area on Victoria Island, with the intent to witness and evangelize. The area was chosen due to its proximity to another work that is being planted locally in that area by the members of SGBC. Both Gerard and Eric engaged these people with a biblical gospel that confronted much of the health, wealth, and prosperity teachings that are so mainstream and prevalent in Nigeria.

After returning from Victoria Island, the team rejoined the rest of the group back at the apartments. Many of the members of the church had showed up for fellowship, including Brother Tunde, a Deacon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle of London. Saturday was to be a day of rest and fellowship between the members of SGBC and the FLM Team, as everyone caught up with one another and many new introductions were made.
 
Sunday morning would be a celebratory occasion commemorating the 15th anniversary of the official planting and organization of Sovereign Grace Bible Church in Lagos, Nigeria. There were about a hundred believers in attendance as Pastor Joe Jacowitz gave the morning sermon on the subject of “A Spiritual Vision for the Local Church”. He reminded the church to persevere and to overcome the temptations that would have the church lose their zeal and life in the expanding enterprise of church planting in Nigeria.  The morning service was then concluded with a fellowship meal and group photo on the church property. [ photo soon to come ]

That same evening, the FLM Team arrived at a large radio broadcasting station. Part of FLM’s usual ministry in Nigeria includes radio evangelism. Since the radio station is a main avenue for news and information disbursal for many tens of millions of Nigerian people within a short area, it lends itself as a primary platform to engage the populace with the Gospel, and to address false teachings. During the broadcast listeners were also invited to come and join the upcoming conference on Wednesday through Thursday where literature would be distributed free of charge to those in attendance. Several people called in engaging the hosts with pertinent questions relating to the Gospel. The radio program will last a total of three days airing each evening through Tuesday.

Thus far, with-in the first couple days of having arrived in Nigeria, there is a sense of the great need here for biblical doctrine to be taught and for the true Gospel to be preached. The people are languishing under false teachings, superstitious beliefs, unfulfilled promises of prosperity, and abuses of spiritual con-men who promise much and deliver little. The Gospel of Christ is all but smothered, hidden, and forgotten beneath the avalanche of covetous sensationalism. The need is so great that our hope and our prayer is to be able to send a container of 20k books to Nigeria every six months. Pray with us for God to fulfill that need and to provide for His people.