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INNERCITY MISSION- Building Free Schools Across Africa and Asia

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INNERCITY MISSION- Building Free Schools Across Africa and Asia

Since its inception, the InnerCity Mission for Children, a member agency of the Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International, has provided marginalized and vulnerable children access to free basic education. Through its network of primary schools spread across Africa and Asia, over 3000 orphaned, vulnerable, and excluded children have received scholarships to start and complete their primary education. 

Before now, there were eight (8) 100% free InnerCity Mission Schools with others under construction. The latest addition to this network is the InnerCity Mission School, Murbai Community, Taraba State, North-East Nigeria.

Murbai community in Ardo Kola Local Government Area suffered attacks by bandits. The attacks disrupted the education of the children as the only government school was affected. The InnerCity Mission for Children stepped in to help the children continue their education by setting up temporary learning centers. Over 300 children in the community benefited from these centers as they received literacy lessons and psychosocial support weekly. However, the need was clear that the children of the Murbai community required a permanent structure that would deliver early childhood education as well as uninterrupted access to 6-year formal primary education.

The InnerCity Mission School, Murbai, which is the 9th School in the expanding network of InnerCity Mission schools will benefit children from the Murbai community and its environs. It is the second InnerCity Mission School in North-East Nigeria which offers free primary education to disadvantaged and marginalized children irrespective of gender, race, religion, and ethnicity.

Present at the commissioning of the school were traditional rulers, senior community leaders, top dignitaries from the LoveWorld Nation, Government representatives, and other key stakeholders from various communities.

The InnerCity Mission Primary School, Murbai is fully open. Pupils who were enrolled received their uniforms, books, school bags, and other materials and are set to commence their academic session.

Our Core-values are Far More Precious than the Academic Curriculum we Run at CU! – Chancellor

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Our Core-values are Far More Precious than the Academic Curriculum we Run at CU! – Chancellor

The Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Regents, Covenant University, Bishop David Oyedepo has stressed that the institution places more importance on its core-values than its academic curriculum.

He made this known while giving his charge at the Departure Service to mark the end of the first half of the Alpha Semester, 2022/2023 Academic Session, and the commencement of the Christmas Break.  

In his charge, the Chancellor, reinforced the University’s stance on discipline. He emphasized the need for discipline amongst the students urging students to make sacrifices in their youthful years; stating that the price of royalty is discipline. “No king ascends the throne without discipline,” he added.

He admonished the students to focus on spiritual activities and capacity building in the course of the holidays; reiterating the need for the students to adopt an action-driven approach to taking personal responsibility in creating a great future.

The Chancellor also highlighted the need for the students to be spiritually awake during the Christmas Holidays; and advised them to engage in spiritual retreats like the just concluded Shiloh event of the commission, in other to keep their connection with God intact.

He described the coming festive period as one that should be for reflections, realignment with God’s purpose and activities that show commitment to advancements. The chancellor further advised the students to make academic investments that would impact on the second half of the semester.

Concluding his remarks, the chancellor warned the students against engaging in acts of indiscipline when back on campus, stating that the University would maintain its ‘zero-tolerance for indiscipline’ policy.

Christian Forgiveness

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Christian Forgiveness

And that ye put on the NEW MAN… Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:24, 31, 32

The Bible tells us that when we are born again, we become “new men”, or “new creatures”.

When a man becomes a doctor or an army officer, he is expected to behave in a certain way. In the same way, a certain pattern of behaviour is expected of anyone who claims to be a Christian or a “new man”.

One of the primary qualities of a new man is that he forgives.The new man should not live in unforgiveness.

According to biblical principles, the new man must not live his life according to what goes on in this world. In the world, people hardly forgive.It is natural for a person not to forgive, but to seek revenge. However, when you become a new man, God expects you to forgive.

Indeed, one cardinal difference between the Christian and the unbeliever is that the Christian has the ability to forgive and release the offender.

A new man must be able to forgive!

by the best selling African author Dag Heward-Mills

20 Festive Ways to Spend One-on-One Time with Your Spouse

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20 Festive Ways to Spend One-on-One Time with Your Spouse

1. Hot Chocolate Date

Go on a hot chocolate date. One of the cheapest ways to connect with your spouse this holiday is to leave your phones at home (or at least put them away in your purse!) and go on a hot chocolate date! Find a local café that serves hot chocolate and spend the evening talking. Or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, turn the evening into a “hot chocolate crawl” and visit several locations, tasting multiple cups of hot chocolate and rating each one to find the best. 

2. Christmas Lights Tour

Drive around and look at Christmas lights. Another budget-friendly holiday outing is to simply drive around your city and look for Christmas lights! It’s especially fun to find neighborhoods that are more luxurious than yours and see how beautiful the stately homes look during the holidays. All that time together alone in the car is sure to get you talking and connecting in a fresh way. 

3. Costume Date Night

Go on a date per your usual, but add a twist… Before you hit the theater or your favorite restaurant, swing by a thrift store or resale shop, and pick out cheap holiday gear for the other to have to wear on the date. Then, whether you’re wearing Santa suspenders, reindeer antlers, or Elf stockings, act natural and go about your date like usual. The double-takes you’ll get are sure to connect you with your spouse as you spend the evening laughing and taking selfies. 

4. Get-to-Know-You Game Night

Remember when you were dating and getting to know your spouse? You wanted to know every little detail about them and enjoyed the process. Revisit those days by playing get-to-know-you games. Break out the holiday cookies and settle in for a night of connection. Play “Two Truths and a Lie,” where your spouse must guess which of the three items you said are true and which one is the lie. There’s always room for a good ol’ fashioned game of Truth or Dare, as well! 

Something More Than Gold!

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This is no ordinary crowd, but a sea of people from the North of Uganda who, like the rest of us, are hungry for something more than this cold, broken world has to offer.


At the pinnacle of this large, holy gathering, healing evangelist Bishop Dag Heward- Mills drops to his knees, one hand high up in the air, the other gripping the microphone as he passionately leads the city in a heart-felt prayer for salvation.

Arms raised high, waving copies of the book, “How you can become a strong Christian”—a free gift—that shines brightly under the crusade lights as if to signify the life they have now, the crowd goes wild……not in a stadium for a goal but standing shoulder-to-shoulder on an open-air field, after having come to the saving knowledge and healing power of Jesus Christ. Something More Than Gold!

AMAZING HEALING JESUS IN TOAMASINA, MADAGASCAR!

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What Does “Pride Comes Before the Fall” Mean?

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What Does “Pride Comes Before the Fall” Mean?

The saying “pride comes before the fall” stems from a passage in Proverbs. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Many of us are familiar with this phrase, yet we don’t know the full meaning behind the words. This is why it is crucial to understand what “pride comes before the fall” means by looking at the background context.

Understanding the Context

Understanding the context of this passage helps us understand its meaning. The original foundation of the saying “pride comes before the fall” goes back to the original sin. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they chose to disobey God, and the fall of mankind was the result. Instead of listening to God, they chose to follow their own ideas and the temptation from the serpent. The serpent spoke to Eve and said, “‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 3:4).

Notice the serpent’s words of “you will be like God.” In other words, the serpent tempts Adam and Eve to be their own “god.” This offer was extremely appealing to Adam and Eve. The Bible tells us Eve’s actions that immediately followed the serpent’s temptation, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Genesis 3:6-7). Therefore, she ate the fruit, her husband ate the fruit, and in so doing, the fall of man resulted.

When we look back at the reasoning behind the original fall, it was because of pride. Because of their pride, they disobeyed God and fell. In this way, we can see why pride comes before the fall. It is plausible the writer of Proverbs was connecting the passage written in Proverbs 16:18 back to the original fall of man. 

However, this saying doesn’t simply apply to the pride associated with the original fall of man as it also applies to us in the modern day. 

Pride Comes Before the Fall

Whenever we become too prideful in ourselves, there will eventually be a fall. Even if it doesn’t happen right away, it will come. Pride is a sin as the Bible tells us, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech” (Proverbs 8:13). Scripture tells us God hates pride. This means that all pride is rooted in sin. There is no such thing as pride that brings glory to God. 

Instead of being prideful, we need to be humble and give glory to God. Paul tells us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4). As believers, we need to live in accordance with humility and follow the Lord with our whole hearts. There is no room for pride in the believer’s life as it will only separate us from God and impair our relationship with Him.

Pride comes before the fall because pride will ultimately cause us to fall. Similar to the original sin, if we are prideful, we will fall. We need to choose to cultivate a heart of humility—not a heart of pride. The Bible says this truth, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). As we can see from this passage as well as from numerous passages throughout Scripture, God wants us to be humble and to cultivate a heart of humility. While this can be hard, God can help us if we turn to Him and ask for His help. 

In the modern 21st century, pride has become the norm. Social media has caused many to become prideful in their appearance, accomplishments, or their number of followers. Having pride will only lead to a fall, which means the individual will be brought down to humbleness. Pride causes us to look away from Christ and to, instead, look at ourselves. As we can see, looking to ourselves will only result in emptiness and destruction. 

If we look to ourselves, we cannot find fulfillment, joy, or peace. Pride causes us to lose sight of Christ and distorts our vision of contentment. True fulfillment, joy, and peace can only be found in Christ. By choosing to follow our own sinful flesh, we will become more distanced from the Lord. Pride is found within the sinful flesh, and it is something we need to abstain from in our lives. If we allow pride to creep into our hearts, it will eventually rot our bones and cause our hearts to be calloused to the Lord.

Psalm 10:4 says, “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” From this passage of Psalms, we know that the wicked man is filled with pride, and he has no room for God. This shows that pride is dangerous and causes us to stray from our Creator. Living a life of sin, such as a life of pride, will eventually cause us to fall because God uses the fall to turn us back to Him. Similar to the original sin of mankind, God used the fall to cause mankind to seek Him out. God didn’t cause the fall, yet He repaired the situation for us to once again be restored to Him.

Thus, “pride comes before the fall” means that pride will cause us to lose our grip and fall, similar to the original sin as shown in Genesis 3 and Proverbs 16:18. A fall comes after pride because it causes us to turn away from God. The moment we turn away from God is the moment we think we don’t need Him. This is what pride does—it causes us to think we don’t need God when God is truly all we need. If you struggle with pride, turn to God and ask for His help. He will help you with your struggle against pride.

All of us have been prideful at some point because it’s in our sinful nature. Even though the world has normalized pride to be acceptable and even a “good thing,” it is not. Pride is a sin, and we need to treat it as such. As we know, pride comes before the fall, which entails the promise that only bad will result from pride. God will humble us when we live in a state of pride. Since we are believers, we don’t need to live a life of pride but rather a life of humility. We should strive to follow Jesus because He is the ultimate model of humility. As Christians, may we always follow the Lord and strive to live following His humbleness.

What Do We Know about Angels?

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What Do We Know about Angels?

Christmastime is filled with images of angels atop our trees and lighting our front yards. But very few of us know how powerful they are—and how critical their role is in our lives. Did you know that angels are mentioned over 300 times in the Bible? The earliest books: Genesis and Job, describe their creation, and the last book of the Bible, Revelation, is filled with their actions in heaven and on earth as they carry out God’s work.

1. What do angels look like?

Angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14), so they do not have an essential physical form. However, we know that angels have the ability to appear in human form.

When angels appeared to humans in the Bible, they resembled normal males. In Genesis 18:1-19, God and two angels appeared as men and ate a meal with Abraham. When Joshua prepared to attack the fortified city of Jericho, a “man” with a drawn sword stood before him. In Joshua 5:14, he identified himself as the “commander of the armies of the Lord,” a warrior angel appearing as a man.

Other times in Scripture, we read that angels appear as something otherworldly, and their appearance could be terrifying. Often, the first words from these angels were “Do not be afraid” because extreme fear was such a common reaction. The Roman soldiers stationed at Jesus’ tomb became “as dead men” when they saw the angel of the Lord (Matthew 28:4). The shepherds in the fields in Luke 2 were “sore afraid” when the angel of the Lord appeared with the glory of the Lord all around.

2. Are angels superior to Jesus?

No. Hebrews 1:5-14 teaches that “God speaks of his angels as messengers swift as the wind and as servants made of flaming fire; but of his Son He says, ‘Your Kingdom, O God, will last forever and ever; its commands are always just and right.’ No, for the angels are only spirit messengers sent out to help and care for those who are to receive his salvation.”

Jesus is the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, there at the moment of creation, and the Savior of the world. Angels serve God as messengers, protectors, and witnesses—they follow God’s specific direction as they serve Him.

3. Are there different kinds of angels?

Yes! Cherubim guard God’s glory. They stood at the Garden of Eden with flaming swords so that Adam and Eve would not try to re-enter (Genesis 3:24). The wings of the cherubim covered the Ark of the Covenant, where God’s glory resided (Exodus 25:18-22). Cherubim also appear as fearsome four-headed creatures before the throne of God in heaven. They continuously sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts” (Ezekiel 10:1-20).

Seraphim are the praise-leaders in heaven. “Holy, holy, holy,” they chant continuously, filling Heaven with their voices. Isaiah’s vision of God’s throne room was like this: “Seraphim stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly” (Isaiah 6:1-6).

4. Do angels have names?

Only three angels are named in the Bible: Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer.

Michael fought as a warrior angel to deliver God’s message to Daniel about Israel (Jude 9, Daniel 10, and Revelation 12). Gabriel announced the coming of Jesus to Joseph (Luke 1:19). Lucifer was described as the “son of the morning” or a “fallen angel” in Isaiah 14.

5. How many angels are there?

More than we can possibly imagine! In Deuteronomy, when God gives the law, Moses writes, “the Lord came with myriads of angels.” Luke tells us at the birth of Jesus, there was a “multitude of heavenly hosts” (Luke 2:13). Hebrews 12:22teaches that we worship with an innumerable company of angels. And in Revelation 5, John writes, “I heard the voice of many angels—10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands.”

6. What do angels do?

Angels do God’s work!

Angels were involved in Jesus’ earthly life many, many times. Gabriel announced Jesus’ birth to the Virgin Mary and her aunt Elizabeth (Luke 1:26-32). He also announced to Zechariah, the priest, that his aging wife was going to bear a son (Luke 1:13-18). Gabriel instructed Zechariah to name his son “John.” Zechariah balked, and Gabriel struck him dumb until the baby was born (Luke 1:19).

Angels sang in the skies over the manger (Luke 2:9-14). Angels warned the young family to escape to Egypt (Matthew 2:12). Jesus received comfort after his forty-day fast and the temptation of Satan (Matthew 4:11). Jesus agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating drops of blood (Matthew 26:36-46). After Jesus prayed, the angels comforted him. At the Resurrection, an angel rolled away the stone that covered Christ’s tomb (Matthew 28:3).

7. How do angels help us?

Angels watch over you. They are constantly vigilant. They guard you. They rescue you. Daniel described how he saw the angel of the Lord shut the mouths of the lions when he had been thrown in the den to be devoured (Daniel 4). When Peter was imprisoned in Acts 12, God dispatched an angel to help him escape. He walked home without even being noticed!

Ukraine slaps sanctions on senior clerics in pro-Moscow church

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Ukraine slaps sanctions on senior clerics in pro-Moscow church

Dec 3 (Reuters) – Ukraine is slapping sanctions on 10 senior clerics linked to a pro-Moscow church on the grounds they agreed to work with Russian occupation authorities or justified Moscow’s invasion, the security service said on Saturday.

The announcement is the latest in a series of steps against a Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox Church linked historically to Moscow. The Orthodox Church in Russia itself backs the war.

In a statement, the security services said the 10 clerics had variously agreed to cooperate with occupation authorities, promoted pro-Russian narratives and justified Russian military aggression in Ukraine.

Most of the clerics – all either members of the church or closely linked to it – live in territories controlled by Russia or are abroad, the service said.

“The Security Service of Ukraine continues to carry out comprehensive work on the protection of Ukrainian statehood and will continue to expose persons who threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” it said.

The Ukrainian branch formally severed ties with the Russian Orthodox Church last May, but is still mistrusted by many Ukrainians and accused of secret co-operation with Russia.

The sanctions, which last for five years, will freeze the assets of those on the list, block them from exporting capital from Ukraine and prevent them from owning land.

Thousands of Congolese churchgoers join nationwide marches against eastern violence

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Thousands of Congolese churchgoers join nationwide marches against eastern violence

KINSHASA, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Christians took to the streets across Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday to protest violence in eastern regions, as church leaders accused the international community of hypocrisy over Rwanda’s alleged role in the fighting.

After Sunday services, churchgoers in the capital Kinshasa and other major cities heeded a call from the conference of Catholic bishops to march against the conflict with the M23 rebel group, which Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting.

“We say no to war, no to a divided Congo,” said Blaise Emmanuel, vicar at St. Elizabeth’s parish, who with other priests led a procession in Montgafula, one of the poorest communes in Kinshasa.

The mass protests were the most significant since an escalation in fighting in recent months between state forces and M23. The violence has displaced an estimated 390,000 people, according to U.N. agency OCHA.

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