The maxim ‘train a woman, train a nation’ must have inspired Daystar Christian Centre, Oregun, Lagos, last weekend, to gather hundreds of women for the annual Women of Destiny conference where guest speakers urged women to be builders of homes, the Church and, by extension, the nation, writes Woman Editor, TEMITOPE DAVID-ADEGBOYE
“The voice of women coming together in harmony for a joint purpose releases great power.”
So, when women in their hundreds gathered at Daystar Christian Centre, Lagos, for this year’s edition of Women of Destiny conference, it was obvious threat to the powers of darkness.
At the conference with the theme, ‘Blessed to Build’, Pastors Nike Adeyemi, Funke Felix Adejumo, Ifeanyi Adefarasin and Omowunmi Idowu spared nothing to ensure that all those present were empowered to exercise their innate building power and maximise their voice.
Ifeanyi Adefarasin, wife of the Senior Pastor, House on the Rock, Paul Adefarasin who spoke at the opening of the conference on Friday, said: “When God created you as a woman, He created you as a solution to someone’s problem. You are a problem-solver.”
According to her, women should be builders of nations by first building their children, family and Church.
“Keep building generational leaders with godly values. Naomi didn’t know the future while she was building Ruth,” she stated.
Speaking specifically to the youths, Omowunmi, wife of Pastor Bolaji Idowu of The Harvesters International Christian Centre, charged the participants to use their time, money, gifts and ideas to build themselves first, rather than wait to be married before doing anything.
“Rather than keep waiting to get married, as most of you are doing, get busy with your carrier and discover whom you are and why you are here on earth.”
She observed that many youths are under too much pressure to get married, because they are focusing on the wrong things.
“Marriage is not a bed of roses, and singleness is not a disease. The value you add keeps you indispensable. Don’t be a woman of vogue, be a classic woman.”
Who am I? Why am I here? What does the future hold for me? What do I have? And, what must I do to be fulfilled? The above were the five questions she identified that every young woman must ask herself.
As to the right time to choose a life partner, she said: “Be the person you are looking for. Look for a man who has the image and word of God; a man who is hard working and smart working; a man who has direction, a man who has values; a man that can make you a better you and protect you.”
She submitted that women are blessed already, but these blessings attract the devil’s attack. She advised them to deal with the attacks instead of lamenting.
Her words: “Crying is not a medium of exchange in God’s kingdom; faith is. Make sure your responses to life’s issues are different. Search the scriptures, as that is what gives you life and pleasure. We are blessed to build, but you can only build if you know who you are and who has blessed you.”
Guest speaker at the summit, Pastor Funke Felix-Adejumo of Agape Church, Akure, enjoined women to use their God-given “power of intuition, utterance, emotion, sex, reproduction and creativity” more to build themselves, family and the nation. Quoting from Luke 2:49 and Ruth 4:11, she stated that “God is businessman and is very profit-conscious.”
She highlighted ways to build as a woman to include: worship (Matt 21:7), words (Prov. 18: 21-23), wealth (Eph 1:3) and the womb.
Recommending compulsory savings for all women, she said: “Don’t eat with your 10 fingers; N100, 000 is no salary in the Nigeria of today. So get something else to substitute your salaries.”
Nike Adeyemi, who is deputy senior pastor at Daystar and host of the event, disclosed Daystar’s plan of petitioning to the National Assembly to ensure that the over 200 girls abducted in Borno State are rescued. This, she stated, is a way of backing prayer with action and also encouraged members to speak out their feelings.
Prayers were also offered to God for the safe return of the girls, peace for their mothers and loved ones and strength for their communities.
She expressed delight at the number of signatures so far collected during the three-day conference.
Pastor Adeyemi added: “As a woman and mother, I feel bad and can’t help but think about what their mother would be thinking. I felt bad about the depth of the wickedness of the Boko Haram members.
“We need to step up the security of the nation by installing CCTV (closed-circuit television) everywhere, so that the perpetrators of this evil could be seen when these CCTV’s are played back.”
On the part of the church, she urged worshippers generally to be more security-conscious too. “A lot of people come to worship in the Church and, over the years, we’ve come to believe that we all simply want to come and pray and worship God. But times have changed. We must also encourage members to be on the alert to look out for any suspicious move. Don’t be naïve and believe that everybody is nice. I am looking forward to that time when Nigeria, as a nation, will have that central security three-digit number just as it obtains in other parts of the world, so that people can call that number and get prompt help,” she said.