It was pomp, celebration and pageantry on Sunday, April 2, 2017, when the high and low within and outside Akwa Ibom State cheered the Senior Pastor of Insight Bible Church (IBC), Dr Sylvanus Ukafia and wife, Erikan, as the Church marked its 20th Anniversary, christened Celebrating Jesus Christ, The God Of Awesome Wonders.
Speaking during the event at the Church Headquarters, 227 Nsikak Eduok, Uyo, Governor Udom Emmanuel, who was accompanied by his wife, Martha, and members of his Executive Council, said “Insight Bible Church is one of the Ministries that is raising the new breed of future leaders in the state through proper teaching of the scripture.”
He appreciated the Senior Pastor of the Church for building a place of worship and a home away from home for Christians, adding that visions and dreams were energies that can never be stopped but transferred.
Governor Emmanuel, who laid the foundation stone for the church’s Ultra-Modern Multipurpose Building and also commissioned the new Church Building, urged Christians to strive to emulate the good virtues of their leaders and also pray for those in authority.
In his goodwill message, immediate past Leader of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Okpolupm Etteh, who has been a member of the Church since 1999, said he has been endeared to the church by the exemplary lifestyle of Dr Ukafia over the years.
The former Assemblyman said “the Church has been a great blessing to me and my family. I am where I am today because of the disciplines I imbibed from the church. It has shaped my life within and outside politics.”
Special Adviser in the Bureau of Political and Legislative Affairs, Barrister Ekong Sampson, who also gave his goodwill message, said God has used the Church to deepen faith and conviction in the body of Christ, adding “there is a great pride of place for Insight Bible Church when chronicling the works of churches in Uyo.”
Goodwill messages were also received from the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment, Mr. Oliver Udokpo; a former Commissioner of Special Duties in the State, Barrister Austin Mbeh and a former State Officer of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Engr. Billy Etuk.
In his homily, themed His Way, Pastor Simeon Afolabi, who took his sermon from the Bible Book of John Chapter Two, Verses One through Eleven, challenged the congregation to always seek the ways of God, emphasizing that “God keeps the best to the end. This is the way of God.”
Highpoints of the event, which was attended by the State Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Barrister Onofiok Luke; Senator Effiong Bob; Minister of Housing, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, and other members of Boards and Commissions in the state, included cutting of the Anniversary Cake and song renditions from both Classical and Contemporary Choirs.
INSIGHT BIBLE CHURCH CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY IN GRAND-STYLE
