The Alliance World Fellowship (AWF) is a mother-body of the Christian and Missionary Alliance with 6,200, 000 members globally in 88 countries, and 1,700 missionaries world-wide including many of Africa’s English-speaking and French-spacing’s Countries.
By: Samuel G. Dweh—Freelance Development Journalist
+23188661896/776583266; [email protected]/[email protected]
The Church of the Believers (COB) was founded in 1982 by Rev. Dr. Roosevelt Liberty, Sr.,
Founder and emerged with the Alliance World Fellowship (AWF) in 1994. The Headquarters Church is located in New Matadi Drive, Sinkor, Monrovia. COB now has 43 branches across Liberia.
Two persons assisted Rev. Liberty in formation of COB. They are: Mrs. (Mot.) Esther Bantoe Liberty, his wife (now Late); and Pastor John N. Wheagar. Rev. Liberty and his wife had lived 15 years in the United States of America where they acquired deeper knowledge in Church-planting.
The Liberia’s Branch (COB) of AWF organized a one-day (August 29, 2024) Leadership Summit, held in the COB’s Headquarters Church.
The Theme of the Summit is “The Characteristics of Christian Leaders and Their Responsibilities”; with text from 2nd Timothy 3:1-7.
Four Heads of different Christian Organizations were invited to share their individual leadership-based thoughts or Teachings.
The main event began with musical interludes. First was “Do Not Cry Anymore”, with a lyrical line “Jesus Cares about you” by Liberian male Gospel Artiste Cyrus Thompson. Other songs were in the Bassa vernacular of Grand Bassa County.
Rev. Dr. Liberty, the Chief Host/Facilitator, lectured first. The topic of his presentation was “Overview of the character of Christian Leaders and their responsibilities”. His teaching focused much on a Christian leader’s “characters” in line with the nature of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus called many persons to be his disciples. First, he trained them, before sending them out to win souls,” he said, and added: “A disciple is a learner—like somebody who sits in a classroom. However, many Christian leaders learned, but do not put into practice what they had learned.”
While he was teaching his two Books—“Growing Missionaries Biblically” and “A Godly Leader on Trial” were on display on the Summit attendees’ registration desk.
The second Teacher, Dr. Wallah S. Wisitoe, Of the St. Paul Baptist Church, chose “Characters of Christian Leaders” as topic of his teaching.
He began his teaching with this comment: “Christian leadership is not a toast with peanut butter. It has challenges.”
He said many Christian leaders do not want to learn from other people who are experienced than they are. “Pride prevents them from doing that,” he said.
He mentioned the various characteristics of a Christian leader, including ‘The Law of Expectation’.
“The President of Rwanda closed down 50 Churches, because their leaders were not exhibiting characters of a real Christian leader,” he informed the audience.
The third Teacher, Rev. Dr. Lincoln E.R. Cummings, Head of the Faith Revival Ministries World Outreach, taught on the topic “An Overview of Dexterity Mastery your Craft”. His Text was the fourth chapter of Galatians; his Biblical figure was Cornelius, who he described as “good leader for his willingness to learn.”
He focused much on extensive reading and other mediums of knowledge acquisition for a Christian leader. His teaching was based mostly on the 7th chapter of his Book—“Mastering Your Craft”
“I am the Author of five Books, which I take to each Christian and secular event I’m invited to, but majority of leaders don’t love reading books,” he restated what majority of the adults present already knew about many Liberian leaders in Christendom.
He defined a person’s craft as “Anything God has called you to do for the development of your society.” He added: “Anything you consider your craft, you must have mastery of it. If you say teaching or preaching is your craft, but you can’t teach or preach well, it is not your craft. If you can’t improve your craft, nobody will notice you,” he explained.
On his personal story of mastery of his craft, speaking, he told the audience the huge sums of money given him by religious organizations that had invited him to preach or teach at their programs.
“I am given between three and five hundred United States Dollars for each of my speaking engagements,” he said.
Rev. Dr. Cummings is a Teacher of the Liberty Theological Seminary, owned by Rev. Dr. Roosevelt Zarwulogbo Liberty, Sr., the first speaker.
The fourth Teacher, Bishop Dr. Jackson G. Weak, Head of the Hope Renewal Ministries International, chose “Christian Leaders and Their Families” as topic for his message. His Text was taken from 1st Timothy 3:10.
“The Bible says My people perish because of lack of knowledge,” he reminded the audience, and added: “I have been in the preaching business since 1988; I am in my 32nd year of marriage with one woman.”
Another of his comments was: “Majority of Pastors are good leaders in the Church, but bad husbands in their marital homes.”
He said a Christian leader’s pampering of any of his or her children gives leverage to the enemy/devil to attack the family through the child being excessively loved. He explained his family’s personal story of how his pampered daughter was impregnated while she was in the 12th grade class.
He also said Christian leader’s over-pampering of his or her child attracts the enemy’s attack of “turning the child into a zogo” (Liberian parlance for drug-addicted person), he cautioned.
He advised his fellow male Christian leaders to demonstrate genuine love to their wives. “Take your wife out for lunch in a restaurant; open the door of your car for her to be the first to enter. When you are doing any of these, she will be the first to shout ‘Halleluiah’ when you are preaching in your Church.”
At the end of his teaching, he said the most difficult people to deal with are the Church members, due to jealousy or gossips/false information spread from some Church members against the leader of the Church.
“Kill yourself for your family, not for Church members. The Church members will abandon you; your family won’t,” he cautioned in the closing segment of his teaching.
The fifth Teacher, Pastor James Golay, of a branch of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, spoke on the topic “The Role of Christian Leaders in Crises”, with 2nd Chronicles 28 as his Text.
He began by narrating the poverty status of his parents in his native County, Grand Bassa; and his personal financial struggle story in Monrovia.
“In Monrovia, I survived through selling of metal scraps I collected from dumpsites.”
On his educational life, he said his grade school education began in one of the Schools owned by the Church he’s now Pastor of, with university education in Liberia and three other Countries outside of Liberia.
“You can do it. All based on prayer and determination,” he said.
He added: “God educated me. I educated my wife. The Church educated our biological children.”
According to him, solution of any crisis requires “two points of knowledge: Insight and wisdom,” he announced to the audience.
At the conclusion of his teaching, he indirectly cautioned Christian leaders against being divided on the basis of each leader’s different Christian belief as a pathway to Heaven.
“The Churches we head today are not in Heaven. In Heaven, there is no Church called Baptist Church, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Presbyterian Church, or another denomination with another name. The only Church in Heaven is named the Universal Church of God, which all persons who believe who believe in God are part of,” he announced.
There were questions or comments, from members of the audience, on each Teaching.
The 2024’s Leadership Summit ended with presentation of certificates to all participants and remarks (from two persons).
Benediction was done by Rev. Liberty of the Church of the Believers—venue of the Summit.
“We will transcribe all the teachings, to be given to all participants. Our next Leadership Summits will be held in our branch Churches in Tappita, Nimba County; and in Lofa County,” he informed the audience, after his end-of-Summit prayer.
