Posted by By Omodele Adigun on
What would you do as a preacher if you were attacked by thugs right in the pulpit? That was the dilemma faced by Pastor Gabriel Taye Dada of CAC, Palace of Success, Isheri Olofin, Lagos while carrying out his duties as a minister of God.
What would you do as a preacher if you were attacked by thugs right in the pulpit? That was the dilemma faced by Pastor Gabriel Taye Dada of CAC, Palace of Success, Isheri Olofin, Lagos while carrying out his duties as a minister of God. In this interview with Daily Sun, he tells of the embarrassment and the panic that day on the revival ground in Ojota, Lagos.
Background
I am Pastor Gabriel Taiye Dada, a revivalist and the pastor in charge of Christ Apostolic Church, Palace of Success, Isheri Olofin, Lagos.
I was called to the ministry in 1974. Then, I was a member of Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Movement, Ayo ni o, Surulere, Lagos. Although I was born into Christ Apostolic Church, when I came to Lagos to live with my uncle who was a prophet in the C & S, I became a vessel in the hand of God, for I was a visioner in the church.
My calling
This came in many ways and many times before I finally surrendered. The first person to tell me that God had ordained me as Minister in His vineyard was a prophetess. She specifically mentioned it that unless I preached the gospel, I would never succeed. That whatever I laid my hands on in life, would end up in failure. But I did not believe her. Really, my apathy to the work of God stemmed from my experience with them in the mission house. I had watched them at close quarters and discovered that in those days they were poor and lived a wretched life. The society ignored them and held them in scant regard. This really put me off because I didn't want to live such life. As I was growing up, I developed a liking for the Army. And because of my strong physique, I planned to join the force.
After I had disobeyed the prophetess, then I heard a voice that I was treading the path of destruction and that I would soon be destroyed if I failed to become a minister of God. I knew it was the voice of the Lord. He said specifically that I should preach the Gospel to the dying souls, otherwise that He would destroy me. I was very scared. I didn't want to die young. That was how I took up the mantle of an evangelist and preacher of the word.
The experience has been so wonderful. For someone who loves God, it is good, though as an evangelist, prophet and pastor, one should be prepared to face challenges, temptations and attacks, both physical and spiritual. One notable incident I can never forget in a hurry was the day agents of devil descended on us while I was preaching in a crusade at Ojota, Lagos. I was preaching on the topic, "There is God." No sooner had I mounted the pulpit than some people emerged from nowhere with planks, swords, broken bottles and other dangerous weapons and descended on us. Before we knew what was happening, there was commotion and some of our members and those invited ran away. But we called on God, and He took control of the situation and normalcy soon returned. I was really embarrassed that day and some of the worshippers confessed that they had not seen such a thing like that, while many simply refused to believe that such thing could ever happen in Lagos.
Again, another big challenge I faced initially was poverty, which was a weapon by the devil to discourage me. Things were so difficult that I could not feed my family but I am happy today that God saw me through.
More churches more crimes
In our society today, crime rate is rising despite the ever-increasing number of churches.This is so because churches are many but the real children of God are few; the pastors are many; those not called are many while the genuine ones are scanty. What is happening today is that many people go to church simply because they want to prosper. But I tell you, the best place to dupe people is the church of God. Just put on a cassock or a collar, knot a tie on a good suit and carry a big Bible, then proclaim vision or prophesy. Then you will see that many people will surround you and in that way, you will be able to dupe them.
Few ministers preach salvation while few people go to church just because they want to be saved from sin. That is the reason why the church is not doing much to reduce crime rate in the society.
Vision for the church
My dream is to build a centre for Christ; a prayer city where people can pray and have genuine repentance; where people can pray and know that there is God; where people can be taught to live a holy and sanctified life, where people can abide by the truth so that Nigeria can be transformed into a new haven where there will be no corruption and where truth will reign supreme.