Nigeria Visit - MAR 2024

NCLC Pastors, One Wife, and Seminary Students at the 2024 Pastor Conference in Efa Anyam, Nigeria

It's Sunday afternoon here in Lagos, Nigeria. I'm wrapping up my visit to the Nigeria-CLC. My flight home leaves at midnight. I'll fly from Lagos to Frankfurt to Chicago to St. Louis. If all goes according to schedule, I'll be home Monday night. Please pray for safe and uneventful travels.

It's been a busy eleven days with lots of in-country travel, worship, meetings, a pastor conference, and congregation visits. 

Let me just give a few highlights from the visit and a few pictures along the way...

I spent my first weekend in Apa and Badagry. These villages are located to the west of Lagos near the ocean and the Benin border. The Nigeria-CLC (NCLC) has two congregations in this area. One in Apa and a newly opened congregation in Badagry. I had the privilege of preaching at the new congregation in Badagry on Sunday morning. I was also privileged to meet an elderly retired pastor, a seminary student of Missionary Norbert Reim, in the 1950s. This man recently resigned from the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN) and joined the NCLC congregation in Badagry. He also has family that lives in Akwa Ibom state, where the majority of NCLC congregations are located. He is hopeful that they, too, will be joining NCLC congregations. He was very happy to meet someone who knew Pastor Reim as he shared fond memories and appreciation of his time in the seminary learning from him. I told him that my grandfather and father were close friends with Pastor Reim and that I knew his children well and was acquainted with his grandchildren. He told me that Missionary Reim was a father to him in the faith, as the Apostle Paul was a father to Timothy. It was a genuine privilege to meet this man and a good reminder that, as the Scriptures encourage us, our labor in the Lord is never in vain!

Pastor Emeritus Idiobong at the NCLC Congregation in Badagry

On Monday, Martin Essien and I traveled from Lagos to Uyo (capital city of Akwa Ibom State) where I would spend the next four days attending, presenting, teaching, and preaching at the semi-annual NCLC General Pastor Conference. The conference began each morning at 7:00 am for morning prayers before breakfast. The conference then reconvened at 9:00 am. During each day we heard and discussed twelve essays written by several pastors and me. We also took time to meet individually with each group of pastors from different areas of the country. The theme for the conference was "Here I Stand...The Scriptures Can Not Be Broken." The conference came to an end on Friday afternoon with a communion and worship service. I had the privilege of preaching for the worship service. I preached on Galatians 3:15-29 with the theme "We are Heirs of God According to His Promise and Faithfulness." There were 42 men in attendance and one pastor's wife. Nine of those in attendance were NCLC seminary students, and 8 were independent pastors from Bayelsa State who are currently going through the colloquy process. 

Independent Pastors from Bayelsa State

Pastor Conference Lunch Break

NCLC Pastor Conference Closing Hymn

While the schedule was pretty tight while I was here, I was able to slip away during a break to take a quick video of the Immanuel Lutheran Seminary of the NCLC. Because the teachers and students were all attending the conference, the classrooms were all locked. Here's a brief walk-through the seminary campus...

Eight of the Nine Seminary Students and Two of the Three Teachers

A major project the NCLC has been working on for the past few years is to enlarge and improve the main church building and headquarters in Efa. This is the original congregation that was started by Pastor E.E. Essien when he withdrew from the LCN that was affiliated with The Synodical Conference back in the late 1950s. Our CLC missionaries (Dave Koenig, Paul Gurgel, and Matt Gurath) and their families lived across the street and attended worship in the original building that is being replaced. The NCLC is funding this project with no assistance from the CLC.

Again, as He always does, the Lord blessed this visit, and I come away from Nigeria thankful for the opportunity to work alongside faithful men and women to share the truths of God's saving word for the salvation of souls. 

Please keep your Nigerian brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers as they face many challenges in their work. Satan is always actively prowling in his attempts to tempt God's children away from their Savior through false teachers and the allurements of the false and dangerous prosperity gospel that is so prevalent throughout Africa and the world. There are also financial challenges that bring struggles to so many throughout Nigeria. Over the past couple of years, the inflation rate in Nigeria has been around 25%-30%. The Nigerian currency, the Naira, has dropped to approx. 1500 to $1 USD, reflecting a 230% loss in value over the past twelve months. And yet, in the midst of all these struggles, our brothers and sisters in Christ continue to make the spread of the Gospel their main priority! Praise the Lord for the strength and commitment to press on as they trust in our Savior's love and plans for them, their families, and the Gospel outreach of the NCLC.