Overview:
The drive of the retreat, the first of its kind, was to allow scattered members of the Apostolic Faith Organization around the country to come together as to plan, complement, and spend time to revive while building a strong family bond needed to achieve the evangelizing of our domain.
The retreat was scheduled from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th November 2023 at ‘Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with a theme “Have Faith in God – Mark 11:22.”
Day 1 – Arrival and Prayer Meeting
Participants from various regions, namely – Italy, Berlin, Bonn, and Konstanz, all gathered at Hardtstraße 32 Konstanz, right from early morning until late in the evening of Friday 24th November, 2023. The Regional Director for Mainland Europe, Reverend Francis Odudu, and his wife Sister Christiana Ola-Odudu arrived later that evening and joined the first-day prayer meeting.
Brother Dare Abioye led the prayer meeting with an opening hymn “ALLELUIA, song of sweetness” He further read from Psalms 100:1-5 to buttress the fact that we have every reason to praise God for His faithfulness, journey mercies, and for counting us worthy to be part of His great family.
Sister Christiana Ola-Odudu ended the prayer meeting with a short prayer
Day 2 – Bible Study, Distribution of Gospel Literature and Revival Service
A Bible Study was held titled, “Heroes of Faith” on the morning of the second day at Sankt-Stephan’s-Platz 39A, 78462 Konstanz.
The day started with a session of choruses led by Sister Jessica Abioye, while Sister Cristiana led the opening prayer. The choir rendition started with Sister Joy Abioye presenting a Flute solo “Silver Lake”, and then there was a female trio titled, “Faith of our Fathers”, by Frederick William Faber.
Sister Esther Oladipo led the Bible Study, taking her text from Hebrews 11:1-22.
It was a session of expounding the Word of God on how and what faith looks like in reality.
“Nothing but faith can enable a man to see the unseen; it brings the unseen into view and it makes the unknown known. That is what enabled the patriarchs, the men of God, and the martyrs of old to endure through thick and thin.”
The lesson brought to the limelight that Faith is practical yet sometimes, exercising faith does not look logical.
A review of the lesson was done by Brother Francis. He emphasized the fact that we cannot please God without faith; that we are saved by grace through faith, and that we all exercise faith unconsciously in all areas of our daily living.
This was followed by a session of prayers, with individuals seeking God to enrich our faith. A total of 15 people (13 in person and 2 online) attended the Bible teaching.
Shortly after the Bible Study, we held a worker’s meeting, with Brother Francis admonishing us on various aspects of the work, the need for us to work together as a body of believers, and the expectations of the leadership of the Church. He further encouraged the workers to ensure that they closely follow events and activities at the Western Europe Headquarters church in London.
Thereafter, all the participants had a sumptuous lunch together.
The afternoon was dedicated to street evangelism in the city of Konstanz, with the workers distributing Christian literature to members of the public. Although the literature was all in English, many of the locals were happy to take it as we handed it to them.
The day was rounded off with a Revival Service which commenced with a female duet with Sisters Esther Oladipo and Abena Abioye singing “Higher Ground” by Johnson Oatman.
During testimony service, Sister Esther testified on how being saved from a Muslim home about 28 years ago meant that her parents forsook her and denied her access to education. But the Lord raised up help for her and she was able to go through up to the University.
Brother Titus Oyedokun equally testified on how God is able to save and keep a young boy saved over the years. He was thankful to God for his care for him and his family over the years since they have been in Germany.
Others also testified of their various Christian experiences and the faithfulness of God in preserving them.
Sister Esther then sang, “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” by Charles H. Gabriel , before Brother Johnson Oladipo brought the Word.
Brother Johnson took his texts from Luke 19:9,10 and Matthew 1:21. He spoke about the importance and numerous benefits of salvation, emphasizing that this was the whole purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ.
We thereafter had a great time around the altars of prayers.
Thirteen people attended physically, in addition to online participants.
Day 3 – Sunday Service
We had to use a different venue, Luisenstrasse1 for our Sunday activities. The saints were gathered early enough for a pre-meeting prayer session.
Brother Dare Abioye opened the Sunday School by leading the congregation in singing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”, while, Brother Johnson Oladipo led the opening prayer, followed by a vocal solo by Joy Abioye “How great thou art” by Carl Boberg.
The elementary children then presented a short welcoming program for our Regional Director and his wife. This was followed by the delivery of the day’s lessons.
Sister Oladipo taught the Elementary Class on “Thanksgiving”, emphasizing the need for us to always be thankful to God for all things and at all times.
Brother Abioye taught the Adult Class on “Eternal Life”. The lesson focused on God’s intention to meet all our physical as well as material needs, irrespective of our spiritual standing. However, eternal life can only be attained through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. He thereafter took the class through what is required to attain eternal life.
Sister Christiana Ola-Odudu reviewed the lesson, stressing the need for us to prepare for eternity. Knowing and preparing for where we will spend eternity is the most important decision and preparation we can make while on earth.
Thereafter, we spent some time praying before the devotional service started.
The morning devotional service opened with Brother Dare presenting a Clarinet solo, “There is Sunshine In The Valley.” This was followed by a choir rendition “I know that my Redeemer liveth” by George Frideric Handel and a vocal solo by Sister Abena, “The love of God” by Frederick Lehman, Sister Abena thereafter directed the congregation song, after which Sister Christiana led the opening prayer.
The choir sang the first special “Stand up, stand up for Jesus” by George Duffield Jr and a second special sang by a soloist, Brother Titus Oyedokun, “One day at a time, Sweet Jesus” by Lynda Randle, before the word of exhortation. The Bible reading was taken from 2 Corinthians 5:10, 11, 17-20.
Reverend Francis Odudu, first thanked God, and expressed his appreciation to the brethren for their steadfastness. In his sermon titled “The Case of Two Beggars”, Brother Francis gave a vivid illustration of how the rich man in Jesus’ story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, qualified as a beggar when he got to hell. While it was very obvious that Lazarus was a beggar because he was poor, the poor state of the rich man only became obvious after death. The rich man became a beggar when he found himself in hell fire begging for a fingertip of water. The sermon emphasized that, the rich man became a beggar but at a moment when it was already too late to beg. He did not only beg for water, but also for his family on earth who were on the same path that led him to hell. The scripture “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27) was used to show that the rich man was rather late to realise the futility of his life of pleasure at the expense of his soul while on earth. The point was therefore made that all must ensure they prepare for eternity while it is still possible. And that anyone seeking to spend eternal life in heaven must first repent of and renounce their sins, accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
The song “Are you washed in the Blood?” was sung by the congregation to end the devotional service, after which all went down on our knees to have a moment of prayer with the Lord.
The Sunday service was attended by 21 people (17 physically present and 4 via zoom).
We thank God for His manifold blessings and the resurgence of His work in Germany as we earnestly look forward to the group growing and holding regular Sunday Services in due course.
All the attendees have since returned safely to their respective places.
