-
Shepherd-In-Charge, Evangelist ELIJAH BELLO Speaks
On September 27, 2026, the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Christ Ambassador Cathedral, Pen Cinema, Agege, Lagos, was in the news for good as the church celebrated its 38th Annual Thanksgiving Harvest in grand style.
The much-anticipated event attracted a large gathering of church members, friends, families, dignitaries and guests from different walks of life, many of whom travelled from far and wide to identify with the church and celebrate with its members.
The celebration was the climax of a week-long Kingdom Advancement Celebration, which featured several activities, including the Sidemens and Sidewomen Night (Onibode), Women’s Night, Mercy Hour, Prophetic Night, Youth Dinner and Choir Night.
The grand finale on Sunday featured the Kingdom Advancement Celebration Thanksgiving Service, which brought the week-long programme to a colourful conclusion.
The service was well attended by members and the general public, creating an atmosphere of thanksgiving, worship, praise and celebration. Adding glamour to the day’s activities was the Harvest Reception Party, which provided an opportunity for guests to unwind and celebrate after the thanksgiving service. The reception came alive with performances by popular artistes, including Abbey Awesome and Boye Best, who thrilled the audience with their performances. It was, indeed, fun extraordinaire, as guests danced, sang and celebrated in an atmosphere of joy and fellowship.
For many of the regular attendees, the annual celebration has become an event they do not want to miss. Beyond the spiritual significance, it has also become a major social gathering where members, friends and guests reconnect and celebrate together. The timing of the event is also significant, coming just a day after the annual Celestial Church of Christ Thanksgiving at Imeko, Ogun State, another major gathering that attracts worshippers from different parts of the country.
Speaking with City People Reporter, Jamiu Abubakar (08085185886), the Shepherd-in-Charge of the wave-making CCC Christ Ambassador Cathedral, Agege, Pen Cinema, Assistant Superior Evangelist Elijah Bello, JP, MBIC, spoke about the significance of the celebration, its history, the theme, the church’s organisational structure and his message to Nigerians amid the prevailing economic challenges. Below are excerpts:
Can you tell us a bit about today’s event and its significance to the church of God?
What is going on today is our annual Harvest Thanksgiving, tagged Kingdom Advancement Celebration. That is what is ongoing, and we thank God. We also thank City People for gracing the occasion and for helping to project the celebration to the world.
This year’s edition, if you put it into counting, is number what in the series of such programmes you have?
If you want to put it into counting, we will be counting 38 today. It is not that we just started it here. As the Lord continued to enlarge the coast, we found ourselves here. So, we have been doing this for a long time, and we thank God for today.
Looking at the theme of today’s Thanksgiving programme “Kingdom Advancemen”, what actually informed the decision to choose that particular theme, which is quite unique?
Thank you. From the onset, we have been celebrating the Kingdom of God, but every year we have a theme, and the theme for this year is Kingdom Advancement. As the coming of Jesus Christ draws closer, advancement of the Kingdom becomes necessary. As stated in Mark Chapter 16, we have been given the power to go into the world and evangelise. That is the reason why I believe that, since that has been my calling as an evangelist and prophet, I need to celebrate the Kingdom so that people can know that the coming of Jesus Christ is drawing closer.
So, all Christians need to embark on evangelism and let people know that Jesus Christ has commissioned us to go into the world and populate the Kingdom of God.
For this year’s edition, it has started and you have seen how everything is going. What is your general remark based on what you have seen so far today?
I thank God, and I thank everyone. As I look at the progress we have made from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, today we are giving thanks to God. I can see what God has really done. Even during the Women’s Night, where we touched the lives of widows, the impact was remarkable. If you saw the clips from the Widows’ Night, you would see people putting on hijab. Muslims, Alhajas and people who are not Christians were all there. It was really overwhelming to see that people can embrace Christ through a little act of touching lives. It is not only about preaching to people with the Scriptures; we must also touch people’s lives. When you touch lives, people become more willing to listen to you. Through that, we can minister to them, tell them about Jesus Christ and speak to them about His second coming. Some of them embrace the message and become Christians. So, it is a thing of joy for me that I am celebrating today.
Looking at this cathedral, it is unique in so many ways. Even for me coming today, I have observed that the church is well organised. What has actually made it so special?
For me, as a person in the Celestial Church of Christ, right from my youth, since the calling has been there, I have seen a lot of things in the church. I believe in structure. When there is structure, things will move forward. Here in the parish, we have a standing structure that everybody follows. Everybody knows what to do at the right time and everybody knows their role. That has made things unique. You don’t need to tell people what to do every time because the structure is already there. As you come in, you simply fit into that structure. We also have retreats. We normally organise retreats quarterly, where we let people know what we are doing and remind them of their responsibilities. As Apostle Paul said, we must give ourselves to righteous work. So, this has become something unique. We have people in the medical team, media, ushers, prophets, choir and among the elders. Everybody knows what to do and when to do it.
For how long has your church been in existence? Can you tell us how it started, particularly this cathedral?
You see, this month is the month that the Celestial Church of Christ came into being — September 29, 1947. This parish was established here in 1994, on September 28. That is the reason why we normally celebrate our harvest on the last Sunday of September. It is the month in which the church was established on this ground. Of course, the church had been coming from somewhere before it was established here. So, I thank God for it.
As you celebrate today, what message do you have for the masses on holding on to God in times of hardship?
When I was younger in the church, I used to advise the youths. I always tell them that if you want to go to school, go back to school. You can also engage in vocational training. You can see what is happening in society nowadays. Many youths are no longer interested in vocational training. People no longer want to become apprentices or learn trades. Instead, some engage in things that will not help their future. They go to clubs. Clubs are now being operated throughout the week and into the weekend. It was not like this before.
My message to the generality of our society is that we should hold on to God and also do something meaningful with our lives. Look at the population of this country. If we can make proper use of our population, whatever legitimate thing you engage in, you can succeed. If you engage in something as simple as making and selling popcorn, you can make a living. Whatever you can lay your hands on that will benefit from our large population, you can make something out of it.
I believe that this country will still experience a turnaround. And it is not Nigeria alone that is experiencing scarcity and hardship. It is happening in different parts of the world. I am just back from Europe, and I can tell you that hardship is also being experienced there. We in Nigeria need to exercise patience with God. I can’t say with government — with God.
But it is not enough to pray without doing anything. Prayer is the key, truly, but you must have something doing. The Bible says God will bless the work of your hands. But if you are jobless, you don’t go to school, you don’t learn anything and you simply sit down saying God will bless you, it doesn’t work that way.
You must engage in something. If it is to go back to school, go back to school. If it is to learn one thing or another, go and learn it. Then you will be able to say, “This is my profession. This is my field. This is my area where I want God to bless me.” When the blessing comes, the nation will benefit from it. As for this nation, people will still come from far and wide. They will seek visas to come to Nigeria because what God is going to do in this land will surprise people.
It is not only about government. People will see how God will turn things around, even in the twinkle of an eye. We have what it takes. We have a lot of minerals deposited in our land in Nigeria that we are not even tapping properly. We are also seeing foreigners coming into the country. Go to some of our rural areas and you will find Chinese people there. They are moving into the country and penetrating the rural areas. That, to me, is also a form of development.
People are discovering that even things like rocks and bamboo can be transformed into useful products. It is a period of liberation. By the time you see what is coming, if people are not ready and do not realise the value of the land they have, they may become strangers in their own land.
People are selling their land. They are selling their properties and inheritance. But what are they doing with the proceeds after selling them? Some will go to hotels and spend the money without using it to establish something that can generate income, create value or contribute to the economy of the country. So, we need to sit down and, especially our youths, know what we are doing. Go to our streets and you will find youths gathering at different junctions. What are they doing? They are drinking away their future. They must stop blaming everything on government. It is not always about government. What are you doing? What is in your hand? What are you holding? What is in your hand and what you are doing matters most. Thank you very much, sir.
