{"id":143578,"date":"2020-08-11T13:36:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T12:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/?p=143578"},"modified":"2020-08-11T13:38:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T12:38:19","slug":"how-the-church-can-survive-during-covid-19-season-pastor-poju-oyemade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/how-the-church-can-survive-during-covid-19-season-pastor-poju-oyemade\/","title":{"rendered":"How The Church Can Survive During COVID-19 Season \u2013 Pastor POJU OYEMADE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Talking about the church, what would be your advice to the church in terms of how to cope with this period?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know, by the nature of how the church is, the word \u2018Cope\u2019 may not be acceptable to most of the people in the church. They believe that you are to dominate the environment so I will not use the word \u2018Cope\u2019 to describe what should happen, but what I will say is, in terms of looking at it from the possibilities that this season has brought to us. Let me give you an example, I grew up in Ibadan, and a lot of my parents’ friends who are retired stay at home and of course, they belong to the endangered species to Covid-19 based on their age bracket. So, they don\u2019t even go to church. Now, we have a programme on Channels Television that runs from 10 am to 11 am, so when I visited my mother last week, she said she and her friends watch the program. She said to me and my friends that\u2019s how we do church now. And from that, I saw the possibility of reaching particular demography that I wasn\u2019t reaching before. So, even on that particular programme now, I\u2019m going to introduce the singing of Hymns because there are lots of them who come from the Anglican and Methodist backgrounds. What I\u2019m saying is that there are lots of opportunities, lots of possibilities during this season. The truth about the matter is, we cannot do church the way we used to do church again. We are in a new dimension. Everything has gone digital, we are all more or less in a digital space now. People are getting more opportunities to interact with each other and get to bond intimately. And the opportunities created are boundless. Look at Kodak, for instance, they are now going into pharmaceuticals. Before now, when you hear Kodak, what comes to your mind is the camera, but Today, things are different. People are beginning to realize there is real wealth in that digital space. So, really, this is a time to experiment, find ideas and what works for you and investigate those things so that we can create hybrid communities because that\u2019s where we\u2019re going. I mean, the best selling shopping centres now are digital. They\u2019re not physical. Fifteen years ago, you couldn\u2019t conceive that.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what ways do you think this will affect Leadership and Governance in Nigeria?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would\u2019ve revolutionalised selection of leaders. In fact, what is going on in the world today, like somebody said, it is people that are out there in the public glare, that people are likely to elect into positions of leadership? In other words, you have even someone like Donald Trump who was elected and he was on stage with people that had far more experience in governance, that could articulate positions on foreign policy, that he was not even aware of some certain policies, he was not even aware that UK had Nuclear Power, that it was clear that he was ignorant of some certain things that were basics for being elected into positions of such magnitude. So, people are now electing people that they know, celebrities that they can trust. Now, in Nigeria, because of the hindrances that people are not as educated, the literacy level is not spread that way and the penetration of some of these things such as the digital space is not that deep but it will significantly affect whoever gets elected, shaping policies. It will affect things in the middle class significantly. I think it will reduce ethnic and tribal sentiments, maybe not in the next five years because the younger generation of this country who are socializing in that spaces are not as ethnic conscious or as tribalistic as the older people in the post-independence era where people are defined according to tribes. They are developing more identity in that social space. Your address is no longer your physical location, your address is where you are at. Right now, even embassies are asking what\u2019s your social media handle and all of that because your identity is being defined more by that than saying where do you live physically. So, there are real changes that are going on. I lead young people so I know there\u2019s a massive shift going on. I know there are conversations going on in places where the powers that be can\u2019t control what\u2019s going on. Back then, if you controlled the major newspapers in the country you could control what was going on in the minds of the people. That meant you could regulate things. But that disruption is going on out there because people are putting all sorts into the media space, there are conversations that are not being monitored, not being inspired by power brokers, so you\u2019re likely to see things emerge that people may not have real control over. By 2023, I can assure you that if you\u2019re going to lead this country successfully, you would have to be really smart. Even if you want to steal money, you will have to be sophisticated about it and about things that you are doing because anybody can put any document out there, like what is going on in the NDDC. I mean, you can\u2019t shut yourself up somewhere, everybody puts it up there and it has an effect on your family. People see your children in school and ask, was that your father I saw on television that was acting funny? So, it\u2019s beginning to become more embarrassing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO: HOW MANY COMPANIES CAN COME OUT OF COVID 19 STRONGER<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talking about the church, what would be your advice to the church in terms of how to cope with this period? You know, by the nature of how the church…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":125949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[18478],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":139098,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/church-closure-poju-oyemade-disagrees-with-oyedepo-oyakhilome\/","url_meta":{"origin":143578,"position":0},"title":"Church Closure: Poju Oyemade Disagrees With Oyedepo, Oyakhilome","author":"Damilare Salami","date":"May 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Senior Pastor of The Covenant Christian Centre Lagos, Pastor Poju Oyemade, has disagreed with prominent preachers against the continuous closure of churches over the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the lockdown has been eased in Lagos, Ogun and FCT, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered worship centres will remain shut till further notice.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Poju Oyemade, Bishop Oyedepo, Oyakhilome,","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Poju-Oyemade-Bishop-Oyedepo-Oyakhilome.jpg?fit=696%2C522&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Poju-Oyemade-Bishop-Oyedepo-Oyakhilome.jpg?fit=696%2C522&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Poju-Oyemade-Bishop-Oyedepo-Oyakhilome.jpg?fit=696%2C522&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":143637,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/we-can-no-longer-return-to-the-old-normal-pastor-poju-oyemade-tells-city-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":143578,"position":1},"title":"We Can No Longer Return To The Old Normal \u2013 Pastor POJU OYEMADE Tells City People","author":"City People","date":"August 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago, Pastor Poju Oyemade, the founder of Covenant Christian Centre, was our guest on City People TV Instagram Live Chat. For those who don\u2019t know him, let's quickly tell you about this brilliant gentleman who is very simple and unassuming, by nature. Pastor Poju Oyemade is a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pastor POJU OYEMADE","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":143224,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/how-i-1st-met-my-husband-at-his-church-16-years-ago-pastor-poju-oyemades-wife-toyin-reveals-love-story\/","url_meta":{"origin":143578,"position":2},"title":"How I 1st Met My Husband At His Church 16 Years Ago \u2013 Pastor POJU OYEMADE’s Wife, TOYIN Reveals Love Story","author":"Tayo Oyediji","date":"August 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2022Talks About How They Got Married 11 Years After Meeting Pastor Poju Oyemade is one of the popular pastors in Nigeria. He is well-rooted in the word of God and well-loved amongst his contemporaries. He is the founder and senior pastor of Covenant Christian Centre, Lagos. He has been married\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26868840_2087934011440483_8878931301986467840_n.jpg?fit=330%2C330&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":139239,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/top-pastors-tackle-bishop-oyedepo-oyakhilome\/","url_meta":{"origin":143578,"position":3},"title":"Top Pastors Tackle Bishop OYEDEPO & OYAKHILOME","author":"City People","date":"May 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Over Their Criticism Of The Continued Closure Of Churches What Pastor POJU OYEMADE Said A few days back, Presiding Bishop of Winners Chapel (or Living Faith Church Worldwide), David Oyedepo, said that a federal government directive to keep churches closed to curtail the spread of COVID-19 was wrong. The Pastor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pastor POJU OYEMADE","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125946,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/we-like-troubling-god-for-things-we-can-do-ourselves-pastor-poju-oyemade-covenant-christian-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":143578,"position":4},"title":"We Like Troubling GOD For Things We Can Do Ourselves – Pastor POJU OYEMADE, COVENANT CHRISTIAN CHURCH","author":"Seun Emmanuel","date":"October 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Poju Oyemade is the Senior Pastor at the Covenant Christian Centre, Lagos. Pastor Poju is a teacher of the Word of faith, with insight into how believers can apply biblical principles in a pragmatic and practical way, in their daily lives. This dynamic pastor organises regular faith seminars, summits, financial\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pastor POJU OYEMADE","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Pastor-POJU-OYEMADE.jpg?fit=811%2C826&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":143498,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/i-had-no-plans-to-set-up-my-own-church-pastor-poju-oyemade\/","url_meta":{"origin":143578,"position":5},"title":"I Had No Plans To Set Up My Own Church \u2013 Pastor POJU OYEMADE","author":"City People","date":"August 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2022 COVENANT CHRISTIAN Centre Founder At what point did you get the call to go into the ministry? Oh, that\u2019s quite interesting. What happened was I decided when I was young that I was going to go to Lagos for a different experience. What happened was I had this friend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pst Poju Oyenade, Covenant Christian Centre,","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Poju.jpg?fit=580%2C362&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Poju.jpg?fit=580%2C362&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Poju.jpg?fit=580%2C362&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143578"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143578"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143582,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143578\/revisions\/143582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}