[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he International Pastors’ and Partners’ Conference is about to conclude. The week-long convention brought a multitude of celebrations and accolades to the many Christ Embassy delegates. Last night the IPPC held the Loveworld Presidential awards ceremony. A selection of the Christ Embassy’s finest were picked for their accomplishments. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome had a lot to say for the achievements of the past year- the Year of the Supernatural, and referred to his delegates as “Partners in God’s extraordinary plan for the world.”
Upon the stage, Pastor Chris thanked his most esteemed dignities:
“Tonight, we’re recognizing all of your Top Partners. We exceeded our goals. Several outreaches, definite impacts. We raised our visions and we got there. We’re looking at the next pedestal from there. The Lord gave us much favors. Amazing love…Thank you for making our dreams come true”.
Of those top partners, the Top 10 are specially recognized as ‘Gold Partners’ annually, signifying “an exceptional sense of commitment and dedication to the vision of Pastor Christ, known to his millions of devotees, as the ‘man of God’. Pastor Deola Phillips won the prestigious Partner of the Year Award. Other winners include; Pastor John Jubril for best campus fellowship and the Teens Church of Christ Embassy Central Church; Abuja Ministry Center for the Partnering Award, just to name a few.
This sense of commitment was indeed apparent and could possibly be attributed to the record breaking Christ Embassy achievement of the year. Pastor Chris told the thousands in the crowd that over 1 billion Rhapsody of Realities were distributed in the year 2018 alone.
The daily devotional and bible study-guide is currently available in 1000 languages, making it the most translated book in the world, after the bible. Pastor Chris made this announcement in the midst of the IPPC conference on Thursday evening. The announcement roused monumental levels of excitement. According to a Loveworld news report, this accomplishment is a first in the history of the Believers Loveworld network, stating that this achievement is equal to 17 years of work.
“Over the course of 17 years, a little over 1.3 billion copies of the devotional were distributed in every known and inhabited nation under Heaven; this was last year, 2017’s achievement. In this special ‘Year of the Supernatural’ almost all of the 17-year distribution was accomplished, fulfilling the scriptures that all the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God.”
Pastor Chris also took the opportunity motivate his ‘BLW citizens’ and maximize motivation for the coming ministry year. His message was “purpose is a driving force.” He added further to his teeming devotees, “your joy should be in the thing that the Father asked you to do,” inspiring delegates to live for God alone.
This has been particularly notable IPPC as of yet. Still, the best is to come with one of the most celebrated events of the entire super conference – the LIMA awards.
The annual LIMA awards ceremony is a Christ centered “musical extravaganza” which features the globes top musicians of the Believers Loveworld partners. The event was “designed to showcase these creative talents, recognize and celebrate these talented musicians that inspire millions with the word of God.” The event ends with the top four winners of the Loveworld Music Ministry (LMAM). Last year’s winners were; Martin PK for song of the year, Ada for artist of the year, Sinach for songwriter of the year and Testimony for best new artist.
With preparations well underway, millions of die-hard Gospel fans are waiting in anticipation for this year’s winners. The event will take place this evening, at the Loveworld Convocation Arena in Lagos, Nigeria.
The annual International Pastors’ and Partners’ Conference of course has been filled with a series of smaller conferences over course of the week. Each of the multiple facets of Christ Embassy have their own convention which showcases their many accomplishments of the year.
These include the Translators’ Network International Conference (TNIC), Loveworld Exhibition, Loveworld Archives, the International Teen Pastors’ Conference (ITPLC) and the International Media Connector Conference (IMCC)
This year the IMCC made a particular impression. The conference showcased the many technological breakthroughs made by Christ Embassy.
The conference was created with the goal of guiding the many delegates in the new and dynamic ways of technology and digital communication. The conference included lectures and workshops that all deal with “media strategy, digital communication, and social media networking” and has been admired over its keen effort to transform Christ Embassy’s online presence, making it increasingly more accessible to everyone online, especially young people.
Another landmark moment was the International Teen Pastors’ Conference, or ITPLC. Every year the ITPLC brings thousands of young pastors from around the globe to “gather on a spiritual journey under the tutelage of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his team of dignitaries.”
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This year’s conference featured a series of workshops, sermons and lectures by the many Christ Embassy partners, most notably Partner of the Year winner, Pastor Deola Phillips, who spoke on ‘effective discipleship’ and ‘raising the next generation of leaders.’
It is fair to say that so far, the IPPC has met its expectations. In the weeks leading up to the event, the anticipation was very high. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome gave an address regarding the event, during his October Global Communion, saying that “this year’s IPPC will be like never before.” Get ready for a time of the Spirit.” This statement created a huge buzz around the world, prompting organizers to even “create additional space in order to fully facilitate everyone”.
The Christian organization is made up of several subsidiaries, namely Rhapsody of Realities, The Healing School and the Loveworld television stations, as well as its affiliated publishing house- LoveWorld Publications. Christ Embassy Church currently has over 13 million members and branches all over the world, with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.
Ben Brickman is a freelance contributor.
