Celebrating Our Heroes and Heroines

The Celestial Church of Christ was established through the calling and anointing of God upon the Pastor Founder, Prophet Rev. Pastor Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa, and through the contributions of several people whom God used in different ways during the Church’s formation and early growth.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Throughout this month of celebrating our heroes and heroines, we are remembering those contributions with gratitude. We have honoured people who received spiritual revelations, offered counsel, carried messages, accompanied the mission, and helped the Church reach new communities.

Today, we remember Leader Alfred Folabi Babatunde Owoaje, whose name appears in the Constitution’s account of the Church’s registration in Nigeria.

His story reminds us of the value of following through on an entrusted responsibility.

His place in the registration account

Paragraph 90 records that the application to register the Church was sent to the colonial Government in 1958, and that the Government was at first not disposed to grant it, presumably because no spiritual Church of African origin had yet been registered. Papa Oshoffa said there was no cause for anxiety, because He who owned the Church would reveal Himself to the official concerned.

“

A few days later, the Pastor asked the late LEADER OWOAJE to check on the application. When he got there, he had a pleasant surprise in that the Certificate of Registration, signed and sealed, had been waiting for him for a few days.

— Constitution of the Celestial Church of Christ
Nigeria Diocese, 1980, paragraph 90, “Miracle behind Registration”

The Constitution records the registration date as 24 November 1958 and the certificate number as 489, signed by the then Governor-General of the Federation, Sir James Robertson. Its reproduced Certificate of Incorporation also names Alfred Folabi Babatunde Owoaje among the registered Trustees, with Samuel Olatunji Ajanlekoko and Alexander Abiodun Bada. (CCC Constitution, Certificate of Incorporation and paragraph 90)

These references give us a clear foundation for recognising his contribution.

Faith and practical responsibility

The registration account presents the event as an expression of divine intervention: the Governor-General related that, in a dream, a man robed in white told him to sign the certificate because the Church was His. Within that same account, the Founder entrusted Leader Owoaje with a practical task: checking on the application.

For devotional reflection, this offers a meaningful lesson about faith and responsibility.

Trust in God can be expressed through conscientious action. We can pray about a matter while also completing the work placed in our hands.

An application still needs attention. A message still needs delivery. A responsibility still needs someone willing to carry it through.

Leader Owoaje’s part in the account encourages us to take such duties seriously.

The importance of following up

Many worthwhile efforts depend on what happens after the first step.

A request may have been submitted, but someone needs to ask about its progress. A decision may have been made, but someone needs to communicate it. A document may be ready, but the people waiting for it may not yet know.

Following up requires patience and attention.

It is easy to underestimate this work because it may involve no public platform. Yet communities depend on people who remember what remains unfinished and take the appropriate next step.

We can ask ourselves:

Do we follow through when a task is entrusted to us?

Do we keep accurate records?

Do we communicate progress clearly?

Are we dependable when the work becomes routine?

These are important questions for anyone serving in a parish or community organisation.

Remembering those who serve through administration

Our celebration of heroes and heroines should include people whose contribution involved practical organisation and administration.

Their work deserves care because it affects the community. Records, correspondence, applications, and entrusted documents all require responsible handling.

Honesty matters. Accuracy matters. Confidentiality matters. So does the willingness to ask questions when something is unclear.

Those who serve in these areas can help a community operate with greater confidence and continuity.

As we remember Leader Owoaje, we can also thank the secretaries, trustees, clerks, and other workers who carry out such responsibilities faithfully today.

Giving him his place in the story

The constitutional passage does not provide a full biography of Leader Owoaje. It preserves a specific action within the registration account, while the incorporation certificate identifies his trusteeship.

We should honour those recorded contributions without adding details the source does not establish.

This approach strengthens our remembrance. It allows younger generations to understand why a person’s name matters and where they can read about that person for themselves.

Careful teaching helps preserve both the history and the integrity of the people we celebrate.

What is waiting for our attention?

Leader Owoaje’s story offers a practical question for our own generation:

What responsibility have we accepted that still needs our attention?

Perhaps there is a message to deliver, a record to organise, a person to contact, or an unfinished task to complete.

Faithful service often depends on returning to such matters and doing what is needed.

We may not know how much our diligence will help someone else. We can still choose to be dependable.

Our hero deserves remembrance

Today, we honour Leader Alfred Folabi Babatunde Owoaje—the trustee remembered for following up the Church’s registration application.

May his story encourage us to carry entrusted responsibilities with honesty, patience, and care.

As we continue celebrating our heroes and heroines, let us recognise those whose practical work supports the life of the Church, and let us offer the same faithfulness in the tasks before us.

We remember the people. We honour their contributions. We give the glory to God.

Historical basis: Constitution of the Celestial Church of Christ (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), reproduced Certificate of Incorporation and paragraph 90, “Particulars of Registration” and “Miracle behind Registration”. Reflections on diligence, administration, and service are devotional applications of the account. The picture is an illustration: no photograph of him is used.

#CelestialChurchOfChrist #LeaderOwoaje #CelebratingOurHeroes #HeroesAndHeroines #ChurchHistory #UnsungHeroes #FaithfulService

@followers #followerseveryone #followmeonfacebook #follower #followformore #followersreels #followforfollowback