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.

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Throughout this month of celebrating our heroes and heroines, we are remembering those contributions with gratitude. Our reflections have included people who offered counsel, received spiritual revelations, carried invitations, and helped the Church reach new communities.

Today, we honour Joseph Awangonu, known as Baba Martha, whose name the Constitution connects with the revelation concerning praise towards the four corners of the earth.

The vision recorded in the Constitution

Paragraph 86 appears under the heading “Injunctions about praises facing the four corners of the earth”. In his supplement to the Church’s history, Papa Oshoffa attributes this revelation to Joseph Awangonu, Baba Martha:

“

This came through JOSEPH AWANGONU, Baba Martha. He said that he saw a Church without walls or roof but apparently with four entrances in the four cardinal directions, and as a bell rang, he saw people of all races running into the Church from the four corners of the earth. As they ran, they were singing (in Yoruba) … The more the multitudes, the more room the Church seemed to have.

— Papa Oshoffa
CCC Constitution (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), paragraph 86

As they ran, the people were singing praise to Jesus. (CCC Constitution, paragraph 86)

That is the contribution through which we remember Baba Martha in this series.

A vision that invites reflection

For believers reflecting on this account, the image of people approaching from every direction offers a powerful invitation to consider the reach of Christian fellowship.

We gather in particular places. We speak particular languages. We inherit customs, memories, and ways of expressing our faith.

Yet our shared worship also calls us to recognise people whose backgrounds differ from our own.

How do we receive someone who speaks another language?

Do we help a visitor understand what is happening during a service?

Can a person unfamiliar with our community find patience, guidance, and friendship among us?

These questions give practical meaning to our reflection on people gathering from the four corners of the earth.

Making room for others

One striking feature of the recorded vision is the room available as more people arrive: “The more the multitudes, the more room the Church seemed to have.”

As a devotional application, this encourages us to think about the welcome we offer.

Making room involves attention. It can mean noticing a person standing alone, helping a family find a seat, explaining an unfamiliar practice, or making time to answer a question.

It also involves our attitudes.

Do we expect newcomers to understand everything immediately? Are we willing to listen to their experiences? Do we allow people time to learn and grow?

A community becomes more welcoming through many deliberate acts of care.

Praise that turns our attention towards Christ

The vision centres on people gathering in praise of Jesus.

For us today, that offers an opportunity to examine the focus of our worship.

When we lead, sing, teach, or serve, are we helping the congregation direct its attention towards God?

Do our words encourage gratitude and reverence?

Does our conduct support the fellowship we express in song?

These questions apply to everyone in the congregation. Shared worship asks something of each participant: attentiveness, humility, and consideration for others.

Remembering Baba Martha can therefore lead us beyond historical interest into a thoughtful examination of our own participation.

Remembering the person connected with the practice

As worship becomes familiar, we may remember what to do more readily than the account associated with it.

This heroes-and-heroines series gives us an opportunity to reconnect practice with recorded history.

Joseph Awangonu’s name deserves to be taught alongside the contribution attributed to him. Younger members should be able to ask who Baba Martha was and receive an answer grounded in the Constitution.

The passage gives us a specific revelation to remember. It does not provide his full biography, and we should leave room for further reliable research into his life.

Careful remembrance allows us to honour him without adding details the account does not establish.

Our own responsibility today

The people we have celebrated contributed in different ways. Their stories encourage us to consider the opportunities before us now.

We may be able to help someone participate more fully in worship. We may have the patience to guide a new member, the ability to explain a hymn, or the willingness to build a friendship across a language barrier.

These acts deserve our commitment.

The history we inherit becomes more meaningful when it strengthens the service we offer in the present.

Our hero deserves remembrance

Today, we honour Joseph Awangonu, Baba Martha—the man through whom the Constitution records the revelation concerning praise towards the four corners of the earth.

May this remembrance encourage us to welcome others thoughtfully, participate in worship sincerely, and appreciate the different people whose contributions form part of the Church’s story.

As we continue celebrating our heroes and heroines, let us learn from the past with gratitude and serve our own generation with care.

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), Papa Oshoffa’s supplement to the foundation history, paragraph 86, “Injunctions about praises facing the four corners of the earth”. Reflections on welcome, fellowship, and worship are devotional applications of that account. The picture is an illustration: no photograph of him is used.

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