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. We have reflected on people whose counsel, spiritual gifts, companionship and service became part of the Church’s story, among them Iya Yaman, Emmanuel Mawunyon Guton and Prophetess Wolisata.

Today we honour Moses Ajovi, the messenger who kept coming back.

His story invites us to appreciate persistence, reassurance and the practical work of connecting people.

Lagos wanted to meet the Founder

The Constitution explains that the Church reached Lagos before the Founder did. Members in Toffin established a branch in Gbaji, and from there fishermen, “about seven in number”, introduced the Church into Lagos (paragraph 42). People in Lagos noticed their unique worship and spiritual works, and this “led to persistent demand to see me”, Papa Oshoffa recalled (paragraph 43).

This was an important point of connection: people in one place wished to meet the person associated with the mission they were encountering.

Someone had to carry that request. The Constitution names him.

The man entrusted with the invitation

Telling the Church’s history at Makoko on 18 January 1969, Papa Oshoffa said:

“

When word came that LAGOS wished to see me, I feared to go either to LAGOS or indeed anywhere in Nigeria. Being the only surviving male of my father, I feared for Nigeria which I understood was a fast and difficult country. The emissary from LAGOS was always MOSES AJOVI from IJOFIN, Nigeria, now a Senior Leader. After refusing twice to go to Lagos, I relented the third time on the understanding that MOSES AJOVI would be with me always. And so we both travelled to LAGOS together during the Passion Week 1951.

— Papa Oshoffa, Makoko, 18 January 1969
CCC Constitution (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), paragraph 43

Notice the word always. Each time Lagos sent for the Founder, it was Baba Ajovi who came. That one word is the basis for remembering him as the messenger who kept coming back.

He returned after disappointment

We are not told the details of every conversation. The Constitution does not record the words Baba Ajovi used to persuade or reassure the Founder. What it does preserve is the repeated invitation, two refusals, and the eventual journey together.

For devotional reflection, there is a lesson here about perseverance in service.

A first attempt does not always produce the hoped-for result. A conversation may need more time. A person may need reassurance. An opportunity may require patient attention before anyone is ready to act.

Baba Ajovi’s story encourages us to consider how we respond when a worthwhile responsibility becomes difficult.

• Do we become discouraged immediately?
• Do we listen to the concerns behind a hesitant answer?
• Can we remain patient while seeking a constructive way forward?

Perseverance becomes valuable when it is joined with respect and understanding.

An invitation became companionship

The Founder’s fear was real, and he named it honestly: he was the only surviving son of his father, and Nigeria seemed “a fast and difficult country”. His condition was simple. Moses Ajovi would be with him always.

Receiving an invitation and feeling ready to accept it are different experiences. Entering an unfamiliar place can bring uncertainty, even when the purpose of the visit is important. Baba Ajovi did not only deliver the message; he accepted the responsibility of staying beside the man he had invited.

Many people need that kind of support today. A new member may be willing to attend a service if someone meets them at the entrance. A volunteer may be ready to help when another person explains the task and works alongside them. A person facing a difficult appointment may gain courage from having a trusted companion.

Our presence can make an invitation easier to accept.

What the journey opened

The two men reached Lagos in Passion Week 1951. Within days, the Constitution records, word of a healing had spread across the city by Maundy Thursday, and on Good Friday clergymen from several churches met the Founder in a hall in Yaba (paragraphs 44 and 45). From those days grew the Church in Nigeria, with its headquarters at Makoko.

None of that began with a crowd. It began with a messenger who would not give up, and who promised to stay.

The importance of connecting people

Moses Ajovi’s place in this history also reminds us to appreciate those who carry messages and maintain relationships.

Communities need people who communicate clearly, follow up thoughtfully and help others meet. Such work takes time and attention. Its results may become visible only later.

When we celebrate a public gathering or an important visit, we should also remember the people whose practical efforts helped make it possible. This gives our Heroes and Heroines series a wider purpose: we are learning to recognise contributions that can be overlooked when we focus only on the central moment.

What his example asks of us

For those who serve in our parishes and communities, Baba Ajovi’s story offers a useful question:

Are we willing to accompany the people we invite?

An invitation carries greater care when we are prepared to help someone take the next step. That may mean answering questions, explaining what to expect, making an introduction or simply being dependable.

We can also ask whether we carry entrusted messages faithfully. Do we communicate accurately? Do we follow through? Do we treat the people on both sides of a conversation with respect?

These are practical expressions of service available to many of us.

Our hero deserves remembrance

Today we honour Moses Ajovi of Ijofin, later a Senior Leader of the Church, the emissary whose repeated visits and companionship are preserved in the account of the Founder’s journey to Lagos.

We remember his contribution carefully. The Constitution also credits the pioneering fishermen who first carried the Church into Lagos, and honouring Baba Ajovi lets us appreciate another part of that shared effort.

As we continue celebrating our heroes and heroines, may we become more attentive to the people who connect, encourage, accompany and faithfully follow through. Their service deserves gratitude.

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), “Entry into Nigeria”, the history told by Papa Oshoffa at Makoko on 18 January 1969, paragraphs 42 to 45. “The Messenger Who Kept Coming Back” is an editorial title based on the Founder’s words that the emissary from Lagos “was always” Moses Ajovi, and on his two refusals before the journey. The Constitution does not record Moses Ajovi’s years of birth and death or other details of his life. Reflections on perseverance, reassurance and companionship are devotional applications. The picture is an illustration: no photograph of him is used.

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