Editorial

It has been by the mercies of God that has Gods Vineyard Ministries (GVM) has come this far. Since her inception, GVM has made wonderful strides and left marks in the lives of people who have had the opportunity to be under her ministrations. Earlier this year in March, GVM marked her twelfth anniversary with a convention; the impact of which still continues to linger on in the lives of people. The transformation of peoples lives at the 12th convention of GVM and the manifestation of Kingdom life is the focus of this issue of Gezine. This edition of the newsletter brings to you the lifetransforming events from the 12th annual Convention, Gen Y weekend away, the GVC Loughborough variety weekend and the childrens convention among others. It is our hope that you will be blessed as you read through it.

Acting on the Word

by Dr Ezekiel Alawale
Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. John 2:5 God has a word for every circumstance in our lives. He wants to make an impact in our day to day operations. He is ever present in any of our affairs whenever we invite Him. His purpose is to intervene in our lives. He always wants to play His role and manifest His glory in the midst of our mess. God is beautiful for all our situations; He makes all things beautiful in His own time. At His time He speaks. He gives Instructions, a counsel or a command. He will always speak anytime he wants to fulfil a mission. Therefore, anytime we want His actions or His solution let us seek, search and wait for His word. It is our duty to pay attention to the Rhema (His revealed word) so we don't miss it. This is important at all times if we want His glory to be revealed in our lives at all times. Acting on His word is a personal decision we have to make once and then manage the decision daily. Acting on His word produces the miracles He intends for us. Acting on whatever God says to us involves having faith in Him who speaks, we must count God faithful. It also involves having confidence in the word He speaks; without subjecting the word to rational thinking. The word He speaks to us may be familiar and common, it may not be new; nonetheless it contains divine powers that birth the supernatural. We will not be frustrated or disappointed in Him if we act on His word. We will only experience what he can do when we act on His word. Divine happenings are provoked as we do what His word says and so consequently, we will live happily. Acting on His word takes courage. It implies stepping out of the box; out of our comfort zone and out of what is ordinary, so then, we ourselves can become epitome of His wonder working power. This is the secret of an extraordinary life. This is the way to live above and not under circumstances. Therefore, let us act on the word.

Editorial Team Inyang Udosen Tayo Bankole Bisi Adeyiga Bukola Ogunkeyede Simeon Olowoyo Publisher:
Gods Vineyard Ministries

GVM holds 12th Annual Convention

The first day of the long awaited 12th annual convention of Gods Vineyard Ministries (GVM) began on the evening of 21st of March, 2013. Despite the cold weather, people made their way to the convention venue in Nottingham from Derby, Manchester, Loughborough, Coventry, London, Birmingham and Nottingham. The choir ushered the congregation into Gods presence God wants us to know that He is still there for us. As these words sank in and made a kingdom of God. This, he stated, made it impossible to grow the kingdom life by the flesh. He asserted that the kingdom life is always at the expense of self. Bro Gbile Akanni continued in his expository messages on the third day of the convention as he preached on The Cross and the releasing point for the kingdom life. He reiterated the need for the church to produce quality men that will be released to build the kingdom. Using John 12:24, he emphasized the need to die daily to self and sin in order to experience the kingdom life and the place of the cross as the releasing point for the

Bro. Gbile Akanni ministers the Word

A cross-section of GVM Choir ministers @ the convention

through praise and worship. The Senior Pastor of GVM, Dr Ezekiel Alawale, gave the opening exhortation of the night before the guest minister came up. The guest minister, Bro. Gbile Akanni, the founder of Living Seed Ministry in Gboko, Nigeria preached on What the Kingdom Life is all about. According to him, 'God will never give you beyond the level of your thirst'. The main point highlighted was that being born again is the only prerequisite condition that has no alternative marked the take home for the opening night. The next days morning session began with Pastor Alawale, who used Jacob in the Bible as an example to remind everyone that God has prepared destiny for everyone even

new meaning for many, Bro Gbile began his teachings aimed at the theme for the convention, Kingdom Life. Making reference to passages such as Romans 14:17, 8-9, Bro Gbile explained that Gods intention when creating man was to have a physical frame into which to pour his light that carries life. The kingdom of God was to be established in man and on earth; this was His divine strategy from the beginning. He further stated that God deals with darkness by locating a life of light where the darkness abides. He challenged the congregants to remember that the church is not meant to shine light amongst ourselves but in the world where darkness resides.

A cross-section of Pastors dances during praise & worship

A croos-section of Pastors and congregation at the convention

The Senior Pastor giving exhortation

before we were born. He asserted that even in our negative situations,

The church, he emphasized, is not a place to test the intensity and effectiveness of the light that shines from within. The only thing that can deal with darkness is the life of light. The salient point of his message points out that a fleshly life cannot work out the purpose of God. In the evening session, Bro Gbile highlighted that whatever is born of the flesh can never please God because it serves no purpose in the

kingdom life. In the evening, Bro Gbile taught on, The Treasure of the Kingdom. He asserted that the grace of God, which is the treasure of the kingdom, is available to all believers. He likened the kingdom to a treasure that needs to be searched for and discovered. He concluded by saying that the principles of the kingdom are timeless but refreshing. The last day of the convention (24th March) featured in the morning session among others, the ordination of deaconesses, Ministers and Assistant Pastors. Among those ordained were two Deaconesses, five Ministers, and seven Assistant Pastors. Pastor Amos Fenwa, one of the guest ministers, from Holy Ghost Christian Centre, Lagos, ministered in the morning session and the convention ended in the evening with a miracle/empowerment service.

A Diary of Gen Y Weekend Away 19th-21st April

The days ahead promised sunshine and the timing could not have been any better for Gen Y weekend away. All the excitement that had been building up for days before seemed to be spreading like wildfire as the number of interested people increased. So on Friday 20th of April, a grand total of nearly 30 members, hopped into the buses and set out for an awesome weekend away. The theme for this year was Manifest and was an appropriate way of carrying on the newness of life that many had embarked on from the time of Gods Vineyard Ministry (GVM) annual convention held in March. friendships into the early hours of the morning. Eventually, not a sound could be heard, as everyone dropped off to sleep, one by one. The next day, Saturday was a full day. With sessions conducted by pastor Fenojo from GVM NottingA bountiful feast

An enjoyable afternoon session

ham church, an in-depth explanation was given on the theme "Manifest". Going back to the foundation of things, Pastor Fenojo gave a comprehensive and inspiring breakdown about studying the word of God. Linking these together, it follows that we as Christians are only able

A walk up the hilly landscape @Cefn Lea Park

The journey to Cefn Lea Park in Wales took about 3 hours and an exhausted group proceeded to have dinner together upon arrival. Following this, a time of fellowship and worship commenced as the

A time of worship

Pastor Fenojo ministering @ the Gen Y weekend away

weekend away was declared open. As some promptly went to bed, unable to keep their eyes open as nature smiled down and took its course, others chatted and began building

to project God when we know Him; and how best to discover Him than having a personal relationship with Him and studying His very words. Manifestation is pre-meditated on our union with Christ and relative to the flow of life- Romans 8:11, "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you". One thing that wars with the faith of Christians is our knowledge. In between sessions, there was a bountiful lunch, games of table tennis, lawn tennis, snooker and time for relaxation. The evening was movie night, another fun time packed full of inspiration after

watching the story of one man who was willing to endure so that others would be safe and saved as God desired in the movie Amazing Grace. It had been a great day altogether, and then it was time to turn in. Sunday presented yet another day of great fellowship. Still in the same mode as the powerful ministration of the previous day, Pastor Fenojo, led the congregation into a time of learning and intense abandonment in the presence of God. As the sermon came to a close, a strong desire to remain in his presence lingered. There were song renditions from various members of the group and the service was brought to a close. After a wonderful meal and contented hearts, the journey back to Nottingham began. The years weekend away was everything imagined and very likely more. It had been a time of refreshing, making and strengthening friendships, fun and games, togetherness of hearts with a passion for God. Most importantly, it had been a time of sharing the word of

GVM Gen Y weekend away 2013

God and encouragement on staying in tune with God. For every son and daughter of His, it is our duty to manifest the very essence of God. It is simply the life we are called to, our mission on earth.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH GVM Participates in Nottingham Citizens Forum

Gods Vineyard Ministries (GVM) was one of the participating community-based organisations at the Nottingham citizens forum held at St Nicholas Church on 25th April this year. It was a meeting that brought posals were made for improvements in assessments of mental health and wellbeing to prevent mental health stigmatisation, appointments of experts for mental health into NUH boards and Notts Healthcare as well as increase the nurses availability in Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). This was followed by a talk on creating a more prosperous Nottingham to uplift the living standards of the citizens. It was illustrated by the child poverty rates in Nottingham which was found to be the highest in the country. The current national minimum wage of 6.17 was acknowledged by the forum to be insufficient hence a proposal was made for a living wage with the greatest employer of labour- City Council, County Council, NUH Trust and Ice centre- to be the trailblazers for the implementation of addition, a case was made for tackling domestic violence and alcohol induced violence as well as antisocial behaviour in pubs. In order to address these concerns, a proposal was made for pubs and clubs to sign up for CitySafe Charter; with the Police and City Council enforcing its compliance. Other proposals included finding extra 12,000 for
4

Cross-section of delegates @ the Forum

together many organisations involved in identifying and providing solutions to issues affecting the various communities in Nottingham. The GVM four-membered team networked with members of the UNISON branch of Notts County. The meeting was moderated by a panel of four chairpersons consisting of Karen Rooms, Musharraf Hussain, Sheila Marriott, and Maria Mcgarrigle. The objective of the gathering was to deliberate on the problems identified in the communities with a view to providing solutions and making recommendations to the City Council for necessary action. The forum had identified three problem areas that affect residents of Nottingham namely: health,

Cross-section of GVM delegates @Forum

GVM delegates discuss forum proposals

Rev Karen Rooms addresses delegates

poverty and violence. On the health front, presentations were made which focused primarily on mental health: it was boosted by case reference testimonials by those whose mental problems were overlooked by the health system. Pro-

this proposal. In addition, another proposal for poverty reduction was for the City Council to reduce her interest charges from 8% to 1%, improvement in financial practices by Money Shop and investment by national government in schemes to stimulate jobs and growth. The last item for discussion was made on crime and community safety strategy group which was codenamed CitySafe. During testimonials, observations were made that British Minority Ethnic (BME) were likely to be victims of hate crimes more than any other group hence the need to recruit people from the BME was suggested as being necessary to improve community relations with the Police. In

womens aid phone helpline and for the Police to give 35 slots to the forum for interviews in the next wave of recruitment. The three proposals were then put to vote in their rank of importance: health care was ranked as the topmost issue followed by poverty and safety. The Nottingham Citizens forum brought together churches, charities and students groups and its composition was reflective of the diversity of the city. The next gathering will be the Nottingham Citizens Founding Assembly on 27th June. It was estimated that the number in attendance will be 1048 at the

Agenda for assembly of Nottingham citizens

Albert hall with Gods vineyard Ministries proposing to send 10 delegates for the forthcoming conference.

GVC Loughborough Holds Annual Variety Weekend

GVC Loughborough's Radical Youth took the centre stage by organizing the church's annual variety weekend on the 26th to 28th April and taking over the church service on the 19th of May. The theme for the annual variety cal youth took over the coordination of the church service from praise and worship to the ser-

Dayo Bello ministers during the concert

A panel of GVM Pastors sharing knowledge

Minister Dayo Bello headlining the show. It was an avenue through which God's glory was manifested, with people dedicating their lives to God after the worship session. The weekend was wrapped up with International Sunday, which was a unique opportunity for people to

Radical Youths dance @ the concert

mon. There were additional ministrations in the form of dance and a special number. The theme for the day was "MAKE AN IMPACT"

weekend - His glory shall be seen was taken from Isaiah 60:2. The weekend kicked off with short presentations from Pastor Andrew and Dr Fenojo on how we can let God's glory be seen in our daily walk in this world. This was followed by a panel discussion where the two presenters were joined by the Senior Pastor and Pastor Joe, the Head pastor of the Loughborough church. Saturdays' variety show featured acts with gospel rapper, S.O. and

International Sunday choir Opening Nights Praise & Worship

represent their nations of origin. On Sunday the 19th of May, Radi-

which was the key focus of the sermon - how we as young people can impact the lives around us.

COUPLES FORUM
On the 13th of April this year, spouses and couples gathered together to share their family experiences through a movie night called Courageous. It was an evening where couples gathered together to discuss how to deal with everyday situations and take bold/courageous decisions that would enhance harmony in our homes. Drawing inspirations from the movie, it was emphasized that there was a need for parents to establish connection with their children; to make out time to treat children to fun and not be too engrossed with work. Additionally, matters of integrity and honesty were also discussed. The forum was indeed an opportunity for couples to share family values and reflect on their experiences on building healthy relations in homes and families. From the womens perspective, emphasis was on the necessity for women to help men show love to their children. In addition, men were encouraged to go home and give love and attention to their loved ones after work instead of watching TV after work. The Senior Pastor of GVM, Dr Ezekiel Alawale emphasized importance of home and urged everyone to give preference to it above every other commitment in life. He also stressed on the need to carry the children along in all the decisions couples make in their homes. He advised couples to observe the dynamics around the families with a view to addressing challenges that could pose risk to the family. The major highlight of the Senior Pastors message to couples was for them to take time out to pray together as he asserted that families that pray together are more likely to stay together. Furthermore, he tasked couples to build their relationship with God so that they can be able to impact their childrens lives. He cautioned couples not to substitute activities for relationship with God. In his closing remarks, the Senior Pastor encouraged couples forum to be all inclusive and for the forum to reach out to the community to build homes and restore families. He asked all at the gathering to see the forum as a ministry and as an evangelistic outreach to heal homes.

CHILDRENS CONVENTION
The children ministry of Gods Vineyard Ministries had its first annual convention from Saturday, the 25th of May to Sunday the 26th of May 2013 in celebration of Children's Day. The convention was hosted in GVC Nottingham Auditorium was themed Kingdom Kids. was from a group of children called the Kingdom Rappers. They by the hosting children on 'My appearance, my lifestyle does not matter because God looks at the heart' which was moderated by Miss Fisayo. The parents were impressed with the points raised by the children. The hosting children followed up the debate with a rendition of the BI-B-L-E song and a drama presentation on the book of Esther titled 'Doing our part'. They were loudly cheered by everyone. The teenagers of GVC Nottingham sang the song Indescribable in form of a duet. The message was given by Temi Agunlejika on Keys of the Kingdom which centred on showing Christs love for little children; a very powerful message that touched everyone. An offering was taken and Pastor Muyiwa Olubowale gave a short exhortation and prayed for the children and teachers. The closing prayer was taken by Pastor Joe Nipah followed with more refreshments for the children and parents. . Everyone ate and was merry. There was a lot to go round and the children enjoyed their day. Gifts were given to all the branches represented. On the final day of the convention, Sunday 26th May 2013, there were more presentations from the chil-

A cross-section of Children Choir

A cross-section of Children & parents at the convention

rapped about being obedient and included a quotation from John 3:16 about love. Their ministration was met with a loud applause and cheers from the children and parents. Following this, GVC Coventry

The convention comprised of various activities from children aged 312 all through to the teenagers. They all played roles showcasing their talents and glorifying God. GVC branches from Loughborough, Coventry and Derby were invited to take part and showcase their talents.
Children Choir renders a special song

Minister Pat Imade gives a welcome address @ the convention

The convention began with prayer, praise and worship and the welcome speech by Minister Patricia Imade. The program proceeded with a Bible/General knowledge quiz which was conducted by Jemimah Achimugu and Oguan Etire. The children were divided into three groups with two representatives from each group to answer the questions. This got them all excited, and it demonstrated their knowledge of the Bible and current affairs. This first ministration on the day

children ministered using Bible recitations and sang beautifully which touched everyones hearts. After this, the hosting children presented the Bible Alphabet song and drama on talents from Matthew 25:14-30; they gave a lovely rendition of the song 'He'll do it again. After a short break for refreshment; children from GVC Derby presented a song that blew everyone away. Then there was a debate presented

Pastor Muyiwa engages the children in a group activity

Children making a drama presentation on talents

dren like bible verses, news report, a poem for the parents and a dance presentation by the teens. Conclusively, the convention was a big success as everyone was blessed and there were no complaints or accident. We Bless God for His Faithfulness.

Testimony Corner
7

I share this testimony for just two reasons: to glorify God and also encourage someone. I was in a job I was so eager to change. It was the kind of job that I had to skip virtually all Sundays in church and didn't even have Saturdays to myself and my family. The job was supposed to be a temporary thing and after 6 months I was earnestly looking for another job. I did a couple of professional exams but it didn't make any difference. For a long time, I was disturbed and unhappy. I prayed severally about it and God didn't say anything to me and I wasn't getting interviews as I should. I had only one face-to-face interview. So, for about a year and a half, God didnt say anything and I had no job. One morning, I was praying and God finally spoke after one and half years of asking what I needed to do. It was so liberating. I sent a text to my wife who was at work then. I'd been to the company for a higher role but was told I didn't have enough experience. They said they'll call me for a role just below that if the opportunity came up. I wasn't hearing that for the first time and so I wasn't expecting anything from them. Exactly a week after I heard from God about it, I got a call for an interview from the same company. They wanted me to resume for a customer service job on the same day of the interview. It was just a way of running from my current job. They insisted I had to start that day and not the next day. I had to take the risk of telling them that I won't be taking the job just so I could attend the other interview. I went for the interview and it was really good that I just came home thanking God. The next day, it occurred to me that I just thanked God and didn't really make any declaration about their decision. So I started praying. As soon as I started praying, the Holy Spirit said 'why are you disturbing yourself? I do not engage a man in a futile work. I said I've given you the job'. I stopped and thought for a while that if that wasn't God, then I'll probably have a hard time listening to Him again. By faith, I stopped praying in obedience and about a minute or two after I stopped praying, I got a call informing me that that they were giving me the job. Additionally, they were willing to apply for a licence to be able to sponsor my visa. A week later I got another call for another interview from another company. This time, it was for a higher role as a project leader. I decided I was just going to go to test my knowledge. I had the interview and it was good as well. They called the same day to give me the job offer. So, there I was with 2 good jobs with the same resumption date. My wife had been praying that we will have to choose which job we want when it happens. God answered that prayer after a long time. God is forever faithful. It may seem for a while that God is sleeping while your boat is about to sink but God never sleeps on our case. At the right time, He'll show up and do beyond your expectation. So, its worth saying don't give up on God; He never makes mistakes with any of our lives. -Bisi

UPCOMING EVENTS

RADICAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP TRAINING Gods Vineyard Ministries is organising training for all Radical Youth leaders. The event is compulsory for all leaders and is open to all. This training is very essential for all who will be le aders in 2013/2014 academic year Date: Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th June 2013 *First Session will be on Saturday 15th June from 12-6.30 pm *Second Session will be on Sunday 16th June from 3-7 pm
Date : 27th30th June, 2013 Venue: GVC auditorium, Nottingham

Radical Youth final Year student Seminar & Dinner The Radical Youth & Gods Vineyard Ministries holds reception for final year RY from 17 universities as follows: Date: 8th June, 2013 Time: 3-5pm & 7-9pm Venue: GVC auditorium, Nottingham Highlights:
How to keep the flame burning/Finding a new church Getting the work/Life balance right Money management Career /personal development Radical Youth