HANDOVER NOTE AS AN NCCF COORDINATOR (IZZI ZONE): SERVICE UNTO THE LORD 

Glory be to the Almighty God for hitherto he has helped us. The call to be the NCCF Izzi zone Coordinator was made during the state conference/ sent forth programme for the last second tier corps members which was held on the 3rd – 5th of November 2000. I was then asked to coordinate the activities of the fellowship in Izzi Local Government Area which consists of the following sub-zones: Sharon, Iboko, Igbeagu, Ndubia, Nwofe, Ezza-Inyimagu and Iziogo. In all the sub zones, Iziogo is the only place where there is no NCCF member, and Iboko has the highest number of NCCF members.

Izzi zone is not independent but an Integra part of Nigerian Christian Corpers’ Fellowship (NCCF), Ebonyi state Chapter.

This handover report lays down the activities of the zonal coordinator for the period November 2000 to June 2001 as well as plans, aspiration and advice that will make the fellowship to continue to stand.

After the passing out of the second tier corps members, the remaining NCCF brethren in the zone are as follows:-

S/N	NAME	PLACE OF PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT	SUBZONE
1	Bro.  Olaoye Omotayo (Coordinator)	CSS, Ezza-Inyimagu	Ezza-Inyimagu
2	Bro. Eboi Maxwell (Assist. Coordinator)	Teachers Traning College	Igbeagu
3	Bro. Fatoki Bolade	CSS, Igbeagu	Ndubia
4	Bro. Unueroh A. Kingsley	CSS, Igbeagu	Ndubia
5	Bro. Bitrus Mamman	Boys’ Secondary School	Iboko
6	Sis. Effanga Iniobong	Boys’ Secondary School	Iboko
7	Sis. Asije Obehi	Boys’ Secondary School	Iboko
8	Sis. Agbator Florence	Izzi Local Govt. Secretariat	Iboko
9	Bro. Musa Karatu	Izzi Local Govt. Secretariat	Iboko
10	Bro. Shobayo Olalekan	Izzi Local Govt. Secretariat	Iboko
11	Bro. Adedeji Paulinus	Izzi Local Govt. Secretariat	Iboko
12	Bro.  Jonah Ikpan	Izzi Local Govt. Secretariat	Iboko
13	Bro.  Agbo	Izzi Local Govt. Secretariat	Iboko
14	Bro.  Oguntoye Joshua	Izzi Local Govt. Secretariat	Iboko
15	Bro. Bameli Ibrahim	Holy Child Sec. School	Sharon
16	Sis.  Bekebor Stella	CSS, Nwofe	Nwofe
17	Bro.  Obun Anthony	CSS, Nwofe	Nwofe

 

ACTIVITIES IN THE ZONE

• Fellowships

Weekly fellowship and monthly general meeting or joint fellowship stared again in the zone after the second tier ‘Corpers’ handed over to us on the 13th of November 2000.

Weekly fellowship – Iboko was very active in the weekly fellowship. The entire subzones are expected to be having meetings (Bible Study/Prayer meeting) at least ones in a week. The brethren are to pray and worship God together regardless of their denomination and number. Even if they are only two in the subzone, they are to come together and study the word of God every Wednesdays under the umbrella of NCCF. The convenient time and place of worship are to be decided in each subzones but I suggest 5: 00pm on Wednesdays and at the nearby church or primary / secondary school. The venue at Iboko is the Assemblies of God church.

Sunday fellowship – Though there was no Sunday service during our tenure but I had the vision that we should start it, firstly at Iboko. This is the major reason while I donated the pulpit as part of my C.D. projects and while the Zonal coordinator will always be at Iboko. The suggested time is 3:30 or 4:00pm. And at the primary school- Inyimagu Central School if Assemblies of God cannot accommodate because of her Sunday service. God will surely help you to carry out this. It will be the only pure English Sunday service at Iboko and it will help the Corpers and non indigenes who didn’t understand Izzi Language. You can invite Pastors from different churches at Abakaliki and any of the NCCF exco to minister during the service.

Monthly Zonal meeting – This is a joint fellowship for all Christian corpers in Izzi Local Government. We used to have it once in a month, on C.D / clearance days. The venue is at the pavilion where the clearance is been done and we normally start at the end of the exercise. Brethren are to come along with their bibles, jotters and pen. God has really helped us that we never miss any clearance day since December 2000. It is always an interesting time before the Lord.

Monthly Vigil –At least you as the zonal coordinator and your assistant must be attending Vigil (Tarry night) on every last Friday of the month at the NCCF headquarters (Abakaliki). This is where you will get information about the fellowship. Also, you are to encourage brethren to be attending it.

You can organize vigil among the brethren in Izzi, we were unable to organize any but you can start.

Annual National Conference – There used to be an annual conference of Jesus Corpers at the NCCF national headquarters, Jos, Plateau state. It is a gathering of Corps members throughout the country. Great men of God from deferent ministries used to minister and it is always a week of glorious encounter with God. You are to encourage Corpers in the zone to prepare and plan ahead to attend the programme. Only four of us from Izzi zone made it to the conference during our time and the experience is unforgettable.

 

School Fellowship –Jesus Corpers used to minister to the students, so you have to encourage those serving in secondary schools to continue with this. There is a letter addressed to the principals that will allow them to minister in the schools. Encourage them to be having fellowship with the students at least once in a week. I used to do it in my school, though not regular since this term. Also the students used to have moral instruction every Thursday (8:00 – 10:00am), NCCF brethren are advice to lead them and preach the gospel during this. Note that there should be no collection of offerings from the students.

• Evangelism

Rural rugged evangelism is one of the visions of NCCF. The gospel must be preached through Jesus Corpers to the villagers and other Corps members that are yet to receive Jesus Christ. At the end of every Zonal monthly meeting, each Corper is expected to visit two or three houses and preach the ‘Word’ before traveling out of Iboko.

Crusade – The whole of Izzi area is a harvest field for the Lord. The fruits are fully ripped and God needs labourers to harvest them. The fellowship must prepare both physically and spiritually before stepping out for any outreach. We carried out 3 days crusade in two villages (Nwezenyi and Ndubia) of Izzi Local Government. During the crusades there were Film shows, Drama presentation and free medical treatment. Above all, the gospel was preached and people surrendered their lives to Jesus.

Spiritual preparation – There should be enough fasting and prayer by all members of the fellowship. Also, let God lead you in all things and brethren must live a holy life before, during and after the crusade. Liaise with Corpers in the area and the local church there. Work hand in hand with the pastor; know the spiritual problems of the village. e.g. what is hindering them from receiving the gospel? You may even ask if there is any area the church can help. In financing the crusade, brethren in the zone are advice (not compulsory) to contribute either money or food stuff (this is what we did during Ndubia crusade). You are to consult the NCCF Evangelism secretary (Rugged) and President (Papa) for further help.

• Finances

Offerings – This should be made in weekly and zonal/ general meetings for the running of NCCF in the zone. The moneys collected are to be kept with the financial secretary Note that you are to encourage the brethren to give unto the Lord.

Tithe – As I have said that NCCF Izzi zone is not independent of NCCF Ebonyi State chapter, all tithes from Jesus Corpers must go to the headquarters at Abakaliki. Note, you must inform the Izzi Corpers in time that their tithes are to go to NCCF before the local churches convince them. Tell them why they should pay their tithes to NCCF e.g.

• They are Corpers and their income is as a result of the NYSC programme, they can be paying tithes to any church they like after the service year.

•  It is the major source of income to NCCF.

 

•  NCCF makes use of the tithe more than any of the churches in Ebonyi State, for instance, NCCF used to organize more than 12 crusades in each service year. They distribute tracts and free drugs during the crusades. They also preach the gospel on Radio (Deliverance hour on EBBS, 98. 1 FM. At 5:30pm every Saturday). None of the Local churches ever do such things.

• Visitation

As the coordinator, you should visit the brethren in your subzone and in other subzones. Use your own money for transportation as much as you can. God will surely reward you. By His grace, I visited all the subzones even Iziogo where there is no NCCF member. It was only Sharon that I visited once.

Also, brethren (Jesus Corpers) are to visit, in group, the health center at Iboko and Saint Vincent hospital at Ndubia to preach the gospel and pray for the sick. There is one motherless baby’s center at Iziogo area, though it is far from Iziogo. Jesus corpers at Iziogo are to visit the place and pray for the children. I went there once.

• Property

We inherited N2,500 (Two Thousand Five Hundred Naira) from the past 2nd tier Corpers which they also inherited from their predecessor. They did not use it because they were unable to carry out any programme. We did not inherit any fixed asset. By His grace, our first property is the banner which cost us N500.00. We use it to create awareness that NCCF had started in Izzi zone. The other properties- Pulpit, Tambourine and Offering basket were donated by me as part of my C.D. projects.

The fellowship still needs properties like Drum, Megaphone, Photo album etc.

• Reports

You are to prepare quarterly reports at the end of every quarter (Three months) and submit to the General Secretary (Uncle). You must give the executives the right information about the zone. Also you must prepare report on any crusade carried out in the zone and submit to the Evangelism secretary (Rugged).
The Zonal secretary is to take attendance and prepare minute on every general meeting and submit to you.

The Sub- Zonal co-ordinations must also let you know all what is going on in the Sub- zones, while the financial secretary will take and handle the offerings.
Note: The Zonal secretary, financial secretary and sub zonal coordinators are not members of the general executives. The posts have just been created to make things easier for you. You cannot do it alone and you must involve them in all activities. You and your assistant are members of the general exco.

Lastly, you must prepare a handover report when you are passing out. Pray also for your successor.

• Problems

There may be problem in coordinating the brethren for the zonal meetings and weekly fellowship but with the help of God and through persistence efforts, this problem would be solved. Some Corpers used to be in hurry on C.D days but persist, don’t stop the fellowship.  After two or three fellowships you will see that they will be reminding you that “we have fellowship today”.

Visitation- Due to long distance and high cost of transportation, there may be difficulties in visiting the brethren but God will help you out. Also make good use of the CD days for visitation.

The following are other problems we encountered:

• Some people had approached us to have crusade in their villages but financial constraints seemed to hinder us.

• NCCF members in the zone is less than 20%, in fact there is nobody at Izziogo subzone and we were unable to know what is going on there.

• In some sub zones the NCCF fellowship has been inconsistent due mainly to the presence of only one or two brethren.

Prospects

We look forward to:

• Expanding our coast in the school ministrations at CSS, Ezza-Inyimagu and Ndubia.

• Organize a welcome programme for the incoming corps members so as to create NCCF awareness and at the same time win their souls for Christ in good time.

• Carry out a crusade at Iziogo, the only sub zone we have not reached.

• Encouragement

Fast and pray that God should help you. For without me (Jesus) you can do nothing- John 15:5b. But with God all things are possible- Matthew. 19:26. Fasting and prayer are very important.  Pray for love and growth in the fellowship.

Also pray for all corps members in the zone, whether they are NCCF members or not, born again or not born again; pray for all. Some brethren joined us at the tail of the service year, so pray for all.

Involve brethren in the activities. Work hand in hand with the CLO and other Excos in the Local Government. Let them, even the NYSC Zonal Inspector announce the fellowship.

Work hand in hand with your Assistant, Secretary, Sub-zonal coordinators and other brethren.

Lastly, don’t be afraid. You can do all these things. You have powers you never dream of, you can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do expect the limitation of your own mind as to what you cannot do. Don’t think you cannot. Think you can and God will help you.

Dale Carnegie said the same thing in different words, “we can do things we don’t ever dream we can do. It is only when necessity faces us that we rise up to the occasion and actually do the things that hitherto have seemed impossible.”

“With God all things are possible”.

Shalom!

Omotayo Olaoye
Outgoing Zonal Coordinator