Initial Problems of the Christ Apostolic Church, Agbala Itura and Proffered Solutions

Abstract

There is scarcely any individual organization without its problems. Such is the situation with C.A.C. Agbala Itura. The Christ Apostolic Church, Agbala Itura, like any other corporate body or indeed any other Church had numerous problems from the beginning, and is still grappling with some now. It is however the belief of the worshippers in the Church that God is able to solve all problems.

Some of these problems could be regarded as teething problems, which have been surmounted, while some of the problems are yet to be solved. The Church and its leadership are still looking forward to solving these problems. Some of these problems will be identified and examined below. They include what the members refer to as "opposition from the kingdom of Satan and hell", backsliding of members, financial/ economic problems, interdenominational rancor, differences within the leadership of the C.A.C., disunity and separation within the Church itself, disenchanted youths, allegations about long and boring services, accommodation and space, organization of outreaches, crusades, evangelism, hostilities from the Muslims and others in the neighborhood, transportation and communication, death of some pastors, illiteracy and staff development, unwarranted visitors (thieves), unemployment, the press and a host of other problems.

It is significant that the above problems were identified by informants interviewed by the researcher. These informants cut across all categories of people, Pastors and laymen. The researcher observed that, our informants did not mention some latent problems like leadership tussle, misappropriation of funds, low level of morality in the Church, and dwindling level of spirituality. We, however, probed deep with informants who nevertheless mentioned none of these common problems. The researcher came to the conclusion that it is either that the informants have high regard and respect for the founder and the Church and hence would not want their names to be associated with such problems or that such problems do not exist at all in the Church. The researcher is much more comfortable with the latter option since informants willingly volunteered to enumerate the problems they stated about the Church without any undue pressure.