The Lagos State chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), and the Association of Church Reputation Managers (ACRM), are seeking areas of collaboration that can lead to improved and enhanced public image and perception of the church in Nigeria.
During a courtesy visit to the former, Chairman of Lagos PFN, Pastor Yemi Davids by the Convener of ACRM, Pastor Joseph ‘Yemi Adeniran, they both agreed that there was a need to project the Body of Christ in Nigeria in more positive ways if the Church would fulfil her mandate of soul winning and raising disciples for the Lord Jesus Christ.
According to a statement on Monday by ACRM’s First Deputy President (Strategy), Pastor Lere Ojedokun, Davids, in welcoming the ACRM delegation to his office at The Goodland, the international headquarters of Global Impact Church, Lagos, said: ‘Perception is everything. Jesus Christ even asked His disciples, ‘who do men say that I am, and who do you also say I am?’. ‘There is a need to improve on the reputation of the Body of Christ, not only in Nigeria but globally’.
He further said that the good deeds and community impact of many Christian ministries and church denominations were not reported or under-reported, thereby giving room for misrepresentation of the role and impact of the Church on the society.
‘It may be true that the Body of Christ is not yet there per what the society expects; however, the church in Nigeria has made significant and invaluable contributions to the development and growth of the society, which people don’t talk about. Many Christian denominations, churches and ministries, and pastors are making tremendous impact through collective and personal sacrifices to better the lots of people and society at large. Nobody sees what the church is doing right, but they focus on areas they can accuse the church wrongly’, he noted.
Admitting the communication gap between the church and the members of the public, Davids cited some areas of community impact where the Church as a body has been actively involved, but lamented the lack of communication of the same to the public.
‘The correctional and custodial centres across Nigeria are a good example where the impact of churches is very visible. Through aggressive soul winning missions, many churches and ministries have carried out impact initiatives touching a high number of inmates positively. The churches have carried out enormous empowerment initiatives across many areas, including free legal services, education, healthcare, skills acquisition and many other impact projects that are significantly turning inmates into better members of the society’, he disclosed.
He said that public perception of the Body of Christ needed to be improved upon through deliberate and consistent communication, noting that the church in Nigeria was blessed with genuine and anointed vessels, truly called by God and faithful to their assignments.
According to him, the presence of few ‘wolves in the sheep clothing’ was not a ground to cast aspersions on Christianity, while stating that the PFN in Lagos under his leadership has begun work on repositioning the image and public perception of the Church by encouraging fathers of faith and ministers of God to wholly embrace Biblical standards in ministry.
Davids expressed excitement with the new trend of positive mindset shift among church leaders, especially PFN member-ministries, and was optimistic the momentum would be sustained.
‘I am glad that things are beginning to look positive in how leaders see ministry. The new mindset shift is firmly taking roots, and I am persuaded this is a new era for the Body of Christ in fulfilling her purpose as a positive change-agent and solutions-provider in a world faced with multifaceted challenges’, he further said.
On his part, Adeniran explained that the establishment of the association was borne out of the burden to help stem the increasing loss of public trust in the Christian faith owing to the poor perception members of the public have of the church.
He said that ACRM as a body of industry-experienced professionals cutting across the media, public relations, reputation management and strategic communications, and who are also deeply involved in Christian ministries, was set up as a rallying point to motivate all stakeholders to pay adequate attention to the public image and perception of the church.
He said: ‘The Association of Church Reputation Managers is a non-denominational professional body for Directors, Heads and Officers in charge of Social Communications, Public Relations, Media and Publicity, Reputation Management, Protocol and Corporate Social Responsibility for churches and Christian Ministries/Missions in Nigeria.
‘ACRM is a legally-incorporated body set up as a veritable platform for Christian professional communicators to come together, and with a mission to advancing the kingdom of God, and to foster healthy growth and unity of the Body of Christ in Nigeria’.
Adeniran said: ‘As a bespoke professional hub and a rally point, ACRM seeks to advance knowledge and skills of members in the practice of strategic communications and reputation management through trainings, development programmes, and research. The association through owned forums, and physical and virtual vehicles, is also committed to serving as a unique platform to discuss, share knowledge, and proffer solutions to wide-ranging contemporary issues affecting the church and Christianity at large’.
Present during the visit was Lagos PFN Publicity Secretary/Director of Digital Media, Apostle Tonye Oliver, while the ACRM team included Ojedokun; and Second Vice President (Planning and Membership), Pastor Akin Isaac Adetutu.
