Pastor Samuel Olusegun Oladele, President of Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas, delivered the President's Message at this year's CAC Latunde Region (North America) Annual Retreat at the CAC Village in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania. Below are the highlights of his address to the region.
Our corporate theme this year is "The Bible: God's Message to Man." The Bible, Pastor Oladele reminded the gathering, is the means through which God's message to mankind is conveyed — contextually, textually, and verbally inspired by God through the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16, John 1:1, Hebrews 1:1-4). By reason of its divine authorship, Scripture carries inerrancy (entirely free from error), congruence (66 books, over 1,500 years, more than 40 authors, yet one consistent picture of God's plan), and authority for life and ministry.
He described the Bible's purpose and power through five pictures familiar to every believer: Bread, from which we derive strength and nourishment; Lamp, guiding our daily walk step-by-step; Light, revealing God's will and the bigger picture of His plan; Mirror, showing us our true selves before God; and Hammer, breaking the stronghold of sin in the hearer's heart. "Whereas revelation is divine," he said, "the duty to interpret the Bible correctly is ours" — charging every minister to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
On training and development, the President reported that the Pastors' Leadership Retreat (PLR), which began in January 2022, has now trained about 2,550 senior pastors at the Regional, DCC/Zonal, and District Superintendent level, along with Heads of Departments, Fellowships, Institutions, and Subsidiaries. More than 2,000 superintendents have not yet attended, and the training in the coming year will focus on that group — attendance is mandatory and remains one of the conditions for posting or promotion.
He also spoke about the CAC Centenary Building Project, conceived in 2018 to commemorate the Church's 100th anniversary and to help solve accommodation challenges on the prayer camp at Ikeji-Arakeji. The President thanked the region for its continued support of the project — CACNA members who wish to give toward it can find the account details on our Giving page.
Closer to home for our region, he acknowledged the formal inauguration of the CAC Business Group Fellowship (CACBGF) in Ikeji-Arakeji this past May, and encouraged CACNA to replicate the initiative on a bigger scale here in North America — a platform for interaction, mentorship, and support among CAC members who are business-inclined, in service of the Church's vision of soul winning and spiritual re-awakening.
On policy matters, the President noted that the Church's constitution — last reviewed in 1998 — has gone through a full review by a dedicated committee and is now with the seventeen regions for input ahead of adoption. He also directed a return to the historic round-neck clerical collar worn by early leaders of the Church, as part of maintaining a consistent corporate identity, and reaffirmed that the Seed of Blessing remains a strictly free-will yearly contribution — no member should ever be cajoled or pressured to give, in choir ministration or otherwise.
"We are gathered here not just for an annual funfare, but to encounter God," Pastor Oladele closed. "He has promised to be present where two or three of us are gathered in His Name. Make the best use of every moment of this program."
