Pastor’s death throws CEFN into mourning

The 33-year old pastor died in an auto crash along Jos-Keffi road on March 5, 2010. He was on his way from Jos, the Plateau State capital where he attended a ministers’ conference, but he never made it back to his waiting congregation and family.

The chairman of the church council, Elder Noah Ugbede described the death of the pastor as a rude shock, adding that the church as a body of Christ has lost a genius who had within his short on earth sojourn impacted so much on the church and touched lives.

He said the late pastor was an embodiment of faith and humility, adding that “the late pastor’s life was and is an example to me. We have been having pastors since, but I must say that Pastor Alex’s life has been both example and challenge to me. He was a genius and has left a vacuum that would be difficult to fill.”  

Brother Moses Momoh, a member of the church council and a close associate of the late pastor recalled that when he got a call from another elder, Matthew Akpa that he should rush to the church at about 5:45pm on that fateful Friday, the 5th of March, it crossed his mind that his pastor was dead.

“I tried to call his [pastor’s] line but the spirit rebuked me that he is dead. When I got to the church, the same elder told me that the pastor had an accident and was dead,” he recollected.

He said the lesson he learnt from the death was that one should live an imparting and impactful life, peaceful and soul winning life to raise people for God in ministry the way the late pastor lived.

Also speaking, the leader of the youth, Brother David Ibrahim said the entire youth of the church were pained by the death of the pastor who had within his two years of stewardship at CEFN Mararaba-Kabayi built a genuine relationship and synergy among members.

He said, “He always encourages us to be good ambassadors of Christ anywhere we found ourselves and to love one another. Just the Sunday before his demise, he admonished us to cultivate a good rapport with the council of elders and that we should learn to serve God as if tomorrow never existed. We will surely miss him. We loved him but God his creator has shown us that he loves him more.”

Grief and despair ruled and tears flowed uncontrollably when the news was broken on Friday evening to his church members, family and friends, and his house became a destination for both the young and old, a development which heightened the suspicion of his young wife who broke down in tears, wailing uncontrollably. She spoke with the late husband on phone shortly before the accident occurred.

The accident occurred less than a kilometre to where he intended come out of the ill-fated vehicle. He was to stop in Keffi from the Lokoja-bound vehicle he boarded in Jos, to pick another vehicle to Abuja.

But on approaching the bus stop, the tyre burst and the bus somersaulted several times, resulting in Alex’s and another pastor’s death instantly.

When the visiting zonal pastor mounted the pulpit for his message, he told the congregation that crying for the pastor who died in the service of his creator was a function of ignorance of where the departed man of God had gone to.

Taking his text from first Corinthians chapter 15, Rev Ahiaba described death as mere transition from mortality to immortality, from old nature to a new nature, from old body to new body which is qualified to reign eternally with the creator, hence crying for the late pastor was suggestive of a people unaware of the glory that awaits  the chosen.

Quoting the text, the zonal pastor said, “To live is Christ and to die is gain,’’ explaining that by the virtue of the late pastor’s death in Christ, it was a gain for himself, hence there was no need for such uncontrollable cry.

The man of God insisted that if anyone must cry it should not be for Pastor Alex but for the living, adding that the greatest favour the congregation must do to the late pastor was for them to amend their ways to enable them meet their late pastor on the last day.

He charged the congregation to ensure a perpetual fellowship with the people the pastor left behind, adding that by so doing, the pains of losing their beloved husband, father and brother would not be too much for them to bear. He concluded his message by saying, “Pastor Alex, good night!”

It would be recalled that only two Sundays back the late Pastor Alex’s Sunday sermon was published on this page where he charged the congregation to either be good Christians or stop coming to church, and insisted that God has no business with an unserious Christians.

The remains of the late pastor were committed to mother earth in his country home, Ijoji-Egume in Dekina local government area of Kogi State last Friday amidst tears and wailing.

The funeral service was attended by the who-is-who in the CEFN mission with over 80 persons from the Abuja zone.