Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG), ‘The King’s Court’ parish, Victoria Island, has concluded arrangements for its 2009 Christmas Ball which is aimed at reaching out to the needy in the society.
The programme which is scheduled to hold on December 12, 2009 is intended to raise money for executing the Church’s charity projects in 2010.
Pastor of the parish, Ben Akabueze in an interview with Cityfile said: “We intend to use the occasion to raise money to support our various charity projects next year, some of which are internal, just as we support other charity organisations outside the Church”.
Indeed, the Christmas Ball would be preceded by the annual Christmas Children’s party on December 5, where children from the church would be encouraged to interact with other children from the Lions Motherless Babies’ Home in Lekki.
According to Akabueze, the Charity Ball has its principal objective which revolves around ‘Celebrating Jesus’ and knowing that He came for the needy.
“Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus. So, we then take time out to reach out to the needy, we use the occasion to raise money to support our charity projects” he added.
He declared that the Christmas party was not the only event which the Church used to reach out to the motherless babies because its ministers usually visit the Home every Sunday to attend to children’s needs.
Internally, the King’s Court Parish has an organisation known as Beth-Tzadekah (House of Charity) which, according to the Pastor, is the legal vehicle for all the charity projects. His words: “Beth-Tzadekah runs a home for rehabilitating prostitutes, disciple them, teach them vocational skills, and help them resettle into the society as normal citizens.
We have also adopted Kuramo High School in Victoria Island as part of our desire to develop the children and help them grow to become responsible citizens of Nigeria. We also support the Lions Motherless Babies Home in Lekki, Phase 1, every Sunday our ministers go there to take care of their physical needs, help them emotionally, even as we pay school fees for some of them.”
The King’s Court annual Christmas ball is basically used as a reminder that Jesus Christ came for a purpose; he came for the needy, whether spiritually or physically, so it is time to acknowledge the reasons for His birth and the good things He did.
However, Akabueze emphasized that the Church support for the children and the needy in the society is done throughout the year.
“We have duties targeted at our own members who are in need; we support other outreach and charitable homes, prisons, hospital visitation. As we do the Ball, we remember all the needy in the society because when Jesus Christ came to the world, he said he came for the lost. He went about doing well and healing those who are possessed. That basically encapsulates the ministry of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We cannot claim to be His followers if we do not do the things that He did.”
Akabueze who is also the commissioner for budget and economic planning in Lagos State emphasised that whether in the Church or politics, a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possession.
“We are influenced by our environment but not limited by it. I have a passion to seeing our society transform for the better,” he posited.
