There was pomp and pageantry, dancing and rejoicing at a Send-Off/Retirement ceremony in Iwaro-Oka Akoko on Saturday, July 30, 2022, when the Districts Coordinating Council Superintendent of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Bolorunduro, Iwaro-Oka, Pastor John Ayo Olabode, bowed out of ministerial service after 56 years of service in the Lord’s vineyard.
The glittering career of Pastor Olabode took off at the age of 21 in 1968 as an itinerant Evangelist. He was ordained a Pastor in 1988, promoted District Superintendent in 2003, and elevated to the rank of Zonal Superintendent in 2009, before attaining the enviable height of District Coordinating Council (DCC) Superintendent and member of the CAC General Executive Council (GEC) in 2015.
Speaking at the colourful and well-attended ceremony held at the Christ Apostolic Church, Bolorunduro Assembly, Iwaro-Oka, Pastor Olabode said it was note-worthy that his ministerial career is ending at the same locality where it all started, back in 1968.
Flanked by his wife, Lady Evangelist Grace Titilayo, and children, Olabode recounted his life’s journey after his Modern School in 1963. He, thereafter, began his pastoral tutelage under the late Prophet Timothy Obadare of WOSEM fame. The journey was to later culminated in his enrolment and graduation from the CAC Bible College in Efon-Alaaye in 1967.
He was first posted to Iloro-Ekiti, and was later moved to several places in Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo and Lagos States, before his eventual transfer back to Iwaro-Oka District in 2018.
He said his varied experiences have taught him that the life of a cleric calls for discipline, prayers and absolute reliance on God’s leading as the journey is always full of challenges and temptations as well as battles from unseen evil spirits.
In his words, “The ministerial journey is not for the faint-hearted or those who lack self-discipline as one would be daily exposed to different temptations and also physical and spiritual foes that are intent on pulling one down and denting one’s image and reputation. The only antidote is total reliance on God’s sustaining power and His grace.
“I pity anyone embarking on the ministerial journey without the power of the Holy Spirit, just as I pity anyone adding extraneous ‘powers’ in the quest for miracles, signs and wonders, they must know that no one can help the Almighty do His work.
“They must also know that when you stand to preach before a congregation, there might be evil forces among the gathering waiting to shoot spiritual arrows to deal with you.”
Advising young clerics, he said, “I will advise young pastors to be wary of the quest for fame, money and the wiles of women; these are what have made many to derail and wander away from the path of salvation and the gospel.”
Wife of the cleric, Lady Evangelist Grace Titilayo, said it takes the grace of the Almighty God to be the wife of a Pastor as it is full of challenges that demand patience and perseverance. She counselled wives of young Pastors to be truthful to their husbands and be patient and prayerful as the journey is usually full of thorns and thistles.
In separate interviews, children of the cleric described their father as a strict disciplinarian who does not take kindly to misbehaviours. They opined that his no-nonsense attitude has helped and shaped their character and philosophy of life.
In his comment, the DCC Superintendent of CAC, Isua-Akoko, Pastor Olukayode Oni, described the retiring cleric as a worthy ambassador of the church and of Christ. He expressed joy that Pastor Olabode is leaving behind legacies worthy of emulation by young clerics.
The event was graced by dignitaries from all walks of life including the CAC Regional Secretary, Pastor S. A. Olaiya; Pastors G. O. Oluyede, DCCS Oyemekun Akure; T. A. Gbegudu, DCCS Ijoka Akure; and J. S. Owolabi, DCCS Arigidi-Akoko.
Others were, Pastors P. O. Olugbogi (retired), D. O. Ogunleke of CAC, Iwaro-Oka; and other CAC Pastors, Elders and Deaconesses in Oka and Ikare Akoko Axis.
Also in attendance were; the Executive Secretary, Akoko North-East LGA, Hon. Abiola Amuda; Elder J. A. Ologunagba, Chief M. O. Ajibola, the atunluse of Idoani; and representatives of CACMA, and Deaconess Momoh, who represented the CAC Good Women Association, among other important personalities.