RCCG Grace Arena Marks 20th Anniversary With Outreach To 47 Orphans In FCT

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Grace Arena, Abuja, has marked its 20th anniversary with an outreach visit to two orphanage homes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The outreach, held yesterday under the theme, “Compassion in Action: Sharing Hope, Transforming Lives,” took the church team and journalists to Osazewe Care Foundation in Apo-Dutse and The Heritage Home in Gwarinpa, where gifts and other forms of support were presented to the children.

Speaking with journalists after the visits, the pastor in charge of Zone, Grace Arena, James Nsima, said the outreach was part of activities to celebrate God’s faithfulness to the church over the past 20 years.

“As a result of our 20th anniversary celebration, we decided to come to these orphanage homes to celebrate with them and thank God for their lives. We also want to thank God for His goodness over His church and for the lives of the children He has kept in these homes,” he said.

Nsima said the church would have visited more orphanages if time permitted, noting that celebrating the lives of the children was a source of joy to the church.

“If we had the time, we would have loved to visit as many homes as possible. It is a thing of joy to celebrate the life God has given these children. Even as the church is growing, life is also growing in homes like this,” he said.

According to him, the outreach was also aimed at bringing the children closer to God, encouraging them and assuring them of God’s love.

“We believe the best thing to do is to go around and be part of the homes around us, to draw them closer to God, tell them about God and encourage them, knowing fully well that tomorrow will be better than today. We want them to know that truly, God loves them also,” he said.

On the role of government in supporting vulnerable children, Nsima said the church was ready to partner with the government in addressing the needs of children and other vulnerable members of society.

“We are a church, and our duty is to journey hand in hand with government to do what God expects us to do. We cannot speak for government, but we believe that government is doing its best through several platforms, and we believe it can do more,” he said.

The Grace Arena pastor also disclosed plans to establish a support and fellowship structure for the children of one of the homes visited.

He said the church would organise a group that would visit the home on Sunday evenings to pray with the children, fellowship with them and respond to their needs.

“God has blessed us and helped us as a church, so we wish to do more, and by His grace, we are going to do more,” he added.

At The Heritage Home, the coordinator, Mrs Afiniki Godsave, expressed appreciation to Grace Arena for the gesture, saying the home had been operating since 2010.

She said the children and management were happy to receive the church’s support, praying that God would bless and replenish the organisers.

Godsave appealed to well-meaning Nigerians and the government to support orphanage homes, saying such assistance would be welcomed.

She disclosed that the home currently had 11 children, comprising six boys and five girls.

At the Osazewe Care Foundation, Mrs Favour Osaze, wife of the late founder, said the foundation had been in existence for about nine years.

She expressed appreciation to Grace Arena for the visit and appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to come to the foundation’s assistance.

According to her, the foundation has an uncompleted building under construction and requires support to complete it and improve the welfare of the children.

Osaze said the home currently cared for 36 children, adding that the children’s education was being supported through donations from friends of her late husband and members of the foundation’s board of trustees.

She said the children were enrolled in private schools and appealed for more support to enable the foundation to meet their educational and other welfare needs.

The outreach formed part of activities marking Grace Arena’s 20th anniversary, with the church reaffirming its commitment to compassion, community service and support for vulnerable children.