Interviewer: Pastor Posh (Founder, Mission Enablers Africa)

Interviewee: Pastor Olusegun Kolade (Int’l Missions Director, WPMI)

Q: Last year 2021, I saw your google travel journal and it recorded 26,897 km, 282 communities, 50 cities and 10 countries. You won about 30,000 souls and spent many months on the Mission field.
Please tell us, what’s your obsession with the unreached? What drives you?

Ans: There are so many things you cant explain. There is a place of encounter. One of the things that kept Apostle Paul who I am actually following is that when God calls a man, there will be an encounter. It takes a responsible Christian to accomplish the task. I live as though I am the only Christian, the only missionary.
The last time I came to Niger, I saw the joy in the heart of people. You can’t see it and not continue coming. So two things:

1)The encounter: The place of encounter is a place of purpose. God told me “there is a lot of people waiting for you” and I hear that voice consistently. I see it that unless I obey God, a lot of people will perish.

2)The result: You cannot focus on what God commanded you to do without multiplying. The result is also a motivating factor. This year, we’ve won almost 26,000 souls.

Q: You just came back from Niger and Northern Nigeria, these are dangerous places. Can you tell us about these places? Share with us the experience of the Niger Trip?

Ans: I keep asking myself how a believer will feel when God will ask “Did you bother to visit the villages?”
Jesus went everywhere including the villages, cities, towns.
When we were coming back from Niger, there was a serious bandit attack on the road we were coming through, of course God had already shown me this but I refused to mention it to those I was traveling with till we had already passed. Why? After God showed me the danger on the road, I felt peace. So I didn’t tell them till we passed the location of the attack. You know this work we’re doing is God’s work.
“The most important asset of a missionary is OBEDIENCE”

Now, Niger Republic is a wonderful place. It is not about the country being a closed country, it is that people are not willing to go.
We went there last year to do a survey, although we had already sent some people ahead, like Jesus would do, but when we got there we saw a ripened harvest field. We started work right away. We raised 3 missionaries and sent them to different regions to start the work. When we got there this year, we saw communities that didn’t even know Jesus. They’ve never heard of Him. Niger is a very fertile field.

The fact that they haven’t heard of Jesus broke my heart.

There was a family we saw there that was eating chaff because they had nothing else to eat where the fulani discipleship school is fenced to protect them. When we preached, we saw the people’s willingness, we had about 2000 souls. We even saw an Arabic school and we entered there, thank God for the boldness (when we ask people to pray that missionaries will have boldness, its for this reason), for 2hrs these people sat with us for almost 3 services.
The people are not hostile, the testimonies were so amazing when we left. Some were asking for churches.
They were almost crying when we left and they gathered together.
You discover that there was no single church but Muslims were everywhere.

How is it that these people were expanding and we weren’t?

Q: What strategy do you use to penetrate the midst of Muslims?

Ans: One of the things I’ve learnt as a missionary is that God is the owner of the work.

1 Corinthians 9:20-22 KJV
And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men , that I might by all means save some.

I had to change my outfit so as to look like them. People all have their languages. Sis Charisa, one of our lady missionaries even though she’s used to city life had to dress like them because they will not listen if you don’t.

Our strategy is M.M.M

M: Mission School
M: Medical Mission
M: Mercy (Meeting their needs)

The muslims’ knowledge level is quite low so through the school, God gave us access to other communities who will bring their children and also want a school in theirs.

When going to Niger,we had to prepare financially. The poverty rate is too high so we had to buy enough foodstuffs. There we used Mercy Strategy. We must preach in word and deed. Deeds are visible signs to convince them you are sent by God.

Q: How many souls were saved?

Ans: Close to 2000 souls were led to Christ, 20 communities where follow up is being done by our missionaries, there is no church there. During our outreaches, we gave the audio bibles and hard copies too. Although they do not read much but we were also aiming at helping them gain stability by discipling them.
Now, some of them are facing persecution by their families who rejected them so we also had to take them in.

God has given us the land, that’s all I can say!

Q: How do you raise Partners, resources, prayer base to support you?

Ans: You must be financially ready. In Niger, before we got to a community, they already requested a structure. They were gathered, waiting for us to come. When we came, they listened to us and got born again and then presented their request. This is always my point of concern but I assured them to believe in God who has saved them to always provide.
The Imams and muslims who got there before us gave them a bad impression about Christians, teaching them we were kidnappers and evil people and so on. Giving them is a way of showing them we are like Christ.

We need about 2 million naira to do a few things there. In Missions “faith is your currency!” It takes selfless faith to fulfil this task and selfless labourers are rare.

We want to build a fence in the mission , our missionaries are the only believers there so we want to fence the place to safeguard them to a large extent. When you go to churches for assistance, they will tell you they have projects here and there so they aren’t really responding. In Luke 5, Peter called other fishermen for help.

The people in Niger asked for 1 million for finish up the fence before the rain comes. The people come daily, morning and evening for bible study, one hour each time and they are about 20 in number. So, we need a lot of money

Q: How many churches have you planted and how many missionaries are working with you

Ans: we have planted about 400 churches with over 300 missionaries because they keep increasing everyday.

Q:You are working in so many African countries ,and so many souls are being reached, What are the things you still want to do?

Ans: I thank God for how far He has led us. We are trusting God for 60,000 souls.
I met with the leadership in Mozambique and none of them has a bike.
Same with Tanzania
Liberia has just 2bikes
In Togo,just recently 5 churches were planted and they are holding services under the tree.
Liberia Missions kicks off this weekend. We are going to stir up the faith of the missionaries so that they can do this work. One person can’t do it. So after we leave, they will continue.
Fuel needs to be bought
Ivory Coast mission trip headed by Pst Akobi will be next month.

We are trusting God for Zambia, Rwanda and so on

We have people willing to work but no one to send them there. We are raising indigenous disciples as well to reach out to the people in their communities!

We pray for more selfless laborers and committed financial partners.

To God be the glory!