Introduction

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Communicators and Media Officers’ Conference met under the guidance of the Holy Spirit at the Ughelli Diocesan Christian Centre, Ogoni-Olomu, Olomu, Ughelli South, Delta State, hosted by the Diocese of Ughelli from Wednesday, 6th – Saturday, 9th March 2024. The theme of the conference was “The Great Commission: Utilizing the Media.” (Matthew 28: 18-20). The meeting was presided over by His Grace, The Most Revd. Henry C. Ndukuba, DD, Archbishop, Metropolitan & Primate of All Nigeria (Anglican Communion), ably represented by The Most Rev’d Cyril Odutemu, Ph.D., the Archbishop of Bendel Province and Bishop of Ughelli Diocese.

In attendance were 102 persons, on-site and on-line. Also, in attendance at the formal Opening Ceremony and Holy Communion service were: the Archbishop of Bendel Province and Bishop of Ughelli Diocese, The Most Rev’d Cyril Odutemu, PhD, who was the celebrant and also gave the homily at the Communion service; the Dean, Church of Nigeria and Bishop of Ikwerre Diocese, The Most Rev’d Dr. Blessing Enyindah; the Bishop Theologian of the Church of Nigeria and Bishop of the Diocese of Ilesa, The Rt. Rev’d Prof. Dapo Asaju; and the General Secretary of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Ven. Dr. Paul Dajur.

At the end of the conference, the Communicators and Media Officers issued the following Communique:

Theme exposition: The Great Commission – Utilizing The Media

Fundamental facts surrounding the necessity of soul-winning being laid on a communicator are listed below:

1. God exists and He is the creator of man.
2. Man is created in the image of God and bears His original nature as an eternal being, full of blessings and powers of God.
3. There are two sides to every story, being for Christ and being against Christ.
4. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.
5. The incarnation of Jesus was real.
6. Jesus is the only way to salvation (Acts 4:12).
7. There is life after death. There is heaven as there is hell, both of them are for eternity.
8. Man has a chance to accept Jesus and be saved.
9. Christians must imitate Jesus Christ the Messiah and reach out to save souls, the way He did.
10. The signs of the end times are almost being fulfilled.

The Conference, therefore:

1. Calls on Communicators and Media Officers to walk with God if they want to be a veritable tool in the hand of God to propagate the Gospel through media;
2. Reiterates the role of Communicators and Media Officers, which is to make disciples of all nations to baptize and teach them to observe all things commanded to them, (Matthew 28:19-20);
3. Reminds delegates of the expectations which include understanding and supporting Church leadership, countering heresies, and defending the Bible teachings and leadership of the Church in the public domain;
4. Urges Communicators and Media Officers to utilize available resources effectively while awaiting further support, emphasizing the importance of not waiting for ideal circumstances;
5. Tasks Communicators and Media Officers to defend the leadership of the Church from public ridicule and ensure avoidance of errors by omission and commission;
6. Warns media groups against succumbing to financial inducements that may lead them to propagate heresies and undermine the Church’s mission;
7. Calls for a united effort among Communicators and Media Officers to fulfill their mission of spreading the gospel and defending the faith;
8. Encourages media officers to open active social media accounts for the church;
9. Admonishes the Church to teach and enlighten the youth and allow them use their phones to read books Online, do research on Bible quizzes, have debates and Online meetings;
10. Encourages the Church to use social media adverts to invite, market, and circulate programs online;
11. Encourages every Diocese in the Church of Nigeria to have a Diocesan Communicator, Media Director, Public Relations Officer, or Media Officers, etc;
12. Urges the need for Self-development of Diocesan Communicators and Media Officers in line with modern trends;
13. Calls on the Church leaders to consider spirituality, professionalism, integrity, and leadership skills in appointing Diocesan Communicators;
14. Calls for training of communicators and team members about new technologies to advance the gospel via media and instilling disciplines in the media team members;
15. Encourages the Communicators and Media Officers to come up with creative ways/plans to self-finance projects within Dioceses and churches;
16. Calls upon Communicators and Media Officers to ensure the propagation of accurate information and avoid assumptions;
17. Admonishes the Communicators and Media Officers to communicate the words of unchanging Christ in an unchanging method;
18. Call on Church leaders to encourage Communicators and Media Officers financially to ease their work and improve productivity;
19. Tasks Communicators and Media Officers to be precise, straight to the point, and clear in their communication;
20. Urges Communicators and Media Officers to be watchmen and watchwomen over their Dioceses and churches in the media gate;
21. Urges Communicators and Media Officers to do research, write articles, document historical data of their various Dioceses and Churches and publicize the Gospel message via newspapers, blogs, websites, etc.;
22. Encourages Communicators and Media Officers to move away from being consumers to producers and influencers;
23. Tasks the Communicators and Media Officers to be the image-makers of their Dioceses;
24. Tasks Communicators and Media officers to enhance and use a multi-platform approach that includes print, electronic and online media;
25. Urges Dioceses to create a translation team to enable the production of content in indigenous languages peculiar to each Diocese;
26. Encourages every Diocese to have a team collating and storing historical data.

Conclusion: The Communicators and Media Officers of our church have a lot of work to do in propagating the gospel of Christ through the media space. The platforms are available, make good use of them.

Signed By:

The Ven. Prof. Ben Egede, FLSN. Chairman, Communique Drafting Committee

Engr. Korede Akintunde

Church  of  Nigeria   Communicator  &     General

Manager, ACNN TV

The Ven. Gershinen Paul Dajur, Ph.D.

General Secretary, Church of Nigeria

The Most. Rev’d Dr. Cyril Odibor’Oghene  Odutemu

Bishop of Diocese of Ughelli &

Archbishop of Bendel Province (Host and Primate’s Representative)

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