I welcome you to this epoch-making publication in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is epoch-making in that it is arguably the first wholly dedicated publication for the white garment churches in Nigeria as one body of Christ (Romans 12:5).
The Cherubim and Seraphim Church (with variants such as the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim, the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church, and others under the auspices of the Cherubim a Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria), The Church of The Lord (Aladura), and Celestial Church of Christ, among others, are generically called white garment churches in Nigeria, particularly by non-members who can hardly differentiate members of the churches from one another.
The truth is these churches have had to contend with a very serious, enduring negative perception among Nigerians, especially fellow Christians, some of whom erroneously believe that their members are not true children of God or that they serve a different God.
Of course, this perception may have been influenced by the activities of some bad eggs in the churches. However, relying on the action of a few to stereotype the entire members of the white garment congregations is not only unfair and biased, but it also amounts to injustice against the members of the churches. Besides, there are bad eggs in other churches and their actions to a larger extent have not been used as a basis to denigrate the entire congregations of those churches.
Movie producers in the Nigerian film industry, popularly known as Nollywood, who turn to white garment costumes whenever fake pastors and prophets are to be portrayed, have also, in no small measure, contributed to the negative perception of white garment churches in the country. Though adequate coverage by the mainstream media could have helped to remedy the situation and improve the public profiles of the white garment ministries, the opposite has been the case. With very abysmal media coverage, the white garment churches have continued to suffer poor public perception and there seems to be no respite in the horizon if nothing is done from within. Aside from this, the available articles on white garment churches on the Internet are laced with bias, hate speech, factual errors and unverifiable assertions because they were authored by people who are perhaps non-members of the churches or those who nurse ill-feelings against the churches.
There is a saying that until the lion learns how to write, every story about it will always glorify the hunter. In other words, until the white garment churches start telling their own stories, non-members with the propensity for biased and convoluted reports will continue to determine the narrative. The result will remain the same.
It was against the background that the Adura International Magazine, a specialised Christian magazine for white garment churches in Nigeria and overseas, was conceived, conceptualised and birthed. It is a mandate from the Almighty God with the mission to inform and enlighten the world about the white garment churches with the intention of changing the negative public perception about the churches while elevating their collective public profile by challenging and changing the stereotypes against them by other Christians in the country as well as in the diaspora.
This magazine was commissioned by God to propagate the gospel of Christ through the lens of the white garment churches while analysing their issues, promoting their interests and amplifying their voices to the world. It will also be unapologetically critical of activities, doctrines and actions that are not in sync with the Christian faith and the Bible. More importantly, the magazine will enlighten, entertain and spiritually uplift the fast-growing number of millennials and youths in the churches.
Prior to this time, however, we have only had a plethora of local and parish-based publications, manned by the youth, across the white garment churches. There has been nothing in the class of The Church Times, which is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London, the United Kingdom, or hundreds of newspapers, newsletters, and magazines of the Catholic dioceses in the United States of America. Even in this clime, we can’t say the white garment churches have something close to the publications from the stables of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Living Faith Church aka Winners Chapel, and Deeper Life Bible Church, among other ministries.
The time has come for us to have our own magazine that will tell our own stories, glorify God and edify the children of God in our churches. Never would we allow others to determine and control our narrative again.
Adura International Magazine promises to continually offer for your reading delights revival materials, soul lifting and biblical contents with the sole aim of repositioning our churches as 21st-century churches. Our TV, aduratv on YouTube, will also provide interesting content for your viewing delight.
Didn’t the Bible say in Isaiah 60:1-3 that we should “Arise, shine; for thy light is come , and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee?” Of course, our light has always been there but we have to continue to shine for the world to see. This is the time to not only shine but to deliberately project to the world our good deeds while driving the narrative about us rather than allow others to tell our stories in a manner filled with bias, hatred, half-truth and misrepresentation of facts.
The Bible in Mathew 5:14-16 says, “Ye are light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Men must see our good works and the good things God is doing in our midst and this will be the driving force and motivation for the magazine.
The Adura Foundation International, a faith-based Non-Governmental Organisation and Media Ministry, is the Special Purpose Vehicle saddled with the primary mission of publishing the Adura International Magazine (and other publications as it may become necessary over time) with a secondary purpose of using the proceeds from the sale of the magazine and other donations to impact millions of lives within and outside our denominations through coordinated humanitarian and empowerment programmes.
The content of the magazine has been carefully selected for your reading delight.
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