50 Churches in 5 Years
When you stand on the shoulders of giants, you get the opportunity to see further. This aptly describes the transfer of leadership of New Wine Church from Dr Tayo Adeyemi, the founder, to his successor, Pastor Michael Olawore.
Pastor Michael unveiled the mandate to replicate the model of New Wine Church in 50 other locations. He pursued this vision to plant “50 Churches in 5 Years” on the basis of the unique vision that God had given the corporate body of New Wine Church, which is: to help individuals discover, develop and deploy the unique gifts that God has placed within them to the glory of God and the betterment of humanity.
Pastor Michael held the firm belief that the Church of Christ is God’s agent for the transformation of society. He believed that the Church is to be the agent of hope and purpose for people living in an often-difficult world. He embraced the truth of Christ’s Words in Matthew 5: 13 – 16,
‘you are the salt of the earth…’ and ‘you are the light of the world…’
Pastor Michael was passionately committed to the urgency of the moment and wasted no time in moving when the Lord said ‘Go!’ So, from the time the mandate for “50 Churches in 5 Years” was birthed, he laid foundations which have resulted in rapid growth. Within 3 years of the 5-year mandate, the Lord has established the nucleus for 25 Churches, with 15 branches fully operational in 7 nations, namely United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Uganda, Canada, Nigeria, South Africa and Bulgaria. Plans are in place for 10 new branches including their pastors already trained. These branches are set to be launched in Jamaica, Bulgaria, Haiti, Luxembourg, Cote d’Ivoire, France and various cities in the United Kingdom.
Pastor Michael saw New Wine Church as transcending a religious centre. He envisioned it as a multi-faceted expression of God’s goodness and power to bring transformation to the different spheres of society and national life such as education, arts & entertainment, Religion, Family, Business & economy, media and government.
Consequently, New Wine Church in Lagos, Nigeria launched a day-care centre to cater for children in the community. Pastor Michael also led New Wine to sponsor water borehole facilities and purchase educational resources for École Fraternité Bois de Caiman, a primary school in Haiti. The headquarters Church in London also established “Gateway Saturday School” which has flourished, with plans underway to setup a Gateway School to serve children in the Royal Borough of Greenwich community.
Pastor Michael also commenced plans to set up a School of Politics and School of Entrepreneurship to equip believers with the knowledge, skills and spiritual enablement to fulfil their assignment in those spheres of endeavour.
Pastor Michael lit the torch of expansion, it has gone into several nations as a beacon of hope. The journey continues into many more nations, with firm faith in God and complete assurance that he who began this great work through Pastor Michael is faithful to continue and complete it, so we march on in Christ… A glorious future awaits!
