By Lukman Olabiyi
Date was Friday, September 24 2021. From early in the morning, the expansive premises of the Joy Cometh Ministries at Ebute, Ikorodu was teeming with a large crowd of widows and indigent folks. They were there to benefit from the philanthropy of the founder and senior pastor of the church, Pastor Olaitan Aromolaran whose birthday fell on that day.
On many occasions every year, less-privileged folks, students and others usually benefit from the pastor and the church. The name of the ministry is Joy Cometh, and Pastor Aromolaran has always insisted that bringing joy to the lives of as many people as possible is an integral mission of the ministry.
And so, on that day, thousands of people congregated at the church. And as usual, they all left beaming with smiles.
Indeed, many of the people experienced undiluted joy at the church, which they might not forget in a jiffy.
Besides the sumptuous food that was served, much more was dished out to the congregants to take home. There were also gifts as well as cash for the guests.
And there was no preferential treatment at the event. Everyone, regardless of class or status, got VIP treatment at the event.
For Pastor Aromolaran, who has been ordained Bishop but hardly wears the Bishopric habit, he has a special commission to wipe tears from the faces of those who are troubled. And the occasion provided yet another opportunity to fulfil the mandate and put smiles on the faces of hundreds of vulnerable people in the society. The cleric gave many reasons to look beyond their conditions and praise God.
But the event was not just about cash gifts, food and drinks. The choir of the church also rendered several soul-lifting songs, with guests fully participating in the worship session.
Speaking on the importance of the day and what it meant to him, Pastor Aromolaran, said: “The day has two sides. It is a reminder that there is a God in heaven that created all of us and glory must go back to Him. Secondly, it is equally a reminder that my own quota should be done to add value to people’s lives. Every one of us is to add value to our generation. Those two sides are what I don’t compromise; returning the glory to God and using it as an occasion to make people excited.”
He also explained why he always celebrates his special occasions with widows, orphans, elderly folks and the less-privileged, the cleric said even though he could afford to go out of the country to any country of his choice with his friends and family, he noted that such celebrations would not yield much excitement or fulfilment like celebrating such days with indigent folks.
He said many of his friends are already wealthy, and they could afford whatever they want within or outside the country. as such, celebrating birthdays or other special days with them would have no meaningful impact.
“By the grace of God, we made arrangements for 700 of them. The reason I chose to that is, I have friends that are capable on their own. Some of them are multi-millionaires; there is nothing they would want to eat that they cannot afford. So, I felt these less-privileged people, what I have can make some of them happy, and the least we gave each of them was N5000. In this economy, if somebody receives N5,000, N10,000, or N15,000, I believe he or she can actually do something with it, and you could see how happy everybody was. So, to me, that is fulfilment”, he said .
Pastor Aromolaran, who is well known for his modesty, would, however, not criticise the men of God who exhibit a flamboyant lifestyle in spite of the poverty ravaging the country. He said many condemn pastors of ignorance. In his words, if you are not in not their shoes, you cannot know what they are passing through.
Using his own church as a case study, Aromolaran said the offering being realised cannot take care of the welfare of the congregants, noting that most of the time, many people add their personal funds for the church to meet up with its financial needs.
Aromolaran urged Nigerians to always support good initiatives without always waiting for the government. In his words, if everyone would be committed to being their brother keeper, and would remain alive to their responsibility without depending on government, Nigeria would be a better place to live in.
Many of the widows who also spoke, expressed joy and excitement. They commended Pastor Aromolaran for his kind gesture, describing him as a blessing to this generation.
One of them who identified herself as Margaret, said what she got and her experience at the church went beyond her imagination. She prayed for God’s blessings on Pastor Aromolaran.
Popular Nollywood star and an assistant pastor in the church, Funsho Adeolu said Aromolaran is very passionate about ministry as well as serving God and humanity.
Adeolu said he had known Aromolaran right from their school days at the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, even though they were not close then. He said it was his wife who led him to Aromolaran’s church, adding that since then, there had been no reason to look back.