Nigerian pastor to speak in Kenton

Kenton Mayor Randy Manns (left) is with Pastor Akomaye Ugar of Nigeria. Manns is hosting Ugar during his visit to the Kenton area. Ugar will speak at the Kenton Middle Auditorium at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

A pastor from Nigeria will be bringing his message of revival and reformation to the people of Hardin County.
Pastor Akomaye Ugar of HoneyStream Christian Centre in Calabar, Nigeria, will speak at the Kenton Middle School auditorium at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. Both are open to the public.
Ugar is being hosted in Kenton by Mayor Randy Manns, who traveled to Nigeria in January as part of a crusade led by Pastor Peter Doseck of Only Believe Ministries.
This marks Ugar’s sixth visit to the U.S. In addition to his talks at the middle school, he will speak at area churches, including returning to speak at Kenton’s Only Believe Ministries on June 14 at 7 p.m.
Ugar, who has been in ministry for 17 years and a pastor for 5 1/2 years, said he conducts the meetings to “encourage people to embrace the body of Christ. I challenge them to lead a more effective life of faith.”
He also will share insight into Christianity in Nigeria compared to the U.S.
“People are very zealous in Nigeria. They crave to know God more,” Ugar said. “Generally speaking, in America, I don’t see that much zeal.”
“At home people look forward to going to church. It’s a big deal. They dress up for it.”
Manns said he can attest to this. When in Nigeria on a Sunday, the church was full and the streets deserted during church services, he said.
Ugar points to the difference between the countries as the reason Americans lack the same zeal for Christianity as Nigerians.
“I believe the American system makes life too comfortable so people don’t need to trust God for anything,” he said.
“I came from a country where the system is not perfected. There is an uneven distribution of wealth,” Ugar said. “They have to trust God for every single thing.”
Manns noted the people of Nigeria honor their spiritual leaders, sometime to the extreme.
“It’s part of our culture,” Ugar said.
He finds the American system “really impressive,” especially the access to government at all levels. He said the leaders are very interested in leaving a legacy.
In Nigeria, however, the government officials “want to have it all.”
His country is one of the leading exporters of oil, but the wealth is not evenly distributed. “Some people are extremely wealthy and some are extremely poor,” Ugar said.
While away from his church, Ugar said he delivers sermons through Skype. Although many think of Nigerians as poor, the average person there has access to the Internet and his church makes use of information technology.
In addition to doing a lot of traveling and speaking, Ugar has authored seven books. The latest is titled, “Uncommon Success.”

By TIM THOMAS
Times editor

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Posted by Kenton Times on June 1, 2012. Filed under Local News,Recent Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry