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| Pastor Idowu Iluyomade |
Pastor Idowu Iluyomade is the Intercontinental Overseer on Christian Social Responsibility (CRS) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). In this interview with NIGERIAN TRIBUNE, he speaks on why the church established a dating site, which has generated reactions since its announcement.
The establishment of the dating site has raised dust since the church made it initiative public. What is your take on this?
The objective of the site called “ConnectNow” is to focus on single Christians to find life partners. We feel that there is the need to support them in preparing to take the important step in their lives. We have made our research and we discovered the dating site is essential and will help many adults, especially the single Christians to build a truthful relationship and eventually have a life partner.
Do you feel it is right for a church to establish such a platform?
It is a good idea and it was highly embraced. Experience has shown that the church has structure for pre-marriage counseling, but lacking in providing faith-based guidance and support in the course finding the right person. This is why we have established ConnectNow to that with will help many to have a happy life and godly home.
How do you think ConnectNow can institute a responsible and Christian home?
If partners know what to look for at the time searching, then the probability of success in marital life will be enhanced. This is the gap that ConnectNow will fill. It is a well organised platform and you have to go through a lot of processes to be on the site.
Could you explain what ConnectNow stands for?
There are some pertinent questions some young adults ask in the course of finding the bone of their bone and the flesh of their flesh of finding a life partner, such as how do I go about the process of ‘finding the right partner’? Where do I find the right partner? (platforms). What do I look for in the right partner? What are the pitfalls in finding process? What are the dos and don’ts while I wait? This is a yawning gap that we must fill and provide support and solution as they prepare to take this important step in their lives.
Experience has shown that when they have found themselves, we have structure for pre-marriage counseling, however, we are lacking in providing faith-based guidance and support in the course of ‘The Find’.
If they know what to look for at the time of ‘The Find’, then the probability of success in marital life is enhanced. This is the gap that we have purposed to fill with ConnectNow.
The bible says in Galatians 6:2 that we should bear each other’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Because of the gap of ‘The Find’, the world has virtually taken over with various dating sites such as “Tinder”, which has put together all kinds of desperate people from all faiths and sexual perversion, as a worldly platform to find a future partner. The church is supposed to set the standard as we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
It is a Christian relationship and interactive platform for mature adults that are ready and hoping to get married. It is not a dating site as the world knows it, but a faith-driven interactive community of mature believers, who are connecting with one another with a view to building enduring and fruitful Christian relationships.
The platform encompasses an interactive platform and engaging training sessions and modules taught by seasoned and well-experienced professions and spiritual leaders.
This is a pre-finding-marriage counseling session to prepare mature adults, who are ready for marriage for that journey of a lifetime and with a view that they make their choices in line with the fear of God and along with the dictates of our faith.
Is this restricted to members only and what are the requirements for any interested persons?
Any interested person that wants to be on the site must be grounded in the faith; right family values and is fit and proper for marriage. The platform is for mature adults, widows, widowers who are looking forward to God to get married, and the age range is from 18 and above. Participants are to send in their personal details, including phone numbers, email addresses, names of pastors and church’s name. All information provided shall be treated with strict confidentiality. No, the dating site is not restricted to our church alone, we have had over 2,000 people register and many more are still registering from various denominations and over four continents of the world.
But we have strict guidelines for partners to abide with such as; they must not go alone to anyone’s connection’s house or secluded venues. If you are not sure about invitations or venues, you have been invited to or err on the side of caution and let the secretariat know. Report any untoward advances, or suggestions to the secretariat; Christian ethics based on God’s word must be observed all through connection/courtship process. And partners must have a responsibility to check connection.
You have overseen the charity arm of the church for years, how is the experience like?
It has been an awesome experience in impacting millions of lives through free health care initiatives and feeding people through the charity arm of the church tagged, ‘His Love Foundation (HLF). The presence of the charity arm has been felt virtually in all parts of the nation. The RCCG, through its CRS is concerned about the loss of lives due to inadequate healthcare facilities in the country which makes Nigerians spend millions annually on health-tourism seeking a state-of-the-art health facilities in countries like India and the UAE. It is our belief that the establishment of kidney dialysis in the area of education, skills acquisition and free feeding of millions of people will go along way beyond preaching and prayers.
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