| Free land for Redeemed members in US Redemption Camp |
|
 |
| Written by Empowered Newswire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, 13 May 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Our Correspondent
Free land allocation to build houses in the US is being offered members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in the church's American version of the Redemption Camp near Dallas, Texas, Empowered Newswire reports.
According to Pastor James Fadele, the chairman of the church's board of coordinators in the US, and the principal deputy of the General Overseer Pastor E. A. Adeboye in North America, it will cost members between $50,000 and $100,000 to build 5 different kinds of house models on the site and that the land would be allotted only to those who are ready to build.
Fadele made this disclosure in New York last week in an interview with Empowered Newswire, adding that the church has now acquired about 600 acres of land, about 50 of which would be used to build a Lighthouse pavilion. About 120 acres has been set aside for the housing projects for RCCG members.
The church's annual conventions and meetings in North America would now be held in Texas at the camp site instead of the previous arrangement where the convention move from state to state. Last year it was held in Houston, Texas. Next month between June 20-22, the RCCG would be marking its 10th Convention, which would be held for the first time in the church's camp in Dallas.
According to Fadele, also an entrepreneur and former senior car designer with America's top company, Ford Motors, plots of land would be made available soon to "tithe-paying members of the church free of charge." The members who get the plots would however be responsible for the construction of different house models which the church has already set out.
He said a team of experts and church leaders are working hard to develop the camp including seeking a $20M loan to complete work on the camp including a pavilion that can seat 200,000. Fadele said Pastor Olaoye Ghandi, the church's Special Projects Coordinator in North America is leading the effort alongside others. Ghandi is also the pastor of one of the largest RCCG parishes in the US.
The first phase of the project will seat 20,000 and building review experts in the US have also described the project as a masterpiece.
A Nigerian bank and a US bank, have shown promise, he stated, to facilitate the financing of the project, which some other financial institutions in the US are wary of considering the rural population currently in the area. "The do not see what we see, but a bank in Nigeria, that knows how God has been moving with the Redeemed Church sees it differently," Fadele noted. he said another US financial institution which is church friendly is also showing interest.
He said Chase Bank in the US with whom the church has been banking with sterling records in the past like being on course to pay off 10-year loans in about 3 years are finding it difficult to understand why "we want to put a big pavilion in what they think is a bush. But we know what our God can do, they don't." RCCG in North America maintains an annual account that runs into millions of dollars including a savings account of $2m. Last year alone the church raised over $2m in remittance from its parishes in the US and Canada, with a potential to raise over $4m yearly.
Already work has started on the camp site in Floyd, near Dallas in Texas, with contractors already in place although the pavilion would not be ready for next month's convention.
Said Fadele, "we are going on with construction using our own funds and once the loan is through we'll go ahead en masse." But proceedings of the convention which normally draws at least 5000 people and which would be presided over by Pastor Adeboye would still be held on the site with makeshift luxury tents. Pastor Adeboye's representative on RCCG NA said hotels in the area of the camp have all been fully booked already in anticipation of the convention next month.
Regarding the housing estates, Fadele said the local town governments in the area are already in talks with the church on the implications of the housing estates since churches in the US are normally tax-exempt but individuals are expected to pay taxes where they live to cover certain expenses especially that of schooling. He said the agreement reached between the church and the local govt is that church members who get free land and chose to live permanently on the site will have to pay taxes, while others who chose to make their houses on the camp a vacation home would be free from taxes.
Fadele, who has always advocated for the welfare of RCCG pastors also announced that in order to take care of RCCG pastors in North America, each pastor must have a life insurance policy of at least $250,000.
Furthermore he said "my vision is to start a leadership institute in the camp to have an intersection between Christian leaders and the business world."
He continued: " We want to be talking about how people can carry their faith to the workplace, we want to recognize that faith is not just a church thing but a total thing, to impact the world for Jesus." The Institute will start operation at the camp site in July, Fadele said. As part of the development of the camp, Fadele himself have had to relocate from Detroit where he was a Senior Ford Motor Designer and entrepreneur to Dallas. A new parish Throne of Grace has also been opened at the camp site where services are held weekly.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated ( Thursday, 24 April 2008 ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Services : E-mail news | 
RSS Feeds | Podcasts
Links: About the NVS | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies | Advertise With Us
All Rights Reserved. NigeriaVillageSquare.com
Posted by Robot| 12.05.2007 23:04