The centralized anniversary celebration started off today the 7th day of September 2017 with a hot session of praise and soul uplifting music by Jubilee Voices. The atmosphere was filled with excitement as people sang and danced with  joy. The chairman of the planning committee Pastor Apelle Iyagba gave his opening speech and in his speech, he thanked God for not allowing the rains hinder the celebration and also thanked God for leading us thus far as a ministry, giving a brief history of the journey so far.

Our father, the International Director, Pastor Isaac v. OLORI gave the opening charge for the celebration which he titled, "The Burden Of The Present Generation Of Greater Evangelism World Crusade". He stated that this celebration for him is more of a reflection period than of a celebration.  He enjoined everyone to do more of reflection.

Speaking further, he broke the topic into the following;

1. The Burden of Building On The Foundation Laid (EPH 2:20). He stressed on the danger of comparing ourselves with other ministries and that we have a specific foundation that has been laid, we must build according to that specification and resist the attraction of other foundations that do not conform or suit our foundation. He also emphasized that everyone should study and understand the vision.  
2. The Burden of Maintaining the Evangelical Spirit Which Is Our Trade Mark.
   Pastor Isaac Olori emphasized that our name, Greater Evangelism World Crusade is beyond a name. For us, it defines our mission, our purpose and our calling. He reminded us how our founding father, Apostle G. D. Numbere of blessed memory, with a few young people penetrated difficult terrains to take the gospel to the down trodden, and we are the fruit of that labour. He asked a pertinent question: “Are we living up to our name?” (Acts 10:42)
   He reminded us also that preaching is a commandment we must obey. We should therefore reflect and not just celebrate the labour of our heroes past, we should also ask ourselves "where is the mark of my own labour?”
3. The Burden Of Sacrifice And Service:  Speaking further, he said, Our founding father sacrificed his vocation, gave up his university training for this work; in the beginning young men and women also made different levels of sacrifices, some lost their homes ,dropped out of school, denied sponsorship by parents because of this work. They were not after any form of gain but had zeal for the work. He asked the question:  “What is the cost we are paying for serving him?
4. The Burden of Standing Up For the Truth of God's Word: He stated that there is a serious attack on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Falsehood and pseudo gospel is now the norm and its accepted. The gospel has been reduced to serving physical needs of people and little or no attention placed on the spiritual needs. He charged us to stand-up for the truth.
5. The Burden of Shinning As Light In These Evil Days: He reminded us that we have come to the times when our love for God has waxed cold, when we place our needs first before God's work. Even believers are under pressure of compromising their identity, when the difference between a believer and an unbeliever is no more clear. He left us pondering on the question: “Is your light shining?”

In his conclusion we were reminded of our primary burden which is reaching out to those numerous souls whose heads were bowed down and we can do that through discipleship. Finally, as we enter into another ministry year, we should not only press on in preaching the word and being like Christ, but also give ourselves to prayers and the word continuously.