Amadi-Village - “What Does Amos Three-Three Say?”

On 9th March, 1973, Numbere and his team moved out of the city of Port Harcourt. Their first port of call was Amadi-Village (now Amadi-ama), in the outskirts of Port Harcourt. About a month before the Field Team went to Amadi village, a very major juju (mammy-water) shrine had been uprooted and the priestess delivered. It was the former shrine house that the woman opened to receive the Field Team on arrival.

Just before they were to leave Port Harcourt, the Lord miraculously provided money for a generator for them. Numbere had to go to Benin City, capital of the then Bendel State (now Edo State) to purchase it. He arrived the base in Port Harcourt on the day of their departure to Amadi village. Being a man who would do things by himself rather than send others, he tried to carry the generator out of the van all by himself. As he lifted the generator his waist “gave way”. All he heard was a click sound and he felt a searing pain coursing through his waist down to his legs. He was forced to let go as he doubled over in pain. He had slipped a disc. He had to be helped into the room where they laid him on his back on the floor. It was in that posture that he was carried into the van soon afterwards and taken to the camp at Amadi Village.

All day long he lay on his back wincing in pains. By 5.00 p.m. there was no improvement in his condition and there was no way in which he could go to the Crusade, which was opening that night. This was their first outing outside Port Harcourt and so Apostle Numbere was not comfortable being left behind. Definitely his preaching that night was impossible but he prayed in expectation of a miracle. About half an hour later something wonderful happened. He felt a sudden heat flushing through his waist and down to his legs, feet and to the tip of his toes. This heat flush came again, and then a third time, and suddenly he found himself strong, every feeling of pain gone! He jumped to his feet and walked immediately headed for the crusade ground. But an incident had occurred before he could get to his people.

Just before his arrival on the Crusade field, the chiefs of Amadi Village descended on his team members and arrested Nelson Orugbani (now Mpakaboari Tamunoigbani) thinking him to be Numbere, the leader, because he was not only the eldest among them but also the stoutest. They arrested Tamunoigbani and whisked him away, to the amusement of the rest of the team who chuckled and giggled amongst themselves not bothering to correct the mistake of the chiefs.

As they were marching him away excitedly across the field to their Council Hall, believing that they had made “the big catch”, Apostle Numbere was just arriving, walking gingerly in the euphoria of the miracle that God had done for him. When he saw them he too knew what was happening. Amused, he simply walked past them. Nelson too was amused. He just walked along with his captors without giving them the slightest impression that he was not the Numbere they were looking for, or identify him to them as he walked passed them. Nelson‟s arrest meant two men (Numbere and Nelson) were out of the team but that did not stop their determination to have their Crusade that night. They continued to fix their instruments as if nothing had happened. They were still busy when they saw their leader, Numbere approaching. They could not believe their eyes. With shouts of joy they dropped what they were doing, ran to him, hugging him, laughing and rejoicing as they did so. This miracle brought so much joy, revival and encouragement to them.

After a while Numbere went to the Council hall where they had taken Nelson hostage. When he arrived there, the chiefs were pelting Nelson with questions still believing that he was Numbere. But Nelson answered them not a word neither did he tell them that they had taken the wrong man. That was how strong the bond amongst the team members was. They were prepared to die for the gospel and for one another. Numbere coolly walked in and asked them, “Who are you looking for?” Pointing at Nelson, their reply was, “He is Numbere!!” He told them “I am Numbere. He is not Numbere”. “You let him go.” Immediately they heard the name, “Numbere”, it was like an electric current had suddenly been triggered off in the hall. Shouts of “Numbere? Numbere? Numbere!! Numbere!!? Numbere? Are you Numbere?” echoed across the hall like a sing-song from one chief to another.

There was that much consternation and great surprise at his youthfulness and size because they had expected that the man they had heard so much about was a big elderly man, certainly not this mere slip of a young man who was standing before them. Numbere calmly told them again, “I am Numbere; you can let this one go.” Eventually, the confusion abated and they let their captive go. They now turned to Numbere. “What does Amos Three-Three say?” they asked him.

Like His Master Jesus, he answered them not a word. They kept asking him again and again “What does Amos Three-Three say?” That was really interesting, unbelievers quoting the Scriptures, and for what purpose other than to suit their evil end! When they saw that he was not going to answer them they started shouting at him, “We do not want our children to be spoilt! We do not want our children to be stubborn! We do not know what kind of thing (doctrine) that you have brought to the Rivers State! Our children are not obeying us their parents again! When we send them on errands they refuse to go! We want to bring up our children the way we want! “Two cannot walk together except they be agreed.” The last sentence was the Amos Chapter Three verse three, that they had been asking him to quote for them. And all this furore was because of alcohol and tobacco, which the young converts had refused to buy, sell or serve.

While all these things were going on, the village children who had gone to the Crusade ground mostly out of the natural inquisitiveness of children, had caught the song, “Only Jesus Can Save, Only Jesus Can Save, Alleluia!” which was being sung by the Crusaders. Singing, clapping and dancing, they trooped out from the Crusade ground right up to the Council hall. They sang and danced round the hall, mischievous ones peeping in through the doors and windows. From the hall, they trooped to another compound and another and another until they had traversed the whole village.

Culled from "A Man and A Vision": A Biography of Apostle Geoffery D. Numbere. Written by Pastor Nonyem Numbere

Today, all over the nation, we will throng the streets, shouting and singing the praises of our God, as we celebrate 45 years of God's faithfulness! Join us and Celebrate!

• 7th September 2017 to 10th September 2017
• at Greater Evangelism World Crusade, World Headquarters, Rukpoku
• or join us online: www.youtube.com/gewconlinevideos or www.mixlr.com/greaterevangelism (audio only)

GREATER EVANGELISM CRUSADE! GREATER EVANGELISM CRUSADE!!

As mentioned before, after Geoffrey obeyed the call, the Lord led him not to Rivers State, but to Northern Nigeria where he sojourned for three years living in Birnin Kudu, Kano, Gumel and Wudil. His stay there could be likened to Paul‟s stay in the Arabian Desert.

GUMEL - LIFE AS A TEACHER

While he was in Kano, Geoffrey obtained a teaching job in the Government Teachers Training College now Advanced Teachers Training College), Gumel. A Muslim enclave in the far desert North of Nigeria, Gumel (now in Jigawa State) was next to Maigateri, a border town between Nigeria and Niger Republic. It was to this Northern wilderness that the Lord sent His servant. The Northern wilderness turned out to be a training ground for him just like Pa Elton had said. There the Lord appeared to him several times, teaching and preparing him for the great task ahead. He was a pioneer staff of the College, teaching English Language and Mathematics, the only Southerner and the only Christian there.

CONVERSIONS, MIRACLES, PERSECUTION
The presence of the Lord was mighty with him. He led many souls to the Lord especially Muslims, and God confirmed His word through signs and wonders. Anyone who came in contact with him was sure to be touched by God one way or the other. With his Muslim converts he started a home Church in his living room. Their first service was held on 28th February 1971, with seven converts in attendance. Founding the fellowship was not easy or smooth sailing. It required great faith and commitment. Eventually his persistence yielded fruit and he was able to have a stable fellowship, which grew steadily. As they grew in number, they decided to move into Gumel town itself. So on 20th June 1971, they held their maiden service in the Gumel Township. Some months later Geoffrey was transferred to Wudil (another wilderness town). But the Lord would never allow His Church to die. Not long after that, Bro. Ogundeji was transferred to Gumel T. T. C.! He now took charge of the young Fellowship. Eventually, Geoffrey handed over this Church to ECWA and it became their Gumel Branch. Many years later it became the Headquarters of ECWA in Jigawa State. The nucleus of this big Church was that home fellowship which Apostle Numbere started and handed over to them thirty-six years ago.

Geoffrey was busy serving the Lord and teaching his students when one day in July 1972, the Lord told him to leave the North for Rivers State, his home State, within the next two days. The day of departure was a sad day for all of them. Christian brethren, especially his converts, were there to see him off at the train station in Kano. It was like St. Paul’s final parting with the Ephesian brethren (Acts 20:36-38). They hugged and hugged him and wept and wept. And as the train moved, they waved and waved and sobbed and sobbed, many of them running alongside the platform until the train finally moved out of sight.

THE STREET PREACHER

Apostle Numbere does not and has never used orthodox methods in his approach to the things of God. Always depending on the Holy Spirit, he has many a time used unorthodox ways to reach out to souls. This in the early days of his Christian life and ministry used to bring a lot of condemnation from the Christians of those days who lacked understanding as to the move of the Holy Spirit. That was Geoffrey Numbere, the soul-winner. He has always placed a premium on the salvation of the souls of men, for the value of a soul is the Blood of the Son of God.

It was in that same manner that he started his Mission, when in 1972 he came down to Rivers State. He did not seek for any known conventional system in order to spread the gospel. Initially most of his preaching engagements were on invitations by a few Christians here and there to minister in Secondary Schools and sometimes in the Scripture Union where he used to attend fellowship.

But his fiery zeal could not be contained by mere preaching engagements. He decided to strike out to the field. He did not seek for any rich man to sponsor his Ministry. Since his people had kicked him out to the streets, the streets became his first mission field. He cared not for earthly possessions or achievements. The only possessions he had in this world were a T-shirt, a pair of trousers, a pair of slippers or shoes and a raffia bag containing his Bible and tracts and they were all on him! He did not have any source of income, nor did he know where his next meal would come from. But these things did not bother him. He had the call, he had the vision, but he believed that “Having a vision is not enough; there must be a commitment to act on the vision - A MISSION.” He had therefore come to Rivers State with a Mission, the Mission to raise up the faces of men and women in Rivers State to look up to Jesus to receive eternal life like he had been told in the vision.

He was so consumed with zeal and so committed to his Mission that he wanted everything in him including his very clothes to preach the gospel. He therefore got an artist to inscribe the words, “JESUS IS LOVE” and “REPENT” on the front and back of his T-shirt respectively. In his scanty outfit and with his raffia bag slung over a shoulder, he struck out to the streets of Port Harcourt preaching the gospel with great passion. He would stand at street corners, or in car parks, bus stops (stations), market places, or by public buildings such as civil service secretariats and banks, and compassion would grip his heart at the sight of multitudes of people moving about in those places. He would begin to cry as he realized that many of those people were going to a Christ-less eternity. He would, with tears in his eyes, tell them about Jesus Christ, His love for mankind and their need to be saved.

You can imagine what a spectacle he must have been with his poor dressing, his tearful face and his “strange message” of being “born-again.” As should be expected, many rebuffed him or simply ignored him, for whoever saw a man, an African man for that matter, weeping publicly? “Men do not weep” is a common saying and belief here. And for what purpose was he weeping? Not that he was weeping because he had lost one dear to him but he was weeping because he wanted people to repent. Wherever had it been preached before that salvation was through Jesus Christ and Him alone? And what kind of young man was this, that instead of going to school or finding himself some gainful employment, he was spending his time weeping and preaching to people to repent from their sins?. “He must be mad”, many conjectured. Some looked at the “mad” young man with pity, thinking that his enemies must have bewitched him “What a pity” they said, “Such a handsome young man! Who must have done this to him?” They queried.

In spite of all these reactions, a few, mostly teenagers believed his “strange” message and joined him, for there was a sincerity and intensity in his eyes, which could not be easily ignored. Also a few Scripture Union members left the Scripture Union (SU) and joined him. They testified that it was his sincerity coupled with the leadership quality they had noticed in him even at that early stage that had attracted them. Naturally, a number of SU members were angry with him over this development, but some later came to understand and accept his call.

On Saturday, 9th of September 1972, in the course of an all-night prayer meeting, in Port Harcourt with these young believers, the Ministry of Greater Evangelism Crusade was born. Apostle Numbere heard the name; “Greater Evangelism Crusade” repeated a number of times by the Lord in his ears. In excitement he shouted “Greater Evangelism Crusade!!! Greater Evangelism Crusade!! I’ve got the name – Greater Evangelism Crusade!!! Greater Evangelism Crusade!!!” He then shared the message with his prayer partners who were bewildered as to the meaning of his sudden outburst. Thereafter the group adopted this “Greater Evangelism Crusade” to be the name of the Ministry. Some of those who were present in that prayer meeting were Elder Eluan E. Akpana, Evangelist Fubara Ibama, Bro. Ben Iloh, (who later became the first deputy leader of the Ministry) and Sister Iloye Major. Some days later the Lord gave the motto, “TO KNOW JESUS AND TO MAKE JESUS KNOWN” to Apostle Numbere.

And precisely on the 6th of December 1972, he was on his knees praying when the Lord gave him the emblem of the Ministry. – THE GLOBE (THE WORLD) WITH THE CROSS SPANNING IT AND DROPPING ON AFRICA WITH NIGERIA IN THE CENTRE. The Vision of the Ministry was clear - Greater Evangelism was to have three main phases in her Mission. The Ministry was to span over Nigeria, Africa, and the rest of the world. Since the work of the Ministry was to start in Nigeria, Apostle Numbere decided to add the name, “Nigeria” in parenthesis to the name God had given to him and so the Ministry began as Greater Evangelism (Nigeria) Crusade. His plan was that whenever the Ministry got into any country, the name of that country would be inserted in parenthesis into the name of the ministry. For example, if they got to Ghana, the name would be Greater Evangelism (Ghana) Crusade. The name Greater Evangelism (Nigeria) Crusade thus became the name of his Ministry for many years.

During the 1975 Conference, the Holy Spirit revealed independently to Bishop Reeves and Apostle Kayo that the Lord had given Greater Evangelism a world-wide scope and that the Ministry should not be confined to Nigeria alone. On Sunday 15th of April, 1975 (the last day of the Conference) during a joint meeting of the Board of Directors and Council of Elders, these two men of God still led by the Holy Ghost, moved a motion that there be a change of name to reflect the world-wide scope of this ministry. It was like the Council in Jerusalem of the first Century Church replayed. The joint council, having confirmed that indeed this motion was of God passed the resolution. By this resolution, the name, “Greater Evangelism (Nigeria) Crusade was changed to “Greater Evangelism World Crusade” and the Director of the Ministry became officially recognized as the International Director of the Ministry of Greater Evangelism World Crusade.

Culled from "A Man and A Vision" by Nonyem E. Numbere. For inquiries, visit our bookshop.

THE VISION AND THE COMMISSION:

On Tuesday, 3rd March 1970, at about 7:45 a.m., Geoffrey was about to go for his lectures. He knelt down by his bedside, as had become his practice since he became born-again, to commit his going out into God’s Hand. Prayer had now become part of his life for his belief was that, “The greatest privilege I have is that I have God to talk to through the death and resurrection of my Lord Jesus Christ”. Immediately he knelt down, he was caught up in a trance and here is his story:

"The Lord Jesus appeared and stood by my left side. Together we were rocketed like a space ship into the first heaven. At the prompting of the Lord, I looked down. I saw spread before me a vast open plain. The entire plain was filled out with people. They were so many there was no space in between any two people. They were all jam-packed (crammed into one space) and they were all in a stooping, kneeling position, with their faces on the ground like the posture of Muslims in prayer. Without saying a single word, the Lord took me up into the second heaven. The horizon extended; so did the plain. Again another crowd of people much more than the first in the same posture! At this point, frightened by the sight, I broke loose from the Lord and started running away from Him. The Lord did not run after me. He allowed me to run the much I could until I was tired. Then the Lord stretched out His hand from where He stood and as one would a forklift, picked me up and placed me by His side. Together we shot up into the third heaven. Now the higher you go, the farther you see into the horizon. At this point the crowd was simply unimaginable, with all of them still in the same kneeling face down posture.

The Lord spoke to me to look again at this crowd, and pointing at them, said “These are all my creatures that are perishing. It is not my pleasure that as many as these of My creatures should perish”, He said. I then asked Him, “What would you want me to do?” “Go, raise their faces that they may look up to Me and that they might live”, He replied. To another question as to where I should start from, the Lord replied, “Anywhere”. And concluding, The Lord told me, “I have chosen you, but be humble."

One lesson he learned from this was that if the Lord is calling someone and the person is on the run, He would adopt one of two attitudes. He could go get you like He did with Jonah or He could let the person go, like He did with the rich young ruler. In Numbere’s case God went after him, not by running after him but by allowing him to run until he became tired.

As he came out of this vision, he discovered he was still on his knees in his hostel room. He looked at his watch. It was 8:45 a.m. One full hour had lapsed and he had missed his lecture. This vision and commissioning was not a fleeting vision that he could easily forget. It had taken one full hour! He got up from his knees and sat down on his bed pondering over the vision over and over again. The Holy Spirit gave him no rest. It was the vision all over his mind. The vision gripped his heart and soul. He could hardly do anything else as the vision burned in his heart. He was fasting that day but the Lord would not allow him to pray on anything else. In his memoirs of this experience Geoffrey wrote,

"And the Lord showed me and I was afraid for the multitude. But he asked me to start anywhere I went and wake every soul for they were like sheep stacked up in a pen with their heads buried down and I could see no head of any of them up. But I am to go and wake them up and raise their heads to look up to God for it pains the Lord that such great numbers of His creatures should perish. And He has promised to be with me always, and I saw streaks of fire balls go ahead of me. And the Lord would not allow me to pray for the reason for which I was fasting but showed me this gathering over and over again for He has promised to look into my request but His charge is more urgent. And I stared on the work. And He asked me to be humble for He has chosen me."

His heart went out to those souls he saw in the vision. How could he possibly ever forget the crowds of people he saw perishing without Christ?  He kept on seeing those crowds over and over again. He thought of the millions and millions of people who did not know the Lord Jesus Christ. He thought of those who were in the Church like he was and who had not yet known this truth, which he now knew, and his sympathy went to them. Every ambition he had in this life paled and died before this vision. His ambition to get degrees in Geology or Petroleum Engineering, died. In those days in Nigeria, the sure way to get a job and live well was for one to obtain a University degree. Geoffrey’s ambition was to get a good result so he could get a good job and care for his mother and siblings. All his ambitions and desires paled beside this vision. They just died! He completely lost all interest in his academic pursuit.

He knew that his days in the University were over for God had a different course for him. But how was he to leave? He was the hope of his family. God knew what to do. The Lord created circumstances around him so he could not continue with his education and he had to leave the University at the end of the session and get into the Lord’s work.

Culled from "A Man and A Vision" by Nonyem E Numbere. For inquiries, visit our bookshop.