By Bill Joukhadar

While ministering at Maadi Community Church in Cairo, Egypt, I received an expression of interest from a pastor of a small church in Nigeria regarding small groups development. At that time, MCC had experienced unprecedented success with Small Groups ministry and a Nigerian national in the congregation had returned to Lagos from MCC to visit family, and during that visit he spoke highly of small groups as being essential in the life and growth of a church.

It was during a visit to the Lagos church in 2004 that I met Elijah Samuel… he was the associate pastor of the church. Elijah’s teachability,  respect, and hunger to learn from me sparked a collaborative relationship that has spanned 19 years. Coaching and mentoring Elijah over all these years has been a real joy. He is known by those who are close to him as “Pastor Sam.”

Elijah received the call of God to teach and preach God’s Word to the nations with evidence of salvation and healings taking place. He is currently Senior Pastor of the Assurance Pentecostal Church International (APCI).

For more than twenty-years, Pastor Sam has served in full-time ministry across Nigeria, in Egypt, South Africa, Liberia, Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique. As a conference speaker, he is especially focused on empowering ministers and church leaders with the principles of Small Groups for Church Growth. He also served as the former Director of Training for Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) – Egbeda Chapter, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Pastor Sam believes in, and is committed to, the “Each One Teach One” mission in the body of Christ. He is especially gifted and passionate in meeting the physical and socio-economic needs of the less privileged people around him as revealed in the Book of Matthew 25:35-40.

Elijah is proudly married to Blessing, a supporting and caring wife, and together they enjoy a good home in the Ijoko-Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. He is the author of Securing Divine Help and Small Groups for Church Growth – available on Amazon.

You can learn more about Elijah’s work in Nigeria by visiting his website at https://assurancepentecostal.org.ng/