Lagos Archdiocesan Catholic Charismatic Institute matriculates 84 students

Photo : Brother Bendict Ibe Chairman LACCl (m) and Director of studies Sister Kate Igwe in a group photograph with the matriculating students

It was indeed a beautiful day to reckon with on Sunday, 30th, June, 2024 when the Lagos Archdiocesan Catholic Charismatic Institute (LAACl) matriculated 84 students at the schools study centre, Coberts Schools, No 3 Kahimawo Alimi Street off NNPC Bus Stop, Oke- Afa, Ejigbo, Lagos State,

The occasion which commenced by 1:00pm attracted a huge number of dignitaries from all walks of life including the Chaplain of the Archdiocesan Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCRN) Very Rev. Monsignor Pascal Nwaezeapu, the Provincial Chairman Brother John Fowade, ,Brother Anthony Omasu, Chairman ASC, Brother Cyril Oyego ASC vice chairman, Brother Basil Aja and Brother Joseph Nnoruka Chairman of the occasion.
others in attendance were over twenty Deanery Chairmen, coordinators of prayer group/ministry heads in the Archdioceses of Lagos.

In his address of welcome, Chairman of the institute, Brother Benedict Ibe
congratulated the matriculating students just as he acknowledged those who came to honour (LACCl) on her second matriculation.
He also recognized the presence of some dignitaries of Lagos Archdiocesan Catholic Charismatic Institute(LACCI),her lecturers and students.
Amongst those he also acknowledged their presence were ASC chairman, Brother Anthony Omasu, Cyril Oghaego and other members of the Lagos Archdiocesan service of
communion (ASC), leaders of Deaneries,Prayer groups and Ministers of CCRN whose support made the event a reality .
He specially welcomed the guest speaker, Very Rev. Monsignor Pascal
Nwaezeakpu and other special guests who came to support and show solidarity with the institute at her second matriculation ceremony.

It would be recalled that the first and only matriculation of the institute took place in May 2021 for the pioneer students which made the school to matriculate three sets of students totalling 84.

The chairman noted that in view of the expectation and plans to hold an elaborate graduation ceremony for the pioneer students it was decided that the matriculation will be low keyed which was why it took place at the schools study centre
In his matriculation lecture tagged
‘DISCIPLESHIP’ the guest speaker, Very Rev Monsignor Pascal Nwaezeapu advised the students to be true followers of Jesus Christ no
matter it might cause them even as he charged them to be ready to pay
the price as longer as their desire is to look unto Master Jesus who disciples them.
According to him, using the venue for the event offers a unique opportunity
to know the place where LACCl is presently located so that it could be easily be described to prospective students.

The guest speaker explained that the institute was conceived to provide training/formation in Christian discipleship, ministry and leadership
among members of the CCRN in particular and Catholics in general through regular and specialized training for discipleship, ministry, leadership formation, evangelization, and entrepreneurship skills development.

” The institute is aimed at impacting formidable principle of true ministry service and leadership based on the Catholic Charismatic spirituality; a spirituality that identifies and uses the
charism of each person for the Church and allows one to be all that one is called to be in God”, he stressed.

The Man of God stated that if the students must fulfill the Christian mandate of making disciples of all nations as enshrined in the Great commission (cf Mt 28.19), to have dominion upon the earth (cf Gen 1.28) and to influence the world with the eternal values of heaven in such a way that the reign of God in the world will be seen by all (cf Rev. 11.15), then the
CCRN and her leaders must go beyond emotionalism and current efforts at having good programmes and spirit filled prayer meetings and begin to build enduring structures for training members in Christian discipleship where they will learn to relate with Christ personally and follow Him the way he wants to be followed.

“This is the condition necessary to discover,develop and fulfill God’s call and purpose for them as they become true Disciples of Christ.This is what LACCI is about and stand for.

Monsignor Nwaezeapu was of the opinion that the weaknesses discovered among the CCR members especially among today’s new generation members may have arisen because over the years activities have been carried on so informally and operated without a unified, coordinated, regular and structured training/formation programme; either at national or Diocesan levels to standardize the training of members, leaders and potential leaders of the CCR in true Christian discipleship, ministry, evangelization and leadership etc as is obtainable in other climes.

According to him, this has led to lack of adequate formation for the average member of the CCR both in Church teachings /Doctrines and in Catholic Charismatic spirituality which leaves
many to smoke in beats and pieces of whatever seems to the month to be an ideal Christianity positing that It’s certainly no longer sustainable that the same methods used at the early stage of the CCRN when membership was low should be expected to be applied now in supporting the increasingly diverse growth in preparing members for life in the battle of faith and in fulfilling God’s call and purpose for them.

‘”It is inconceivable that we can win the battle of faith and fulfill God’s call and purpose for us without adequate formation and knowledge. We must come to the realization that
knowledge is of absolute importance in our walk with God and in the fulfillment of the great commission.

“It is when we know the truth that the truth will set us free (cf John 8: 32-33)
The scripture says that zeal without knowledge is not good enough ( Proverbs 19:2). Zeal and sincerity alone therefore, are not enough in seeking God. We need accurate and complete knowledge in accordance to the testimony of St Paul in Romans 10: 2-3
” The Jews were zealous and sincere in their search for God and righteousness but they lacked knowledge; knowledge of how God puts people right with Himself. It is in search of this encounter with a deeper knowledge of the truth that some of our members have gone astray.

He described LACCI as standing in the gap as a Catholic alternative for the myriad of self-styled schools of
discipleship, pastoral and bible Colleges existing today and that Catholics cannot continue to pretend not to know that a number of their members who long for knowledge through structured training and development programme to enable them discover, develop and fulfill God’s purpose for them within the Church through the CCRN and the society secretly engage in all manner of non Catholic pastoral trainings in search of some form of personal knowledge and self-development in ministry and evangelization which ends up leading some away from the CCR and the Church.

He posited that some of those who survive the sojourns and return to the
Renewal,tend to be worshiped and treated as the ‘happening ministers’ and now organize private schools for training and mentorship programmes for followers and in the process, have
no time for such programmes that do not promise them personal gains, warning that this does not portend a good sign for the CCR in future if nothing is done about it but expressed happiness with the intervention of the Lagos Archdiocesan Catholic Charismatic Institute (LACCI) whose training is designed to produce balanced Catholic Christians with spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, skills
and potentials effectively mobilized to become a balancing force in the Church and society today.

“Through its discipleship experience,
programme and discipline, LACCI guides members to know more about the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church through the Holy Spirit, His Ministry and mission and surrender unreservedly to His leadership, discover, develop and fulfill their purpose in the body of Christ and in the society at large so as to enjoy their rich inheritance in Christ Jesus and
work with the Lord in accordance with His will for effective evangelization
and lead them back to the ancient path of true Catholicism.
” This entails worshipping God in spirit and in truth) as opposed to the misleading selfishness, rebellion and division that continues to tear the present day Christianity into pieces”, he said.

He charged the students to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness as true disciples who daily deny themselves of the luxuries of life by taking up their crosses and following Jesus Christ thereby becoming priestly and kingly people to serve God and reign on earth, to be Christ like, victorious and prosperous unto the transformation of society.

” As true disciples of Christ we must be positioned to take over the control of the seven mountains/ models of influence in society i.e. family, religion,education, government/ politics, media entertainment/sports and business/finance for we cannot play the second fiddle in the very game of our Father”, advised the Monsignor.

On the vision of the institute, he identifies it as making disciples of all nations; raise transformed leaders to influence and lead transformation in the society while he described the aims and objectives of the school to include; helping people to discover develop, and fulfill God’s purpose for them in the Church and the society under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to equip the believer in Jesus Christ for the works of Christian service, raise disciples who will preserve the faith of the Church for the imminent return of the Lord, promote submission to constituted authority: family, Church and government as well as to promote fruitful and fulfilled Christian life.

Throwing more light on the Programmes of LACCI, he explained that the Institute offers programmes leading to the award of Diploma in Christian Ministry; made up of discipleship, ministry, leadership, evangelization and entrepreneurship
skills development.

According to him, the programmes are structured as follows :
i.Basic Studies Part 1 (BS): CCR Spirituality,
ii.Basic Studies (BS) Part 2: Developing Intimacy with God,
iii.Advance Studies (AS) Part 1: Discipleship,
iv.Advance Studies (AS) Part 2: Ministry & Service,
v.Advance Studies (AS) Part 3: Leadership & Entrepreneurship skills,
vi.Advance Studies (AS) Part 4: Victorious Life.
He noted that a certificate of participation is awarded to students at the completion of Basic Studies Parts 1&2 while Diploma in Christian Ministry is awarded at the completion of Basic and Advanced Studies(i.e. Basic Studies Parts 1 & 2 and Advance Studies Parts 1, 2,3 & 4).

The details of the various courses that form the curriculum and programmes of LACCI according to Monsignor Nwaezeapu is contained in LACCI handbook which is available to all who need further insight into the
programmes of the institute and can be obtained at a token price of one thousand naira only.

On LACCI Lectures and Lecturers, he explained that the list of LACCI lecturers includes renowned University Professors, Priests and lay faithful who are called upon to handle various courses

“ACCI maintains two groups of lecturers; regular and ad-hoc lecturers.
The regular lecturers are those who come every weekend according to the
teaching time table while the ad-hoc lecturers are those whose lectures are
arranged to fit their preferred time and they package their course to finish within two or three contacts

“It’s equally important to remind you that LACCI lectures hold on Saturdays from 9am- 5pm and on Sundays from 11 am- 5 pm and all lectures are expected to fall within this time whether regular or ad-hoc.
After his well researched presentation, the Director of Studies of the institute Sister Dr.Kate Igwe led the matriculating students to take an oath of admission according to the school rules and regulations.

Meanwhile, the management of the Institute after introducing the two major areas of challenges facing the school were optimistic that the matriculation shall be a platform to create more awareness for their activities and most importantly attract support from public spirited individuals which could be in any form
that will help to offset the overall cost of studying in the school.

It noted that LACCI shall be open to accept freewill donations,general or specific scholarship, annual or one- off grants, sponsorship of some
production equipments and processes or defined investment partnership from well meaning CCRN members, organizations and kind hearted individuals, philanthropists and investors.

The management further stated that while looking forward for most engaging thoughts and supports to make LACCI successful, it also
strongly believe that if the CCR leadership in Lagos Archdiocese
takes ownership of LACCI with the same zeal and spirit she has pursued the CCR group insurance; a tremendous success will be recorded in the area of student enrolment.

“We wish to acknowledge the many suggestions people have made to make LACCl a great institute but all cannot really be implemented from the very start.
“It cannot be overemphasized that no institution for the training of people can be said to be perfect at the start with regard to the courses and their contents as well as the method of delivery and we cannot pretend to be different but we will continue to change as we strive to meet the training demands and needs of the Christian faith especially in the era of great need for discipleship, ministry, leadership, evangelization and entrepreneurial skills empowerment in the modern world”, concluded the management.