By Peter Amine
The outgoing President of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Dr Stephen Panya, has reeled out his achievements and challenges of his stewardship in the last six years.
Panya, who briefed newsmen in Jos, thanked God for the grace and opportunity to lead the great denomination of 10 million members for the growth of his kingdom.
The ECWA President appreciated our modest contribution to the further growth and development of ECWA worldwide.
He stated that ECWA does not believe in abandoned projects and that there were projects that his team met on the ground and was able to complete some while others were ongoing.
Panya said that some of the projects his administration initiated were completed, and others were ongoing.
“Leadership in ECWA is a continuum; therefore, we don’t believe in abandoned projects.
“When we came into office in 2018, this executive wing of the headquarters building I am addressing you in was still under construction; we completed it in record time and put it to use.
“We are grateful that the ECWA Portfolio Management Limited (EPML) head office was completed under this and has since been put to use.
“There were plans on ground for the establishment health insurance scheme, and this we followed through, and now we have an operational ECWA health Insurance Scheme that is such a great blessing to ECWA pastors and employees generally.
“There were plans on ground for the establishment of the ECWA Leadership Institute, and we are glad to let you know that the leadership institute has been completed. It has been running courses for ECWA members and leaders,” he said.
The ECWA president stated that an anthem organization is important for every organisation and that during his tenure, they composed ECWA Anthem that was already in use.
According to him, one of the greatest things God enabled them to do was reposition Bingham University on a very sound footing intellectually, and physically in terms of development.
He added that the ECWA President’s House was renovated to make it more befitting, while that of the vice president was demolished and rebuilt.
Panya announced that they have established a Bible Translation Unit to translate the Bible into various local languages.
“We established the ECWA Relief Foundation to reach out to those that were affected by crises in different parts of the country.
“We have raised hundreds of millions of Naira to assist our brothers that were affected by one form of crisis or another.
“We have initiated the construction of the Trustees and ECWA Guest House Executive Wing.
“We also incorporated a textile company called Kentex Company, which was named after one of our pioneering missionaries.
“We established a technical arm in one of our secondary schools, ECWA Secondary School Minango, so that our children can acquire technical skills to fend for themselves,” he said.
Panya said that the leadership, over time, ensured the establishment of schools and medical facilities in rural communities.
Meanwhile, he identified COVID-19 and insecurity as the major challenges of his administration.
The cleric said that because of COVID-19, ECWA, in its over 100 years of existence, couldn’t hold its annual General Council in 2019.
He decried the spate of killings across the country, stating that hundreds of Nigerians, including members of the church, were killed on a regular basis by terrorists.
Panya, who would officially retire on June 1, would launch a book on his stewardship on June 29.
