Oghenruona Tejiri, Effurun
Rev. Edafe Charles Okpara, a renowned Baptist Pastor with core calling in prayers, deliverance as well as evangelism has been inducted as the new Pastor in charge of Winners Baptist Church, Effurun with an assurance to see and serve every fellowship group and members of the church as people created in the image of God for who Christ died and rose again to live forever.
In a sermon during the Induction Service, Rev. Benson Menimor, Moderator, Triumphant Baptist Association (TBA), titled, “The Life Of Impact” , using Act of The Apostles Chapter 11:19–26 as reference, charged Rev. Okpara to leave his footprints in the sands of time, adding, “a good example of who lived an impactful life was Jesus Christ “.
Rev. Menimor further charged Rev. Okpara and all present to live a life of dedication, adding, “live beyond self. If you must make impact, your dedication must be top notch. The life of impact is being purposeful and intentional, be deliberate in your life to touch other lives positively.”
According to Rev. Menimor, “exist to make a positive difference wherever you find yourself. There are some people who are dead but not forgotten because of the positive impact he or she made, but there are some who are alive but forgotten. Live your life to a point where your presence would be felt and your absence noticed. Always pray for and support your Pastor so that his presence here would be all round impactful.”
In his pledge, Rev. Okpara said, “before God and in the presence of His people I promise to be engaged in prayerful study of God’s word as I seek to lead and interact with the fellowship groups and members of the church from time to time. I promise that I will never abuse the privilege of leadership that God has given me. So, help me God.”
Rev. Menimor then formally inducted Rev. Okpara, “with the authority vested in me as the Moderator of the Triumphant Baptist Association, I hereby induct you Rev. Edafe Charles Okpara as the Pastor of Winners Baptist Church, Effurun this 2nd day of March, 2025 in the name of God the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Rev. Edafe Charles Okpara hails from Eku in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State. He holds a Master of Arts, M.A in Religious Studies from Delta State University, Abraka and a Bachelor of Theology from the Baptist Theological Seminary, Eku. He is presently studying for a Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. in Religious Ethics at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Prior to this, Rev. Okpara had studied and obtained a Higher National Diploma, HND in Accountancy from the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. He had also worked severally as an Auxiliary Nurse, Pharmacist and Medical Surgery Theatre Technician at the Baptist Medical Center, Eku. He was a Secondary School Teacher, Foreman in a manufacturing company and staff of the Bursary Department of Delta State University, Abraka.
His core calling/ ministry are: prayers, deliverance and evangelism. A Baptist trained Pastor, he was called into the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ on April 8, 1996 (almost twenty-nine years ago) with a clear call mandate rooted in John 10:1-10; and an added scripture: Acts 10:38.
“I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly….” -(John 10:10b)
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, healing all those who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him…” – (Acts 10:38).
Rev. Okpara’s mission ideology is to wit: preaching the word of God with power (Acts 1:8), depopulating the kingdom of darkness to populate the kingdom of God (Acts 26:18), building kingdom people via the word of God, raising God’s generals by impartation and making disciples. He has conceptualized, planned and successfully executed a good number of church projects within the Baptist Denomination.
Ordained as a Reverend of the Baptist Denomination on August 22, 2015, he started formal Pastoral service at Springlife Baptist Church, Bayelsa State, after which he joined Bethel Baptist Church, Sapele as Associate Pastor, – a position he held for twelve years before accepting the call to Winners Baptist Church, Effurun on December 1st, 2024.
Revd. Edafe Charles Okpara has inter-denominational (Ecumenism) experience; when he served as Prayer Leader of the Christian Council of Nigeria, CCN in Sapele Local Government Area for several years.
He is a good family man; happily married to his heartthrob: Revd. Mrs. Janet Ejiroghene Okpara (nee Unukpo) from Oviorie-Ovu in Ethiope East Local Government Area – an ordained Reverend of the Baptist Denomination; she holds a Bachelor of Science, B.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from Delta State University, Abraka, Master of Divinity, M.Div. from the Baptist Theological Seminary, Eku. The union of Revd. Edafe Charles and Revd. Mrs. Janet Ejiroghene Okpara is blessed with four children: Testimony, Evidence, Delight and Oghenetakevwe.
Revd. Okpara is a keen sportsman. He loves football very well so much so that he wanted to make a career of it.
