1. What are the most burning issues you are facing regarding the role of the churches in your society?

While these issues are numerous, a few of them stand out. They include:

Religious Pluralism

Religion, despite its concern with the spiritual, remains an important topic in defining the most burning issues we face regarding the role of Churches in any  society. Just like there are diverse ethnic groups in Nigeria, so also do we have diverse religious groups with each component group jostling for supremacy over the other. The existence of multiple, doctrinally diverse religions within a single society has negatively affected the Churches attempts at making inroads into other ethnicities hitherto dominated by other religious divides. These efforts are more often than not met with stiff opposition. There is resistance in any form against any attempt by the Church to ‘’indoctrinate’’ and ‘’brainwash’’ adherents of the other religions.

The Church has a traditional role as a unifying factor for the society in which it finds itself but where different religious faiths exist within a single society like Nigeria, it splinters society, weakening the influence of the Church and inhibiting it from acting as a cohesive force within the society.

Violence

Violence, whether ethnic, religious or sparked by some other cause is a burning issue faced by the church in the society. This is because whenever there is an outbreak of violence, wanton destruction of lives and property occur. The Church is always caught in the middle of these destructions because the perpetrators of these acts do not draw the line over which property is razed or not. As a result, a lot of Church properties are destroyed and the effect is that time and resources which could have been channelled into other aspects of improving the life of the Church and the society is spent renovating and replacing such property.

Poverty

While various steps have been taken towards mediating its effect, the rising incidence of poverty still remains one of the intractable problems facing the Church in our society. Nigeria is ranked among the world's poorest countries. According to a World Bank report of 1999, nearly 70 percent of the population live below the poverty line.

Poverty is a multi-faceted condition. It has many factors, among them poor access to public services, infrastructure, unsanitary environmental surroundings, illiteracy and ignorance, poor health, insecurity, voicelessness and social exclusion, as well as low levels of household income and food insecurity. Faced with poverty, a lot of people within the society see the Church as an escape route. Unfortunately, the Church cannot meet their expectations. The reason is not farfetched. It is contributions from its members that the Church uses to run some of its initiatives. Where the members of the Church are primarily the impoverished ones, how does the Church provide the physical succour they require, and enough to get their attention focused on the spiritual issues too?

Corruption

Corruption is a phenomenon that is not limited by politics or geography. It exists in rich countries and in poor countries. The economic impact of corruption is difficult to establish with precision; in fact, available data is often inconsistent. Nonetheless, we are dealing with enormous amounts of resources that are taken away from the economy, from production and from social programmes. The costs are borne by the citizens: the price of corruption is paid by using monies intended for the legitimate use of society.

As much as the Nigerian State has tried to fight this hydra – headed monster, corruption still remains the a thorn in the fabric of the society and as a result has become one of the burning issues facing the Church today. The Church in its many denominations wields extraordinary influence over people's ethics and perceptions of right and wrong and is actively campaigning against corruption through sermons and Bible Studies but suffice it to say that these strategies are not enough to combat this evil that has permeated our society.

The Advent of the Internet

As much as we hail the internet as an innovation that has added value to our lives both socially and otherwise, it has become one issue that is gradually eroding the moral fabric of the society, particularly in relation to the youths. The Church’s goal is to ‘catch them young for Christ’. However it is this same vulnerable group that is the target of the proponents of internet gambling, pornography and other such vices. The challenges this poses to the Church cannot be over – emphasised.

 2. How can the fellowship of member churches support the churches in the situation you are facing?

These are challenging times for the Church, particularly in the face of the current global economic meltdown. A lot of the issues facing the Church are mostly finance related. While we in Nigeria acknowledge that we have been blessed with natural resources which if properly harnessed could help alleviate some of these issues, we do not also lose sight of the fact that these resources are managed by those in Government and so long as corruption persists, our hope for a better society in partnership with the Church remains, at best, dim.

Consequently, the Fellowship of Member Churches may provide help in the following ways:

• Making available financial resources for educational and healthcare institutions or social services. As Heads and Leaders of our Christian communities, we will work closely with all funders who are disposed to support and work with Christian and faith-based organisations. We are open to partnerships with them and others who are happy to put their resources to work in the struggle, and do so knowing well that we work according to our Gospel convictions.
• Assist in enlightenment programmes and campaigns. This will assist the Churches in giving clearer parameters to society on issues of corruption as well as arrive at a better understanding of the phenomenon of corruption, to identify the best methods for countering it and to explain the contribution that the Church can make in this undertaking.
• Establish initiatives that are committed to tackling poverty in the society. The Fellowship would work in partnership with local Churches and with the people in poverty themselves to find solutions to poverty, locally, nationally and globally.
• Promote attitudinal, mental and behavioural changes necessary for confronting the challenge which the negative use of the internet poses. 

3. In which regard and how can your experience enrich and be of relevance to the fellowship?

All the foregoing challenges have taught us that because of the heterogeneous society in which we find ourselves, we have been marginalized by the attitudes, actions or barriers in society. It is time we explored a possible framework to help the churches to adequately fit into their role in the society.

Whenever people are provided with a God-given dream then a persistence of faith must accompany them on a long journey. The story of the Church everywhere you travel in the world is about perseverance of faith and courageous pioneering.

Moved by the love and respect due to every human person, the fellowship of member Churches can use every means available in order to better appreciate and put an end to the issues the Church is facing.

In better appreciating the problems the Church faces, the Fellowship would then move closer to fulfilling its call to visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship; promote their common witness in work for mission and evangelism; engage in Christian service by serving human need, breaking down barriers between people, seeking justice and peace, and upholding the integrity of creation; and foster renewal in unity, worship, mission and service.