….Study Bible’s to mark 50 years of DCLM – BSN
By Ebriku John Friday
The General Superintendent, Deeper Christian Life Ministry, and Convener, Global Crusade with Kumuyi, GCK, Pastor William Kumuyi, Friday, was elated with the unveiling of the ‘Deeper Life Study Bible’ by the Bible Society of Nigeria, BSN, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The unveiling was formally made by the General Secretary of the Bible Society of Nigeria, Pastor Samuel Sanusi, and presented to Pastor Kumuyi shortly after the Ministers, Church Workers and Professional Conference held at the Dr Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt, on the sidelines of the ongoing 6 days Global Crusade with Kumuyi, GCK, in Port Harcourt.
Those in attendance to witness the unveiling include the wife of Pastor Kumuyi, Mummy Esther Kumuyi, Chairman of the Editorial team, Pastor Segun Babatope, and amongst others.
The international gospel evangelist expressed deep appreciation and commended the BSN and the team for making the historical feat a reality.
He said: “Last year, 2022, they wrote to me to ask if the Deeper Life Bible Church could have a Bible, King James Version with all the notes and doctrines and studies on holiness incorporated notes into the Bible, and I said, yes we can, especially because we know that we are coming to the 50th anniversary of Deeper Christian Life Ministry.
We started in August 1973, and this year August 2023, we will be 50, and we have really emphasised the study of the Bible and we have every Monday since that August 1973 till now been studying the Bible with our congregations all over the world.
“And now with the 50th anniversary we have this study Bible, and really as the General Secretary of Bible Society of Nigeria has said, he has not seen any Bible like this, that you can say, this other Bible compares with that, it is unique in its presentation.
“And I also say that looking through that it is really unique, and of course I have used many study Bibles and I am going to shift to this one.
Meanwhile, the clergy revealed how he uses different kinds of Bible versions to prepare his Bible Study materials.
“I am used to different kinds of Bible in preparing all the messages I prepare. Many people would wonder, when they see the depth of the knowledge that comes into the study of the Bible in my preparation and presentation, I use concordance, Bible dictionary and the notes that other people have done.
“But looking at this, I just have to shift. All we need we should find here. I want to recommend it to everyone, every minister in any church and anywhere, you would find this very useful”, he said.
According him, “It will help the depth of knowledge you have. You know everything we do is through the Word and this is the Word, it is the Bible and nothing changed, not adulterated.
“Only that we give the explanation, the notes to the difficult passages, the ones that you have been struggling with, you would find everything here elaborated.
“Once again get a copy and every member of the church needs a copy. Every minister needs a copy, ministers in our church Deeper Life Bible Church and ministers everywhere.
“And those who follow us on the GCK that we are reaching out to the world with gospel, everywhere, this will sustain all the faith. When Christ comes, I pray you will be ready in Jesus name.”
Earlier, speaking on what inspired the project and executed by BSC in collaboration with Deeper Life Bible Church, Sanusi said, “As a new convert and growing in the faith I have come across so many kinds of Bible and I have used some of them.
“But something comes to my mind that with the way of Daddy (Kumuyi) preaches and teaches holiness, that ‘what if Pastor Kumuyi publish a study Bible?’. That has been in my mind over 30 years ago since I gave my life to Christ.
“And when the opportunity comes, I now remember that Deeper Life Bible Church will be 50 years old, I then said what if we do this, because it will not just be for the members of Deeper Life but for the whole world.”
He further stated that, “When you write a book people forget it, but when it is in the Bible people will hardly throw it away. And that is why we embarked on the project, moreso in commemoration with Deeper Life at 50 and I am happy it has happened.
“To put this together, you know we already have the Bible, we only brought in the notes and synopsis to make it “Deeper Life Study Bible”, he explained.
On his part, the Chairman of the Editorial team for the Deeper Life Study Bible Project, Pastor Segun Babatope, recalled that the Bible Society of Nigeria wrote to the GS on a project to publish a Study Bible to mark the 50th anniversary of the ministry, which he and others were saddled with the assignment and embarked on prayerfully and guidance of the GS, saying, “God helped us. It is entirely the product of grace, not the work of any man”.
“And we enjoyed the cooperation of the Bible Society of Nigeria and the guidance and prayers of the GS, that’s how we now have the Deepest Life Study Bible.
“It is not yet in the market and we couldn’t have gone to the market without the blessing of the GS. We needed to make the presentation to the GS first of all and then we can go to the market where people can get copies for themselves.
He stated that, “Apart from the editorial team, we had an expanded editorial team of Bible scholars across the world because this is a universal project that must touch every nook and cranny of the world. We pull them together and shared the assignment.
“And I believe it was about six to seven months of active work of sleepless nights before we arrived at this.”
On Deeper Life at 50, he disclosed that, “There is going to be a Congress that would pull all leaders together from across the world and we are going to be gathered before the Lord from the first week of August, not to celebrate but to recommit and re-consecrate ourselves to the vision that brought Deeper Life initially. So for us celebration means fresh consecration, fresh recommitment, fresh rededication.”
Meanwhile, during the Ministers, Church Workers, and Professionals Conference, the Convener, GCK, Pastor William Kumuyi, while ministering on a message titled, ‘Recovering the Lost Axe-head for Life and Ministry’ with three subtitles: The Life and the Ministry of Men of God; The Link with the Miraculous through the Ministration of the Godly; and The Learning for Mastery by the Ministers of the Gospel, charged the participants on recovering, restoring and refreshing their conversion and call, commission and consecration as well as convictions and confession to the Lord and the work of the gospel.
