The Area A Youth Organisation, Lagos State held her 2023 Inter-Parish Bible & Liturgy Competition on Saturday July 15 at C.C.C. Royal Parish (Alfa-Nda Cathedral) with fabulous cash prizes namely: First Prize – N500,000; Second Prize – N300,000; and Third Prize – N200,000, totalling One Million Naira.
Such a large haul of cash prizes in a quiz contest was the first of its kind in C.C.C. Worldwide where both the winning contestants and their parishes were beneficiaries.
The Area A Youth Organisation led by the Area Coordinator; Evangelist Paul Osho and his team of Executives organized the event.
The Quiz Judges were Shepherd (Dr.) Kunle Hamilton as Chief Judge, Ven. Sup. Evang. Festus Olatujoye, Evangelist Sunmade Oyedeji, Evangelist Isaac Ogundeji and Prophet (Dr.) Precious Iluku.
According to the Quiz Master, Evangelist Paul Osho, the One Million Naira cash prize haul was provided by an individual in C.C.C. who preferred to be anonymous and had stated that, “This is to inspire us all in the Celestial Church of Christ to place higher value on Bible Knowledge and Church Liturgy so that our young ones can be better equipped for healthier Christian living as Celestians.
Twelve (12) C.C.C. parishes qualified for the quiz finale with two representatives per parish. The parishes were…
Royal Parish (Alfa-Nda Cathedral), Moboluwaduro Araromi Parish, Mafoluku 1, Oshodi 1, Ilasamaja Parish 1, Igbekele Oluwa Parish, Itire Cathedral, Ileri Oluwa Elijah Parish, Shalom Parish, Ibuje Eran Parish, Itunu Parish and Idi-Araba Parish.
Contestants were quizzed in the different categories of Bible Knowledge, C.C.C. Liturgy, Constitution, Services, Hymns and History, and the winners were:
First Position – N500,000 – C.C.C. Itire Cathedral, represented by Kujore Samson and Akinsola Daniel.
Second Position – N300,000 – C.C.C. Oshodi 1 Parish, represented by Young Ezekiel and Akinosho Ibrahim.
Third Position N200,000 – C.C.C. Mafoluku 1 Model Parish, represented by Adeboye Opeyemi and Adepegba Gabriel.
The six winners were granted deductible 20% of the cash prizes they won for their parishes, while the other 18 participants went home with certificates of particpation.
Addressing everyone at the end of the contest as Chief Judge, Dr. Hamilton said; “This is a very inspiring event and in the Celestial Church of Christ, we need to keep creating more healthy and well funded competitions like this, that will promote intellectual, spiritual and scriptural competencies among our youths and adults; not just cantatas, sports, revivals and crusades alone.”
Hamilton commended the sole sponsor and organisers of the quiz competition and encouraged all young Celestians to prioritize sound secular and spiritual education in their pursuit of excellence.