MAIN STORY

In the big city of Lagos, there lived a man named Ayo. Ayo grew up in a very religious home, and as a child, he loved going to church. His mother was a deaconess in their local church, and she was obsessed with leading Ayo in the way of the Lord.

Ayo’s father, Mr. Benji, was a resident pastor in the local church, and Ayo always looked up to him. In fact, because Ayo grew up with parents who were passionate about God, he aspired to be a pastor. As a teenager, Ayo participated in almost all the church activities, and sometimes, he took the lead in the youth fellowship. When Ayo was 21 years old, he dropped out of the university where he studied business management and went to theology school.

“Mama, I am ready to become a pastor,” Ayo told his parents one evening while they were having dinner, ” I have decided to drop out of school for now,” he added.

“No! Ayo, you shouldn’t do that. Even if you were meant to be a Pastor, you should at least complete your education first,” his father advised him.

“Papa, I don’t have time anymore. I am supposed to be out there healing the sick and raising the dead. I want to fulfil my purpose; school can wait,” Ayo said.

“Have you prayed about this, Ayo? You don’t just quit going to school because you have dreams,” Ayo’s father said.

“Papa, there are not just any kind of dreams. Have you forgotten that I have been having these dreams since I was 10 years old? Every time, I see myself standing in front of thousands of people, while the power of God is doing wonders,” Ayo said.

” I know, Ayo, you have told us this dream more than a thousand times, and I believe that God himself has called you, but…” 

“No buts, Papa, no but. Remember you told me that you felt it strongly in your heart when it was time for you to start Pastoring the church? I feel it’s time for me to also begin my journey as a pastor,” Ayo said. Ayo interrupted his father because he knew his father was about to discourage him, and he was not ready to let that happen.

“OK, I will talk to Pastor David and see if you can let you Pastor the children’s church for the time being,” Ayo’s father said.

“The children’s church? Ah! Papa, you belittle me. Why should I Pastor the children’s church? God has called me unto the nations and you’re telling me to Pastor Children,” Ayo said.

“Ah! Ah! Ayo, take it easy; your father has a point. You need to start from somewhere. Even if you’re attending the school of theology, it doesn’t mean the church will ask you to take over the pulpit. As a young Pastor, you will have to pass through a process before you can be assigned bigger responsibilities,” Ayo’s mother said.

“Mama! You guys are dulling. See, the way you Pastored in your days is different from now. I don’t even want to come to our church; they are not the kind of people I’m looking for. In fact, I have spoken with a few of my friends, and we have decided to start a fellowship on Campus,” Ayo said.

When Ayo said that, his parents could not say anything; they were just surprised that Ayo had alreay contacted some of his friends.

“Hmmm! If you want to start a Campus fellowship, that’s fine. But know that you must always put God first. Do not try….”

“I know, mama,” Ayo cut in, ” I’m not doing this for my own personal gain; it’s for God,” Ayo said.

“OK, if you say so. May God be with you. Go down on your knees; let me pray for you,” Ayo’s father said, and Ayo obeyed.

A week after Ayo had that conversation with his father, he started the campus fellowship with his friends. In the beginning, it wasn’t easy for Ayo and his friends to convince the students to attend the fellowship, but after the students began to hear about all the great things that were happening in the fellowship, they started to attend in their numbers.

In the fellowship, God used Ayo mightily to heal the sick. In fact, it was almost like all of Ayo’s prayers went directly to God’s ears. Almost every time Ayo opened his mouth to sing or pray, a miracle would happen. He was filled with the spirit of God, and he did many great things.

Amongst Ayo and his other friends, Ayo performed the most miracles. On Campus, there was a final-year student who had a severe skin disease. Almost all the students knew him and sometimes, they would disrespect him because of his condition. The boy had no friends and was always treated as an outcast.

After several years of trying different medications and herbs, but none worked or could cure him, the boy decided to attend the fellowship everyone was talking about on Campus. Luckily for him, when Ayo saw the boy that day, he was moved by compassion to pray for him and as soon as he did, the boy’s skin which looked like it was rotten, began to dry up immediately.

When this happened, everyone in attendance began to clap and glorify God. That same day, the news of that miracle spread like wildfire around Campus, and as a result, Ayo became very popular.

In less than three months of starting the fellowship, Ayo had more members every Friday than his local church did. Many students began to volunteer to start various departments, such as the choir, ushers, and other departments that were needed to make a church function.

Ayo was pleased that the fellowship was growing, and he thanked God every day. Unfortunately, becoming a popular Pastor on Campus came with its own downside. Because of all the miracles Ayo had performed, young and beautiful girls began to flock around him, and other fellowships on campus that had heard about him began inviting him to their programmes. They all wanted to associate with the powerful man of God and use his fame to their advantage. Although Ayo loved all the attention he got, he had no idea that they were all distracting him. He no longer had the time to fellowship with God or pray like he used to.

After a very long week, Ayo went home to rest one day. But things did not turn out as he had planned after he told his parents about the fame and attention he had been getting on Campus.

“Ayo, at this early stage of the fellowship. I don’t think you should be honouring invitations from other churches and fellowships yet. Stay grounded on God for now,” Ayo’s father advised him.

“Papa! You don’t understand. Those people love me, and it would be bad if I tried to push them away. Now that I’m hot on Campus, let me take advantage of it,” Ayo said.

“No, Ayo. This fellowship was not about you, and it will never be. It is true that People will begin to respect you more and invite you to different programmes, but all these things will only distract you. If you want to last in ministry, then you must be very careful. Remember your consecration, and don’t let what you see lead you astray,” Ayo’s father said.

“Papa! This is why our church is still small. Despite all the miracles God has used you to perform in that church, what has changed in our lives? Absolutely nothing. We still live in a small house, and you still drive the same car from 15 years ago,” Ayo argued.

“Hmmm! Ayo, I am satisfied with all the Lord has given me, and I’m not complaining,” Ayo’s father said.

“I am not satisfied, Papa. I am not,” Ayo said.

After Ayo responded, his father looked at him, shook his head, and walked out of Ayo’s room. Despite all his father had said, Ayo still refused to listen. He honoured all the invitations from all the churches and fellowships, and he happily received the money they gave him as appreciation.

Meanwhile, there was a girl on Campus named Bisi. Bisi had heard of Ayo, and she decided to get close to him. The night before Bisi approached Ayo to pray for her, Ayo had a dream. In that dream, he was preaching in front of a big congregation, and then all of a sudden, a big snake crawled out of the congregation and wrapped itself around his waist. When this happened, Ayo realized that his voice ceased, and he could no longer speak. Also, he began to feel sexual desires towards the female members of the congregation.

When Ayo woke up from that dream, he forgot to pray about it and carried on with his daily activities. He did not know that what he had seen in his dream was about to manifest in real life very soon.

That evening, Ayo was in his house. After he became famous on Campus, he rented a three-bedroom apartment where he and his other pastors lived. Since the house was open to the fellowship members, some of the members could visit Ayo whenever they had a serious problem.

Bisi had never been to the fellowship, but when she learned she could see Ayo privately in his apartment, she decided to go there.

Around 9pm in the evening, Ayo and the other pastors were at home when Bisi knocked on their front door. She wore a long dress that covered her body, she wrapped her hair with a head tie, and then she carried a big Bible to show that she was also a Christian.

“Good evening, Pastor Ayo. If it’s OK, I would like  to discuss something very important with you,” Bisi said after Pastor Ayo let her into the living room. 

“Yes, that’s fine,” Ayo responded.

The other pastors were also in the living room, and Bisi did not feel comfortable speaking in their presence.

“Can we go somewhere more private, please? I promise not to take too much of your time,” Bisi asked.

“OK, let’s go outside, ” Ayo suggested.

“How about your room? There will be more privacy there,” Bisi asked. Though Ayo was not comfortable with taking a total stranger to his room, he couldn’t say no to Bisi. Also, he believed that they would just have a harmless conversation and they would be out in no time, but he was very wrong.

“OK, let’s go there,” Ayo said as he led the way to his room.

As soon as Ayo and Bisi entered Ayo’s room, Bisi sat on his bed, and she turned to him.

“Pastor Ayo, I have heard so much about you. In fact, there is no one on this Campus who has not heard about you,” Bisi said.

“Thank you, but all glory belongs to God,” Ayo said, “Let’s talk about why you are here,” Ayo added.

“I have a problem, Pastor. My aunt initiated me to a marine Coven when I was very young, and since then, I’ve been trying to break out of it,” Bisi said in a sad voice.

“There is nothing God cannot do. Do you believe that God can deliver you?” Ayo asked.

“Yes, I do,” Bisi said, “but that’s not all, Pastor; there’s something else.” She added.

“What’s that?” Ayo asked in a confused tone.

“I like you, Pastor Ayo. I’ve liked you from the very first day I set my eyes on you,” Bisi said in a very seductive tone. The next thing, she got up from the bed she sat on, walked to Ayo and began to touch him seductively.

“What are you doing?” Ayo asked. He was shocked that the same lady who had looked sad earlier suddenly became bold.

“Shhhhh!” Bisi pressed her index finger against her lips.

“I want to take care of you,” Bisi said.

“No, I can’t do this, it’s…”

Before Ayo could complete his sentence, Bisi removed the long gown she wore and was completely naked before Ayo.

“Tell me? Don’t you want this? I promise not to tell anyone as long as I have you to myself alone,” Bisi said.

Immediately after Bisi removed her clothes, Ayo could not take his eyes off her. In fact, he didn’t even know how he ended up in bed with Bisi. Their intimacy happened so fast, and before Ayo could realize what he had done, Bisi was already wearing her clothes.

“What did we just do?” Ayo asked Bisi, who was trying to wrap her headtie, but she did not answer.

“What have I done?” Ayo soliloquized.

“Let me see if you will still function on this campus without us,” Bisi said before leaving Ayo’s room.

Because Ayo was too ashamed to tell the other pastors what had happened, he kept the secret to himself, not knowing the damage he had done to himself. It wasn’t until the next day at the fellowship that he realized the impact of what he had done.

For the first time in the fellowship’s history, Ayo could not perform a miracle. His words no longer carried weight, and it was almost like every time he prayed, he would end up speaking gibberish. Even though the congregation did not notice that something was wrong, Ayo could tell that something was different. He felt different, and the worst was that each time he looked at a lady in his congregation, he would have lustful thoughts.

Precisely a month after Ayo slept with Bisi, the lady whom he never saw again, the fellowship began to crumble. Out of desperation to save his face and name, Ayo decided to find a solution, not knowing that he was only getting himself into more trouble.

Watch out for part two

Did you enjoy this story? Tell us your favourite part in the comment section below. Please like, share and subscribe to our channel. Also, do not forget to follow our channel on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you.