BISHOP DR. ZWAVE AND THE NEW FACE OF EVANGELISM
By Williams Ayooso
The Harvest and Thanksgiving Service is an annual programme, of the Divine Solutions and Miracle Center Ministry, where members of the church make contributions from the proceeds of their farm products to build structures and strengthen the evangelical capacity of the church.
Chairman, Central Planning Committee of the 2025 Harvest Thanksgiving Central Planning Committee, Mr Atta Tordue, captured it succinctly when he told our reporter that the programme is the time for the church members to make commitments by bringing what they got from their farms to enable the church sell them and use the money to make some meaningful development.
The event, which took place on 9th March, 2025 at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Peva-Chanchanji, was attended by all Church branches of the Ministry.
Although the harvest and thanksgiving Service was described as a huge success, the chairman was more overwhelmed by the spiritual impact, including the healings and the miracles that manifested in the two-day programme. The CPC chairman also spoke in glowing terms about the personality that the Almighty God is using to touch the lives of people positively. He was talking about no other person than the leader of the Church, Dr. Stephen Saater Zwave, Bishop of Divine Solutions and Miracle Center Ministry.
“The leader of this Ministry is a man of God that has committed himself to God by serving Him faithfully. As you can see, most of the new generation churches preached only things that has to do with wealth in other to get money from their members. But in the case of this man of God, whatever he gets from the church, he used the money for the welfare of his members.” He stated.
The CPC chairman gave an instance where a woman came for the harvest from Vandekya and collapsed in the church and the man of God took her to the hospital and there in the hospital, she was diagnosed with anaemia and he “the man of God” donated his blood for the woman, aside from footing her medical bill.
Asides these, Atta Tordue has his testimony.
“I’m a medical practitioner with modern medical equipment with which I use to effectively dispense services. But when I treat people, they got healed from my Clinic, but they never tell people about it. It was clearly a satanic manipulation upon me and anything I touched never go in the right way. Life became so mysterious and miserable. When people see me on the street, they start cursing me.
“That was my situation until I meet this man of God. Since then, my life has change. There has been a massive patronage in the clinic such that it is difficult to control the crowd of patronage and within a year, I was able to acquire a new car which I took to him for dedication.” He spoke.
The Music Director of the Ministry, brother Martins Ododa, concurred the position of Ata Tordue.
“The Community is enjoying the ministry because the man of God always intervenes for them in times of need, especially during crises, to ensure peace, performing miracles of all kinds. Here, the death regains their lives, blind received their sights, breaking of barriers, delay of success in life and many others.” He stated.
Mrs Beatrice Adams and Mrs Blessing Denen, who were among the church members that came all the way from Vande Ikya, Benue State, one of the Ministry’s branches hold the same perception.
“God has given us a good Bishop who is doing great works in my life and others. He says something once and it is done permanently. He has solved my problems that even my parents were not able to solve, so I’m happy and I will continue to follow him.
“I am mostly happy that the Bishop has extended this Conference to our community and we are equally prepared to welcome him with his people. We are happy and we are forever grateful for the gift of our Bishop, he is such a nice and humble servant of God.” Beatrice adams told our reporter.
For Blessing Denen, the Bishop, Dr. Stephen Saater, is a gift from God. “God has done a great thing to me even in this Conference. Before we came here, I was ill (stomach-ache) but through the prayers and support of our spiritual father, I am much better now. He is actually doing the work of God well and we are equally inspired. So, we’ll continue to support him so that we too, can grow in the service to God and humanity. “She stated.
It was not all about Bishop Dr. Stephen Msughter. During the deliverance service, which was part of the activities marking the event, there was a gale of testimonies from the members on the positive things that God has done in their lives. Most of those who gave the testimonies were pointing fingers at the miracles that they got through a Woman they simply addressed as Mommy, Pastor Mrs Nick T, wife of the Bishop. She is in charge of the Peva Church, Takum LGA of Taraba State.
At this instance, our reporter sought to hear from her the spiritual derivatives shaped her healing and delivering prowess and why there is a perfect blend between her and her husband, the Bishop.
“Healing and deliverance prowess is a gift from God. It depends on the spiritual connectivity between one and God. All I do is pray for people that are sick and God in his infinite mercies heals them.
“I did not meet with my husband coincidentally. God planned it. If God really sends you. He connects you with people of like minds. God made the Bishop and He knew he was going to work for Him then He removed his rib and made me perfectly to assist him in this journey.
“So far, we made a lot of progress as a Ministry. My desire is for us to worship God in truth and faith so that on the last day, we’ll all enter the Kingdom of God.” She added.
The historical background of the Church and its spiritual focus is one that is replete with perseverance, sacrifice and faith. It all started with a vision from Dr. Stephen Saater, which led to the establishment of Divine Solutions and Miracle Center Ministry.
Before then, he was a Pastor with the Living Faith Church from 2004 to 2007. The Ministry, which came to limelight precisely on March 11th, 2007 now has 10 churches spread across the State and beyond with the Headquarters in Peva Chanchanji, Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State.
One striking feature with the Ministry is that about 90& of members of the church are mostly from the vulnerable class, women, children. Call them the downtrodden, you might be right. In the Ministry, that bourgeoises signature that is a trend in new generation churches is completely absent. On the contrary, the membership leverages on the ministry to make their ends meet.
“You can see that most of my church members are those who have being sick and wasted much resources without solution so when they receive healing, they stay and I have to feed them, clothe them and equally provide shelter for them because they are looking up to me not even minding whether I have a source of income.”
“Though the church’s resources cannot take care of them all, I continue to do the work that God has given me undeterred because I believe that if I am doing it well, God will bless me even outside this Ministry. I am a farmer and I will continue to farm to take care of the church’s needs including her members because if you keep persuading members to give especially when they are not touched, you may end up scattering them and I don’t want them to be scattered because I value them.” Bishop Pastor Dr. Stephen Saater told our reporter.
On his healing and deliverance gift, the Bishop cited the Bible in the book of Mark chapter 16:17, where Jesus Christ spoke to His disciples saying, “If you truly believe in Christ, you will work signs and wonders” and concludes that he is a beneficiary of the biblical injunction.
Although membership of the church is dominated by people from the low class, Bishop Stephen is not bothered.
“Usually, people who are not in the spirit prefer going to places that are full of their equals where proper recognition would be accorded to them. But here, most of the people you see have faced challenges of sickness or other satanic problems and have exhausted all their options without solutions and coming here, God has healed them and they have decided to remain here.” He explained.
The Ministry, as the Bishop further state has laudable plans for communities but for lack of resources. But this does not prevent the man of God from making plans for the projects. Poor people are roaming the streets with no food, but he has already asked for God’s blessing so as to help the needy, part of which he is doing already. People with mental sicknesses needs to be attended to. In this direction, he is finalizing an arrangement to build a place for them, just like an orphanage.
“I want to develop a place for them and register with the Government so that they won’t say am a ritualist. My plan is to go round the villages, gather them and heal them, both spiritually, medically and otherwise. I have started laying blocks for their place already and by the special grace of God, I believe I will achieve it.
