Question & Answer with Evangelist Peter Paul
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Evangelist Peter Paul
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Evangelist Peter Paul has been involved in ministry for some 23 years and is presently the visionary behind Evangelism Encounter Ministries with offices in both St Kitts and Nevis. He has pastored at the Charlestown, Molineaux, St Pauls, Dieppe Bay and Saba Wesleyan Holiness Churches. He is also the architect of a weekly radio program called Man to Man which airs on both CHOICE FM and ZIZ as well as the engineer behind Cut and Shape Ministry.
His service to the Lord and his church has been unbroken, unwavering and unselfish. Questions such as why he decided to go into ministry in spite of the lots of work and little pay, why should one still attend church and or become a Christian, what he is involved in as a full time evangelist and what has been the response to his radio program Man to Man are all answered in this exclusive interview with Ron Daniel.
Q:- If you ask most teenagers what they want to become you would find very few saying they want to go into full time ministry. Why did you choose then to go into ministry and when did you begin?
A:I began in 1984 and the choice of entering into the ministry came about in part because what I would call several close calls in terms of death. I became very fearful because I was still in my backslidden position and I knew God was calling me. I could be viewed as a modern day Jonah as I was running away from the call of God on my life. After those near death experiences, I knew that I couldn’t run any more. I just stood up turned around and gave myself fully to God and answered the call immediately and in a matter of months I was off to Bible School. ~~Adz:Right~~
Q:- Many people decide against going into ministry because it is seen as too much work for too little pay. What is your view on this and why then did you decide to go through with ministry in spite of this?
A:-My view is that if you are going to be going into it because of the money then they are going to fall to their faces. It is a call that includes God’s purpose to one’s life. Outside of that no matter what goals or desires you have for yourself, if you refuse to answer the call it would be like puncturing your own wheels. My desire to go into this field of work is very much based on scripture where God says will come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. SO there is a cross to bear. It is about seeking God’s kingdom first and then he will add all other things.
If we go into it for the money then we would have been subtracting. Even if we achieve other things, we would be missing out on that piece of mind that comes from following God’s divine plan for your life because that individual would have settled for God’s permissive will instead of God’s perfect will. I have lived on the perception that it is not for total fulfillment as far as God is concerned then I am not doing it. I just hope that young people that are out there struggling with whether or not to go into ministry would really surrender all and follow God’s call on their lives. God is calling us into promise and partnership and there is no way in losing with God. At the end of the day the gains are much more meaningful and significant than anything you will lose as a result of following God’s call on your life.
Q:-There is a view that the church and Christianity is less necessary nowadays. In a nutshell why should one still attend church and why should one become a Christian?
A:-. We were born to worship God. The beautiful thing about this experience is that God has made it possible that we can reconcile with God as a result of Christ coming to earth. The first day of the week, the first words of the day and the first dollar of your pay check should be for God. Worshipping God means that God takes priority in everything we do. Going to church is very necessary and not just going to church but going to church with a purpose and that is to commit themselves totally to God and his will for our lives. Once we do that then we would find fulfillment. Again once we seek God first and his righteousness, then all other things will be added unto him. God wants the best for us and he promises the best to us and God is the best person for us so once we come to God we will always be privileged to have the best life there is for the rest of their lives.
Q:- You have left the pastorate to be engaged as a full time evangelist. However what was one of your most satisfying experiences as a Pastor?
A:- It comes to mind a small church in Dieppe Bay where I pastured for like 6 months. When I was there God gave me a vision for a group of 13 or 14 young children between the ages of 4 to 11. God said to me to take these kids into your hands and bless them. Out of them came a ministry called the Joyful Sowers. These little kids were live wires. We went to homes distributing tracts and they were so excited and I engaged them in a different types of activities. The children were innocent and God used their innocence to bring about ministry in their little lives. Out of this group persons like Carlton Pogson, Dale Powell, Dahlia Powell, Alberic Browne and so many others. Today they have made so many strides and have really made themselves proud. Some years ago when they re-energized the youth ministry, they called me back there to preach in recognition of the work I had there earlier. It is memories like these that stick with me.
Q:- As an evangelist what is your schedule like and how do you engage yourself throughout the year?
A:-.I think my schedule is a very tight one. I am bound to the Wesleyan Holiness Church District which includes the churches in Nevis, Saba, St Kitts and Anguilla. I am responsible for organizing all of the evangelistic events of the church whether it be tent crusades, mobilizations, conducting evangelistic seminars or anything of the sort and this includes not only the district but also on the local level. I am also involved in ministry outside of the Wesleyan Holiness Church. As mentioned earlier, I have a Radio Ministry so it is a tight program.
Q:-You have a weekly radio program called Man to Man which is unlike other Christian programs. While other Christian radio broadcasts is most times a taped service including singing and preaching, Man to Man is a talk show. Could you enlighten us on the reason for the difference in format and what Man to Man hopes to accomplish?
A:- I strongly believe that men’s issues have been too low keyed even in the men’s ministries in the various churches. The mistake that we have been making over the years is that enough attention is not been given to us as men. The topic of the program really speaks for itself. In doing this program, we say to the male audience that we want to hear you; we want to feel you and know what your concerns are and help you to reach your full potential and that we are there with you no matter what your struggles are. In particular we want to know that our sons are being shaped and being shaped for the better so that we can say that our men and young boys are men of valour, might, great potential and purpose. I have changed from the preaching because I felt that there needed to be a change because it may not be that people need more preaching so to speak but more teaching and encouragement.
Q:- What has the feedback been like since you begun Man to Man and for the people out there who have not yet listened, when and where can they hear Man to Man?
~~Adz:Left~~ A:- I am very very very encouraged about the responses I get from the program Man to Man whether on the streets or on the bus or on the phone. People have complimented me on how relevant the program has been, how timely the program has been and how pointing it can be. Man to Man comes over on CHOICE FM on Sundays from 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on ZIZ from 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sundays as well.
Q:- You are also involved in this ministry called Cut and Shape. Could your briefly tell us what this ministry does and who is involved in this ministry?
A:.-This is a unique ministry. We cut the hair of the primary school boys between the ages of 4 and 12 for free on the St Paul’s Wesleyan Holiness Church grounds every Saturday afternoon. This is a free haircut of course. The idea came about when I was called to come in and speak in our primary school here twice per week in St Paul’s for fifteen minutes a week and I said that fifteen minutes isn’t enough to shape the lives of these young men and I need more time with them. So we decided to start this ministry so while they are cutting their hair, they are also getting shaped morally and spiritually because we the men of the church are all helping to shape them. So while we are barbering, we are building so that when they reach the age when they go off to the secondary school that they are already built. The St Paul’ Wesleyan Men are the ones charged with this responsibility and you could say that I am the director of this ministry.
Q:-In 2017 what would you have hoped to have accomplished from Cut and Shape Ministry?
A:-My heartbeat will always be that between now and whether it is 2015 or 2025 that we would have shaped the lives of good young men who can in turn return to society and make a positive impact on the lives of other young men. We want to shape the sort of sons where they themselves will be proud of themselves and what they have been able to accomplish by staying on the straight and narrow. We are not looking for anything in return. We are doing everything for God’s glory and for the lives of these little kids. We are looking to shape them so that we can save them. The hope is that down the road the sons and grandsons of these same people could be proud of their fathers and grandfathers.
Q:- If you were to live your life back over again, would you still decide to go into ministry and why?
A:-. Oh yes I am telling you. My regret now is that I had not gone into it sooner. As young as I was when I answered the call, I still think that I could have answered the call earlier. If I were to have a second chance, I would say to God, the sooner the better.
Q:- How would you briefly describe Peter Paul, the person?
A:- Very very simple. A small man with a big heart for God, for people and for the ministry.
Q:- What do you do in your spare time? Can you share with us some of your hobbies or interests?
A:- My hobbies are gardening. I think that gardening would have been my main source of income if I had not answered the call to God. As a matter of fact, I already had my bit of land and was already marketing my vegetables. Gardening is also very therapeutic because it allows me some time to be away from the books and everything else and just relax and garden. I also love to read especially now that I have entered into new avenues of ministry. Now and again I go to the beach even though I do not think that I do that enough. I also used to play cricket but I don’t thin that I am cut out for that anymore.
Q:- Is there anyone that you would like to thank or anything else that you would like to say before we end this interview?
A:- I would like to thank God for his touch on my life and his love, care and provision for me throughout my life. Sometimes I sit at the table and cry in reflection for all God has done for me. I would also like to thank the Wesleyan Holiness Church for their support and care for me. They are doing an excellent job.
I have to say thanks to the church for giving me an opportunity to serve you and for being so wonderful to me. I would also like to thank the audiences who listen to the program and also those non Wesleyans who have also supported and prayed for me. To my family and my wife who has been with me throughout. She has been so very supportive even when I have to leave to go off to minister. She is my rock and I love her so much. I also have to thank the audience at large and anyone else who has had a positive influence on me. To those out there, my encouragement to you is to let go and let God.
