Sixth Church Anniversary-River Of Life Church

Sixth Anniversary Banquet 10/29/2022

Ephesians 3:20-21 1 Corinthians 12:12-21

We are here to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the River Of Life Church International, to celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month, and to recognize how God has used various members of the Body of Christ to help in its growth and vision for the future.

In Jesus Christ we serve an incredible God, who does some incredible things, through some very ordinary people.

The scriptures tell us in Ephesians 2:20 that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. In other words, God thinks, God plans and God carries out things on a level way beyond us.

God uses things and circumstances in our lives, that we wished have never occurred. God uses various parts of the body of Christ, around the world to accomplish his plans.

We are tempted to forget, that the God we pray to here, is the same God that’s listening to the prayers of others on the other side of the world.

The seed for the River of Life Church International, was planted out of pain and struggle. I want you to go back in time with me for a moment.

Imagine what it was like, to have your country being torn apart by a civil war. You can hear gunfire, and you know the rebels are closing in. You’re terrified as you see people running for their lives.

Because you, worked for the government, the rebels are after you. They catch up with you and you are arrested. You are from the same village as the vice-president, and they insist you tell them where the vice-president is hiding. You have no idea where the vice president is. You’re just a lowly government worker.

That’s the situation Joseph Samuel Banaci found himself in, in his home country of Liberia in 1990. He’s praying to God for help.

But the rebels demand they tell him something he does not know. They start beating him without mercy or remorse.

There’s a severe blow to his kneecap. His body is wracked with pain. They keep asking him the same question. Blow after blow hits him. They beat him until he passes out, and they leave him for dead. He’s out for hours before others can help him. The recovery is a slow process.

His desire to know the will of God for his life is increasing as he continues to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Preaching in Liberia and other surrounding African nations. He goes to the country of Guinee to learn more about the bible at the Abundant Word Bible College.

Dr. Pangio is at the College teaching and preaching as he travels from the US to go over the world doing conferences and helping to establish bible schools and colleges.

There in the African nation of Guinea, Rev. Banaci meets Dr. Pangio. Because Rev. Banaci speaks French and English he becomes Dr. Pangio’s guide and security guard. At the end of the conference, Dr. Pangio attempts to give Rev. Banaci money in payment for his services.

Rev. Banaci declines the offer of money and says, “what I want from you is to be my spiritual father. I need someone over me in my ministry.”

Dr. Pangio accepted the role and declared Rev. Banaci to be one of his sons. It was one of the best deals Rev. Banaci would make in his ministry.

He returns to his country of Liberia. The pain in his knee reminds him of that awful day of beating. Then God who thinks in ways we could not imagine, gives Rev. Banaci a call to go and serve as a missionary in South Korea.

The average temperature in Liberia in January is 91 degrees. In Seoul South Korea the temperature in January is usually between 5 and 14 without windchill.

You can’t find a snowflake in Liberia. Snow is everywhere in South Korea . That cold was not going to be good for his knees.

There are blacks everywhere in Liberia. There are not that many blacks in Korea. Koreans go to work from 8 am to 8pm often 6 days a week. Yet that’s where God sent him as a missionary to reach people for Christ.

Once in South Korea, the pain in his knee was becoming more unbearable, and the cold didn’t help. He went to the hospital only to discover he had a broken knee cap. It would cost him $7000 for the surgery. He had no money for the surgery.

That’s when God used another part of the body of Christ to make a difference for him. He went to the Catholic Charities in South Korea.

He explained that he was a missionary, and that he needed surgery but didn’t have the money for it. Catholic Charities sent him to their largest hospital in Korea and performed the operation for free.