We never planned to start a church. It was simply a prayer meeting of 2 families in South Bronx NY when my wife, Dr. Alice Ajim and I were both doing our residencies. Today, the ministry has grown to three thriving congregations with members from about 40 different countries of the world and assets of about $15M. All these occurred whilst we were still engaged in full time medical practice! We are currently CEO of a chain of freestanding emergency rooms and medical clinics in the Houston area. And so, the question I’m often asked is ‘how do you do all of these’? I can’t say I know the answer to that.
I must however espouse 3 principles that I think are largely responsible for all that we see. 1. Faith in God. This is critical I think. That there is a God that’s bigger than me, smarter than me, brighter than me. That I’m not an accident or an incident, but here on His planning and design. That He alone has the key to my identity, and only Him really knows who I am. That in order for me to maximize my life, my dreams and my aspirations, it’s imperative that I acknowledge Him. That His sole purpose for me is to help me be the very best I can be.
There’s a fascinating account between Jesus and His disciples in the Bible that’s always thrilled me. Jesus asks His disciples who men called him. And the disciples went on to repeat the various erroneous personality labels that had been tagged on Jesus. Then Jesus asked Peter specifically for his opinion on the matter, and as soon as Peter gave the right response, Jesus knew that response couldn’t have come from Peter. ‘Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven’ was His response to Peter. This was proof positive that ONLY His Father has the key to His identity. Never forget that! That men will always misname and misidentify you because they don’t know you. They can’t know you. They’re are not your maker!
Only are, and until you return to Him and acknowledge Him, you can wander through life never really knowing who you are. 2. Dream Big! Our attainments are at the mercy of our dreams. What God does with us has nothing to do with His power, His power is limitless! It has everything to do with our dreams. The scriptures teach that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. It means then that our achievements are incapacitated by the size of our dreams. You have a huge God. It’s an insult to have a God that huge and only have little dreams! I dare you to take the lid off of what God can use you to do. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’s what you see in your mind that you’ll eventually see in your life.
They say those that can see the invisible, can achieve the impossible. I believe that! A bigger dream will ultimately produce a bigger life. ‘Enlarge the place of your tents, stretch forth the curtains of your habitations; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes’. Is 54.2 3. Work Hard. You can’t succeed at anything without hard work. Hard work is the common thread amongst all successful folks in every field. It won’t work until you work hard at it. Don’t be fooled, success isn’t easy, but it’s possible if you’re willing to work hard. The scriptures teach that we work hard with whatever we find our hands to do. It means that wherever you may be in life at this moment, you should work hard at that thing and at that place. God’s promotion is exclusively by merit. Prayer isn’t the key to getting more. The key to getting more is using well what God has currently committed into our hands, and working hard at it. Always remember to have faith in God, dream big and work hard. If you can remember and practice these 3 principles, I’m so confident that in few years, folks will begin asking you too ‘how do you do all these things’? Your success is our joy.
May you succeed in all that you do!