God called the Prophet Amos while he was still a farmer. He left farming to devote himself to delivering God’s message to His people as a prophet. Farmers are generally not known to be wealthy. Across the world, many farmers engage primarily in subsistence farming to put food on their tables, while only a relatively small number cultivate crops on a commercial scale for export and international trade. Consequently, only a fraction of farmers attain significant wealth.

I assume Amos was not a wealthy farmer but a diligent one when God called him. Neither can I confidently say that he became a wealthy prophet. What I can say with confidence, however, is that Amos was a faithful servant of the Lord.

But how does it feel when a needy preacher is used by God to proclaim a message of hope to the poor and a promise of prosperity to faithful but needy Christians? It can feel almost megalomaniacal.

Jesus, the founder of the Church, lived a modest life as a preacher and teacher. He did not possess valuable material possessions or sophisticated technology to make His earthly life comfortable. Yet He faithfully taught the Word of God and assured His followers of abundant and meaningful life through faith in Him.

Must a needy preacher still preach that God can bless a believer financially? Must a preacher living with a disability still proclaim that God can heal every disease and infirmity? Must a barren preacher still proclaim that children are a gift from God? What a dilemma!

I have learned from God’s Word that He blesses His people spiritually, intellectually, financially, and materially. I gained this conviction through studying the Scriptures, and I felt led to share my understanding of how God desires His people to flourish in these dimensions by writing a book.

Yet I faced a dilemma: I was not a wealthy Christian, although I aspired to become one. I had gained insight into principles that could help a person remain fruitful spiritually, intellectually, financially, and materially, even though I was only a missionary, had only a bachelor’s degree, and was struggling financially.

Could I write such a book without being mocked by brothers and sisters in the Lord who might conclude that my lived reality did not correspond with the message I was preaching? I wrestled painfully with this question until I found courage in the advice Peter Böhler gave to John Wesley.

While travelling to Georgia for missionary work, John Wesley encountered a group of Moravian missionaries led by Peter Böhler. Böhler’s emphasis on saving faith challenged Wesley so deeply that Wesley began questioning the state of his own faith. When Wesley asked Böhler how he could obtain such steadfast faith, Böhler encouraged him with these words:

“Preach faith till you have it, and then, because you have it you will preach faith.”

That counsel has stayed with me.
Can a preacher with weak faith preach faith until his own faith becomes strong?

The story of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa provides a compelling illustration. On one occasion, his pastor preached that Jesus had given believers power to heal diseases and infirmities. Alarmed by the boldness of the message, Idahosa asked his pastor, “Have you done it before?”

“No,” the pastor replied. “But you can do it if you believe it,” he added.

The message profoundly challenged the young Idahosa. Inspired by what he had heard, he stepped out in faith and began praying for the sick. His ministry eventually became associated with remarkable healing testimonies and a powerful revival movement that influenced Christianity across Africa and beyond. He was widely acknowledged as the forerunner of the charismatic movement in Africa. Through his influence, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams, founder of Action Chapel International headquartered in Accra, spread charismatism to Ghana.

Whether or not one agrees with every detail of such testimonies, the lesson is significant: sometimes a message can awaken faith in the listener before the preacher has fully experienced the depth of the message himself.

I therefore do not believe I was wrong to write my first Christian book, Fruitful Bough, in which I taught God’s people principles for remaining fruitful spiritually, intellectually, financially, and materially. I have also come to realise that I was not merely writing to others; I was writing to myself.

By applying some of the principles I shared in the book, I have experienced personal growth. I have earned a master’s degree and continue to aspire to higher academic heights. I am also employed as a public servant in a national statutory institution, where I have the opportunity to contribute my quota to the socio-economic transformation of Ghana, Africa, and, potentially, the wider world. I may not yet have attained everything I wrote about. But perhaps that is precisely the point.

A preacher does not necessarily have to possess everything he preaches about before he can faithfully proclaim it. What matters is that he sincerely believes the message, faithfully communicates it, and is willing to submit his own life to the principles he teaches.

Let me leave you with this nugget:
If you constantly seek validation from people or live in fear of what others will think or say about you, you may remain trapped in inertia. Progress often requires courage—the courage to be unconventional, to break boundaries, to think beyond established limitations, and to step into territories others may consider impossible.

I have been mocked. I have been disappointed. I have even been stabbed in the back by people I loved and trusted. But I refused to remain a benchwarmer in life. Their mockery and betrayal became, in unexpected ways, incentives for me to break boundaries and jump hurdles.

Over time, I have learned that the hurdles are not there to make you fall. They are there to prove your ability to jump. Therefore, do not disqualify yourself from preaching because your life is not yet a perfect representation of the message you carry.

You do not need to be perfect to preach holiness.

You do not need to be Elijah to teach people how to pray.

You do not need to be Solomon to teach biblical principles of prosperity.

You do not need to be wealthy to affirm God’s provision.

You do not need to have arrived before you can point others in the direction of the destination.

You simply need to be faithful—to study God’s Word, deliver His message sincerely, and allow His truth to work in you as you proclaim it to others. For ultimately, the power of the message does not rest entirely on the perfection of the messenger.

The preacher may still be growing, struggling, learning, and becoming. Yet God can take a sincere message, breathe upon it by His Spirit, and cause it to grow, bear fruit, and abound in the lives of those who hear it.

The messenger may be needy, but the message can still be rich.

The preacher may be imperfect, but the Word remains powerful.

And the vessel may be ordinary, but the treasure it carries can be extraordinary.

ISAAC PRINCE GLORIER
Missionary & Peacebuilding Professional