This school will host 200 students in Nigeria. If God is speaking to you, let’s talk! Respectfully Pastor Owolabi Continue reading

Dear Young and Gifted Leader, Do not waste your life. Every single day, for the rest of your life, work on your gift. Develop your gift. Listen to your coaches. Work twice as hard. Do not repeat the same mistakes. Think!!!! You are a masterpiece in the hand of the master. Every pain has a purpose. Your life is a gift from God. I love you am praying for you. Your Catalyst Coach Pastor James Owolabi Continue reading

Dear Colaboures in the Lord’s Vineyard, ​Thank you for being a blessing to my ministry in Nigeria. It has not been easy relocating to Nigeria. Smooth seas don't make good sailors. No doubt, 2021 was a difficult year for but God has truly been faithful. Over the past 10 months, since the sudden and unexpected home-going of my father, I have seen God move in amazing ways and use us to change the hearts of young people in Ogbomosho. We held a conference for preteens that challenged them to embrace the skill of setting goals and reaching their God-given potential. Each speaker at this event challenged the teenagers to discover their God-given plans for their lives and pursue it with discipline. Over 100 preteens attended this event. Students were challenged from the word of God to embrace a lifetime of discipline and hard work. In September of this year, I started Bridge of Grace Baptist Church in Ogbomosho. Bridge of Grace is growing steadily, especially in our children’s Bible club and Wednesday night teen outreach sections. I was privileged to preach at the Commerment services at the Bible College which was started by my father and currently under the leadership... Continue reading

“Winning’ is not defined by me or your parents or even the market…it’s defined by you.” - Gary Vaynerchuk Dear Young Leader and Gifted Leader, Never forget your manners. Being polite & honest with your team and customers will not cost you any money. It would increase employee productivity and generate repeat customers Customers come in all shapes and sizes and so do their attitudes. When they go low into the abbeys of conflict, we go aboard the plane of emotional intelligence and fly high into the clouds of wisdom. Being calm and polite is not easy when you speaking with an unkind, annoyed, hostile, or aggressive customer. It requires special emotional management skills. You need wisdom to control of the fire of tension by speaking with tact and by watching your tone. Amidst your highest level of professionalism, never forget your manners. Watch your tone! You are a Nigerian we are loud.😂😂😂 We have learned that the best way to win a prospective client is by killing them with kindness by thinking carefully and quickly about when to speak, and when to be quiet. Being polite is not easy but possible with most customers. We Nigerians are rude and... Continue reading

Dear Friends and family! Use this link and code to purchase my book for $9.99 on my birthday. https://square.link/u/KL5XcL3I. I love you and am praying for you. Respectfully Pastor James Owolabi www.jamesowolabi.com/donate Continue reading

Just landed in Nigeria. Get back to Christin Education and Encouraging national Pastors. Just landed in Nigeria. Finished an amazing ministry tour in the United States Preached 70 times, 5 states, 10 unique audiences, over 100 souls saved and many lives recommited to Christ. Wow! What a ride!! One of the best summers of my life!!! Thank you all for your prayers and financial support . Jeff Pierce that breakfast was delicious. Karlene Toren dreaming of home cooked Jamaican food while jet lacked in Lagos (Thank you it was so good). God! Thank you! www.jamesowolabi.com/donate — feeling thankful in Ikeja G.R.A, Ikeja. Continue reading

I officially moved from Chicago to Nigeria on April 28 2021 to become an educator. By the time you read this letter, I will already be leading an elementary school and helping pastors my father trained in the ministry. Here are several ways you can pray for me right now. Ask God for: 1. 100 Donors ($25.00 each month) who will support my efforts in Nigeria with financial resources. https://www.jamesowolabi.com/donate 2. Door openers: strong relational networks and powerful connectors in Nigeria. People of means that can help me navigate the corrupt nature of this nation’s way of doing business. People of integrity are lacking here, so I need trustworthy people to help me. Honest workers like carpenters, painters and contractors. 3. Disciples, people who will allow me to teach and train them, I want to build teams committed to the vision and philosophy God has given me, with the same heart and mind. I want to build five schools and plant 5 churches in Nigeria in the next 25 years.($250,000.00 dream) 4. Discernment in relationships and safety while living in Nigeria. Nigeria is a very dangerous country. I am a prime target for robbers and people who want to kidnap... Continue reading

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Dear Friends and Family! God’s grace has sustained me during this season of deep anguish and immense sorrow. Your prayers, financial gifts, phone calls, and notes of encouragement have sustained me during this difficult season. The past 90 days have been the hardest day of my adult life. It has been difficult learning to trust God day by day after the sudden and unexpected home going of my earthly father. My father was the greatest gift God gave me. He was a passionate soul winner, a courageous church planter, a brilliant pastor, a generous father, the best father a son could have, and an effective Christian educator. His impact on my life has been felt every day of my life in every facet of my life. I love him so much and miss him deeply every day. His life has reignited in me a passion to return to Africa to continue the work and ministry that God has given him. My ministry with Youth for Christ in Chicago has come to an end. It is a new season of ministry in Nigeria and the United States. I will be the spending summer months in the United States and the rest... Continue reading

My heart is broken and my heart is sad....... Two weeks ago I got the tragic news that one of my team members suffered a major health setback. Andy has been my executive assistant and one of my virtual editors/content creators for the over five years. Andy has edited all my sermons, all my articles and has been a major contributor to my ministry while choosing to be behind the scenes. For the past fives years Andy has been a faithful friend, patient mentor, personal coach, intelligent friend and passionate supporter of my ministry. I love him so much. Please pray for my friend Andy and for God to heal him. Our God is a healer. Andy is just irreplaceable .......but God is a good God and a wise God! I am really sad ..... PRAY FOR ANDY..... On a positive note this past two weeks has been a wonderful week filled with God’s blessings and goodness. 20 students praying to receive Christ in Chicago and preaching seven times in two different states to seven different audiences has been a real joy to my soul. God was SUPER kind to me this October and November and the people of God... Continue reading

My heart is broken and my heart is sad....... Two weeks ago I got the tragic news that one of my team members suffered a major health setback ( a severe stroke... he is my age ...). Andy has been my executive assistant and one of my virtual editors/content creators for the over five years. Andy has edited all my sermons, all my articles and has been a major contributor to my ministry while choosing to be behind the scenes. For the past fives years Andy has been a faithful friend, patient mentor, personal coach, intelligent friend and passionate supporter of my ministry. I love him so much. Please pray for my friend Andy and for God to heal him. Our God is a healer. Andy is just irreplaceable .......but God is a good God and a wise God! I am really sad ..... PRAY FOR ANDY..... On a positive note this past two weeks has been a wonderful week filled with God’s blessings and goodness. 20 students praying to receive Christ in Chicago and preaching seven times in two different states to seven different audiences has been a real joy to my soul. God was SUPER kind to me... Continue reading

Teaching the word of God to teenagers is vital to their development. Only the word of God can change the hearts and minds of teenagers. Let’s connect teenagers to the heart of God by intentionally teaching them the word of God. Continue reading

While we love providing students with a place where they can play basketball, hang out with their friends, play board games, among many other things, our main goal is to introduce them to our Savior. Our biggest desire is for students to enter into a lifelong relationship with Jesus. We take about 5-10 minutes each day to sit down and do a devotional with all of our students. We recently spent a couple of days talking about giving God authority over our lives. That following weekend, we have a student who reached out saying that he wanted to give God authority. This is why we do what we do. Respectfully Pastor James Owolabi #yfcusa #yfcchicago #yfccitylife Continue reading

God is not mad at you!!! Do not make any permanent decisions based on temporary emotions. Life is hard!!God is not angry with you and punishing you because you did not pay your tithe and offering last week. God is not mad at you!!! God is capable of using these hard days to develop character in your life. God is not mad at you!!! Our faith in Christ does not except us from difficult days. You must trust God with the bad days and enjoy the good days. God is not mad at you!!! He has a plan! You are his child. Life is hard. God is good! Trust his plan. This difficult days should draw you closer to your father. He is good and kind father. God is working in your life to make you more like Jesus Christ. You are exactly where God wants you. Trust God with your future. He is large and in charge. God is not mad at you!!! Continue reading

August 28th, 2020. Dear Prayer Partners It’s a new day in America and around the world. It’s a time when Covid 19 is giving us a run for our money and a time when parents are afraid to send their students to our youth center. But even though attendance has dropped, along with some of our support, you must understand that more than ever Covid will not stop us from doing what God has called us to do. In fact, I’m convinced Covid should be a catalyst for us to continue the work we have been given. The Apostle Paul experienced numerous disasters in his life, including being shipwrecked, being jailed, being betrayed by fellow pastors, and even having disagreements with other ministers. However, he did not allow these threats or accusations or arrests to hinder him from God’s calling. I believe Covid 19 could also be a distraction from the enemy to hold us back from doing God’s work. But I also believe true Christian leaders to not allow events in the world to hold them back from serving as they have been called. I’m reminded of the passage in Matthew 14 where Jesus sent His disciples out in... Continue reading

Family! God has been so kind to me lately!!!! He has been teaching me so much lessons about preaching with excellence. Church was awesome this past Sunday! The response to my preaching was very heartwarming from the people of God. It is so good to be given the chance to preach every Sunday this month at my home church (www.thebridge.church). Preaching great sermons demand that the preacher be a student of the word of God and a student of human beings in his geographical location. Anybody can give a talk but it takes a man of God to be the mouth piece of God. Good preaching takes work but great preaching takes great work. The preacher must be studious standing on the shoulders of church scholars and theologians across church history begging God for the anointing and wisdom to precisely communicate the heart of God to the people of God. When I first started serving there, my preaching responsibilities were only twice a month at one of three locations. Preaching is hard work. But now I am scheduled to preach at one of our three locations every Sunday this month!!!! This happened in July 2020 when God challenged me to... Continue reading

Youth for Christ Chicago is so grateful for The Bridge Community Church who allows us to use their facility each week. Things definitely look different with Covid-19; we now do regular temperature checks, wear masks, and more frequently wash/sanitize our hands. Regardless of these changes, students still love getting to connect with their friends in this fun and safe environment! #yfcusa #yfcchicago #yfccitylife Continue reading

Satan hates the American Church. The American church is the most resourced church in the world for the past 20 years. The American church has been the engine behind many movements of God around the world. The devil loves to see the church divided by evil events in the world. The murder of George Floyd is a demonic act of Satan to divide the American Church. George Floyd was killed by a murderer who happened to be wearing a police uniform! He was killed not just because that police officer was racist; he was a cold-hearted, godless sinner. It had the DNA of the devil on the murder scene. We must not subject ourselves to watching this satanic act of violence over and over. It was pure evil, dark and satanic. The officer was a demonic agent who did not grasp that He was made in God’s image with a duty to protect and serve and more significantly that George Floyd also was made in God’s image. Let me be honest! This type of injustice is not unique to America. In my native country of Nigeria and all over Africa, police brutality is rampant and hardly anything is done without... Continue reading

Here are my ten quick observations about racism: Sin is the greatest virus and racism is one of the many symptoms of that virus. Racism is like an unseen symptom that is very real. Racism is not the biggest problem facing America today. Racism is merely a symptom of the greatest problem—that problem being sin. The worst part of experiencing racism is that it can ironically make you a sick racist. Racism is not the cure to Racism. Love will always win. Hate will always lose. Bitterness is not the cure. Christ is the cure to racism. Continue reading

There is a worldwide pandemic caused by an extremely virulent virus that is racing around the globe affecting every country, every people group and every age group. The bad news is there is no vaccination for this affliction. The good news is that there is a cure—a cure that works 100% of the time when the dose is properly administered. I know, because though I succumbed to this virus and suffered the symptoms, I ultimately recovered. Here’s my story. The events that led up to my infection began years ago when I was called to be the interim pastor at a church in Elma, Washington. This was an incredible culmination for a young man from Nigeria who had moved to the state of Washington to earn a seminary degree in order to work in full-time Christian ministry. Before moving into this role in Elma I had been a youth pastor at a church in Belfair, Washington for nine years where I enjoyed amazing love and support. They helped pay for my seminary training and financially supported my journey in my immigration issues in regards to gaining my permanent status. The love I felt from both of these churches was beyond... Continue reading

Racism is not the solution to racism! I tried that and it doesn’t work. This kneejerk response may feel good in the moment and even seems to be right and justified, but in the long term it eats away like a poison. Because of this the biggest disaster of racism is not racism itself; it’s the way it can turn you into a racist. Hate and bitterness will always lose. When a person begins to hate because he or she has been hated on, the result, every time, is a heart of bitterness. Bitterness makes you ugly. Bitterness will destroy your children. Bitterness makes unattractive and nurtures a life of ungratefulness towards God. This hardening of the heart is also a poison that will wreck a person. The danger of racism-driven hate is that a person can become like the people they are angry about in the first place. This leads to an insidious downward hate spiral where everyone loses. Hate always loses. Love will always win. Continue reading

Psalms 91-1:2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. God is our refuge, not the building where we gather every Sunday. God is my fortress not my Pastor. Hey Family! This is a great verse to read aloud every day. Everything needed for this present crisis is written in this scripture’s plan layout; where to go for refuge, who provides it and most importantly, how we get to it.. It’s all there! If there’s anytime followers of Christ need to trust God, it is now! God is our refuge, not the building where we gather every Sunday. God is my fortress not my Pastor. Yes, we are going through a crisis but we have been singing songs for decades about the character of God that are still true. This crisis might be a gift to establish our claims of faith in the good and wise Father. God is our refuge, not the building where we gather every Sunday. God is my fortress not my Pastor. We should be reminded that before and even during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Christ followers all around the world that have and are... Continue reading

Empower our kids to become financially independent. Teach them how to manage money, time and negative emotions! Stop playing games with them all the time!!! Our kids are not your toys!!The trend of focusing on sports and games more than anything else is getting kids through the door… but it is not helping them long term. Long term skills like vocational training, cross cultural education, public speaking, customers service skills and financial literacy. My concern is that in an effort to deliver kids from the dangers of poverty, the violence of living in the city and the uncertainty created from coming from single parent homes many well meaning mentors do not prepare kids for escaping the curse of second generational poverty. Continue reading

Merry Christmas Family, The holiday season is upon us and this is probably one of the busiest time of the year for most people. It has been a year of amazing transitions and “mind blowing doors” for ministry. God has been opening great opportunities, orchestrating events and allowing these things to happen in order to increase my leadership capacity for ministry. The ministry Slingshots a teen after school drop in center (Slingshotschicago.com) that I formerly worked with is now going to be under the umbrella of Youth for Christ USA. Starting next year, I will be leading this teen center on the Northside of Chicago, while continuing to host mentoring events on the southside of this beautiful city. My home church on the north side of the city became part of a vibrant growing neighborhood church movement (the bridge.church) which retained me twice a month as one of their teaching pastors. This will increase my ministry footprint and expand my influence in the Chicago land area. I also launched a website (www.jamesowolabi.com) under a new ministry “Grace for Life” that will allow me to continue to travel and preach around the world. I consider it a privilege to be promoted... Continue reading

Your feelings are great servants but horrible masters. Don’t believe everything you feel about God!!!! God is on your side! Do not trust your feelings. Trust facts from God’s word. Don’t believe everything you feel about God!!!!God is bigger than your mistakes. God is greater than your fears and your feelings. Don’t believe everything you feel about God!!!! God is not done with you yet!!! Trust everything you KNOW about God. Trust everything you have EXPERIENCED with God! God has not forgotten you! He loves you! He cares about you. Read his word, trust his promises . Trust him with you cares and pain. I love you and am praying for you- Pastor James Owolabi Continue reading