Behind the tough mien lies embedded a soft, affable, compassionate and empathetic personality committed to putting smiles on the faces of her fellow humans through the dual platform of the gospel of Jesus Christ of which she is a beneficiary, and Revelation International Bible Ministry, left behind for her to manage by her husband, who was also the Founder, pioneer Senior Pastor and Bishop-elect of Revelation Ministry, late Dr Uriah Dandeson Benstowe.

In the almost two years Pastor Carol Benstowe  has pastored the church, lives have been impacted positively by the gospel of Christ, destinies have been unveiled, revealed and recovered and smiles have returned to several faces.

The construction project of the church cathedral of Revelation Ministry, also its headquarters, in Bonny, Rivers State, which was at its early stages when her husband passed on was continued by her and completed in November, 2019. It was subsequently commissioned and dedicated to the glory of God by Senior Pastor of Gateway International Church, Port Harcourt, Pastor George Izunwa, on Saturday, December 7, 2019.

Pastor Carol Benstowe, who obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Achievers College of Theology and Seminary, an affiliate of Cornerstone University, Michigan, USA, and Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and later Master’s degree in Educational Management, both from the University of Port Harcourt, Choba, worked as a Quality Assurance/Quality Control Officer in TSKJ Nigeria before going into private business before her call into full-time ministry. She is blessed with two wonderful children.

Pastor Benstowe spoke with Kristina Reports’ team comprising Godswill Jumbo, Eliel Bluejack, Hanniel Bluejack and Toluwase Aronimo, aka, Tee Praise, shortly after the thanksgiving service to mark the official opening/dedication of the church cathedral and 9th anniversary of the church at the church headquarters in Bonny, Rivers State, on how she was able to sustain the vision which was birthed by her late husband in 2009 and brought to this magnificent height in 2019, among other issues. Enjoy the excerpts:

We just witnessed the thanksgiving service for the official opening/dedication of the church cathedral of Revelation International Bible Ministry. How were you able to put all of these together?

Thank you so much. It was not actually easy but God made it easy, God made it possible. You know that one with God is majority. So, in everything I just give thanks to God. He made it possible. He made it happen. I am so overwhelmed. I am so grateful to God for all He has done to make it possible for us to carry out this project to date. And I am grateful to Him that we have come to the conclusion of this event. I am so happy.

Looking at the level of commitment we witnessed, like your organizing committee members running around making sure that things were working well; we wonder what kind of leadership you provided that will make them work like they did.

My leaders, my committee members have all been so, so wonderful. I don’t even know which word to use to describe them. They proved to me that it is not all about our church. It is all about our Father’s business. They exhibited that Father’s business kind of approach, not just church. In fact, a point came that they were giving and giving and giving and I had to say ‘Stop. I’m tired, I am feeling for you, please, don’t give again’. But they said, ‘No, Mummy, please oh, allow us. We want to give’. Those people are just too much. I just have to mention one or two of them. Amonia Benstowe, I will not forget him in a hurry, no matter what people say. Amonia Benstowe, you are a man, I appreciate you. Joshua Peter, I don’t know what to say, you are just too much. Then Dickson Uduak, I want to also appreciate you. Let me also appreciate Frank, he was always there contributing ideas and everything. I want to appreciate Mrs. Gift Mojaye, Ozichi Festus, Greatness, Lauretta, Chinedu, you know they are so numerous that I can’t mention all of them. I want to also appreciate the Choir. They were there just for me. These people are people that God dashed me to help my ministry. You know as they say ‘God just carry them dash me’.

When you were reading out the history of the church, you mentioned something that was very significant. You said in 2009, your husband got a vision, though he was still working then, but he had to come together with four other persons and they were always praying together. What was this vision?

This vision is very simple: ‘Unveiling and revealing destinies for Christ’. Our mandate and our vision is to unfold what the enemy has covered. There are so many people whose destinies have been covered, their potentials have been hidden from them.  Or there might be some people who have made mistakes in the past and they think that because they have made a mistake they will remain in that mistake or they will remain in the past. No, so, we have come with this mandate, with this vision to unveil them. Unveiling means to open up. We want to open up their destinies in Christ, knowing that if you are in Christ Jesus you are a new creature. So, our vision is very simple, we want to unveil destinies. And I must tell you there are so many people who came to this church, some were prostitutes today we have reformed their lives. Some of them who came here were living with men who they were not legally married to. We didn’t chase them away. We welcomed them, we said ‘please come, we love you the way you are but Jesus loves you more’. Do the right thing. And they implemented the right thing and today they are properly married. Some people came in here as drunks or whatever but we have been able to unveil their destinies. Tell them that they can do it again. Even though you have fallen you can still rise again.

Now, having taken over from your husband as the visioner, are you focused on sustaining his legacy?

That is as simple as ABC. I want to ensure that the vision is alive. That the vision outlives even my own generation. It lives for as long as Jesus tarries. The vision is not a small vision, it is a mega vision. And my late husband, Dr Uriah Benstowe has laid the foundation and has given us the way to follow, which is Jesus Christ. We are looking at expanding the vision. We are looking at making it live until Jesus comes just as I said earlier.

Pastor George Izunwa, while dedicating the cathedral to the glory of God, he said that this building will witness the power of God, the glory of God, and that this place will represent a blessing for Bonny Kingdom and beyond. Now, what is the plan of the ministry under your leadership to evangelise Bonny as whole?    

Our vision for 2020 has evangelism as one of our key priorities. And I have told my leaders, ministers, everybody’s hands must be on deck. We will go out, we will organize mini crusades. We will go out share our flyers and talk to people about Christ. And I think by so doing we will be able to conquer Bonny Island just as the man of God has said. In fact, between 3^rd and 9^th of February, 2020, we are having our 7 Nights of Wonders with the theme: ‘God Is Able’ right here in the cathedral. And we want everyone to come experience the God of wonders.  

Now, as the visioner, whom God has anointed to take this vision to the world, what are you telling the people? Especially, in this present world where there is a lot of confusion, a lot of despair, a lot of things that discourage people, a lot of things that make life difficult on its own. You recall last year when we had series of incidents where people had to take their own lives out of depression. What is your message? I think this question is very, very interesting. To the person listening to me out there, to my viewers out there, I want to encourage everyone to hold on to God. No matter what you are passing through, don’t give up on yourself and don’t give up on God. If you give up on yourself and give up on God, the enemy will just march on you. When I took up this mantle, you know, initially, I never wanted to take up the mantle. I was running away from the mantle. It is a testimony for me. It might not be a testimony to another person but for me it is a testimony. I was like let me dump this rubbish and go my way, live my life. I was about traveling to Europe with my children, which from our passport to visa, everything had been done, because of humiliation, because of insult. People were saying a lot of things. People were abusing me. I am talking about my biological family, not outside people. I am talking about my biological family, where I was married into, my stepchildren, friends, well-wishers, everybody just abandoned me. I was just floating. I was like ‘I can’t make it’, I can’t do this’, ‘I just have to leave’, ‘let me just live another life’. And then, while I was on the process of taking that decision, God said ‘No, this is not what I have asked you to do. This is not how I want you live. You have to come back to Bonny, I will make you’. Exactly the same promise He made to Abraham. God told me I will make you if only you can preach the gospel. That was the clause, the conditional clause: preaching the gospel. He said ‘you will be valued among women and through you women will be respected, especially, the widows’. And God promised me nations. How will I achieve this ‘nation’ if I run away? If I run away I won’t be able to achieve the ‘nation’ God has promised me. You can see what is happening. You can see the church, initially it was not this way. It was just full of junks, everywhere was filled with dirt. But God in His infinite mercy saved me. I retraced my steps and came back and God just gave me a few men. And we started working, we were not much. This work has really made me to know that it is not in the multitude of people but it is in the mind of people who are willing and who are available to carry out this work. We are not many but yet we did something more than people who have 200 to 300 congregation. You can see the church, you can see what is there and you will know that money has really left in millions. So, I want encourage everyone out there, people will talk, people will gossip; they will talk down on you It can be your own siblings. My own siblings talked down on me. It can be your friend, it can your children, it can be anybody but the only person who can never talk down on you is Jesus. Hold on to Jesus, if you hold on to Jesus, He will make you smile. Today I am smiling myself. After this programme, I will go home and sleep very well, I will sleep like a baby, because God has confirmed His word. I’m. telling you now that in less than five years, the ministry is having a shift from what God told me. So, I want encourage everybody to stay put. Don’t be shaken. Don’t let things frighten you. They must gossip about you, if they don’t gossip about you, where are going to? That gossip elevates you. That gossip makes you to become very conscious of yourself so that you don’t fall apart. Today, in Bonny, nobody can speak stupidly about me because if you doubt my calling, see my evidence.