The Chief Executive Officer, Christian Leadership Skills Inc., Reverend Albert Aina, has stated that churches operating in Nigeria can no longer operate as a personal estate.

He stated that churches should be operated as a public trust in line with the provisions of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

Reverend Aina stated this during a press briefing on the graduation of 42 pioneer students of Executive Diploma in Church Management at the Mcpherson University along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, stressing the need for effective management of churches’ operation.

“The idea of G.Os (General Overseers) owning church, that time has passed with CAMA. With the law, church is no longer owned as an individual, it is a public trust that must be managed with well laid down rules and regulations,” he said.

He stressed the need for church leaders to possess human relations skills, saying they need to be trained on the virtues of excellence in their administration.

“A Pastor’s success is 60 per cent dependent on human relations and from my research 60 percent of pastors have only church management.

“Church management courses will empower participants to make a meaningful social contribution, as most of the Management Principles are transferable to the church Ministry setting,” he said.

He noted that the institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the McPherson University in 2022 to offer certificates to students who partake in the course.

“A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Christian Leadership Skills Inc, the curriculum promoters, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Rev Albert O. Aina and the McPherson University led by the Pioneer Vice Chancellor, Professor Adeniyi Agunbiade in July 2022,” he said.

The current Vice Chancellor, McPherson University, Professor Francis Igbasan, in his remarks, encouraged church leaders to apply for the course.

“This is a program that the university has certified. It is a program that has gone through and we have read through everything, and we believe that this is a program that every church leader who wants to make a difference should embrace,” he said.