The Rev Jessie Fubara-Manuel is a second year PhD student at New College in Edinburgh and a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.
I WAS born into a Christian home and raised with the fear of God from childhood in Nigeria. But at about the age of 16, when I had just concluded my secondary school (high school) and was preparing for college, I began attending Scripture Union fellowships and enrolled for baptism and membership classes at my local Church. By the grace of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, I knelt in my bedroom and prayerfully and consciously committed myself to following Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. And this, for me, meant commitment to imitating Jesus’ godly lifestyle, pursuing holiness, justice and peace, leading others to Jesus and, together with all fellow believers, prayerfully serving God and God’s world through the community of faith. This was my first conscious entry into the life of discipleship.
Over the years, my life of discipleship has come forth in two distinct ways. The first is an intentional and prayerful studying of the Scriptures in order to know Christ better. The Scriptures provide evidence of the life and ministry of Jesus and the early Christians and, as such, serve as my guide in discipleship. The desire to be knowledgeable about the Scriptures led me to engage in theological education in Nigeria and in the United Kingdom. I have endeavoured to read the Scriptures with a discerning and gendered lens to ensure that its liberating and empowering values are received for all.