WAD President Pays Courtesy Visit to Veteran Church Leader Elder Philemon Onwere
WAD President Pays Courtesy Visit to Veteran Church Leader Elder Philemon Onwere
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The President of the West-Central Africa Division (WAD), Pastor Bassey E. O. Udoh, today paid a courtesy visit to veteran Seventh-day Adventist church leader Elder Philemon Onwere at his country home in Mgboko Obete, in Obingwa Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria.
Accompanying the WAD President were the President of the Eastern Nigeria Union Conference, Pastor Onyebuchi Opara; the ENUC Treasurer, Mrs. Chioma Ugochukwu; and the President of the Aba East Conference, Pastor Dobson Ahuama-Levi.
The visit provided an opportunity for fellowship, encouragement, and appreciation for a man, Elder Philemon Onwere, whose life has been marked by exceptional commitment to God, faithful stewardship, and decades of distinguished service to the Seventh-day Adventist Church across Africa and beyond.
Elder Philemon Onwere's life is a remarkable testimony of sacrifice, integrity, and unwavering dedication to God's mission. To serve the Church, he gave up highly rewarding professional positions in the United States like Chief Executive Financial Officer of the National Education Association (NEA – the premier umbrella body representing all teachers in America at the time) and as a Senior Auditor with the Hilton Inn Group. He chose to relinquish those opportunities in 1972, while his third child was still two months old, to answer God's call to denominational service at home.
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Over the decades, Elder Onwere served the Church with distinction in numerous capacities. He served as a lecturer and Business Manager at Adventist College of West Africa (ACWA), Treasurer of the West African Conference in Accra, Ghana, Treasurer of the Nigerian Union Mission in Lagos, and as second indigenous Treasurer of the Africa-Indian Ocean Division in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, after Pastor Jacob J. Nortey. Later, Onwere served as Treasurer of Pacific Union College now Pacific Union university in California, where he concluded his denominational career with an exemplary record of integrity and professional excellence.
Beyond retirement, his commitment to ministry continued through the establishment of the Sherman A. Nagel Foundation, which has consistently extended humanitarian assistance to widows in Nigeria.
As the Church continues its mission of proclaiming the everlasting gospel, lives such as Elder Philemon Onwere's remind us that true greatness is measured not by worldly achievement but by faithful service to God and humanity. His enduring example stands as an inspiration to present and future generations of Adventist workers across the West-Central Africa Division and beyond.
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