The Executive Secretary of Plateau State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, George Gorap, on Friday, in Galilee,Israel urged pilgrims from the state, currently in the Holy Land, to pray for the government to achieve growth.

He also advised the pilgrims to pray for themselves, the success of the Gov. Simon Lalong-led administration for the state to remain focus on its developmental strides.

He, therefore, said that through support of government policies and programmes, the pilgrims would promote peace-building not just in the state, but also the country at large.

According to him, Lalong has advanced the cause of Christian pilgrimage in Plateau and in Nigeria as a whole, adding that supporting his administration’s programmes through prayers would encourage him to do more.

“I call on well-meaning Christians in the state to complement the efforts by the state government to sponsor people that are spiritually rich, but materially poor on holy pilgrimage to Israel.

“The sponsorship of pilgrims by the Plateau government is a way of supporting the people of our state spiritually.

“The end result is to enable us replicate in our state and the country at large what we see in the Holy Land as we can draw closer to God and become more united.

“All of us are from different denominations, but pilgrimage has changed the whole narrative. We are one and all of us are united.

“The fruit of pilgrimage is not something that you can look at as economic value; it is more of spiritual value,” Gorap said.

The cleric commended the pilgrims for their conduct in Israel and urged them to remain law abiding and spiritually fulfilled in their pilgrimage, through anchor prayers.

He thanked the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission for effective leadership put in place to make the pilgrimage hitch-free.

The first batch of the Plateau State for 2019 pilgrimage consists of clerics, winners of the second edition of the National Bible Quiz competition among other Christians.

The pilgrims departed Abuja on Dec. 17 and are expected to return to Nigeria after completion of the pilgrimage on Dec. 26.

Highpoint of the pilgrimage, so far, was the visit to the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Tagbha, Jordan River and Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered sermon.

 

NAN