Victor Ukwu is the CEO of Strengthwood Ministries in Sweden.
When did you trust Christ?
It was on one of our usual family Saturday fasting and prayer sessions. My father, after sharing a message on salvation that genuinely pricked my heart, led me through a prayer of confession of sins, repentance, and declaration of Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal saviour. I was 14 years old at the time, and I felt Jesus' touch tangibly that day. I received an indescribable joy as a result of the salvation of my soul. It has been a transformation journey of love and ever-burning passion for Jesus all along. All glory to God!
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
My walk with the Lord has been remarkable, dotted with moments and seasons of encounters and interactions with godly men and women, including situations that have become signposts on my journey. Immediately after I was born again, I noticed that the Spirit of God started leading me to connect deeply and easily with young people who evidently needed salvation. Once I gained admission to university, I was elected to the office of Evangelism coordinator in the Christian fellowship on campus. Serving in this capacity stretched my spiritual muscles and developed my leadership skills and capacity in such a tremendous measure that my influence became so pronounced both within and outside campus, which, in turn, drew many more souls into the kingdom. On graduation from the university, I was ordained into the Ministry. I was involved in church-planting work and, with my then senior pastor, grew it from the ground up to have several branches planted across Nigeria. I was sent out to plant some of these branches. I sustain a deep heartbeat for missions, and I work daily to be able to give and reach out to those in need, in advancing the course of the Gospel.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
Having just relocated from Nigeria to Sweden, I strongly desire to continue our passionate Evangelical work here in Sweden. It was expedient that I looked out for the right network and specialised training for seamless integration and contribution into the European system. Firstly, I look forward to the opportunity to network with a community of like-minded people and to access specialised training and best practices for the huge evangelical work we do at Strengthwood Ministries. Secondly, as a ministry committed to discipleship and leadership development, we understand the importance of continuous learning, as we cannot give what we do not have. Hence, we anticipate that the Forum will open us to new ideas that, when implemented, will yield a greater harvest in our mission field.
What is your ministry?
I am the CEO of Strengthwood Ministries, a ministry passionate about missions, reaching the unreached through strategic methods pertinent to different communities and people groups. My ministry work is driven by compassion, so I engage in charitable acts that demonstrate the tangible love of Christ. My work is big on people development—helping people discover their unique gifting and guiding them to give expression to their calling, whether in the marketplace or on the pulpit. Apart from the outreach dimension of my ministry, I am deeply involved in discipleship, raising a team of younger people who will catch and sustain the burden of evangelism for the next generation. We emphasise correct leadership, leadership driven by faithfulness and sacrificial service to God and humanity.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
I was actively involved in human rights activism and community development volunteerism. I became my school's senior prefect for Library and Christian Religious Knowledge. I oversaw organising the school morning devotions, administering the running of the school library under the supervision of the School Librarian. At university, I became the Evangelism Coordinator in the students' fellowship on campus known as Christ Ambassadors Students' Outreach. After graduating, I began pastoring a young church that I planted alongside the founder. I led the pastoral team and the evangelism team of the church. Additionally, I led the training team and served as the Sustainability Education Officer / Leadership Facilitator at an NGO, Faithhouse Organisation for Leadership and Community Development. Also, I served as the Project Manager (North-central region) of RARDUJA International, an International NGO focused on migration management, human trafficking, and victim support.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
I largely believe that we are well-positioned to maximise capacity-building resources and specialised training to make the most of a complex dispensation like ours. Our major challenge has been the inaccessibility of opportunities for this kind of training, given that we operate primarily in the Third World. With the European Leadership Forum, we will use what we learn to further train and benefit ministries and mission bodies in Nigeria and other African countries. Finally, looking at the Forum's mission statement, we see a clear alignment with the mandate of Strengthwood Ministries. Hence, we foresee a solid collaboration and a kingdom-profitable partnership in advancing this noble cause.
