In our Interview today, we speak with Florence Oluwaseun Osanyintuyi, founder of the Happy Home Children Bible Club. She shares her inspiration behind the beautiful work she is doing in bringing young children to the knowledge of Christ.
Can we meet you?
Guest: My name is Florence Oluwaseun Osanyintuyi, born on the 27th of August. I am a native of Ondo State, Akoko-North west, Okeagbe town to be precise. I am a graduate of Microbiology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. I am a single young lady sent to cause revival in the nations of the earth, building and nurturing men in knowledge of God’s word.
Kindly tell us more about what you do
Guest: By the grace of God, I’m privileged to steward His move through Happy Home Children Bible Club, by raising an army grounded in the knowledge of the word & prayers, and literacy skills to ensure global relevance.
At the club, we teach children from the 0 years- 12 years God's word through recitations, Bible charts, songs, Bible games, film shows and every other means as led by God. We also train them to pray through our long stretchy prayers, fasting, showing them biblical templates of prayers and creating a system of prayer for them. For example, we started the year with a 7 days prayer & fasting, breaking with communion. During this period, they were taught to pray and hear from God, write down revelations through the notebooks we provide for them and we get them baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of praying in tongues.
Asides this we cater to the academic needs of the children, by teaching them to read and write, summer school tutorials, and also financial aids. We also help their literacy via games like scrabble and educative movies.
Can you share the mission, vision, and objectives of the Happy Home Children Bible Club?
Guest: Our vision is to raise and nurture an army of passionate, spirit-filled children who are deeply committed to God, empowered to fulfill their divine purpose, and equipped to transform their world for Christ.
The mission is to impact the children with the knowledge of the word, imbibe a prayer culture in them that fosters a close relationship with God.
The objectives are: to provide literacy skills and foster academic excellence, provide financial support for academic and spiritual growth purposes and also empower with relevant skills for personal development and growth.
When was this vision for this club conceived and how long has it been in operation?
Guest: The vision was conceived first in 2018 at OAU campus, when the Lord spoke to me about owning an orphanage. However, the Bible club vision specifically was conceived in November, 2024.
How many children have benefited from this club?
Guest: In total we have almost 600 children that have benefited from this club.
Any mixed reactions when you got the Vision?
Guest: Yes, I was skeptical about finances, because at the time, my younger sister just had a surgery and my brother was resuming a new session in school. So, there were too many financial responsibilities to attend to.
What challenges did you face when starting the club, and what stage is it currently at?
Guest: The first challenge was the stress of showing up every week to teach the children, the demands of consistently pouring into the children. Other challenges would be getting help, available hands to work with.
How do you get sponsorship and partnership seeing that this is big project? Or you handle it alone?
Guest: God has been faithful, our first sponsorship started from the testimony of a child I shared on my WhatsApp status. Prior to that time, I had not shared anything about the club on my status. However, I was led by the Holy Spirit to share and then, many reached out to me saying they wanted to sponsor a thing or two and from there, we’ve had people who are committed to giving to the club monthly and to specific projects.
How does the Bible club run? Is it that the children graduate when they get to a particular age or they continue?
Guest: We meet weekly to teach them God’s word, we have preliminary teachings for babes/newcomers, after which they join others in learning the word via our well crafted Bible study plan. We are working on an age specific Bible study plan. However, we are restricted based on the number of teachers we have available at the moment.
Can you share some of the activities of the children with us? What do they do in the Bible Club?
Guest: They do bible Recitations (Books of the Bible, Disciples of Jesus, The Creation Story, etc), Bible Teachings, Prayers, Praise & Worship, Film shows, Games, Monthly Fasting and Prayers, Easter Outreach, Summer School, Camping activity, Christmas Outreach, Bible Competitions and others.
What are the conditions for a child to be part of this club?
Guest: There’s no experience, just be willing and available. We take in children that can’t even speak or write yet, because we believe in catching them young, so we teach them through songs and movies. We have converted Muslims also in the club.
Moving on, as "mother of many kids" that many would call you, have you ever felt out of place at a point? Like, you don't belong here and this is what you're not supposed to be doing?
Guest: No, I’ve never felt so. It’s my life’s assignment.
What trainings did you get before putting the club together? This is to help any other person who has caught the vision that they will be doing this someday.
Guest: As cliche as this might sound, my training was from my devotion to the word and prayer and learning from the Holy Spirit. Prior to founding the club, I’ve never worked with children asides my siblings and when I taught as a teacher. However, being a first child and a teacher were my first training ground, as I believe the Holy Spirit taught me patience, listening skills, love and compassion. Beyond this, I have also learnt structure, fundraising and some other skills from the courses I took from Ideation Hub Africa, Abayomi Adeola Della (Founder Tsion Academy) and other NGO leaders and founders online.
Have you ever faced criticism, especially from parents? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it?
Guest: Not really
How do the parents come to trust you with their children without fear? This is a world where everyone is wary of the person beside them. How did the parents come to trust you?
Guest: I’m lucky to be living in the same environment where our Bible club holds and to make use of my church’s venue. So, because of my track record of being well behaved, loved by children and young people and also having parents with a good track record has helped.
Does the club run in schools too or is it simply external?
Guest: We don’t run in schools at the moment.
What spiritual practices or disciplines (fasting, prayers, retreat, meditation etc) do you find most helpful in your journey?
Guest: it’s difficult picking one, because they all have been helpful and have different contributions to my journey. But, I’m grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the ability to be led, strengthened and helped by Him is such a huge help.
With such big project, I am sure there is a mentor. Who is your mentor?
Guest: My mentor is often referred to as ‘Bishop’, his name is Pastor Gbenga Adeyemi, He is an associate pastor at Foursquare Gospel Church, Liberty House (Next-Gen church, Omole Axis, Lagos). I also have Mr Oluwaseun Abraham, Head of Projects at Havenhill Synergy Limited as one of my mentors.
Where do you see the club in the next five years, and how do you think the work you do will impact the spread of the gospel?
Guest: In the next 5 years, we would have impacted not less than 5000 children, planting the Bible club centres in every local community as led by the Holy Spirit, also through our outreaches and upcoming skill empowerment programs.
Please, give a word or advise, prayer or support to people who have this same vision.
Guest: When the Lord gives a word, all you need to do is to obey, do not worry about resources, just obey. You may have questions, but they should come after obedience. Spend time praying and also gleaning wisdom, as every vision of God is birthed through prayers. I pray that grace to yield to God’s call is released to you, wisdom is made available in Jesus name. Amen
If
this website has blessed you in one way or the other, consider sharing
your testimony in the comments and if you’re led, kindly donate to our ministry here. To publish your biography on our website, kindly send a message here.
Post a Comment
Please drop a comment and use the Social Media Buttons below to share to friends and family.