The vision of Father's Love Forum was birthed on June 1, 2015 to the glory of God.
“The forum which the Corp members were reluctant to attend believing that it was one of those military parades, began to grow from strength to strength, gradually they found themselves delving into a lot of spiritual topics such as Master-Life Discipleship Program…
Father’s Love Forum (FLF) was born out of a passion and burden for the youths of this generation to discover their purpose for being here on earth; while taking into cognizance also the notorious fact that society prospers when the success of one generation is perpetuated by another generation, and that the quality of life, scope and scale of the future greatness of any nation can be determined by the quality of investment in the condition of its youths and the opportunities available to them.
With credence to its prerogative as a platform dedicated to equip, mentor, train and throw up youths in successive positions of relevance in the future, the vision of Father’s Love Forum was birthed on June 1, 2015 to the glory of God. The visionnaire Major General Bamidele Olaleke Ogunkale while serving as the commandant of Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering (NASME), saw the need of divine guidance for the youths and Corp members serving in NASME due to an incident that occurred with the 2015 batch (B) Corp members which reflected their lack of ‘Eyes for Details’ and Time Management during their passing out dinner.
The event was scheduled for 8pm according to the invitation letter they presented to the commandant Maj. Gen. Ogunkale, in their own little thinking they assumed he was not time conscious and thought he was going to avail himself at say two hours late to the program timing. But unfortunately he was there 8pm on the dot and nobody was on ground except for the DJ, this really gave him a cause to worry as he has a very big heart to seeing youths having a fulfilled life. He went ahead and cancelled the dinner and then scheduled a parade for them the next morning in which he tutored them immensely on time management and how it affects life and vision.
The strategy of guidance by the then commandant of NASME was tagged “Commandant’s Parade” and was made a weekly interactive session with the General in which he addressed very interesting subject matters like “eyes for details, how youths should plan for their future ahead (planning), Laws of Ideas, Success Strategies & Systems, Entrepreneurship, What is Needful, Life after National Youth Service, How to Get Commissioned into the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria etc.
The forum which the Corp members were reluctant to attend believing that it was one of those military parades, began to grow from strength to strength, gradually they found themselves delving into a lot of spiritual topics such as Master-Life Discipleship Program; the package was eye-opening and mind-blowing, as many of the youths who hitherto believed that their knowledge of scripture is outstanding, soon discovered new insight and fresh revelation. During this package of several weeks, they were tutored on Disciple’s Cross, Disciple’s Personality, Disciple’s Victory, and Disciple’s Mission.
The Holy Spirit also unveiled another strategy for spiritual stability which led to the attendance of Sunday and Mid-week services by the Corp members. On a typical Sunday for example, the Corp members attended three church services: 6:30am, 8:30am in Living Faith Church, 8:30am to 10:30am in Shelter of Glory Church and from 10:30am to 12noon at the protestant Church in NASME barracks. It was initially hectic but it later became fun as a lot of welfare packages were infused.
Since its formation, what is today known as Father’s Love Forum had gone through stages of change in nomenclature with the aim of coming out with a name that would be accepted to all, especially those outside the military domain. The Forum started as “Commandant’s Parade” when the founder was commandant of NASME. When he became Director General, Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, the forum adopted the nomenclature “Director General’s Parade”. However, rather than allowing the forum’s nomenclature to change as the appointment of the founder changes, the leadership, on 30th April 2016 agreed to go by the current name “Father’s Love Forum”.
Father’s Love Forum saw the need to put a structure in place for proper administration of the forum; consequently various units such as: welfare, treasury, transport, library, technical, prayer, evangelism and public relations amongst others were established. The visionnaire who is the brain behind the forum appoints a General Secretary who is saddled with the task of supervising the unit leaders while a coordinator is appointed for the general oversight functions of the forums affairs at the state level.
To the glory of God, since inception we have recorded diverse infallible proofs which are testimonies of the out stretched hand of God that has wrought extraordinary results and turned our expectations and endeavors as a forum into fruition. Forum which started in a controlled environment, has today replicated itself across board with branches now domiciled in Benue, Osun and Kogi States as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
With our mission aimed at being a platform for the development of a total youth through continuous expression of love, discipleship, and kingdom service with practical teaching of the word of truth via seminars, symposiums and workshops. Father’s Love Forum has in no small amount impacted the lives of hundreds across Nigeria as well as those on international soils.
Precisely, the Forum has produced ministers of the gospel, doctors, lawyers, lecturers, business men/women, entrepreneurs, and software analysts as well as officers of the armed forces and other security agencies including civil servants, amongst others.
The Forum has also recorded tremendous harvest of souls through its strategic outreaches and kingdom advancement endeavors. As part of its outreach endeavors, the Forum has equally facilitated the training and empowerment of several widows, orphans and some less-privileged in various skill acquisition programs across the country; some of these beneficiaries are now self-employed. Also, many members have been assisted financially in their academics and other welfare pursuits.