This article originally appeared on the website of the Atlanta Church of Christ
We are pleased to introduce a new member of our staff, Richard Alawaye, and his family to Atlanta, especially to those who haven't had the opportunity to meet them. Richard, his wife, Sarah, and their daughters, Gina (10) and Ashley (8) arrived in April, when Richard began leading the Lilburn Ministry in the Northeast Region of the Atlanta Church of Christ. Richard was born and raised in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. When he was 18 years old, he came to the U.S. for college, attending the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut) for undergraduate studies and then the University of Florida Law School.
Richard became a Christian on June 1, 1986 through the outreach of the Crossroads Church of Christ in Gainesville, Florida. After finishing law school in 1988, Richard moved to Boston and chose to be part of the church planting to Nairobi, Kenya in 1989. Richard served as an evangelist in East Africa for 9 years. Sarah was baptized in 1990 in Nairobi, and they were married in March of 1992.
Richard later ministered in South Africa for a year and a half. Most recently, he has served for four and a half years as evangelist for the church in Lagos, in his native Nigeria.
We have been recently blessed to have Richard speak to all the ministries in the Northeast Region as we were preparing for our Missions Contribution for Africa. With his growing up in Africa and his extensive, first-hand knowledge of so many of the churches there, Richard helped us to connect emotionally with the people of that continent and their needs -- both our brothers and sisters in Christ and those who will be in the future.
Richard is a man of faith and conviction. He is an inspiring preacher who loves God, His Word, and his church throughout the world. He is already winning and impacting the hearts of those in Lilburn and other ministries of the Atlanta church. It is not difficult to envision God doing amazing things among us through Richard's leadership and influence. We welcome you, Richard, Sarah, Gina and Ashley, to your new home.
--David Mathis