Registered name: Rural Evangelism Ministry International Inc.
Rural Evangelism Ministries International (REMI) started in 1985 by young medical doctors, a couple, trained in different areas of medicine. The board of trustees of the ministry is made up of six members: Prof. A.B. Adelaiye, Dr. Victor Sinkalu, Dr(Mrs.) R.S. Adelaiye, Mrs Hauwa Agbede, Rev. John Adeoye and Mr. Samaila Adelaiye. The ministry first started as Soba Medical Centre (SOMEC) km 42 Zaria- Jos road. The vision for SOMEC as a ministry was following life's challenges and persecution from where the couple first worked as medical doctors.
As SOMEC, the ministry enjoyed Gods favor and it grew steadily, despite the challenges of being a Christian ministry in a Hausa land and a 99% Muslim settlement. God used SOMEC, then the only medical facility available, to provide spiritual and medical services to the people of Soba and its surrounding villages. This increased the popularity of the mission house and opened up to Jealousy and several fight backs. But, the ministry still grew more and more in God's favor.
SOMEC was very beneficial to the whole region of Soba. This made the centre very popular throughout motor parks and villages that surround Soba village. You only need to ask for 'Asibitin dan London' which was the popular name given to the ministry till date.
The naming of the mission house (SOMEC) as 'Asibitin dan London' by the inhabitants was deliberate, simply because they will not want to call it 'Asibitin mission'. This perhaps reveals the hostilities mission services encountered in the area also.
By 1989 the ministry grew and started a mission training program, by starting a mission school. The graduates then were better equipped spiritually and in medical services. Most of them were in demand for medical outreaches, in churches and other mission agencies.
It is noteworthy that SOMEC was offering virtually free medical service and free salvation also.
It was the starting of the mission training in 1989 that renamed the mission and vision to Rural Evangelism Ministries International (REMI), as the vision of evangelism was originally burdened on the rural people, based also in the rural areas (villages) of soba. This was to spread worldwide from villages, towns and cities giving it an international effect. With this development, the ministry was poised to work and it worked hard in training a lot of missionaries. Over the years, the ministry has trained over 500 missionaries in 22years. And all these missionaries are spread all over, working either in churches, other mission agencies or leading and serving to meet personal calls to serve in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some are even serving as missionaries abroad. The growth of the ministry continued, in 1997 the ministry considered starting a secondary school to add-up to the SOMEC and mission training to:
- Help "train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it".... (Prov. 22:6). Catch them young, you may say.
- Assist the illiterates that desire to do mission (children and adult) to be literate.
- Work with orphans and converts, especially those that were facing persecutions for their new found faith in Christ.
This was immediately followed up by the opening and running of nursery and primary schools together with adult classes in various mission fields to increase and ensure the success of the above stated objectives in REMI missions.
The development brought about more glory to God as lots and lots of testimonies came to be in all the areas that the ministry has moved. The details of how the ministry has feared and how God has helped the ministry from inception till date; and how God has assisted the ministry to account for resources and survive in the face of several challenges will be captured in the 'History and development of REMI ministry'.