Life at Gateway Chapel
On Saturday 12th of December 2020, the family of Gateway Chapel in Kent lost one of it most loved members. The Church lost a rare gem, and one of the friendliest people anyone would have met. The church lost one of its Ministers – a truly devoted member.
Born on the 3rd of November 1972, Babafemi Akimu Yussuff - fondly called ‘Femi’, joined the Gateway Chapel family in 2007. From the unset, Femi presented himself as faithful member. Other than submitting himself totally and unquestionably to the leadership of the Senior Pastor, he fully lived out the four values of the church. This is why his first role at Gateway Chapel was protocoling Pastor Eddie. This meant that Femi became closer to the Pastor and in turn Pastor Eddie closely mentored him. Being the epitome of what can be described as a peoples’ person, he was quick to form and maintain great relationships with members. This enhanced his popularity further.
His abundance of energy, his lovable personality and his richness in charisma meant that leadership in other areas was soon to follow. In 2008, just after a year of becoming a member, Femi was asked to lead the ushering team. This he did with every passion imaginable. He revamped the ushering team, turning it into a dynamic welcoming and hospitality team, which meant that they did a lot more than ushering. In 2012, Femi was ordained a minister – and with time he had a number of other departments under his leadership including the Bus Angels (transport team), the car park team and of course the ushering department.
Minister Femi was the type of person who got things done for other people, he was a people connector. Once he identifies that you have a need, a challenge or a problem, he would go out his way to find out who could help you, then connect you with that person – and follow up with them to ensure that they do help you. This he did over and over again.
When guests visit for the first time, Minister Femi would catch up with them after the service and almost literally drag them along, introducing them to other members of the church, including the leaders. We are a very warm and welcoming church, but no one made anyone feel more welcome at Gateway Chapel like Minister Femi did.
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There are two things that anyone who crosses path with Minister Femi would remember – his legendary laughs and his tight, bone crushing hugs.
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Are we missing Minister Femi? That might be the most understated question of the century. We miss him, but we are glad that heaven has received a very special person.