Pastor David Ibiyeomie has encouraged believers to take learning seriously, saying that one book or material can sometimes provide the insight needed for major progress in ministry, business or life.
“One material can make you break out,” he said.
Ibiyeomie shared a personal example from the early days of his ministry, saying there was a period when his church was not growing and he felt God direct him to read a book by Korean pastor David Yonggi Cho.
“Church was not growing and God said to me, ‘Read this book by David Yonggi Cho.’ Church exploded,” he said.
Cho was widely known for his teachings on church growth, particularly home-cell ministry, and authored several books on the subject.
Ibiyeomie used the experience to encourage people to pray for direction toward the right resources.
“The thing you’re looking for is inside the book,” he said. “Lord, guide me to that material that will make me explode in business.”
He also referenced E.F. Schumacher’s influential 1973 economics book Small Is Beautiful, using it as an illustration of how a single book can reshape a person’s thinking. The book is a well-known work on economics, scale and human-centered development.
However, I could not independently verify the specific story he told about a British “newsreel vendor” named Joshua becoming one of Britain’s wealthiest people after reading the book, so that anecdote is best presented as Ibiyeomie’s illustration rather than established fact.
His central message was clear: do not underestimate the power of knowledge. Sometimes the insight that changes your direction may be waiting in one book, teaching or resource.