Birmingham Pastors Explore Boundless Grace in New Book

Yinka Olatunbosun

Nigerians-in-Diaspora, Pastors Gabriel and Parah Orakpo have announced the publication of their new book, “Unmerited: Discovering the Depths of God’s Grace.” The book was released in March 2026 through a partnership publishing between Zabrol Synergy Ltd, a Nigerian-in-Diaspora company and Fairchild & Brave Ltd (evolved from Fairchild Media), a company based in Nigeria.

“Unmerited” explores the theological and practical dimensions of divine grace as understood within the undiluted Christian doctrine, offering readers a comprehensive examination of grace as the unearned and undeserved favour of God toward humanity.

The book traces the theme of grace as an unbroken thread running from the opening pages of Genesis through to the promised hope of eternity. The authors examine how divine favour has consistently preceded human failure throughout biblical history. They explore and identify the first act of grace in the Garden of Eden, where God provided a covering for Adam and Eve’s shame through the sacrifice of an animal, establishing a pattern that would ultimately find its fulfilment in the person of Jesus Christ.

Subsequent chapters examine grace as it appeared in the lives of Old Testament figures including Noah, Abraham, and David, before examining how Christ embodied grace through his interactions with outcasts, sinners, and the broken.

The work addresses the saving grace as the foundation of salvation, sanctifying grace as the ongoing work of transformation in believers’ lives, and sustaining grace as the strength available to those facing trials and suffering.

The authors devote significant attention to the liberating power of grace that frees individuals from shame, legalism, and the exhausting need to perform, while also calling readers to become channels through whom grace can flow to others through forgiveness, patience, and unconditional kindness. The final chapters consider how grace secures the believer’s eternal future and provides hope that transforms present circumstances, with each chapter concluding with reflection questions designed to help readers personalise the theological concepts explored.

In the book’s foreword, Reverend Joe Olaiya, President of Living Faith Foundation, writes that Gabriel and Parah have demonstrated that the depths of grace are truly inexhaustible and a profound reflection of God’s work in all its forms. Reverend Olaiya describes the work as clearly a revelation of God’s heart, demonstrating that grace is not a dry theological concept or something for which humans qualify, but a gift from a God who is compassionate and slow to anger. He recommends the book as one that will bless and enlighten readers’ understanding of what Christ has accomplished, where believers stand in their walk with God, and the eternal glory that awaits beyond the present, noting that the inclusion of reflections and questions after each chapter makes it ideal study material for the entire family.

For Professor Isi Agboaye, a writer and Professor of Drama at the Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, the book is grounded in theology without bringing to bear the professional experiences and deep human relations of the authors. He stressed that while the book is thoughtful, accessible and replete with storytelling and reflections, it is also a resounding contribution to scholarship.

Agboaye added, “What distinguishes ‘Unmerited’ as a Christian text, is its balance – because it’s neither academic nor sentimental; instead, it offers a steady, thoughtful walk through Scripture that invites readers to reflect rather than rush. The inclusion of reflection questions throughout the book makes it ideal for small groups, discipleship settings, or personal meditation. Later chapters, such as Growing in God’s Grace, shift the focus from understanding grace to living it, showing how grace shapes character, relationships, and spiritual growth. Thus, in a cultural moment marked by pressure, performance, and spiritual fatigue, the book’s message lands with refreshing clarity; that grace is not earned, improved upon, or negotiated – rather, it is received. Therefore, in receiving it, believers are changed.”

In a similar vein, Dr. Robin Lawrence, a Consultant Psychiatrist, described it as a beautifully written and deeply reflective book. While quoting from the book, “Grace is the very air we breathe as believers,” Lawrence said, “A beautifully written and deeply reflective short work, this book captures the timeless and transformative nature of grace with striking clarity. Its language is both poetic and theologically rich, tracing grace from before creation to the present moment with quiet authority. What stands out most is its ability to make profound truths feel immediate and personal—offering reassurance that failure does not define us and that even suffering can be imbued with meaning. A concise yet powerful meditation that lingers long after reading. I will quote one more sentence to offer a flavour of this work that I highly recommend, “the grace that hovered over creation, pursued the fallen in Eden,and patiently guided Israel through the wilderness now walks among us in flesh and blood.” The poetry of the authors, a Christian couple who truly love Jesus.”

Meanwhile, the authors share in their introduction that the book emerged from personal experience, describing how they found themselves moving to Birmingham, United Kingdom in 2009 to begin the first branch of Living Faith Foundation outside Nigeria. They recount that although challenges were anticipated, it became painfully clear once the church began that their only hope was total dependence on God’s unfailing grace, as the strategies and plans upon which they had relied for success disappointed them. They describe this season as their enrolment in what they term the School of Grace, a course of study from which they remain students sixteen years later. The work is dedicated to Jesus Christ as the embodiment of all grace, to Reverend Joe and Pastor Florence Olaiya as their fathers and mothers in the Lord, and to their daughter Christiana.

Gabriel Orakpo holds a Master’s degree in Missional Leadership, a Professional Development Diploma in Management Studies, and is a Business Education graduate. Following a career in trading, business consultancy, and construction, he was ordained as a pastor in 2003 and took up foreign mission work in 2009. He has served from inception as Lead Pastor of Living Faith Foundation, Fountain of Grace Church in Birmingham, United Kingdom, and presently serves as the Diaspora Lead Pastor for Living Faith Foundation, including the United Kingdom and United States.

On the other hand, Parah Orakpo holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Sunderland, a Professional Development Diploma in Management Studies, and is an experienced project and programme manager with Prince 2 Practitioner qualification. Her secular career has included senior positions within the oil and gas, transportation, charitable, and healthcare sectors, and she currently works in the healthcare sector as a Business Relationship Manager for Programmes. She is an ordained pastor in the Living Faith Foundation, and together the authors describe themselves as direct products of the grace about which they write, having been fashioned, kept, and sustained by what they term the graceful God throughout sixteen years of ministry in the United Kingdom.

“Unmerited: Discovering the Depths of God’s Grace” invites readers to move beyond understanding grace as mere doctrine toward experiencing it as an active reality that saves, sustains, frees, and ultimately secures an eternal future. The authors express their prayer that readers would not only understand God’s grace as a theological concept but would experience it as a daily reality in which they live, walk, and extend to others.