Check activities of commercially oriented churches — Rev. Gbande
The General Overseer of the Evangelical Church of Ghana (ECG), Rev. Daniel Gbande, has described the proliferation of churches with commercial motives as a threat to national development.
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He, therefore, called for strategic partnership between genuine Christian associations and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to check the activities of such commercially oriented churches in the interest of the country.
"The freedom of association and worship provided for in the Constitution should not give people the licence to abuse this privilege because the church ought to focus on the social gospel, moral values and be the conscience of the state.”
"Look at Ghana which is a country of about 70 per cent Christian population, but corruption is increasing by the day, the use of foul and divisive language on radio is becoming a problem and our prisons are choked with people who commit all manner of crimes. It is partly because most of the churches do not focus on the transformational message that will change lives," he stressed.
Graduation
Rev. Gbande made those observations at the fourth graduation of the College of Theology and Missions (CTM), a Christian leadership-oriented institution, in Accra last Saturday.
At the event, students who pursued certificate, diploma and higher national diploma courses were awarded with certificates.
The first batch of students who pursued bachelor's degree in Theology at the college also graduated.
The college is affiliated to the African Association of Bible (AABS), offers regular, sandwich and weekend programmes, while plans are advanced to offer distance courses online.
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Taxes
Rev. Gbande said churches that were proven to be commercialising the Gospel should be taxed.
"The whole idea of taxing churches should be given a second look. If it is possible to put in place a mechanism that will draw a clear line between those who are commercialising the Gospel, why not? The state can go after them the same way they do to any other business. However, for churches that are genuinely teaching the Gospel, including encouraging their members to pay their taxes as a responsibility to the state, you cannot tax them because their members are already paying taxes," he stressed.
National issues
The Principal of CTM, Rev. Maxwell K.K. Liwangol, in his speech, called on the Clergy to use the pulpit to educate their members and the public on key government policies in a nonpartisan manner, stressing that any attempt to wade into partisan politics would cripple the crucial role of the church in national development.
He lauded the government's Free Senior High School (SHS) policy that the government was rolling out this month, saying that such initiatives would help to bridge the poverty gap and promote development.
Touching on the fight to clamp down on the activities of illegal miners by the government and other anti-galamsey crusaders, Rev. Liwangol urged all stakeholders to make personal commitments to help win that war.
"It is everybody's responsibility to protect the land and water resources that God entrusted into our care at creation. We have no choice but to preserve it for posterity," he stressed.
Rev. Liwangol, however, urged the government to be fast about its decision to create alternative sources of livelihood for the affected illegal miners as a measure to curb other forms of crime they might fall into.