The Church of Pentecost Ghana is billed to take National Chairman of the largest opposition party the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Elder Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and his colleagues through a compulsory theological training to sharpen their leadership skills, mynewsgh.com reports.
‘Colleagues’ in the first paragraph is a reference to his ‘colleague Elders’ in the Church of Pentecost, and not ‘colleague NDC Executives’ with whom he was elected over the weekend.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo is a politician who is respected by all sides of the political divide and has been an Elder of the Church of Pentecost for many years. He is widely seen to be a decent politician and a gentleman.
A communique from the church announcing the compulsory training said “All Elders of The Church of Pentecost are to undergo a one-year certificate training programme at the Pentecost Theological Seminary (PTS) to equip them to lead the successful implementation of the five-year strategic vision of the Church.”
“Per the Constitution of the Church, Elders as well as Deacons and Deaconesses who are unpaid officers, are the front-liners of the Church. Elders are responsible for the effective running of the local church. The intentional training of the Elders which will augment the existing discipleship programme is vital in equipping them for societal transformation and impact.” the statement said.
This is contained in the newly unveiled five-year strategic vision of the Church (Vision 2023) dubbed “Possessing the Nations: Equipping the Church to Transform Every Sphere of Society with Values and Principles of the Kingdom of God.”
Presiding Elders who are key to the development of the local church, according to the new vision, will also be carefully selected and offered periodic training to equip them to lead the flock well so as to build a good church. This is expected to include the new NDC Chairman.
To assess their effectiveness to run the local church, District Ministers shall be required to carry out annual performance appraisals with Presiding Elders to ensure that desired performance objectives are being met at the local level.
Under the Vision 2023, all Officers of the Church (Elders, Deacons and Deaconesses) shall be required to participate in the lay leadership training school, and that the lay leadership school shall be evaluated to ascertain its impact for further improvements.
Again, every officer will be required to have a copy of the Ministerial Handbook, where Ministers will be encouraged to periodically use the content of the handbook for the training of officers.
Vision 2023 was unveiled by the Chairman of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, on Monday, November 12, 2018, at the Pentecost Convention Centre during the opening of the annual November Heads’ Meeting.
“The overall goal of the five-strategic vision is to build a church where members go to possess their nations by transforming every worldview, thought and behaviour with values, principles and lifestyles of the Kingdom of God and thereby turning many people to Christ.” the statement ended.
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Credit: mynewsghana
