Presbyterian Church holds General Assembly

Accra, Aug. 19, GNA - Professor Mike Ocquaye, Minister of Communications on Saturday asked Christians to resist bad acts and doctrines that were gradually creeping into Christendom.

He particularly, condemned the acts of homosexualism and lesbianism that were being introduced into the Church and were conflicting with sound doctrines of the Holy Bible.

Addressing the opening session of the Sixth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in Accra, Prof. Ocquaye, who is also a reverend minister, said since Christian doctrine had never changed, the Church must not compromise but rather should be firm to uphold the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The five-day assembly being attended by over 500 delegates from Ghana, USA, United Kingdom and Germany is under the theme: "Go Therefore and Make Disciples of All Nations".

The Assembly would deliberate on the Church's health, education, agriculture, and societal programmes, after which a communiqu=E9 would be issued.

Prof. Ocquaye commended the Presbyterian Church for its sound teachings and good moral discipline it was providing to students in its schools.

He pledged government's continual collaboration with Churches with mission schools, to provide training that would positively help mould the youth into good adults.

The Minister of Communications, urged the Church not only to continue in its efforts to evangelise and winning more souls for Jesus Christ, but teach their members to keep and abide by His teachings and never compromise with any statement in the Holy Bible. On the cocaine menace that had attracted national attention, Prof.Ocquaye said government was determined to find out the truth or otherwise hence the directive to the relevant authorities to investigate the issue.

Right Reverend Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana expressed appreciation to the government for recognizing the critical role being played by the Church and honouring three of its past Moderators for their contribution towards nation building.

They were Rt-Rev. I.H. Frempong, Rt-Rev. Anthony A. Beeko and Rt-Rev. Dr Sam Prempeh.

Rt-Rev. Frimpong-Manso, called on Christian leaders to assist their congregations to understand the basics of the Gospel and Christian discipleship.

"There are many talented Christians in the church but have still not understood the definition of a true Christian as summarized in the Scripture and Catechism," he said. Rt-Rev. Dr Frimpong-Manso charged Ministers of the Gospel to follow the Great Commission of going "therefore into the nations" and win disciples who would truly be influenced by the sound doctrines of Jesus Christ.

He further recommended sports evangelism, particularly, football, through which pastors could preach to all people since football had became a household activity that bring people together. "We can build on the relationship established through the period of play to share the Gospel with the players as well as spectators," he added.

He was optimistic that the national sense of patriotism that emerged in recently as a result of the Black Stars' performance at the World Cup would be sustained to keep both the Church and the people of the nation together. On programmes of the Church, Moderator of the General Assembly said the General Assembly Council had approved the establishment of a hotel to be named, "Salem Hotel" at Kuku Hill in Osu and work on the project would begin soon. He announced that the Akropong-Akuapem Campus of the Presbyterian University College would be opened in September while the Agogo Campus would be opened next year. Rt-Rev. Frimpong-Manso urged the Church to endeavour to empower its youth by building their capacities and skills to become entrepreneurs to enable them generate their own incomes. He asked the Church to educate and teach their members to become responsible parents and role models for their children and the youth in society. 19 Aug. 06