The Government of Ghana has expressed its deepest appreciation to the Ghana Baptist Convention (GBC) for committing more resources to support the accelerated development agenda of the Country.

According to the Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Baptist Church had played and continues to play a crucial role in the area of education, quality healthcare and improving the physical and spiritual lives of people in this Country.

The Minister said this when he addressed the 56th Annual Session of the GBC at Ejura in the Ashanti Region.

The Annual Session was under the theme: “Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity and The Future of Baptist Identity”.

He on behalf of the Government and people of Ghana saluted the GBC for their efforts in putting at ago, about eight (8) medical facilities across the country with six others at various stages of completion.

“We are also aware of the provision of boreholes in communities to ensure that the lives of the people in these communities are improved. You have also contributed and continue to contribute to the development of Ghana’s human Capital through the Ghana Baptist University College, your early childhood development centres, the Baptist Vocational training centre focusing on the training of girls who have been rescued from the Trokosi system”.

The Minister on the other hand was confident that the four days convention would imbue in the Church a renewed strength, zeal, courage and boldness to stand for the full Gospel of Jesus Christ and to take a stand for Him not only in the sacred sanctuary of the church, but in the marketplace.

He encouraged the Church to stick to the Baptist Identity and to ensure that the Church was stronger, more united, accountable, obedient to God’s word, and should importantly ensure that they demonstrate good citizenship. The Executive President of the Ghana Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi said the annual session was for the leadership of the Baptist Convention to account for their stewardship and to inform the members about the challenges faced as a denomination and issues to be addressed to move the denomination forward.

He gave a vivid account of the numerous activities and programmes undertaken by his administration in the last few years which included; the establishment of a television station (SBN-Shalom Broadcasting Network), professional training for over 400 members to support the Church, infrastructural projects, planting of new churches and many others.

Rev. Dr. Adu-Gyamfi said “For some time now, many of our Churches have imported into their worship services all manner of practices from the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches without recourse to their identity as Baptist. There has been the cry from some of our members about the future of Baptist identity in the light of this development. It is my hope that during this session, the phenomenon will be discussed thoroughly as we look at the future of our great denomination”.