The Ghana Baptist Convention (GBC) has ordained 92 ministers, including eight women, charging them to remain faithful to their calling and live above reproach as they serve God, the church and humanity.

The ordination ceremony, held on Saturday, August 29, 2026, formed part of the 63rd Annual Session of the Convention at the Baptist Women’s Retreat and Resource Centre at Ejura in the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

The five-day session was held on the theme: “Revived to Reach Out: Proclaiming Christ in Every Community” (Romans 10:14-15).

The Vice President of the GBC, Rev Charles Oppong-Poku, who outlined the ministerial journey within the Convention, said candidates who received a calling into ministry and were affirmed by their respective local churches underwent theological training at institutions approved by the Convention.

He explained that after completing their training, candidates went through interview and endorsement processes, during which they were vetted through formal interviews conducted by the Ministers’ Conference on behalf of the Convention’s presidency to ascertain their readiness and doctrinal soundness.

According to him, the ministerial journey involves three main stages: licensing, endorsement for full membership of the Ministers’ Conference, and ordination, which sets candidates apart for full-time and lifelong ministerial service.

The Executive President of the GBC, Rev Enoch Nii Narh Thompson, assisted by Rev Oppong-Poku and the President of the Ministers’ Conference, Rev Victor Brew, laid hands on the candidates, prayed and anointed them before presenting certificates to each of them, completing the ordination process.

Delivering the sermon on the topic, “Be a Faithful Steward of God’s Flock” (Acts 20:28), the Accra Coordinator of the Ghana Baptist University College (GBUC), Rev Dr Felix Owusu, charged the newly ordained ministers to ensure that the doors of their churches remained open to both believers and non-believers.

He also urged them to work towards reducing the rate at which members leave the church.

Rev Dr Owusu advised the ministers to be mindful of their personal spirituality in the performance of their ministerial responsibilities.

“You must take the Word of God and all spiritual disciplines of your faith seriously to the glory of God,” he said.

He explained that maintaining a habitual relationship with God was essential to cultivating a consistent and deeper relationship with Him through prayer and the study of Scripture.

He said the goal of such a relationship was to enable ministers to learn from Christ, live like Him and represent Him effectively in all aspects of their ministry.

Rev Dr Owusu further advised the new ministers to be mindful of their conduct, guard their integrity and ensure that their lives reflected the values they preached.

“As ministers of God, you must always ensure that you live above reproach towards the growth of the ministry,” he said.

“I call on you to live by example and serve as a positive moral compass and spiritual model for the church and the community. Whatever positive attitude you exhibit in the church must reflect in the home and workplace,” he added.

He also entreated the ministers to pay attention to their health, given the demanding nature of ministerial work.

“Do not try to be the Messiah, but rather delegate others to assist you in your ministry,” he advised.

For his part, Rev Thompson urged the newly ordained ministers to remain conscious of their personal relationship with God and make the study of Scripture a priority.

He said Christianity could not be practised based solely on personal feelings but must be guided by the teachings of God.

“I charge you to love everyone who is seeking to know Christ and to follow Him and the larger community because we believe that the Gospel of our Lord Jesus is the answer to the world’s problems,” he said.

Rev Thompson said although governments would continue to do their best to address societal challenges, the life-transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ remained a source of hope for young people and could help prevent them from turning to drug abuse, alcoholism, corruption and other social vices.

Speaking in an interview, some of the newly ordained ministers described the ordination as a great honour and pledged to justify the confidence reposed in them.

“This is a great honour done to us, and we pledge to justify the confidence reposed in us by working effectively to advance God’s ministry,” they said.