The Bishop of the Methodist Diocese of Tarkwa in the Western Region, the Right Reverend Thomas Amponsah-Donkor has urged ministers of the gospel to use the word of God to speak against the ills of society.
According to him, indiscipline, drug abuse and LGBTQ issues are gaining roots among the youth and there is the need for the Church to stand by up scaling up the teachings of the apostolic doctrines to transform lives.
Bishop Amponsah-Donkor was speaking at the induction ceremony for the Very Reverend John K Baidoo as the new Connexional Guild Chaplain of the Methodist Church Ghana at Tarkwa in the Western Region.
The new Connexional Chaplain is also the Superintendent Minister of the Mouth Zion Methodist Church at Tamso, Tarkwa.
The Guild, is an inter-generational group in the church which seeks to mobilize its members for church activities, train them for leadership positions and prepare them as evangelizers.
Bishop Amponsah-Donkor therefore charged all appointees especially those in the Lord’s service to assess the reason and timing of their appointment, saying this will enable them to deliver.
“Appointments are made at a given and for certain reasons. It therefore behoves the appointees, including the Very Reverend John K Baidoo to critically assess the situation and address challenges that come with office”, Rt Rev Amponsah-Donkor said.
He opined that, “the Connexional Chaplain is coming into office at a time the Methodist Church is grappling with the issue of nominalism, where people have their names on the church’s roll but do not come to church and the other challenge is churchianity, where they come to church but are not Christians”.
The Tarkwa Diocesan Bishop was however hopeful that, the new Guild leader will be up to the task based on his track record and experience.
He congratulated him for his new assignment, saying, it is an honour to the the diocese.
For his part, the Very Reverend John K Baidoo, the new Connexional Chaplain stressed on the need to work closely with the youth who dominate the Guild.
This, he said will enable him to identify their potential and help in nurturing them.
“A greater percentage of the membership of the Guild are young and there is a lot to offer in the service of the Lord, however, it is important that, I draw closer to them, identify their gifts and help nurture them to help in the affairs of the church”, he stated.
The Chairman of the Guild, George Arko-Mensah described the future of the Guild as promising as they are keen on preparing the members to win souls for Christ.
To further this goal, Mr Arko-Mensah said, the Guild is embarking on a mega project at Offinso in the Ashanti Region that will serve as their resource centre for prayer and recreation among others.
Story By: Desmond Cudjoe
