Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged Christians to participate in politics and hold positions of authority, instead of being frightened to do so.
The former President was speaking at the induction ceremony of the founder of the Cedar Mountain Chapel, Rev Stephen Wengam, as General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Ghana, last weekend.
“…and Christians must not shy away from politics, the price that the wise pay for not participating in Politics is to be ruled by fools”, he advised.
He persisted in advising them to run for elected office, support causes and take part in developing the policies and programs that would lead to the country’s prosperity. This, he said, the Bible does not stop anyone from doing so.
He also admonished churches and religious leaders to speak out no matter which political party is in office.
He argued that, “the church does not exist only to pray for leaders, it exists also to provide some suggestions and guidance to leaders, because after all, the church does not hang in the sky, the church exists in society and whatever happens in society affects the church.”
He contends that the nation’s current economic situation has an impact on the congregation, making it imperative for the church to speak up if it feels that something is wrong.
Delivering his maiden address, Rev Wengam said his vision is christened the Transformation Agenda, anchored in Micah 4:1, 2 which says in the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be the highest and that the nations will flood in.
“We want to reposition the Assemblies of God church to walk in this vision.”
His transformation agenda, he said, is divided into 6 thematic areas; Reach, Rebuild, Reform, Restore, Reposition and Rebrand.
He plans to reach every village in Ghana where the people do not hear the word of God and invest in human capital, the welfare of pastors and infrastructure.
Under the reform, Rev Wengam said the Church will target major administrative restructuring and also rebrand to appeal to the younger generation.
He takes over from Rev. Professor Yaw Frimpong-Manso, who was General Superintendent of the church for 12 years.
