Agyinasare condemns the ‘I-struggled-so-my-children-must-also-struggle’ mentality

The founder of Perez Chapel International, Bishop Charles Agyinasare, has advised parents, especially, fathers who want their children to suffer because they [the fathers] suffered while growing up or setting up their business, to have a change of mindset.

According to Bishop Agyinasare, that mindset is the reason many businesses in Africa and Ghana do not survive the first generation.

Delivering the sermon on Sunday, 22 December 2019 on the topic: ‘Long life redefined’, Bishop Agyinasare advised fathers who own businesses, to involve their children in those ventures so they can take over when they are no more.

“There are many fathers in our country who are not preparing their children to be successors”, the Chancellor of Perez University College told his congregation at the Perez Dome, Dzorwulu, adding: “There are many fathers who have bought lands and their children don’t know the lands, even their wives do not know the lands”.

He continued: “There are people who have businesses and their children don’t understand the A – Z of the business because when the children were growing up, they took them to America, they took them to Europe. It is good to take your child to America or Europe but every long vacation, they must come back and when they come back, introduce them to the business; let them see how the business is run…” Bishop Agyinasare advised.

“We don’t have a lot of businesses that have gone from father to son. If you go to America, [there is] Johnson and Sons Company Limited, Marriot and Sons. You go to America, you see them – fifth generation, sixth generation, you see them”, but in Ghana, “after the first generation, everything collapses and the reason it collapses is Mr Father did not involve the children, Mr Father did not explain to the children, Mr Father struggled and, so, he thinks his children must struggle, so, they pride themselves that he must also go through it”, Bishop Agyinasare noted.”

Citing a personal example, Bishop Agyinasare said: “When I began [my] ministry, at a certain time I had one shoe, the front had holes; my children won’t walk with shoes like that, I refuse it. When I started ministry, I didn’t have a car, I had to walk; my children, when they were starting ministry, I made sure I provided a car for them.”

According to him, one of the key elements of long life is “making sure that you have successors and you’ve prepared them”.