New Atuabo (W/R) April 16, GNA. A fifteen-billion-cedi Christian Divine Church community Was on Saturday inaugurated at a ceremony at New Atuabo near Tarkwa. A-400,000,000 cedi mausoleum and a statue of the founder of the Church Prophet Apostle John Taylor, who died nine years ago was also unveiled in the church community.
The Church Community also has a maternity home, vocational training centre, 300 branches in Ghana and five in Cote d'Ivoire with an estimated thirty thousand membership nationwide.
The ceremony, which formed part of a four-day National Easter convention of the church, was to commemorate the founder of the church. The headquarters of the church building and the administration block were also dedicated to the glory of God.
The Church's Community Complex was formally relocated to its present site at New Atuabo near Tarkwa on August 28 1998. The headquarters complex consists of two church buildings, an office complex and accommodation for Pastors and the sick in spirit and body that come for healing.
Due to its serene physical and spiritual environment the headquarters complex is affectionately called "Christian Paradise" in English and "Asomdwee Bea" in Akan.
The relocation became necessary because Old Atuabo where the church was then headquartered was re-designated as a mining area. Preceding these ceremony, was a sermon delivered by Apostle Amos Mensah, chairman of the church who said in every organization, there are covenants, rules and laws that govern it and Christian Divine Church has its rules, laws and covenant and flouting them amounts to disobedience. Apostle Mensah, who chose "Obedience" as his theme, said all must obey the laws of the state so as to enjoy the peace thereof saying, obeying the law means respecting the law and respecting one another within the state.
In so doing, he said, the accompanying peace would be enjoyed by the state.
He therefore called on politicians, the clergy and the citizenry to obey laws of the land and the covenant of God.
The Apostle cited Adam and Eve as an example whose disobedience to God resulted in the suffering of mankind but with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, mankind was relieved from his inequities. He told the congregation not to copy other churches but to abide by the covenant, which was entered into by the leader and founder of the church and Jesus Christ the son of the living God.
Apostle Mensah reminded them not to forget fasting and prayers, which are tools to subdue the wicked machinations of the devil. He justified the sprinkling of water as a means of protection and not a secret ritual, saying that was a covenant within the church and entreated the Pastors to fetch any water in presence of the congregation, pray on it and sprinkle it on them He entreated them to equip themselves with the study of the Bible to use it as a weapon against the devil.
Giving a brief history of the church, Mr Jacob Saah, legal adviser and chairman of the board of trustees of the church, said the Apostle was born in 1905 and was called by the Lord to be a servant in his vineyard in 1945.
He said Prophet Apostle Taylor who was a Methodist was excommunicated from the Methodist Church on May 25 1959 because of doctrinal differences.
He said the Apostle from that day started Christian Divine Church with 13 men and 13 women. The Apostle led the church until March 10 1997 when he was called to greater glory. 16 April 06
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