Churches are not blood-suckers – Otabil

Pastor Mensa Otabil says the perception that most Churches are blood-suckers is wrong.

According to him, no Church forces its congregation to give against their will.

As far as he is concerned, the success of most Churches in Ghana can be put down to good leadership rather than milking of the poor dry.

“You know people complain about Churches, they say we take poor people’s money and so on and so forth [but] I don’t know of any church – maybe it happens in some Churches – where there are tithe inspectors or offering inspectors who say ‘you didn’t give your offering [so] ten lashes’; no, nobody whips anybody, nobody beats anybody. But the Pastor comes and says ‘we are going to build that auditorium’ and tells them the benefit of building it and the people willingly offer themselves, and yet you have the government which has prison and police and court and people don’t pay tax. So you have to ask yourself, ‘why are they not doing it?’ Somebody is not showing the way”.

The General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church told the congregation at the Church’s Greater Works 2013 Conference that: “When leaders lead, the people willingly offer themselves”.

According to Dr. Otabil, the Church does not put its congregation under duress to give.

As far as he is concerned, “people can go to Church for all their lives and never give. When the offering basket comes, nobody forces anybody’s hand to give. Nobody comes to search your pocket and say give. But people give and sometimes they give beyond their comfort. Sometimes they give when they have nothing. They are not stupid people”.

He said: “People who give in our Churches give willingly”, adding that: “no church will sack you for not giving”.

“Its almost like saying why should soldiers go to fight?”