Don’t allow pastors to intimidate you - Moderator

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) Right Reverend Professor Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, has charged Christians in the country not to allow pastors to use their spiritual gifts to intimidate them.

Reverend Mante said pastors were trained to seek the wellbeing and spiritual needs of the people and not otherwise.

He condemned the trend where some clerics had become money conscious and materialistic by taking money from church members in the name of consultation fees, directions and selling of anointing oil and it kinds “making some pastors richer than their church members”.

The Moderator made the call at the commissioning of 42 ministerial probationers from the Ramseyer Training Centre, under the Special Ministerial Training (SMT), at the Ramseyer Congregation of the PCG, at Abetifi-Kwahu.

Reverend Mante called on the Ministers, who had completed their three year ministerial training and preparing to begin their two year probation, to be “disciplined and courageous and not to be afraid of any man but Christ who had called them to his fold”.

He reminded them that the terrain was difficult, considering the many false prophets and so called men of God and urged them to go out and make the difference by preaching the unadulterated word of God to transform society.

The Moderator noted that, the PCG had been a partner in nation building, especially in the area of education, indicating that, the Church had built about 2,440 basic schools, 30 senior high schools, 55 health institutions and many community projects for the wellbeing of Ghanaians and charged the newly ordained Ministers to go out and help people in need.

The Chairperson of North America and Australia branch of the Presbyterian Church, Reverend Herbert Anim-Oppong, in a sermon, appealed to the ministers to be committed in the work of God, with all their soul, strength and heart to lead people to Christ.

He appealed to the spouses of the Ministers, especially, spouses of the female Ministers to support them by accepting to move with them to their duty stations when they are transferred.

Reverend Samuel Ofori Asare, representative of the ordained ministers, affirmed their commitment to the service of God and pledged to work diligently for what the PCG stood for and justify the opportunity given them to contribute to the work of God and the church.