Why an Assemblies of God pastor is cautioning against loud prayers

The head pastor of Liberty Assemblies of God church in Kumasi, Reverend John Kofi Bosomtwe, has warned his congregants against becoming a nuisance to their neighbours through excessive noise from prayers.

According to the pastor, practicing Christianity does not grant anyone the license to violate other people’s peace, particularly with loud activities.

“If I hear that, as a member of Liberty, you disturb the people you live with through loud prayers, I will support your landlord to evict you. If your landlord reports to me, I will assist him in evicting you. Wisdom should tell you not to disturb people at night. Having been here for so long, how many times have you seen us host an all-night service? We could turn up our sound systems and disturb the entire community, but that’s not how we operate,” he stated in a video shared on X by @eddie_wrt on Thursday, September 4, 2025, sighted by GhanaWeb.

He noted that the practice of churches causing inconvenience to community members is on the rise and strongly condemned it.

Ghana is a multifaith state; focus on your religion and leave others to do theirs - Ofosu Nkansah

“Whenever we host all-night services here, I instruct the engineers to keep the sound very low because people are sleeping. Some pastors establish churches in communities and choose not to care about the interest of the residents, blasting their sound systems and disturbing everyone. What is wrong with us?” he questioned.

He recounted an incident where he personally led the police to arrest a pastor for disturbing his community, noting that there is a tendency to label those who oppose such nuisances as witches.

“Someone did the same thing some time ago, and I led the police to arrest him. I tell you, he was just there when the police barged in. Up to today, he has not repeated it. My wife can testify. We don’t live like that. As a Christian, your knowledge should tell you that by 10 pm, people in the community are sleeping. Yet, when you complain, they tag you as a witch, while those making the noise don’t see themselves as such,” he said.

Under Ghanaian laws, noise pollution is primarily governed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act, 1994 (Act 490), and supplemented by various local bye-laws enacted by Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

According to the EPA Act, noise levels in residential areas must not exceed 55 decibels (dB) during the daytime and 48 decibels (dB) at nighttime.

GA/VPO

GhanaWeb's latest documentary, Sex for Fish, that explores the plights of teenage girls in coastal communities, all in an attempt to survive, is out. Watch it below: