A Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church, New Achimota Circuit, Very Reverend Andrew Mbeah-Baiden, has strongly dismissed calls that Ghana would burn if this year's general election is rigged.
According to him, "Ghana would not burn because God will not allow it for the sake of his children." He therefore appealed to all those who have been crying wolf to desist from that in the interest of national unity.
Very Rev Mbeah-Baiden in an exclusive interview with The Statesman pointed out that apart from God's intervention, Ghana has an effective Electoral Commission which is world acclaimed and very able to organise free and fair elections. He however cautions the EC not to compromise their stand in the interest of any political party.
He observed that it is God that appoints leaders through men and was of the view that elections are not won by the party that make the most noise.
The Very Reverend Minister spoke with The Statesman at the inaugural ceremony of the first annual Youth and Students Assembly organised under the auspices of the New Achimota Circuit Youth Council.
Speaking on the theme "Raising young leaders of integrity for sustainable development of Church and Society," Very Rev Mbeah-Baiden said the development process that the founding fathers begun needs to be sustain and this can only be achieved by responsible up coming generation.
"We are not talking about any youth at all, but those that are obedient, reliable, trustworthy and competent like Timothy and Epaphroditus of the Bible," he explained.
He added that dedicated and self sacrifice, are other attributes that the youth have to be trained to possess in the service of Church and nation.
He encouraged Christians, especially the youth, to be conscious of their civic responsibility to Ghana and also be bold to venture into politics. He said the Bible teaches Christians to bright in the corner were they are and therefore they should not take the back bench in the decision making that affect the warfare of the people.
He noted that if Christians sit back and watch unconcerned, then the wrong people will continue to make the wrong decisions for the nation. "There are many people that are highly trained but because they do not fear God, they are throwing their future and that of the nation to the dogs," he said.
The Youth and Students Assembly is a programme under the Youth Ministry of the Methodist Church of Ghana. The purpose of this programme is to bring together all the young people in the Circuit to share fellowship. It’s to teach the young people in the Circuit on several topics that would help them to be good shepherds and stewards of the Lord’s vineyard. It is also to foster unity among the young people in the Circuit and to discuss the achievement, challenges and way forward of the Circuit.
According to Francis Harding, Circuit Youth Organiser, in all, one hundred and twenty youth delegates selected from the six societies and three fellowships under the Youth Division in the Achimota Circuit are participating in the programme.
He said as part of the Circuit’s objective to help in job creation, soap making training would be undertaken during the three days residential programme.
Advising the youth, Mary Sampah, a leader of the Church, asked them to avail themselves for God to use them for special purposes. She pleaded with them to avoid all the passions of youth, such as sexual immorality, occultism and drug abuse.
She noted that with the proliferation of the media and internet, it is becoming more difficult for parent to teach the youth Christian values as they easily copy the wrong thing shown in the media.
