President John Dramani Mahama has challenged churches to translate their faith into practical service by helping to cultivate honesty, compassion, responsible citizenship and peace in society.
He said Christian witness must extend beyond worship and proclamation to positively influence workplaces, communities and public life, with believers demonstrating integrity, fairness and care for others in their everyday conduct.
“Our churches can contribute in invaluable ways by cultivating honesty, compassion, responsible citizenship, and peace.
We can encourage public service while maintaining the moral independence to speak truthfully about injustice and suffering,” he said.
President Mahama was delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 10th Triennial Congress of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship in Accra yesterday.
World Congress
The three-day congress, being held in Africa for the first time, has brought together more than 10,000 participants from across the world on the theme: “Commissioned: One Mandate, Every Nation.”
Notable personalities at the opening session included the First Lady, Lordina Mahama, who was honoured alongside President Mahama and former Malawian President, Dr Lazarus Chakwera.
Others were Global Vice Chairman, Rev. Doug Clay, who is also the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, USA, and the General Secretary, Rev. Juan Carlos Escobar from Spain, and Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, Founder of the United Denominations Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches.
The rest were the President of the Ga Traditional Council, King Tackie Tsuru II, and the Paramount Chief of Nungua, King Professor Oboade Notse Odaifio Welentsi III.
The ceremony was followed by plenary sessions on church health, church planting and next gen ahead of an open-air gospel rally at the Accra Sports Stadium in the evening.
Tangible faith
The President said faith became tangible when a hungry child was fed, a patient received compassionate treatment, a young person acquired a skill and families in difficulty found communities willing to support them.
He, therefore, urged the congress to renew attention to the link between proclamation and service, stressing that worship should manifest in a teacher’s patience, a business owner’s honesty, a health worker’s care, an employer’s fairness and a public servant’s integrity.
For public office holders, President Mahama said faith imposed a particular responsibility to serve with humility, honesty and respect for citizens, particularly those whose voices rarely reached the centre of power.
Historic congress
The General Superintendent of Assemblies of God Ghana, Rev. Stephen Yenusom Wengam, described the country’s hosting of the congress as historic, saying it was the first time the global gathering was being held in Africa.
He said Ghana’s selection reflected a convergence of spiritual, political and geographical factors, describing the country as central to Africa’s political liberation and the continent as an important centre of global spiritual revival.
Rev. Wengam said the congress theme complemented Assemblies of God Ghana’s transformation agenda to aggressively evangelise Ghana and reach beyond the country to other nations.
He acknowledged the financial, logistical and organisational challenges involved in hosting the gathering and commended the government, state agencies, local organising committee, volunteers, pastors and church members for their support.
He expressed the hope that the congress would generate lasting “spiritual capital” for participants and Christians around the world.
The Global Chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, Rev. Dominic Yeo, said the centre of Christian missions was shifting, with countries of the Global South increasingly becoming senders rather than merely recipients of missionaries.
He said Africa had a significant role to play in that transformation, making the decision to hold the World Assemblies of God Congress on African soil particularly significant.
“For many years, missions largely moved from the Global North to the Global South.
Today, we are seeing and setting that shift.
The Global South no longer simply receives missionaries. In fact, it is raising and sending missionaries,” he said.
Rev. Yeo said the congress was not merely an opportunity for networking or celebrating past achievements but a platform to pursue “kingdom expansion.”
He called on Pentecostal groups worldwide to collaborate in church planting, evangelism, discipleship, prayer and the development of the next generation as the fellowship advanced towards its MM33 vision for 2033.
