The Apostolic Church – Ghana holds 2nd pastors’ confab
In a bid to refresh and equip men of God for effective ministry, The Apostolic Church - Ghana has organised the second conference (in this year) for ascension ministers of the church on the theme, ‘Moving Forward as a Church’.
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Apostle Ebenezer Nsesa Abebrese (President of the church) gave the opening address at the conference on the topic, ‘The Fear of the Lord in Our Lives, the Church and the Nation’. He lamented the gradual decline of the fear of God in churches and cautioned that God’s Word is standardised by God Himself, hence it must not be breached or altered. Apostle Abebrese mentioned that, “to fear God is to hate evil. Therefore all believers must basically try to avoid evil, which would help them to be knowledgeable as Proverbs 1:7 says”.
Other seasoned resource persons, took turns to teach various topics during the four-day conference. Among them were Apostle P.O. Mankralo (Vice President of the church), who spoke on – ‘The Need for Genuine Love Among Ministers’; Apostle Lawyer A. Ofori-Kuragu (General Secretary) – ‘Proper and Judicious use of Church Funds; Apostle Dr. A. Ami Narh – ‘The Role Of Proper Diet In Sustaining Sound Health’; Apostle A. Ofosu – ‘Biblical Church Growth’; and Apostle Atinyo ‘Rejecting The Urge To Follow Materialism In Ministry’.
Professor Allison Harwell from Australia, an Associate Professor at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, spoke on the Ebola Outbreak: the context, response and Christian responsibility.
In her speech, she mentioned that God had granted Ghana enough grace to prepare herself against the deadly Ebola outbreak. According the Professor, current statistics from the WHO indicate that a total of 8973 cases have been recorded with 4484 deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Though other countries such as Nigeria, Spain, Germany and the USA have recorded cases of Ebola, Ghana has been safely kept by God as of now, hence the nation must adopt the Noah Preparatory Strategy; Spiritual, Physical, Psychological and Social means to eradicate the outbreak even in the affected countries. Prof. Harwell admonished Ghanaians, especially churches, to resort to prayer for the nation and the affected countries, as well as give alms to help them eradicate Ebola.
Professor Harwell, however, warned that no one should spread false rumour about Ebola since it psychologically destabilised citizens and caused fear and panic.
She rather asked that all and sundry should comply with the medical advice of prevention, control and eradication of Ebola, which include avoiding bush meat, especially bats, physical contacts (like handshaking, touching, hugging and clustering), and dead bodies; practising good personal hygiene (including frequent washing or sterilising of the hands); and immediately reporting any case of sickness like fever to the hospital.
