The President of the Council, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, observed that tensions were mostly high during election years because “people who invest money in campaigns don’t want to lose their money, and this brings some kind of tension”.

“And as Christians and Ministers of God we should not be part of the problem,” he added.

Apostle Nyamekye added that Christian leaders must also be circumspect in their messages, and try as much as possible not to make the elections a religious battle between Christians and Muslims.

“Whoever qualifies to be a President must be a Ghanaian. Once the person is a Ghanaian it’s ok. “Vote peacefully so that we don’t disturb the harmony that has existed so far between Christians and Muslims in the country,” the president added.

Conference

Apostle Nyamekye was speaking during the GPCC 2024 National Delegates Conference in Accra yesterday, on the theme: “The Church, God’s instrument for peace and transformation”.

The conference provided a platform for member churches to account for their stewardship in the past year, and to draw valuable lessons for the years ahead. It also offered an opportunity for the council to make critical decisions in fulfillment of its mandate, with delegates praying for the nation while they deliberated on how things could be done better.

The conference was attended by executives of the council, a past GPCC President, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso, the Assemblies of God Superintendent, Rev. Stephen Wengam, and representatives of member churches of the council across the country.

Peace campaign

Apostle Nyamekye further said that the council had slated October 6, 2024, to organise a peace campaign to educate people on the importance of maintaining the prevailing harmony in the country.

He also reminded Christian leaders of their role to advance the Kingdom of God, saying their decisions, projections and debates must be “Kingdom-driven, motivated and inspired”.

“We are here not to please anyone, but the Lord of our salvation and the leader of the Church, His body. We are here to map out strategies against the enemy and not against one another as member churches,” the President added.

Vision

The General-Secretary of the council, Emmanuel Tettey, who presented the 2024 report (July 2023 to June 2024), said the council had created a four-year vision (2023-2027) to deepen its impact in the country.

He said the year 2023 marked a clear resurgence after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the schedules and operations of many churches and para-church organisations in the country.

“Based on reports during regional visits, it emerged that routine and yearly church activities and patronage of these activities in the member-churches of GPCC have started witnessing a return to normalcy.

“At the national level, some programmes were suspended due to the pandemic, however, the joint ecumenical meetings between the GPCC and the Christian Council of Ghana was resumed,” Mr Tettey added.

With the encouraging trend, the General-Secretary expressed hope that it would translate into more active and vibrant church mobilisation for evangelism and discipleship of new souls for the Kingdom of God.