Apostle Joseph Kwabena Antwi, out-going Chairman of the Great Commssion Church International – Ghana, has expressed his sincere gratitude to the Church for the honour done him by giving him the opportunity to serve.
"Without reservation, for anything that can be considered an achievement during my years in office as executive council chairman, I give credit first to God and then to the team of men and women who worked with me; without their untiring efforts, this church wouldn't have gotten to where it is now.
"We have come very far indeed, ministers, ministers' wives, head office staff, elders of various congregations, church members, men, women, youth, JY and children, all have helped and supported me so much in my tenure," he said.
Apostle Antwi said this on Sunday in his farewell address to the General Council of the Church during their 22nd Meeting at Amrahia near Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region.
He said he was thankful to God, especially for seeing him through the 10+ years of leading GCCI-Ghana. “I am grateful to God for the opportunity to serve as Chairman of the church and the privilege of handing-over a church that is largely united in spite of many challenges,” he added.
He said their experiences as they went around the country as part of their 20th anniversary celebration showed that GCCI was a denomination that had many committed people who were ready to sacrifice all they have in order that the church could move forward.
Apostle Antwi reiterated that even though his wife doesn't have the official title of pastor in the church, she had contributed many positive things in the work and he was very grateful to her for the great support.
He said even though current ministers of the church were all growing in age, he was grateful to God for keeping them alive and healthy.
Apostle Antwi expressed joy over the miracle of having two ethnic groups that traditionally distrust one another, in the same church without any serious conflict and noted: “We should investigate the factors that have made this possible and be ready to share our findings with the country and the world.
"The church can be a source of leadership and inspiration for the country and the world at large," Apostle Antwi emphasized.
He said he was full of joy that God had enabled them to define the core business of GCCI with some precision winning, churching and discipling the nations for the Lord Jesus Christ.
He urged the Church not to grow in giving excuses for work not done, but rather in their ability to implement the wonderful discoveries they made.
"GCCI Executive Council Chairman, I take full responsibility for any lapses and failures that have emerged in the church during my tenure. To be very honest, I believe we should all be very grateful to God that we didn’t have more problems," he stressed.
He said he sincerely believed that as a church, they should put aside all differences and concentrate on the core business: Winning, Churching and Discipling the Nations for the Lord Jesus Christ.
"By pursuing the core business, all other problems of the church will be solved; in the fish we catch, we will find all the gold we need to pay all our taxes," he said.
The Apostle advised the Church to ensure that all programmes were evaluated, sustained and discarded based on how they fit into the core business.
"If we commit to this, GCCI will overtake and lead the Christian world. In discharging my duties, I know I sometimes offend many people; my objectives wasn't to hurt them, it was to accomplish whatever work was to be done; I pray that they be appeased in Jesus’ name!” he said
He held that the work of God was too important to be sacrificed on the altar of human ambitions and encouraged all to give the needed support to the newly elected Chairman and Executive Council members who would take over in July this year.