RELIGIOUS LEADERS URGED TO LEAD EXEMPLARY LIVES (PAGE 22, JUNE 25, 2010)

THE Director of the Church of Christ Orphanage, Village of Hope, at Gomoa- Fetteh, Brother Fred Asare, has called on religious leaders to lead lives worthy of emulation.
He said the life of a preacher should be one of integrity and consistency.
Brother Asare who was the quest speaker for the occassion, made the call at the seventh graduation ceremony for 19 evangelists of the Volta School of Evangelism at Ho.
He stressed that as religious leaders, they should exercise circumspection in their lifestyles.
In an address read on behalf of the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, he commended the church for its role as a dependable partner in the fields of education, health and agriculture, among others.
He charged the church to preach against the use of the pulpit to amass wealth rather than soul winning, adding that those tendencies had brought the church into disrepute in recent times.
“The church should also step up the campaign against spiritual degeneration,” he added.
The Co-ordinator of Missionaries from the United States of America (USA), Mr Ben Fulks, advised the new graduates to demonstrate good leadership skills in all their undertakings.
The Principal of the College, Evangelist Sammy Dzamesi, said the training scheme of the college embraced the teaching of local languages in addition to English to enable the preachers to communicate effectively with their congregations.
He disclosed that since the inception of the school 17 years ago, a total of 77 evangelists or preachers had been trained with the support of Ben Fulks, the Dangerfield and Pine-Tree Churches of Christ all in the USA.
Evangelist Dzamesi announced that the college was to be affiliated to the McDonough Bible Institute of Georgia, adding that when the agreement was completed, the name of the school would be changed from Volta School of Evangelism to Volta Bible College, with the hope that the school would be elevated to award advance diploma and degrees.
He said the challenges facing the college included the lack of a school bus, computers and books for the library, as well as limited funds which had compelled teachers to teach on a voluntary basis.
Evangelist Dzamesi paid tributes to the Yoruba Linda Church of Christ, Glenn McCoy of State College Church of Christ in California and Chris Murray and Ray Boat Right of USA for their immense support for nurturing the college over the years.
The school prefect, Mr Andrews Eric Agble, urged his colleagues to be humble and never to discriminate against anybody.
He said the students had installed a water system on the college campus, supplied electric bulbs and mosquito nets in the course of evangelisation.
The Principal of the Ghana Bible College in Kumasi, Dr S.B. Obeng, commissioned the graduates, while the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkwanta-South and Majority Chief Whip, Mr Gershon Gbediame, presented certificates to the graduates.