History was made over the weekends when The Church of Pentecost, a leading global Pentecostal church, launched its second edition of peace campaign dubbed ‘Agent of Peace’ at the Burma Camp in Accra.
The launch which was held under the theme, “Seek Peace and Pursue It” – Psalm 34:17b, kick-started numerous interventions by The Church of Pentecost in all its branches across the country, numbering about 17,000. This year’s edition was inspired by the Vision 2023 agenda of the Church, which has as its overarching theme, ‘Possessing the Nations: Transforming every Sphere of Society with Values and Principles of the Kingdom of God.’
The glamorous event which had the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs. Jean Mensa, as the special guest of honour, attracted the movers and shakers of the Christian community such as the Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana and Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo; President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Most Rev. Philip Naameh; President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) and General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso, heads of churches among others. The Deputy Ameer, Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Alhajj Ahmad Suleman Anderson, was also present.
Also in attendance were the top echelons of the Police Administration, Ghana Armed Forces and other security agencies.
The political parties and their representatives were also present, including the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta; National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, Members of Parliament, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mrs. Josephine Nkrumah, traditional authorities, among others.
In his welcome address, the Chairman of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, was hopeful that the launch would contribute significantly to a peaceful electioneering process.
According to him, God has been gracious to Ghana as the country has over the years enjoyed peace, especially during elections. “Ghana is celebrated across the world as an oasis of peace in the West African sub-region and even in the whole of Africa. As a nation, we have experienced seven peaceful general elections, with numerous by-elections in the Fourth Republic.
“These great accomplishments did not come by chance but by contributions from various stakeholders, key among who are represented here today,” he stressed.
He noted that for the nation to continue to enjoy peace within her walls, the citizenry must arise, seek and pursue peace.
“The Church of Pentecost believes that the Church as the body of Christ has been called to belong to God and sent back into the world to serve God’s purpose. It is from such understanding that we have over the years shown unalloyed commitment to efforts by various governments towards development and nation-building.
“As we move to the 2020 General Elections, we are confident that the Lord will once again grant Ghana His abiding peace. This will however not come by chance. We need to work at it. We need to seek and pursue it.
“Together, we can continue to make Ghana a beacon of stability and democracy in Africa. We have done it before, and we can do it again,” he stated.
The Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Jean Mensa, pledged her absolute commitment to peace and supervising over fair, free and transparent elections. “Today I stand before the Almighty God to pledge and present myself as an Agent of Peace in our nation Ghana and the rest of the world.
“As a representative of God, responsible for the conduct of free, fair, credible, transparent and peaceful elections in Ghana, it is important that I and indeed the leadership of the Electoral Commission, signal peace in all our operations, activities and speech. As individuals at the helm of affairs, we have a duty to conduct ourselves in a manner that promotes peace and builds trust.
“We recognise that how we speak, what we say, and our posture will help promote peace or otherwise in our dear nation. It is vital that in all we do we build trust and confidence in our processes as this will go a long way to foster peace in our society,” she stated.
It would be recalled that The Church of Pentecost in the 2016 general elections launched the maiden ‘Agents of Peace’ campaign to impress on its members to be peace ambassadors.
