The Methodist Church Ghana has inducted the Connexional executives of the Fellowship of Methodist Evangelists into office.
The 11-member executive, which has Evangelist Gladys Mamtee Osabutey as the chairperson, was inducted by the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, Most Rev. Professor Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, today, December 14, at the Bethany Methodist Church, Dzowulu.
The other executives are Professor Francis K. E. Nunoo, Vice Chairman; Ebenezer Fosu Dadzie, Secretary; Chief Arku Korsah, Assistant Secretary; Emmanuel Aboagye Ayerakwa, Financial Secretary and Nathaniel Okang, Treasurer.
The rest are Godfred K.N. Sarpong, Public Relations Officer; Nicholas Awuku-Bekoe, ex-officio; with Charles Mensah, John Eshun and Dinah Ghartey as Executive members.
Among the dignitaries present were a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison; a former Administrative Bishop of the church, Right Rev. Albert Ofoe Wright; the Lay President of the church, Kwasi Attah-Antwi and the Bishops of the Accra and Northern Accra Dioceses of the church, Right Rev. Dr Samuel Nii Nmai Ollennu and Right Rev. Andrew Mbeah-Baiden.
Methodist evangelists
Methodist evangelists are lay people gifted at reaching out to the world to save lost souls.
They are preachers and often they are the individuals who establish new congregations or societies, as the Methodist Church calls them.
Inducting them, Most Rev. Professor Asamoah-Gyadu said, as evangelists of the church, they were called to be worthy in character, teach the word of God, lead God’s people in prayer and praise and to share in the church’s mission in the world.
“Yours is a responsibility rooted in the word of God.
You will bring the message of salvation to all, in season and out of season.
As you proclaim the good news and lead others to Christ, your life will be shaped and transformed. You are required, therefore, to make a public testimony to your faith and commitment to the task,” he said.
Sermon
Later in a sermon, he said the induction coincided with what in Christian doctrine was known as Advent, during which they remember that God came into the world in the person of Jesus Christ.
He charged the inductees to make sure that they themselves acknowledged, in their hearts and lives, the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that they could proclaim Him.
He said that when people were called to do God’s work, they thought of the glory that would come to them, pointing out that the story of Christmas teaches humanity that the glory of our lives belongs to God.
Citing the example of John the Baptist, he said he pointed the people away from himself onto Jesus, saying that he came to bear witness to Christ.
“The Angels did the same when they sang the song, Glory to God in the highest.
So the glory of our lives is in our ministry and leadership at all levels.
That glory belongs to God, and as we learn to give glory to God and point away from ourselves, God’s work will grow and expand,” he said.
The inductees, among others, promised to strive to lead holy lives and set a high standard of holiness for members to follow, as well as to remain faithful and truthful to God even in the most difficult times.
They also promised to seek the Spirit of God’s guidance in their work.
Evangelist Osabutey, the first female chairperson of the fellowship since its establishment in 1994, expressed gratitude for being among the women God had chosen to do His work.
She promised to partner God so that more people would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
