ALLOW CHURCH MEMBERS TO WORK (PAGE 35, APRIL 24, 2010)

From George Ernest Asare, Kumasi.

A Kumasi-based evangelist, Henry Omane- Donkor, has expressed concern about what he described as the commercialisation of the Church by people who profess to be men of God .
He said it was equally wrong for some church leaders to run prayer sessions around the clock, thus preventing their congregation from  working to contribute to sustainable socio-economic development.
Bemoaning the negative attitude of some church leaders during the graduation ceremony of the School of Evangelism of the Great Commission Movement of Ghana in Kumasi, Evangelist Omane-Donkor said , “It is not only sad, but also shameful that the gift of God is being sold in church auditoriums and counselling rooms today. People are charged between GH¢50 and GH¢100 before they are allowed to see the ‘man of God’. Jesus said freely you have received, freely give”.
In all, 27 students, including seven females, graduated from the School of Evangelism.
On the around the clock prayer session by some Pastors, Evangelist Omane-Donkor, who is the Ashanti Regional Director of the Great Commission Movement of Ghana, said “Some pastors also run prayer services from Monday to Sunday, seven days a week, 30 days a month and 365 days a year.
Our God instructed His people to work for six days and set a day aside to worship Him, but these pastors are not allowing their members to work but they make great monetary demands from them”.
He also accused some church leaders of using “demonic powers to operate in the house of God”.
Explaining, he said, “Our God is the powerful Almighty God and does not need human orchestrations to prove His lordship. Such people are not helping the cause of Christ”.
He pointed out that by displaying the powers of darkness in the church , some leaders want to prove their worth as miracle workers so as to poach from other churches .
Expressing concern about such negative attitude, Evangelist Omane-Donkor said “the world of unbelievers is a big marketplace. It is, therefore, sad for these churches to design crafty ways to steal what others have spent years to nurture”.
He said media reports that some pastors were taking advantage of some women who sought counsel from them were equally disturbing and undermining the work of God.
He pointed out that the morale decadence permeating in the Church was affecting the promotion of discipline in public life.
On the challenges facing Christians, Evangelist Omane-Donkor noted, “many churches do not have enough trained workers who are responsible for carrying the good news of our Saviour to the lost world”.
He said it was, therefore, important  for the Church to take the training of leaders seriously in order to strengthen evangelism in the country.