Accra, Aug. 30, GNA – The church has been urged to modify its missionary and evangelistic strategies in winning and changing the youth to live their purpose-driven lives.
Rev Prof Philip T. Laryea, Deputy Rector, Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Missions, and Culture, who made the call, said the world had advanced into a digital community with the youth exploring it to their advantage.
He said it was imperative for the church as an agent of change to know the context in which they operate and win souls for Christ and help change the society, particularly the youth for the better.
“The youth particularly are in a digital world and the church would need to take a look at their evangelistic and missionary strategies. The people in the past looked at their context and employed whatever methods they had,” Prof Laryea said.
He said this at a Homowo lecture organized by the Committee on Ecumenical and Social Relations of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Osu District as part of its 195th anniversary celebration of the church in Osu.
Prof Laryea said when the Basel Mission settled at the community almost two centuries ago to spread the Gospel, there were individuals who blazed the trail like one Paulo Mohenu, who, during his missionary work the bible had not been fully translated into the Ga language and they exerted themselves well.
He said: “Today, we have a very complicated society, a multicultural globalized world in which we live. I think that the methods should be different, some young people now have a digital church, the space that they use is digital and the church must employ technology to our advantage.”
The Deputy Rector said the responsibility to build a very just and decent society with morals and values is multifaceted; a duty the State, church and home must all perform.
He said as the church and home continued to groom and nurture the youth; the State must enforce the laws that regulate the digital space whilst providing opportunities for them.
The lecture was attended by the clergy, traditional leaders, the Christian community, people from academia and community members.
Some concerned members called for peace during the Homowo festival and urged the Osu traditional leaders to team up with the police in arresting anyone, particularly the youth shooting and causing mayhem during the celebration.
GNA