By Emmanuel Nyatsikor, GNA
Ho, April 27, GNA – Reverend Jean-Paul Agidi, a Minister of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) Friday appealed to the leadership of the Church to amend the Church’s Constitution to allow the various Presbyteries to elect their Presbytery Moderators.
He stated that across the Ghanaian Christian landscape they have witnessed a positive shift towards democratic institutional maturity in that regard.
Rev Agidi noted that Churches like the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the Methodist Church empower its Presbyteries and Dioceses to elect their Chairpersons and Bishops respectively.
He made the call in a Pastoral letter headlined “A call to Institutional Maturity: Why the EPCG Must Move to Elective Leadership” made available to the Ghana News Agency in Ho.
Rev Agidi noted that the shift was not just a trend, but a mark of trust, pride, and local empowerment.
He noted with concern that the Church remained tethered to a top-down appointment-based model for Presbytery Moderators, a system he said was increasingly out of step with the needs of a modern, forward-thinking Church.
Rev Agidi said under the current system where Presbytery Moderators were appointed by the Standing Committee rather than elected by those who served “the Church suffers in several ways.”
He said that the current system stiffed innovation because such appointed people beholden to the “whims and caprices” of a central authority rather than being accountable to their constituents adding “their ability to innovate is severely curtailed.”
Rev Agidi continued that the Church has seen too many talented leaders micro-managed, intimidated and silenced.
“Instead of being empowered to lead they often become errand boys relegated to administrative subordinates, stripped of the autonomy required to lead their Presbyteries to flourish,” he stated.
The Reverend Minister noted that the constitutional revision during the tenure of the late Very Rev. Dr. Seth Senyo Agidi failed to materialize and that the situation has arguably deteriorated since “leaving our Presbyteries without the independent, visionary leadership they desperately need.”
He said the upcoming transition in leadership of the Church was not just an election of an individual but a critical opportunity for a reform that would return the power of election to the Presbyteries.
“If we truly want to see the EPCG thrive, we must abandon the culture of control,” he noted.
Rev Agidi was of the view that empowering Presbyteries to choose their own leaders would ensure accountability, fostered governance at the local level and Church growth.
He called for a move from the “errand boy” dynamic to a model of partnership where local leaders would have the freedom to innovate without fear of demotion or silencing.
Rev Agidi intimated that it was time the EPCG chose progress over control and modernize it’s systems to match the vibrant and innovative spirit of her members.
“Electing our leaders was a vote of confidence in the people on the ground,” he stressed.
Rev Agidi appealed to the next Moderator to have the courage to change the constitution to enable members in the Presbyteries to elect their Moderators.
He also appealed to members who would be participating in this year’s Synod meetings in their various Presbyteries to champion that amendment in the Church’s constitution.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah /Kenneth Odeng Adade