By James Esuon
Ofankor (C/R), Oct. 01, GNA- The General Overseer of the Promised Word Church International (PWCI), Apostle Paul Kweku Addei Jnr. has admonished the youth to absolutely shun excessive insults and hate speech unleashed on elders and leaders in the name of freedom of speech.
Apostle Addei said freedom of speech as enshrined in the 1992 constitution was not promulgated to run down prominent personalities and elders in the society.
He gave the advice when he addressed the media after the launch of the 40th Anniversary celebration of the church at Awutu Ofankor near Kasoa in the Awutu Senya East Municipality of Central Region.
The theme for the anniversary is, “celebrating God’s wonderful promise.”
The General Overseer lamented that the alarming rate in which some youth on social media lambasted, disgraced and ridiculed some elders was a dangerous trend that needed to be checked before disaster strike.
He said the youth had the right to criticize or point out mistakes of elders, but that should not be done in an abusive manner or the use of unprinted words against people holding sensitive positions, be it political, traditional, religious or others, to ensure sanity in the democratic system.
The General Overseer also urged the youth to abstain from drug abuse, alcoholism and other social vices which could affect their lives in future and called on the government to help find lasting solution to the growing insults in public discourse.
Apostle Addei appealed to the clergy, and other youth advocacy groups to use their pulpits and platforms to educate the youth on the need to distance themselves from such untoward behaviours to promote peace and harmony.
The General Overseer further called on leaders, pastors, Bishops and Apostles of various churches to correct some members, particularly young ladies who dressed indecently to church.
He said church leaders must rise up against such unguided behaviour which dented the image of Christianity.
Touching on the 40th anniversary celebration to be held next year, the General Overseer said his father, Bishop Kweku Addei of blessed memory, registered and started the church in 1987at Awutu Ofankor with few members.
He said since he took over the leadership of the church some 11 years ago after the demise of his father, the church had grown and now had 32 branches including the headquarters scattered in the Central, Eastern, Western, Western North and Greater Accra regions, adding that efforts were being made to plant more in order to win souls for the Lord.
Apostle Addei quoted scriptures that “by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place… by faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise and for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
He said the church had an orphanage, football team, school, farms and Bible school which had impacted positively on the lives of member’s, particularly, the youth in the areas of education, employment and many others.
Apostle Addei said the church’s orphanage had shepherd more than 500 orphans at Ofankor community, offering free education to them since the late 1980s, 1990s and beyond, assisted them to working in various sectors of the economy while others had travelled outside the country.
The General Overseer said the church had branches in Monrovia, but it had to be closed down as a result of the civil war which hit the country in late 90s, and the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the rural community’s church growth but the leadership was working hard to ensure expansion of infrastructures and plant new branches of the church.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/ Christabel Addo