President John Dramani Mahama has urged Christians to mentor the younger generation to pass on the faith, provide godly counsel, and equip them to fulfill the Great Commission.
The President made the appeal in his address at the opening of the 10th Triennial World Assemblies of God Congress at the Accra International Conference Centre.
President Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama, who are both members of the Assemblies of God, were the Special Guests of Honour at the Congress.
President Mahama reiterated that the future of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship would be shaped and passed by how it receives its young people today.
“Our young people are growing up in a world that is completely different from the world we grew in. Their world offers extraordinary possibilities, but it also brings on them intense pressures, technology connects them across continents but at the same time exposes them to a constant stream of comparisons, misinformation, and competing claims about who they should become,” the President said.
He added: “Many of our young people are searching for a sense of purpose in their lives. Many are carrying anxiety and struggle to articulate. And I speak with empathy as a father who has raised children of this generation.”
President Mahama said churches and households must therefore be places where these young people could ask honest questions and receive thoughtful guidance and have their abilities recognised and be entrusted with meaningful responsibilities.
“And so, let us all be mentors to our younger generation. Let us be mentors who listen, offer opportunities to serve and set examples of integrity that these young people can follow,” he urged.
The President said the church should also be a safe place for children and vulnerable people and that spiritual authority entails a duty of care.
He said they must safeguard trust through responsible conduct, clear safeguard and accountability.
He urged the church to recognise their women of faith and the labour that sustains so much of their congregational life.
He said the wisdom and gifts and leadership of women deserve to be heard and valued.
He reiterated that the fellowship preparing for the future must make room for all those whom the Lord had equipped to serve.
President Mahama said a Congress that brings together more than 10,000 participants was an extraordinary event.
He noted that those participants returning home with renewed faith could make an extraordinary difference in their societies and their neighbourhoods.
At the ceremony, Reverend Dominic Yeo, the Global Chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship and General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Singapore, presented an award and a citation accompanying it to President Mahama for being the first member of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship to occupy high office of President of a nation.
The First Lady, Mrs. Lordina Dramani Mahama, was also honoured by the Church for her humanitarian services.
The Church also gave an award to Rev Dr Lazarus Chakwera, the former President of Malawi, for being the first ordained Minister of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship to be occupy the high office of President of a nation.