The annual national-level Trainer of Trainers program aimed at equipping the laity in The Church of Pentecost, dubbed ‘Lay Leaders Training School – LLTS,’ is currently underway at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC) in Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa. About 400 participants, drawn from 77 Areas of the church in Ghana, are attending.
At the opening ceremony, the General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost (CoP), Apostle Samuel Gyau Oboubi, who officially opened the school, reminded church leaders of the urgent need to spend quality time studying the word of God, implementing it in their lives, and teaching it to others for the transformation of spheres. Apostle Oboubi underscored the need for Christians to live by the truth of the word of God, and that the only way to achieve this is by studying and obeying what the word teaches.
Reading from Ezra 7:10, the General Secretary emphasised being intentional about the study of the scriptures and deliberate about applying them to life and teaching them to others. He indicated that Ezra took time to study the scriptures and set his heart to do what he found in them.
‘It is important to study or know the word of God, but to apply it to your life is key,’ he stressed to the participants at the training school.
Referencing the attitude of the Bereans in Acts 17, Apostle Oboubi revealed that the Bereans were not comfortable with just what they were told but went ahead to examine daily to ascertain if the things they were taught were true. He bemoaned the practice where people elevate the words of their pastors above the Bible. He expressed that whatever any Christian leader teaches must first be examined in the light of Scripture before being accepted.
Touching on the great need for the study of the word of God and its application to life, Apostle Oboubi espoused that the word of God does not only contain life but it is life.
‘The Spirit gives life, and the word of God is Spirit and it is life! As you study the Scripture, you engage daily with life in all of its diverse meanings,’ he enthused.
‘God expects us to know His word as His children so that we model our lives by it. This becomes more imperative as we assume leadership positions at all levels because God counts on us to instruct others in His word,’ he observed.
He reminded the participants that their gathering was meant for study and not for fanfare or relaxation.
‘This meeting is for study, so spend time and discipline yourself to study. Be determined to obey what you receive, and don’t sit on what you study, teach it to others so that it trickles down to everyone,’ he concluded.
In his welcome address, the chairman of the National Discipleship and Leadership Development Committee (NDLDC), Apostle Dr. Samuel Kojo Gakpetor, encouraged the participants to start implementing the lessons they are taught right after the five-day ToT so that during the Area level Lay Leaders Training School, they will not only go to teach but have testimonies and evidence of what they will instruct others.
He reiterated the important place lay leaders hold in the scheme of the church. He mentioned that the heartbeat of leadership is that at the end of the school, participants will be equipped and poised to replicate it at the Area to local Assembly levels for the benefit of every church member. He reminded the participants of the huge investment the church, at both national and Area levels, was making to ensure their participation and the smooth running of the school and pleaded with them to justify the investment.
‘The level of your “yieldedness” is very important to serving God. Yield to the Holy Spirit as you go through the lessons so that you will be impactful when you go back to your Areas,’ he encouraged.
This year’s ToT has participants drawn from 77 Areas of the church in Ghana. This is made up of about 400 people comprising 188 pastors, 40 overseers, 106 elders, and 2 ministers’ wives. Others are four (4) deacons, 53 deaconesses, and seven (7) others.
The national-level ToT kickstarts a chain of training sessions that will result in equipping church leaders at various levels with the aim of impacting the entire church populace with the nuggets of the lessons for the unleashing mandate of the church. Topics being treated this year are ‘Summary of Vision 2028 and Implementation at the Local Level’; ‘The Church Leader’s Personal Growth and Development’; ‘The Place of Pentecost Workers’ Guild and Chaplaincy Ministry in Vision 2028’; and ‘Unleashing Agents of Peace for Election 2024.’
Report by Pastor George Osei-Asiedu