It was a great spectacle to behold when thousands of young ladies of The Church of Pentecost converged at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh for the Virtuous Ladies’ retreat organised by the Women’s Ministry.
The 3-day training event, which officially opened on Wednesday, October 23, 2019, seeks to equip young ladies of the church and orient Women’s Ministry leaders about the Virtuous Ladies concept.
Speaking at the conference, the Director of the Women’s Ministry, Deaconess (Mrs.) Grace Lucy Yeboah-Asuama, stressed that the Virtuous Ladies wing is not distinct from the Women’s Ministry but should be seen as part of the ministry.
She, therefore, urged young ladies in the church to be interested in the activities of the Women’s Ministry because they are the ministry’s future leaders.
The Women’s Director also called on Ministry leaders at the various levels of the church to involve the youth in activities of the ministry.
The main facilitator for the retreat, Rev. Phillip Tutu, a minister of the Assemblies of God church and a leadership coach, gave an insightful presentation on leadership.
In his presentation, Rev. Tutu emphasized that leadership is not a title nor a position, rather leadership is influence.
He explained that leaders must first lead themselves before they could lead others or an organization.
He further noted that to lead one’s self is to develop or build one’s capacity, saying that” every leader has a responsibility to develop him or herself.”
Referring to 2 Peter 1:3, he said that God has endowed every Christian with the ability to be a good leader. He said that as a leader, one must aspire to be a person of integrity and to be spiritually healthy. “The Spiritual health of a leader is determined by how much of the word of God is in him or her,” he said.
He also noted that a leader must be a critical thinker, be able to make good decisions and must be a problem solver. “Life is full of decisions and problems, and a leader must be able to think critically, take good decisions and solve problems,” he said.
He also advised them to set personal goals, manage time and stress effectively and develop emotional intelligence.
Touching on how to lead others, Rev. Phillip Tutu mentioned “Coaching and Mentoring, Counselling, Delegating and Supervising, as well as Building trust” as some of the effective ways of leading others.
He advised leaders to ensure effective communication and to manage interpersonal conflicts among their followers. He urged them to build the capacity to accommodate and handle difficult people by making an effort to listen and understand them.
Rev. Tutu also advised leaders to manage the power and influence that comes with leadership positions well so that they do not lord themselves over their followers.
“As a leader, seek feedback from your followers and value diversity. Don’t expect everyone to be like you, allow people to be different and have a big heart to accommodate the Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Melancholic and the Choleric,” he said.
Virtuous Ladies is the youth wing of the Women’s Ministry of The Church of Pentecost which comprises all female members from ages 13 to 35 years.
