The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Elder Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has advised ministers to spend time teaching their members about financial management so that they will become prosperous and support the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth.
Elder Dr. Siaw Agyepong, who is also the Presiding Elder for Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Graceland, shared this advice today when he presented a paper on the topic: “Sacrificial Giving and Tithing” during the Global Ministers and Wives’ Conference (GMWC) at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh.
According to him, although evangelism is the core mandate, financial management also plays a crucial role in discipling members of the church.
“Out of the 36 parables Jesus gave, 16 were about money. In the Gospels, one out of ten verses deals directly with the subject of money; there are 288 in all. Also, about 15% of Jesus’ teaching was on money and possessions,” he revealed.
Elder Dr. Siaw Agyepong stated that when members become financially sound, the Church stands to benefit from it through tithes and sacrificial giving by the church members.
He said that the best financial principles could all be found in the scriptures, a reason why the Church should be the ideal place where people learn about the best business practices and ethical principles that result in prosperity.
“The Church is the best place for financial education because it possesses God’s Word. In God’s word, we find true financial knowledge and wisdom. God has put His Biblical financial principles throughout the books of the Bible to show us how to manage wealth in a healthy way,” he advised.
Elder Dr. Siaw Agyepong lamented that most of the world’s wealthiest people are not Christian and said there is a need to raise Kingdom financiers to push the Kingdom agenda.
He also advised ministers to take pains to teach members the importance of sacrificial giving and tithing in Christian ministry.
“Tithing is a mysterious way of blessing to the believer. In its most basic form, prosperity consists of someone sowing a seed and harvesting the returns. Not paying your tithes separates you from this most basic principle of sowing and reaping. When you do not pay your tithes, you harm your finances because you take away the foundation of prosperity,” he said.
Elder Dr. Siaw Agyepong urged that the testimonies of shining examples of people who were sacrificial givers like Mrs. Christiana Obu-Mends, who offered her jewellery for the work of the ministry, a timely intervention that met a pressing financial need of the Church.
He advised ministers to share these stories with members to instill the spirit of sacrificial giving in them.
He ended his presentation by stressing that sacrificial giving and tithing have both physical and spiritual benefits for the believer, saying: “The greatest insurance of your life, wealth, investment, and possession is a life of continuous and consistent sacrificial giving and tithing.”
PENTECOST NEWS.
