Ministers of The Church of Pentecost have been entreated to make conscious efforts to make intentional discipleship part of their ministry in order to raise a formidable church that would be able to possess the nations.
This was contained in a presentation made by the Rector of the Pentecost University College (PUC), Apostle Dr. Daniel Okyere Walker, on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at the Global Ministers’ Conference (GMC’19) currently underway at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh.
According to him, the clergy ought to understand the dynamics of leadership in order to raise members who are spirit-filled and on course with the right influence to impact others. He added that the influence of leadership depends on character and behavioural formation which cannot be overlooked.
“Leadership is about what the person is made of on the inside and not only what the person is able to do. Once a person can show godly character, the willingness and ability to lead and show the way, others are likely to be influenced to follow,” he said, adding, “The spiritual leader should therefore be changed and transformed from the inside before they can offer spiritual leadership,” he stated.
Apostle Dr Walker who doubles as an Executive Council Member of the Church admonished the clergy to also exhibit the sterling qualities of love, revelation knowledge and serve the members they lead as portrayed in the ministry of Jesus.
He indicated that Jesus Christ took ordinary men, trained them and influenced them to become extraordinary men, saying, “He picked natural men to become spirit-filled and supernatural men whose impact continue to live to this day long after His death.”
“If the church is to be equipped to possess the nations and transform every sphere of society, then a lot of intentional training has to be done. The local church should therefore be seen as a training centre where believers are equipped to go out and impact their society,” he said.
“I recommend the leadership style of Jesus to you; have unconditional love for your members, know yourself and your calling, be aware of other people’s needs and make yourself available to serve them while initiating service to others. Great leaders see the need, seize the opportunity and serve without expecting anything in return,” he stressed.
Apostle Dr. Walker also challenged the ministers to have the confidence to serve and not be position-conscious since true leaders do not focus on position. He stated that ministry and leadership in the Church is about service, saying, “This knowledge and understanding will help leaders lay aside the outer garment and take up their towels, remembering that they are called to a “towel ministry” and not a “garment ministry,”” he stated.
He also paid glowing tribute to the pioneering fathers of the Church especially the late Apostle F.D Walker (his father) for how he consciously trained and prepared him for life while still a young man.
“My dad will call me to pray for him when he was sick; he would teach and direct me how to pray, where to lay my hands, and when to speak in tongues until he was relieved. What a great feeling it was when he announced that he now felt better to end a prayer session,” he narrated.
On the five leadership roles of the Church according to Ephesians 4:11-16, Apostle Dr. Walker stated that the ministries of the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, Teachers and Pastors exist to equip the saints, edify and to help members grow in faith and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
He posited that notwithstanding the various arguments on the hierarchical and complementary positions of the roles, The Church of Pentecost “sees the five-fold leadership as complementary, the hierarchical order is also implied. Both methods have worked effectively to provide sound ministry as well as quality administrative systems.”
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