The General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, has advised Church leaders to make conscious efforts to build stronger relationships with the Christian youth through mentoring and discipleship.
According to the General Secretary, combining the knowledge and experience of the older generation and the strength and speed of the young generation is a sure bet for maximum impact.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi said this yesterday when he addressed participants of the ongoing 2023 PENSA Ghana Conference at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus.
Delivering a presentation on the theme of the conference: “Repositioning the Youth for Maximum Impact in the Nations,” the Chief Scribe of The Church of Pentecost explained that this year’s theme seeks to underscore the fact that members, particularly the youth, are the Church’s greatest resource, and must, therefore be carefully nurtured, loved and equipped to push the “Possessing the Nations: agenda.
“Repositioning the local church, therefore, means creating the needed atmosphere for the youth to be built up and made sharper for the task of influencing society with the principles, values and lifestyle of the kingdom of God,” he said.
Drawing lessons from Paul and Timothy, Apostle Kumi-Larbi further noted that the duo’s relationship offers Church leaders and the youth a great example of how Christian mentoring and discipleship ought to be carried out.
He further explained that Paul and Timothy are worthy of emulation because they both exhibited the right attitudes needed for ensuring a successful mentoring relationship.
Buttressing his assertion, the General Secretary said Apostle Paul saw Timothy’s potential as a great spiritual leader and subsequently invested his whole heart into helping Timothy develop into the fullness of his calling.
He, however, emphasised that Timothy also aided the process because he was humble, teachable, and proved to be trustworthy.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi, therefore, urged the youth to also avail themselves to be mentored even as Church leaders make the effort to reach out to them.
“Timothy’s commitment to the Lord was so strong that he allowed himself to be circumcised in order not to offend the religious Jews they would encounter (Acts 16:3). In fact, their relationship grew to the extent that Paul referred to him as ‘my son in the faith’,” he said.
On his part, he further stated, Paul exercised patience as he nurtured his young protégé to grow in wisdom and faith.
“Paul spent much time teaching him and even addressed two books of the New Testament to him. Paul also introduced Timothy to the joys and the difficulties of missionary life while encouraging him not to allow others to disregard him because of his comparative youthfulness,” he said.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi further indicated that the duo’s relationship also underlines the importance of the older generation discipling the younger ones.
He said that through discipling, Paul painstakingly nurtured Timothy to become a pillar in the early church and thus helped to propagate the gospel message at the time.
“In the story of Paul and Timothy, we learn that discipleship is standing shoulder to shoulder in the work of the Kingdom, iron sharpening iron; encouraging, rebuking when necessary, and sharing a common burden for a lost world,” he said.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi advised Church leaders to regard the youth as equal partners in the work of ministry and to harness the gifts, talents and potentials for maximum impact in the nations.
He also admonished the Church members, particularly the youth, to wholly embrace the tenets, values, practices and the ethos of The Church of Pentecost.
“Like every other Church, The Church of Pentecost has her own culture. Our foundational beliefs are at the heart of our theology. We have our governance system, and our way of expressing practical Christian life and ministry.
“These cultural practices are in tandem with God’s covenant with the Church, which predates the existence of The Church of Pentecost. As a church denomination, we love and cherish these practices so dearly. Hence, everyone who comes into our fold must know and diligently apply themselves to them,” he charged.
The annual PENSA Ghana Conference., organised under the auspices of the Youth Ministry of The Church of Pentecost, is the biggest youth conference in the country.
Dubbed the “Impact Makers Conference,” this year’s event, which officially kickstarted yesterday, is being held concurrently at three separate locations, namely; Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus and University for Development Studies (UDS) campus.
Speakers of the event are Apostle Eric Nyamekye (Chairman), Apostle Samuel Osei Asante (Patron, Youth Ministry) and Pastor Ebenezer Hagan (Director, Youth Ministry), among several others.
PENTECOST NEWS.
