The James Mckeown Worship Centre (JMWC) in the Dansoman Area of The Church of Pentecost has organised a special service to educate church members on personal security and other emerging threats.
The event, dubbed “Security Sunday,” had the Deputy Commander of the Ghana Police Academy, ACP Dr. Gustav Herbert Yankson, as the resource person.
Dr. Yankson revealed in his presentation that the main aim of the activities of terrorist groups was to cause fear and panic in the populace.
According to him, these groups attack places of high occupancy, making the church a prime target.
He enumerated some actions the church must undertake to improve security in and around its premises.
He further stated that the church must procure and install CCTV cameras, designate and adequately train its security team to detect suspicious characters early and educate members on what to do during terrorist attacks.
He also charged members not to delay to report strange people with strange characters in the church to the leadership.
Concerning personal security, ACP Dr. Yankson advised members to be moderate in showing off their possessions and locations on social media, be very observant with people in and around their environment, and inform close family members of their movements.
He also encouraged parents to desist from sharing pictures of their children, the schools they attend and their routines on social media.
“This may give kidnappers and other potential criminals easy access to information to profile your children to harm them,” he said.
On his part, the Resident Minister, Overseer Dr. Perez Sepenu, indicated that due to the rising trends of terrorist attacks on big gathering points in neighbouring countries and churches in other jurisdictions, it was crucial to sensitise church members on how to detect early activities of terrorists.
He, therefore, stated that “Security Sunday” is a sensitisation programme to empower members to become security conscious and draw the attention of appropriate authorities when necessary.
“The church exists not only to cater for the spiritual needs of members but also the physical needs of its members, and this sensitisation talk is one of the ways to meet the security needs of the members through knowledge empowerment,” he added.
Present at the event were Dr (Mrs) Naa Akushia Sepenu (Wife of the Resident Minister), members of the District Executive Committee, officers and members of JMWC.
Report by JMWC Media