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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that the importance of the church in national development should, under no circumstance, be underestimated.
He said aside from working to uplift the people spiritually and morally over the years, the church in Ghana also remained a dominant force in the economic development of the country.
The President said this when the Head Pastor of the Sarang Church of South Korea, Rev. Dr Jung-hyun Oh, and the leadership of some Ghanaian churches paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House yesterday.
He said the impact of the church was felt positively in areas such as health, agriculture and education.
The Sarang Community Church is a Presbyterian Church in Seoul, Korea, with over 60,000 members.
Rev. Dr Jung-hyun and his team are in the country to offer Christian leadership training to over 1,200 Christian leaders from 11 Ghanaian churches.
President Akufo-Addo said the relationship between the state and the church was strong and fruitful, adding: “It is one that I, particularly, cherish very much and we will do whatever we can to strengthen the relationship.”
He said even though Ghana was largely a Christian nation, with over 70 per cent of the people being Christians, it was at the same time a country that cherished religious freedom, liberty and tolerance.
In addition, he said, the various religious groups in Ghana lived side-by-side in peace and harmony, a very important feature in the life of the country.
The President said Ghana enjoyed freedom of worship, which was protected by the national Constitution.
The Bishop of the Accra Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana, Rt Rev. Sam Kofi Osabutey, explained the programme the Sarang Community Church was undertaking in Ghana and said church leaders, including the lay and the clergy, from 11 churches would take part in a training exercise to upgrade their skills.
He said some churches in the country had, over the years, received support from the Sarang Church to go for training in South Korea and the churches believed that it was time more Christians in the country also benefited from Rev. Dr Jung-hyun’s knowledge, hence his invitation to the country.
He said the training programme in Ghana was dubbed: “Called to awaken the laity”, explaining that it was a programme of discipleship that was expected to impact the lives of many lay leaders.
Rev. Dr Jung-hyun prayed for the President and the nation.
He also presented the President with a replica of a metallic-coated ship used by the South Korean Navy to defeat the Japanese Navy about 500 years ago.
