Some church members of the Gospel Faith Ministry in Accra on Sunday expressed their joy of having been able to attend service once again to fellowship and worship together after some eleven weeks of closed down.

Some said the fact that Christians in the country could gather to serve their Maker was "a miracle", they were of the hope that very soon, many people would be able to attend church and worship together.

While observing the COVID-19 protocol of wearing face masks and social distancing, amidst the washing of hands and temperature checks, the congregants sang, praised God, and prayed to God to intervene in the COVID-19 situation.

Even though there was no use of drums due to the ban on drumming and noise-making in the Greater Accra Region, the GNA observed that the few members who made it to the church showed a lot of enthusiasm dancing to the few hymns and songs.

Many of the members, especially the elderly and some youth were absent while women outnumbered the men who attended the first-ever service after the partial easing of COVID-19 restrictions on churches.

Head Pastor of the church, Reverend Isaac Obed Asamoah, said he was happy to see his congregants so excited as they communed in-person to share the word of God, which was more impactful than the online messages.

He advised members to continue to engage their children at home with the word of God since they could not attend their usual Sunday school services.

In his sermon, Rev Asamoah urged Christians to remain steadfast in their faith and "look up to Jesus to calm the COVID-19 storm".

Quoting Luke Chapter 8 verse 22 to 25, Rev Asamoah said it was only God who could calm the storms in the world where human knowledge and wisdom were at their wit ends.

He said whatever the Lord had purposed for his children in the year 2020 would come to pass only when they held onto God's word.

He urged Christians to continue to move forward in life, as they live the new normal, focusing on the future and leaving behind their disappointments, bitterness, hatred, and unbelief.

He later told the GNA that the church was very much ready to continue to partner the government to contain the pandemic, through teaching their members who formed the majority of the population to keep to the hygienic protocols.

"It was good the state has been able to put measures in place to gradually ease the restrictions brought about as a result of the COVID-19", Rev Asamoah said.

He, however, said the church would only be opened for Sunday services while the mid-week services would be postponed for now.

He urged his fellow pastors to try to conform to all the protocols as well as go through the required documentation with the district assemblies to avoid any confrontations with the state.

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