Rev. Stephen Yenusom Wengam, General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana, has condemned the growing culture of insults and verbal attacks in Ghana's political space. He called on political actors, religious organisations, and the media to promote decency, dignity, civility, and responsible communication. This condemnation comes amid incidents of students attacking teachers for preventing examination malpractice and young people attacking police stations.
Rev. Wengam urged parents to take responsibility for the moral upbringing of their children and ensure they are raised in the fear of God. He stressed that the church cannot address the country's moral challenges alone and appealed for a united effort among religious organisations and families. A sustained national moral crusade involving churches, religious bodies, parents, and other stakeholders is necessary to reverse the trend.
Rev. Wengam began his second four-year term as General Superintendent with significant growth in membership and congregations. During his first tenure, the church planted 2,077 churches, increasing its total number of churches from 8,000 to 10,077, while membership grew from 812,254 to 1.2 million. His second term will focus on accelerating the church's Transformation Agenda, with renewed emphasis on evangelism, church planting, infrastructure development, pastoral welfare, spiritual revival, and administrative reforms.
The Transformation Agenda has six pillars: REACH, REBUILD, RESTORE, REPOSITION, REBRAND, and REFORMS. Under REACH, the church will intensify evangelism and church planting through its Every Village, Every Town a Church initiative. The REBUILD component prioritises pastors' welfare, human resource development, and infrastructure, including the Legacy Temple and Centenary City projects.
Rev. Wengam announced that 177 legacy temples have been constructed since 2024 through contributions from individuals and local churches. President John Dramani Mahama and the First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, are among the prominent contributors, supporting the construction of 10 legacy temples each. Rev. Wengam and his wife, Lady Mrs Monica Wengam, also provided 10 legacy temples from his headquarters salary.
Preparations are advancing towards the construction of the proposed Centenary City, an international conference centre expected to accommodate about 6,000 people as part of activities marking the church's 100th anniversary in 2031. The architectural designs for the project are ready, while the 137-acre parcel of land donated by Mr Seth Quaye is being walled. President Mahama has offered to lead fundraising efforts for the project.
Rev. Wengam expressed concern about unemployment, growing political intolerance, and worsening moral decline among Ghanaian youth. He welcomed the government's proposed 10-billion-dollar economic programme under the New Economy initiative but urged that its benefits translate into decent jobs for young people, improved incomes for farmers, and expanded opportunities for businesses. The induction ceremony was attended by President John Dramani Mahama, First Lady Mrs Lordina Mahama, and the Global Chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, Rev. Dominic Yeo.
Key points
- Rev. Wengam calls for a sustained national moral crusade to reverse the trend of insults and verbal attacks in Ghana's political space.
- The church's Transformation Agenda focuses on evangelism, church planting, infrastructure development, pastoral welfare, spiritual revival, and administrative reforms.
- Rev. Wengam expresses concern about unemployment, growing political intolerance, and worsening moral decline among Ghanaian youth.
