The Chief Executive Officer of Alliance for Christian Advocacy Africa, Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has entreated the clergy to adopt the palaces as a centre of worship in rediscovering the purpose of the church.
According to the Presbyterian Minister, often Christians see traditional leaders as idol worshippers. This impression, he said, is erroneous since chiefs can worship God and, therefore, require the word of God in leading the people.
Rev. Dr. Opuni-Frimpong made this call on Thursday, September 15, 2022, at the All Ministers’ Conference, hosted by The Church of Pentecost at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoah-Fetteh.
Speaking on the topic, “Influencing the Chieftaincy Institution with Kingdom Values and Principles,” the former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong noted that the Church and the Palace have had various levels of relationships over the years.
Using the Presbyterian Church of Ghana as a case study, he revealed that there have been certain provisions of hospitality made by the Palace to missionaries. For example, Riis at Akropong, and Ramseyer at Abetifi and Kumasi, respectively.
Other forms of engagements by the chiefs were the invitation sent to missionaries to plant churches in communities, provision of lands and other resources for church infrastructure, and participation in national church programmes and activities which provide authenticity and approvals for the church in the communities as the people accept easily what their traditional leaders accept publicly and identify with.
“Some royals identify themselves as Christian Royal Families,” he said, stating that, the chieftaincy institution has contributed through the provision of security for missionaries.
He urged the church to keep seeking strategic partnerships with traditional leaders in the provision of quality education, health delivery, provision of chaplains to schools, security agencies, hospitals and the military to develop the country.
According to him, some social institutions in Ghana such as the prisons, hospitals, and schools, have been made centres of worship, conversions, and transformation.
However, over the years there have been calls made by traditional leaders for missions to be extended to the palace, but all have proved futile since churches consider the palace a ‘no-go’ area.
“Nene Martey-Korle made a request to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana during Synod at Krobo Odumasi in 1960 (60 years) to send missionaries or pastors to the Palace to assist traditional leaders to become Christians, yet we are not there,” he bemoaned.
Reading from Colossians 1:15, Rev. Dr. Opuni-Frimpong asserted that the chieftaincy institution was instituted by God. However, Christians have created a gap between the church and the palace. This, he indicated, is the reason why the thrones have been hijacked by the fetish priests in most Ghanaian communities.
Quoting Dr. K. A. Busia (one-time Prime Minister of Ghana), Rev. Dr. Opuni-Frimpong said that the Palace is the heart of Ghanaian culture, saying, “Until Christians touch the heart of the palace, Christianity can never be deep in Ghana.”
He concluded: “If we are rediscovering what the church in Ghana needs today, we need to begin to rediscover new missions and new ministries which would truly make the thrones belong to Jesus,” he pointed out.
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