X-tians Urged To Forge Ahead In Unity

THE Head Pastor of the Ghana Branch of the Winners' Chapel International, Bishop Dele Bamgboye, has urged Christians to put the past behind them and forge ahead in unity.

“As a people we may come from different ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds but what brings us together is the love of Christ Jesus, this must motivate us to forge ahead in oneness”, he said.

Bishop Bamgboye made the call at a thanksgiving church service to climax activities of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Church in Accra recently.

He said the church must not only preach unity among its people but must ensure that there is unity within the society.

“The continent of Africa has been divided over tribal, colonial and religion for a very long time, this is therefore the time for us to put away our differences and see ourselves as one people with one destiny” he said.

He added that no nation has developed in a state of confusion and division, saying that “what we need as a people is unity of purpose”.

Giving reasons for the celebration, he said thanksgiving is the debt which the church has to pay for experiencing God's marvelous deeds.

“We owe God an appreciation for his unquantifiable services to us in the 25 years of the existence of this commission”, he said.

Bishop Bamgboye noted that every great ministry is a product of great grace and the church has every reason to celebrate God's faithfulness.

He said the Ghana branch of the church which was founded in 1997 has gone through turbulent times.

He said the church started with 19 members, eight adults and 11 children, had a membership of over 19,000 in 2004 before a serious misunderstanding over the transfer of the head pastor brought sharp divisions in the church, resulting in a break-up.

Touching on the breakaway, he said it was unfortunate that some Ghanaians brand the church as a Nigerian church and spread of untrue stories about the founder of the church.

He said “we did not come here to represent the interest of Nigeria, but we came here to represent the interest of Jesus Christ and the gospel.”

Bishop Bamgboye said Winners' International is the only unifying church in the country where all nations and tribes are represented.