Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called on churches to spearhead initiatives that address pressing societal challenges, especially in areas where existing interventions remain inadequate.
She said churches should carefully assess the needs of society before embarking on new projects to ensure their investments make a meaningful impact.
Speaking at the Accra Ridge Church’s 90th Anniversary Lecture II, themed “Repositioning the Church for National Transformation: Faith, Education and Holistic Renewal in Ghana,” the Vice President urged religious organisations to focus on interventions that respond to unmet national needs.
“Before any new project, perhaps the Church should ask not only, ‘Can we build it?’ or ‘Can we afford it?’ The Church should also ask another question, ‘Does this meet a need that neither the government nor the market can adequately meet?” she said.
Using tertiary education as an example, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang suggested that churches could collaborate to establish institutions that fill existing gaps instead of simply expanding infrastructure.
“Assuming the Christian Council came together to establish one university with branches everywhere, and that university focused on the gaps government wasn’t filling… what were the gaps? Before any new project, perhaps the Church should ask those questions,” she stated.
She stressed that the Church could make a greater contribution to national transformation by directing its resources towards projects that address society’s most pressing challenges, rather than duplicating services already being provided.
