The moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Reverend Joseph Mante has called on the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria as well as entire African Christians to curtail dependency on the Western world.
He said very soon the pendulum of global Christian leadership will swing to Africa.
He spoke when he delivered his goodwill address at the installation ceremony of Dr Ekpenyong Akpanika as the 9th Prelate of Presbyterian Church Nigeria, held at the Duke Town national headquarters of the church in Calabar.
He emphasised the need for closer relations between the two Presbyterian churches in Nigeria and Ghana to enable greater evangelical impact.
“I have led a seven-man team to honour this installation. We are here to learn how to do missions together between PCN and PCG. We came to help each other reduce our dependency on the Western world; the centre of gravity of Christianity has shifted to the southern hemisphere.
“We, therefore, need to join efforts together to reposition ourselves to take leadership of the world Christianity in the second half of this century.
“The installation ceremony of Dr Akpanika is a very important event to us in order to deepen our partnerships. We want to be able to do things through collaboration at all levels in our churches. And also at other institutions and organizations such as education in our two sister churches.”
Akpanika is the first indigenous Efik man to be elected as PCN Prelate although the headquarters has been in Duke Town, Calabar, the oldest parish in the country, for over 100 years.
He is to run the affairs of the church for another six years. He replaced the immediate past Prelate, Nzie Nzi Eke.
Speaking at the installation ceremony, a former prelate of the church, Professor Emele Uka charged Akpanika to be a servant, teacher and prophet to the church and the nation in general.
“You are not just going to be a pastor to preach these good tidings, but also a prophet. You also have the mandate of God to declare God’s judgement to the people. The installation service is one that certifies that God has called you,” he said.
The installation was done in collaboration with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG).
The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Most Rev Daniel Okoh prayed for God’s kingdom to be further expanded through him.
