Churches Must Lead Ghana’s Clean-Up – Rev. Ntim Fordjour

Story by Fada Amakye

The Church must rise as the moral voice of the nation and lead the charge to save Ghana’s environment, Assin South MP and Senior Pastor of Victory Bible Church International, Height Sanctuary, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has said.

Speaking at a multi-event ceremony organized by the Christian Council of Ghana in Accra, Rev. Ntim Fordjour described the launch of the 2026 Pentecost Month celebrations under the theme “A Clean Environment, Our Responsibility” as timely and consequential for the country’s future.

“I’m deeply honored by the kind invitation extended to me by the Christian Council of Ghana to share in this very important occasion,” he said. The event also marked the launch of the Environmental Care and Wellness Program, the Volunteers Program, and activities marking the centenary celebrations of the Christian Council.

“Today, the last day of April, the month we chose to remember the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is fitting for this call to duty,” Rev. Ntim Fordjour noted. He said the resurrection season is a reminder of renewal, and Ghana’s environment equally needs renewal through deliberate action.

The MP praised faith-based organizations for their contribution to national development long before independence. “Long before the State of Ghana and government even came into partnership with our faith-based institutions on the matter of education, our churches had started some leading institutions, both at the primary, secondary and even at the tertiary level,” he said.

He explained that when the state eventually partnered with churches in education and health, it was building on a foundation the church had already laid. “This partnership has continued, and the church has remained an integral part in ensuring that we have a productive population that has the requisite skills and moral standards,” he added.

As the Christian Council marks its centenary, Rev. Ntim Fordjour said the milestone must push the church to reclaim its prophetic role in public life. It must be “a creditable, moral voice of conscience on the many facets of our economy, without fear,” he stressed.

“The principles of our Bible and the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ must guide our partnership with various presidents, governments and political parties,” he said. “We must speak truthfully and fairly, constructively to every political party and to every government. We have had cause to praise, and we must also have cause to criticize and point to the right direction, wherever the commitment of the church to education, health, moral development, ethical and civic leadership is concerned.

Linking sanitation to scripture, Rev. Ntim Fordjour said environmental care is not just a civic duty but a divine assignment. “The urgency of this theme, ‘A Clean Environment, Our Responsibility’, is evidenced in Genesis chapter 2 verse 15, where we see the first God-given mandate for man — to keep and tend the garden.”

He said God’s intention was clear from creation. “God created man in His image with dominion over the earth, over every creeping thing that creeps on the ground. Environmental stewardship is therefore fundamental and the foremost charge that we have been given. It is our most solemn responsibility, in our various roles in society, to do our best to make our homes, our environment, our country clean.

Rev. Ntim Fordjour warned that Ghana’s current environmental crisis is a test of faith and obedience. He said the degradation of water bodies, forests, and natural resources is a direct violation of that first mandate. “We must preserve the environment for posterity, so that our children and the next generation will also come and meet an environment that has the sanctity with which it was given to us,” he said.

He charged the Christian Council and churches across the country to “rise up urgently to save our water bodies, forest resources, and all natural resources.” The newly launched Environmental Care and Wellness Program and Volunteers Program, he noted, should become practical tools for churches to mobilize members for regular clean-up exercises, tree planting, and public education on sanitation.

“If we do not, we will answer to God, because His mandate is clear — to dress and keep the earth, not destroy it,” Rev. Ntim Fordjour said. He urged Christians to see waste management, recycling, and protection of public spaces as acts of worship.

The Assin South legislator said the church’s voice carries weight in communities and can shift attitudes faster than government campaigns alone. “When the pulpit speaks, the people listen. Let us use that influence to heal our land,” he added.