Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has urged Ghanaians to see religion as a driving force for unity and not for division.
According to Dr Bawumia, Ghana had maintained its position as the second most peaceful country in Sub-Saharan Africa per the Global peace index, an act he attributed to religious tolerance.
He commended religious leaders for ensuring that there was a high level of religious tolerance in the country despite the different religious faith, which had contributed to the maintenance of the country's position.
Dr Bawumia noted this at the 175thAnniversary launch of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) yesterday
It was on the theme "A Journey of 175 years in Ministry: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward."
"According to the Global Peace Index, Ghana still maintains its position as the second most peaceful country in Sub-Saharan Africa and the most peaceful country in West Africa.
"This is a remarkable feat that must be guarded jealously without any compromise. Both the Bible and the Qur'an places emphasis on the matter of peace and it is gratifying to note that in Ghana we having such a religious tolerance and acceptable society that makes it effortlessly possible for a Muslim Priest to worship with a Christian and vice versa," he added.
Dr Bawumia, while commending the Church for the contributions made to the development of the country in the areas of education, health and agriculture, noted that it was important for the country to pull together its nationalistic effort in building and recovering from internal and external challenges it faced.
He therefore charged the EPCG to develop a roadmap towards social intervention in order to create jobs to contribute to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the human capital of the country.
The immediate past General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi, on his part, asserted that the contributions made by the EPCG since its establishment could not be underestimated as it had partnered successive governments to undertake developmental projects in the area of education, health and agriculture.
However, Rev. Dr Nyomi said it had been faced with some major challenges such as division and finance which was crippling its vision of serving humanity and preaching the gospel.
Rev. Dr Nyomi explained that for the church to overcome its challenges, it was hinged on certain principles which included building on what had been done in the past, focusing on priority areas, having a prophetic voice, upholding discipline and integrity and investing in the church.
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Delivering the sermon, the Moderator of the EPCG, Rt Rev. Dr Lt Col Bliss Divine Agbeko (RTD), underscored the need for Christians to channel their resources into the ministries to help reach out to humanity.
According to him, amassing wealth was not against the word of God but it was against it if the wealth amassed was not invested in helping God's Ministry achieve its vision.
He therefore encouraged the congregation to develop the habit of giving as it would enable them obtain God's blessings according to the scriptures.
Present at the ceremony were Members of Parliament (MPs), Traditional Leaders, Religious leaders from various denominations, Municipal and District Chief Executives from the Volta Region and other high profile dignitaries.
