The Head pastor of the Calvary Charismatic Centre (CCC), Pastor Ransford Obeng has challenged the staff of Christian Service University College to build upon the solid foundation laid by the founders of the institution to promote quality Christ-centred education to accelerate the development of Ghana. He made this call as guest speaker for the CSUC New Year Staff Retreat organized under the theme: “God our help in the past, Our hope for the years to come”.
Background and Welcome
As a Christian non-denominational tertiary institution, the new year staff retreat is one of the cardinal events organized by the Chaplaincy Board to usher the University Community into a new year. The programme is used to reflect on the goodness of God and thank Him for the just ended year and pray for successful new year in many topical areas. This year’s retreat was held on Saturday January 13, 2024 at the CSUC Campus.
The Chaplain, Rev. Anthony Boateng Agyenim welcomed the staff to the retreat and noted that as Christians, we must desire the presence of God in our lives at all times. He referenced Moses’ encounter with God to espouse that even though he was carved out in Egypt for leadership, he never relied on his giftings and expertise. Moses reckoned that the presence of God in all situations was reassuring and fulfilling than any experience in life. Based on this conviction, he appealed to all staff and institution to desire the presence of God for greater impact.
The Admonition on the Theme
In his sermon, Pastor Ransford Obeng noted that CSUC became a reality because of the dedication and sacrifices of devout men and women who had the vision to accomplish the will of God in their generation. In his opinion, working at CSUC must therefore not be seen as “business as usual”. He therefore charged the staff to reflect on their decisions to work at CSUC and remain committed to the enviable ideals of the founders driven by a desire to serve God. Rev. Obeng explained that sometimes we misinterpret scripture with respect to the subject of our relationship with the past. In his opinion, backed by sound scriptural basis, Christians must distinguish between past in the negative and positive senses. Bad and negative past must be put behind us whereas the good and significant past must be reminisced and celebrated at all times. He assured that the university community will see and experience the goodness of God, especially in this 50th anniversary year. However, he referenced Hebrews 12:1,2, and I Corinthians 3:10 to espouse that as the founders focused on Christ, the staff must follow their example. Following Jesus’s example will help the university to see things differently and make right judgements to transform the institution especially as it launches into the next 50 years.
The President’s admonition
The President of CSUC, Prof. Sam Afrane in his final exhortation assured staff that the year 2024 will be great and prosperous but was quick to add that, each person should set goals for his or her personal development; that staff should actively own and participate in the anniversary celebrations; and finally, staff must watch they way they conduct themselves and ensure that they must endeavour to follow Jesus’ example at all times.
Retreat Activities
Several activities were performed during the six-hour long programme. They were sessions of praises and adoration, testimonies, exhortation and intercessory prayers. Some of the prayer topics included the successful implementation of the 50th anniversary celebrations (events and projects), prayer for partnerships, admissions, finance among others.
