30 Mar 2016

The Permanent Secretary to the President, Mr Carter Morupisi has commended the leadership of Faith Gospel After Christ (FGAC) Church for embracing the youth as an important church organ.

Officially opening the FGAC music competitions in Ratholo,  Mr Morupisi encouraged the church leadership to give spiritual guidance to the youth across the country. He said gospel music was a powerful catalyst towards the kingdom of God. 

He said he was impressed that the music competitions were organised by a group of youngsters who have dedicated their lives to God and continue to act as testimony to other youths around the country. Mr Morupisi said having a relationship with God was important particularly in today’s world where the youth were faced with many complex challenges.

Mr Morupisi also noted that music was a global language that connects souls and soothes while gospel music acts as a linkage between singers and God. He added that it also has the power to indirectly connect the audience to God and allow them to feel his presence.

“We all know from the book of Psalms how David used music to connect with the creator, thus always walking with his head held high knowing that God was by his side even in tough times,” he said.

He further said nobody would ever forget the narration about how Peter sang joyfully even when he was in jail, and that jail doors opened up with a huge earth quake in recognition of his communication with God through music and prayer.

He acknowledged and appreciated the commitment of the church to uplift the lives of the less fortunate and thus support the government’s social upliftment programmes.

Mr Morupisi said through the FGAC support for the Masiela Trust Fund since 2004, the church continues to highlight the important role of churches in society in line with one of the pillars of Vision 2016 of a compassionate, just and caring nation. 

He said he was hopeful that even in the new Vision 2036, Faith Gospel After Christ  church would continue showcasing its social responsibility. He said it was pleasing to learn that the Gaborone and Selebi-Phikwe choirs have already recorded their music. 

He added that society has evolved and that there were more opportunities for people in the field of arts to further harness their talent and use it as a source of income. He said he was hopeful that above the primary role of recording their music to spread the message, they would also explore avenues of making a living out of their music. 

He said the fact that one of the outcomes of the competitions was to build yet another house for a destitute person in Tshimoyapula was exciting. 

The church built a house for a destitute person at Seleka/Tumasera in 2014.  He implored other organisations, including other churches to emulate FGAC in this regard.

Mr Morupisi said the achievements FGAC has made attest that as the country celebrates its golden jubilee in the spirit of botho and ipelegeng, the church played a key role in uniting Batswana.

He said through the leadership of President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama, government believed that churches have a role to play in retaining the peace and tranquility that the country was known for. “This is why we at government have found it fit to include the church in a number of entities that contribute to national development,” he said.

He said in the same token that the government recognises the church and its role in society, the church was a critical stakeholder in government matters and should play a part in disseminating government programmes that were meant to uplift the lives of Batswana.

He urged the leadership of the church to familiarise themselves with government programmes such as the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) so as to assist in conveying messages to the congregation about how they could benefit from such programmes. 

The president of Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), Pastor Tebogo Motlhagodi said his organisation works with the government because they believe they could learn a lot from the government and that their churches would at the end benefit. ENDS