During his public ministry, Jesus met human needs and pointed people to God. A new Texas Baptist Men water ministry partnership in Ghana is helping Ghanaian believers follow that model.
The initiative led 200 people to faith in Christ during October alone.
“We ought to apply kingdom perspective to all of life,” Pastor Moses Sana Konjon said, referencing several Bible verses. “When people look at the church, they should see the very embodiment of Jesus. Christ’s ministry was holistic.
“During his earthly ministry, Jesus—apart from preaching the word of God—healed the sick, fed the hungry, comforted the bereaved … . Therefore, we must cease to be spectators in the economic and social scene. Instead, we must be actively involved in addressing the social needs of the people we evangelize.”
Dubbed the Clean Hands, Clean Hearts campaign, Frontier Missions Network is leading hygiene classes in rural northern Ghana as they first were taught by TBM water ministry leaders earlier this year.
“It is thrilling to see how these simple lessons have impacted the rural areas of Northern Ghana bringing better health and more importantly, the hope of Christ.” said DeeDee Wint, vice president of the TBM water ministry.
In October, the Ghanaians led hygiene classes in two locations. The lessons are particularly helpful in a country where roughly half of the households have a designated place to wash their hands, but only 20 percent have access to soap at home, according to UNICEF.
About 30 percent of the nation practices open defecation. More than 75 percent of Ghanaians are at risk of drinking water contaminated by fecal matter.
“We take seriously the impact that pandemics and public health emergencies have on the majority of our people in the rural communities in northern Ghana,” Konjon said. “Most of the diseases that claim many lives in the area are hygiene-related diseases. This is due to lack or poor education on sanitation—even on basic personal hygiene and resources which is a key precautionary measure.”
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Teaching people how to stay clean and healthy provides an easy avenue for Ghana Christians to share about Christ, who cleans hearts and saves people.
“As a faith-based organization, our mission is primarily to proclaim the good news of salvation, to be the light of the world and salt to season our society,” Konjon said.
The TBM partnership with Frontier Missions Network is ongoing as Ghanaians seek to minister in many northern Ghana villages.
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