President John Dramani Mahama has urged delegates attending the 10th Triennial Congress of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship in Accra to return home with practical plans to support their communities, including mentoring young people, supporting schools and strengthening health ministries.
He said delegates should use the congress to build partnerships, mentor young people, support schools and stand beside congregations serving under difficult conditions.
Addressing the opening ceremony on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Mr. Mahama said the congress had brought together more than 10,000 participants.
"The lasting story of this conference, this congress, will be written in the lives that we touch after the closing prayer," he said.
He said faith became tangible when a hungry child received a meal, a patient was treated with compassion, a young person acquired a skill, a widow found companionship and a struggling family received support from its community. Mr. Mahama urged the church to give greater attention to the relationship between preaching the gospel and serving people in practical ways.
Safe churches, mentors and women
The President said churches must provide safe environments for children and vulnerable people, stressing that spiritual authority came with a duty of care.
"Spiritual authority entails a duty of care," he said, adding that the church must protect the trust placed in it through responsible conduct.
On youth development, Mr. Mahama said young people were growing up in a world full of opportunities but also facing considerable pressure. He said technology connected young people across continents but also exposed them to constant comparisons, misinformation and competing expectations about who they should become.
He urged churches and families to create environments where young people could ask questions freely, receive guidance, develop their abilities and take on meaningful responsibilities. He called on delegates to mentor young people by listening to them, providing opportunities for service, and setting an example of integrity.
He also urged the church to recognize the contributions of women of faith and give their wisdom, talents and leadership the recognition they deserved.
The President expressed the hope that members of the global fellowship with greater resources would find ways to support those with fewer resources. He said the fellowship would grow stronger when members shared their gifts and supported one another through difficult times.
Responsibility of public office
Mr. Mahama said people entrusted with public office had a particular responsibility to serve with humility, honesty and integrity. He said their faith should strengthen their respect for citizens and deepen their concern for people whose voices were least likely to reach the centres of power.
Awards and prayers
At the ceremony, the World Assemblies of God Fellowship presented Mr. Mahama with its maiden Global Leadership Excellence and Trailblazer Award. The citation described him as the first member of the Assemblies of God worldwide to become president of a country.
The organizers also presented him with a Bible and urged him to allow the Word of God to guide his leadership.
The Fellowship honored the First Lady, Mrs. Lordina Mahama, for her work supporting vulnerable people through her compassion ministry.
Former Malawian President Dr Lazarus Chakwera also received the Global Leadership Excellence Award. His citation described him as the second member of the denomination and the first minister of the gospel within the fellowship to become president of a country.
General superintendents and Ghanaian church leaders subsequently gathered around Mr. Mahama to pray for him. The prayer leader, identified as Reverend Dominic Yeo, the Global Chairman, asked God to grant the President "a divine wisdom" and prayed for the continuation of what he described as a reformation agenda.
He also prayed for "a redistribution of wealth throughout this nation so that all Ghanaians will be blessed."
