The African Forum on Religion and Government-Ghana (AFREG-Ghana)’s third Youth leadership and mentorship summit has opened in Accra to marshal Christian youth to lead better examples that would positively affect Ghana and Africa as a whole.

The participants are also to be sensitized on the various roles they could play in ensuring proper collaboration between the church and the state to help in the socio-economic development of the country.

The three-day meeting being attended by various youth groups of Christian churches in Ghana is being held on the theme: “Developing Transformational Young Leaders from Ghana to impact Africa and the World”.

Among the participants are youth pastors, lay leaders and Christian youth who are being equipped to become agents of change in the church and society at large.

In a keynote address, the Right Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, said the current state of Africa and Ghana is not the best so Christians, especially the Christian youth, ought to rise to the occasion and work towards improving the status quo.

He said the Christian youth ought to enter into politics and lead lives of integrity, truthfulness and hard work, "and act as light of the world not as looters of the nations."

He said: "Present politicians in Africa should understand that they cannot reap without sowing, therefore the need to work hard, design and implement better planning programmes that would help develop their countries to ensure that the people live dignified lives."

Prof Martey, who is also the Chairman of the AFREG-Ghana Advisory Committee, said "Africa is still wallowing in poverty because most of its leaders have failed to exhibit qualities of transformational leadership, God-fearing and integrity, which are needed to marshal the people to develop the nations."

He said most of the leaders have had that old mindset of slavery and colonial mentality, which had collaborated with neo-colonial forces to plunder the continent.

"There is therefore the need to rediscover leadership identity, renew mindsets from slavery, colonial and neo-colonial mentalities, cultivate and display a greater sense of integrity in leadership, develop a sense of community, and understand the laws of sowing and reaping, leading to excellence in leadership for the improvement and advancement of Africa."

Prof Martey also urged the Ghanaian populace, majority of who are Christians, to exhibit godly characters and behaviours as they contribute their quota to help develop the nation.

The Reverend Dr Peter Kyei, Rector of the Pentecost University College (PUC), who doubles as the Chairman of AFREG-Ghana Planning Committee, said participants at the summit were be drawn from different backgrounds to reflect seven pillars of society, namely, government, religion, education, business, arts and entertainment, family and the media.

He said the AFREG-Ghana mission was to help catalyze the building of leaders of integrity to transform Ghana into a first premier country, shaped by God-centered values especially through partnership between the State and the Church.

He said AFREG-Ghana also aimed at promoting religious tolerance and inter religious dependency, develop a moral vision for Africa based on deeply personalized spiritual values as well as develop a framework for Africa’s development that is holistic.

Rev Kyei, therefore, urged the youth to eschew laziness and untruthfulness and rather embrace moral values that would portray them as good citizens as they reflect the change in their families, workplaces, communities and society in general.

"Character and morality are strongly linked to spirituality. We need a standard of the perfection demonstrated by Jesus Christ to measure ours with. He offers help to those who ask him for help to live by high moral standards," he told the participants.

A participant, Mr Asa Addo-Danquah, who is President of the Youth Fellowship at the Trinity United Church-Legon, told the GNA in an interview that he expected to be equipped with effective leadership skills that would help him contribute