Cape Coast, June 5, GNA - The 21st Century will be marked with distinction if the contemporary Christian youth are to combine powers to stem social evils and be truthful witnesses who would give honest testimony of Christ Jesus.

Mrs. Grace Aboagye-Mensah, wife of the immediate past Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, gave the exhortation at the 5th biennial/45th Connexional Conference of the Ghana Methodist Students' Union (GHAMSU) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) on Friday. The three-day conference attended by hundreds of students' nationwide was on the theme, "Integrity: A True Virtue of an Ambassador for Greater Impact in the 21st Century" Speaking on the theme, Mrs. Aboagye-Mensah said integrity has become an issue of great concern not only in the circular world but also in the Church because people fail to be reliable and truthful as they portray duplicity, dishonesty and deception.

The wife of the Bishop said as ambassadors of Christ they must be people of integrity to be true witnesses and therefore it will require of them to say yes to godliness, have the right intent and motives, and combine forces to stem fragmentation in the body of Christ. She explained that genuine integrity is the combination of character and competence, and therefore they should work hard to prove themselves as worthy ambassadors, adding that, moral integrity goes hand in hand with skills and training, it was therefore imperative that they developed themselves to attain greater heights in their education. Mrs. Aboagye-Mensah noted that if they should unite with singleness of purpose, intent and will, they will together be able to achieve the unimaginable and make an unimaginable impact on the 21st Century for it to be marked as "a better world".

She charged the participants to endeavour to lead honest truthful lives and eschew sexual immorality, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, evil language, and other undesirable character that would bring their integrity into disrepute.

The Deputy Minister of Information, Mr. James Agyemin-Boateng, who was the special guest of honour, expressed concern that the value system of the country, particularly cultural and Christian was being gradually eroded as a result of media influence generally. He re-echoed calls on the youth to be honest, truthful and reliable in all their dealings and direct their youthful energies to the good of their communities and the country at large in order not to waste their talent and mar their future.

Mr. Agyemin-Boateng gave the assurance that the government was nurturing the Ghanaian economy to attain the needed level of growth, to help achieve the better Ghana agenda and that the youth was high on that pedestal, and so it will continue to invest in them for them to achieve their aspirations for nation building. Reverend Dr. Isaac Nana Abaka, Director of Youth Ministries Division of the Methodist Church, said the Division launched a project dubbed "Vision 2010" three years ago to help young people in the church to cultivate among others, the life of integrity to stem out the culture of impunity, greed and abuse of office.

He said their vision was to reposition the youth to adopt Christ like attitude and that as young people they should let the transformational realities of the gospel be seen in them for them to fulfil their mission of saving lives.

The Connexional President of GHAMSU, Brother Eric Gyan told his colleagues that as ambassadors of Christ they are diplomats representing Christ on earth, they should therefore live above reproach to enable them influence the world positively.