Kumasi, Feb. 14, GNA - Churches have been advised to take a second look at their activities with the view to establishing and extending their tentacles to the rural communities instead of concentrating their programmes only in the urban centres.

Bishop J.N.K. Boateng, founder of the Gospel Revival Church of Christ, who gave the advice, observed that even though people in the rural areas form the majority and equally needed salvation, only very few churches existed in those areas.

He was closing a five-day crusade and prayer session held by the church at Sofoline in Kumasi on Sunday.

The crusade, which was attended by pastors and members of all the 37 branches of the church, was under the theme: "Let Truth Reflect in the Lives of Christians".

He reiterated that "the rural and remote areas are hungry for salvation and the gospel and the time has come for pastors and churches to resolve to move into such areas with the gospel".

He was not happy that the ambition of some pastors for amassing wealth and maintenance of a large membership has often resulted in their inability to present the true picture of issues to their members even when such members flout the Christian principles.

He said losing membership should not be an excuse for pastor's failure to address issues from the right perspective, saying, "failure to speak the truth about deeds of members amounts to disservice not only to Christianity but also an act that can undermine the salvation of such a member".

Bishop Boateng condemned the tendency of some pastors preaching virtue but practising vice and "the tendency to ask members to live by what is preached but not by how pastors conduct themselves".