ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

Since the Universal Church was born, she has struggled with many views about poverty and wealth. At one end of the spectrum, some groups in the church hold view which casts wealth and materialism as an evil to be avoided and even opposed. And at the other end is a view which presents prosperity and well-being as a blessing from God.

While, Jesus Christ our salvation mentioned that “man cannot serve both God and Mammon (wealth) – Mark 10:23-27”, DLM leadership do not believe that any conclusions can be drawn from this verse to indicate that having economic empowerment is sinful or wrong. After all, all men can worship anything any apart from God and doing so is sinful. Anything that preoccupies and takes control of our lives is sinful. In fact, it is equally sinful to worship God and poverty. Our Lord Jesus Christ was served and worshipped by wealthy men who attended to His needs, when He lived and took care of His burial, when died. So being emancipated from poverty with the right attitudes is rather a blessing that enables people to serve God. God did not leave the Gold, Diamond and riches on Earth for the ungodly but for His children, those who truly believe in Him. A proper understanding of Christian teachings on wealth and poverty needs to take a larger view where the accumulation of wealth is not the central focus of one’s life but rather a resource for the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We make conscious effort under the direction of the Holy Spirit toe empower men and women to excel in the economic and political area of our society. If the righteous rule the nations rejoice.

OUR VISION FOR EMPOWERMENT

The Vision of DLM is to empower every member and associates of the church to participate in our well planned economic empowerment programmes that provide step-by-step guidance to achieve economic emancipation that strengthens the economic base of the church and the faith community. We foster effective partnership with other ministries, businesses, local and national economic enterprise to fight poverty, hunger and diseases

Our goal is to empower our church, its members and the local community by:

Providing recognition for economic development and increase the awareness amongst members and associates in engaging in economic activities that bring about economic prosperity for the local and the local community in general.

Encourage businesses and business owners both in and out of the church to employ, and contribute through services, products, education and exposure, to the growth and development of our communities for poverty alleviation;

Train and educate our church members and the community about business and economic empowerment that is Christ centered and spiritually fulfilling; and

Educate, encourage and empower business owners, entrepreneurs and others in discipleship and stewardship through economic opportunity empowerment

THE MANDATE OF THE CHURCH

I find it completely senseless and hypocritical when some churches preach and encourage people to live a life of poverty, while at the same time, these churches set up appeals to get money and resources to cater for the needs of the church. How ironic! Where will the people who are encouraged to remain poor get the money from to contribute to the day-to-day needs of the church? The Lord Jesus Christ expects each Christian to care for the poor, the naked, the sick and the destitute. If the Christians are to remain poor and can’t even look after themselves, how can they look after the poor, the naked, the sick and the destitute? The issue about wealth is a matter of attitude. All Christians must be aware of the temptations that come with wealth. Christians must pursue economic empowerment with the view of using wealth to serve God and the poor who are always with us.

– Rev (Dr) Samuel Ofori-Kyereh

DLM believe that God blessed Adam with abundance of wealth including economic riches and gave him the mandate to rule. We believe that God has given all Christians the mandate to have dominion including economic, political and social mandate to rule in the earth. While we are focused on preaching the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in all the Earth and wait with great expectation for the return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we are mindful of our obligation to maintain the economic, political and social power to accomplish the mandate. While the preaching of the Gospel is free, the vehicle for sending/preaching the Gospel to the ends of the world is not free and so we need to pursue economic empowerment.

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
SUMMIT

We believe that the Church has the mandate to is called to be a force for change in the world, especially where the needs are greatest: the inner-city neighborhoods where crime, violence, and unemployment are the order of the day. We believe that we have the greatest oppoTHAT rtunity to achieve the economic empowerment mission through the principles of Entrepreneurship. At Beacon of Light we believe in raising up men and women who can identify with their God given potential and give them the necessary training, resources, and opportunities that will help make them successful entrepreneurs in the marketplace. By being successful entrepreneurs, new businesses will be created in the community ensuring financial success in the home and community that is independent from government assistance.