By Danjuma Auta
The ECWA General Secretary, Rev (Dr.) Yunusa Sabo Nmadu, has stated that the church is facing a lot of financial challenges and tasked treasurers to acquire digital skills to save the situation.
He threw the challenge in a key note address during this year’s Treasurers/Heads of Strategic Business Units’ summit held at the ECWA Headquarters Conference Hall in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
According to him, because treasurers drive the financial decisions of ECWA institutions and provide financial advisories to the various executive levels and councils, they must not allow themselves to fail.
He disclosed that many DCCs were now electing treasurers with financial backgrounds to manage their resources well and called on them to employ digital skills to help them in discharging their duties.
Rev. Nmadu added that it is worrisome that the traditional way of funding in the church was gradually dying away as a result, the church must think outside the box instead of mainly relying on offerings.
He tasked treasurers, heads of strategic church business and departments to set up viable businesses as alternative sources of funding and embark on grain hedging or land acquisition to survive the current economic challenges.
In a welcome address, ECWA President, Rev. Dr. Stephen Baba Panya, called on summit participants to plan, work and network with other believers to strengthen their bond of love and fellowship and support each other in these trying times.
He disclosed that since ECWA treasurers/heads of strategic business units are charged with securing and maintaining the church’s purse, they are expected to work according to the best standards and practices which would continue to be supported by the ECWA executive.
Earlier, the ECWA International Treasurer, Elder Haruna Danjuma, explained that the summit was the fifth in the series aimed at bringing ECWA financial actors together to brainstorm for greater achievements.
He called on the treasurers to have faith, fear God and be honest in carrying out their mandates so as to make an impact that would lift the organization to the next level.
In a related development, the 10th internal stakeholders’ forum on zero tolerance for fraud in ECWA was held at the church headquarters in Jos.
Speaking at the occasion, the ECWA President informed participants that the church needed critical stakeholders filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit to change the spiritual atmosphere of the church through prudent management of resources, hence the introduction of whistle blowing and zero tolerance on corruption.
He revealed that the policy had resulted in prudent use and conservation of increasingly scarce financial resources due to the impact of global financial crisis and the resultant fall in church income.
He added that, the policy had not only saved millions of naira for ECWA but has curbed fraud in the system and called on the participants to make good use of the lessons to be learnt at the summit.
Guest speaker at the event, Mr. Solomon Edokpa, lamented that in spite of ECWA’s emphasis on the gospel, worship, evangelism, theological training and social welfare, it appears the lives of members were not significantly moderated by them.
He disclosed that cases of spiritual and social indiscipline, lack of faith and commitment abound among Christians and called for all hands to be on deck to stamp out corruption in the society which, he said, must begin from the church.
He challenged participants not to allow the vision of the church’s founding fathers to die in their hands and charged them to catch the fire and spread the message across board.
More than 300 participants attended the event.