Chairman-elect of the Association of Methodist Church Choirs-Kumasi, Professor Samuel Nortey
Professor Samuel Nortey, a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been elected as the Diocesan Chairman of the Association of Methodist Church Choirs, Kumasi.
The professor who polled 57 votes against his close contender, Mr. Stephen Kwamina Anderson's 33 votes, is expected to serve as the Kumasi Diocesan Chairman of the association for the next three years. Mr. Alex Lloyd Djangmah, a third contender also polled 12 votes.
This election of eleven new officers which was held on Saturday 27th August 2022 during a mini-conference at the Ebenezer Methodist Church - Pankrono, was necessitated, after the tenure of old officers which was three years had come to an end. While some old executives totally left the scene, there were some others who contested again.
Apart from the chairmanship position, other persons who won the various positions included; Mrs. Elizabeth Frimpah, Vice Chairperson, Bro. Evans Appiah Kubi as Director of Music, Bro. Michael Oppong, 1st Deputy Director of Music, Mrs. Ekua Segua Agyepong as 2nd Deputy Director of Music.
Others were Brother Micheal Okyere Aboagye who won as the Diocesan Secretary after polling 64 votes against his only contender Mr. Edward Keen Whyte who secured 33 votes. Sister Eugenia Akonu Atta was also elected the assistant secretary while Mark Owusu Acheaw secured Organising Secretary position unopposed.
The remaining two positions, Evangelism Coordinator and Junior Choir Coordinator were occupied by Mr. Samuel Akwasi Yeboah and Bro. Eric Owusu respectively.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with this reporter after his victory, the chairman-elect, Professor Samuel Nortey thanked the electorates for the trust reposed in him, to lead the association.
Revealing his dreams, the professor reiterated his commitment to making sure the association moves forward in unity, God-fearing and victory. According to him, doing evangelism in the form of an outreach singing program was going to be one of his biggest strategies to win souls for Christ.
He said, it will be unfair and a disservice to lost souls if singers only remained in the chapel and failed to use their platforms to win more souls through their singing ministrations.
"One of my major dreams is to encourage choristers to preach the word of God through their singing. We're going to do this by organising our members to sing at various places like the markets and other open places. Words in our songs will at least touch a soul or two for them to repent," he said.
The professor also revealed that he was going to initiate leadership training for more leaders, especially those within the Kumasi metro to equip them to steer the affairs of the association with ease.
"Another thing I want to bring on board is leadership training where more leaders, both within and outside the Kumasi metro will receive intensive training. The bigger size of the Kumasi Diocese can't allow you to go everywhere but when you have good leaders who are in charge of the various roles, it will help the progress of the association. A leader is someone who thinks about the association and has good plans for it. As a leader, if you want the progress of your association, prayer is very important but another key thing you need is finances. We, therefore, need to have leaders who may have all these techniques to source money for the association, hence the need for this leadership training," he explained.
He said he was also going to introduce an excellent fund to support choristers and others who may be in financial need especially when they want to further their education. "This will motivate members who may, in turn, evangelise these acts to encourage others to join the association". He revealed.
Professor Nortey finally admonished various choristers and gospel singers to always portray characters that depict them as true servants of God.
To succeed in that, the professor said, the church owed it a great duty to fulfill its members, especially those in the singing ministry with enough message of holiness that could transform them better.
According to him, that will be the best way to guide these Christians to live transformed lives.