WHY SHOULD THE CHURCH IN GHANA PROMOTE SECTOR MINISTRY TODAY?

The Congregational ministers spend most if not all of their time with their congregations. However, they end up leaving those on the field/wilderness, and would-be Christians out. Every denomination has a denominational or faith background which shape their way of life and informed their approach to the mission of Christ Jesus. Jesus approach to mission is focused on love and caring for humans; created in the image of God. This is seen in the way he received people to himself, sinners; (the Samaritan Woman) John 4:3-42, the adulterous woman(John 8:111) and the tax collectors like Zaccheus (He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.) Luke 19:110. He therefore reiterated the fact that he has come for sinners as seen in Mark 2:17 and Luke 5:32. The ministry of reaching out to everyone; in their work environment, school, prisons etc is regarded as a Sector ministry, headed by Chaplains, Sector Ministers, Non-congregational Ministers, Spiritual care givers etc. Sector ministry, also called Chaplaincy, Spiritual Care Providers, Specialized ministry, NonCongregational ministry and so on helps in sending the mission of Jesus (Luke 4:18-19) to everyone as admonished in the scripture; Mat 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of ALL NATIONS ... thus, the Sector Ministers/Chaplains contribute significantly to the ministry by reaching out to the unreachable. The primary goal of Chaplaincy is to do a holistic mission by the whole Church sending the whole Christ to the whole world. (Odonkor, 2011). A Sector ministry is managed by a Chaplain. A Chaplain according to Websters dictionary is define as a clergy person attached to a Chapel; a clergy person serving in a religious capacity with the armed forces, hospitals, police, prisons, etc.

Theologically, Sector ministry stresses the Omnipresence of God in every situation, Mat 28:20 (I am with always until the end of time). According to Sttot, 1990, page 139 immediately after the Towel of Babel episode, God promised through Abraham to bless all the peoples of the earth (Gen. 12:1-3), not only Israelites or Christians but everyone. Moreso, Revelation 7:9 also emphasized the vision of the redeemed before Gods throne; a countless multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language. This shows internationalism which appears right through the Biblical revelation Sttot, 1990.page 140 and the need to reach everyone with the message of God. The Messiah, Jesus Christ served as the first Chaplain by receiving all manner of people to him, tax collectors, fishermen and children. He was the first chaplain (Sector Minister), a prophet, a priest, an administrator, a counselor, a teacher, an evangelist, a servant, a judge, a friend (Wilson, 1971). So, in the Hospital setting for example, the chaplain is supposed to be an ethicist, patients advocate, psychotherapist, resident theologian, adviser to the ward team, enabler and teacher, an interpreter who functions and communicates at the interface between science and religion, the hospital and the church. (Mc Gregor, 1987). As seen in Mathew 28:19 (Therefore go and make disciples of ALL nations..), Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into ALL the world and preach the good news to all creation and also in Acts 1:8 (But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; . witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."). The gospel must be preached to everyone because it was instituted by Jesus. In Sector ministry, Chaplains are engaged and paid to serve as Pastors outside the main church structure; in the field or in the wilderness where humans live. The need for sector ministry
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confirms that, humans are not merely physical bodies that require mechanical care but spiritual care as well.

However, the ministry is unique in that it takes place in an ecumenical setting. Involved clergypersons tend to share a common core of professional responsibility. They nurture the total religious community, encourage moral responsibility, and provide a climate for growth and maturation regardless of creed.

Historically, most traditional authorities in Ghana require the presence of Spiritual leaders in their homes as in the case of Okonfo Anokye of Ashanti tribe, Nai Wulormor of the Ga Matse palace, Rev. Zimmerman administered Pastoral care to Chief Nene Odonkor Azu of Krobo Odumase. (Odonkor, 2011). This confirms that spiritual care is needed in every sphere of our lives both traditionally and in terms of Christian religion. Chaplains like Congregational ministers play pastoral roles; provide spiritual care as well as liturgical functions by helping people on the field to find meanings to life. They work in the secular world where Congregational ministers are not able to reach and spend quality time with individuals on the field. People are dynamic, not static; therefore the role of the Chaplain must be reshaped in response to current trends. People must work and survive. Individuals may move, travel from one place to another for several reasons; go to school, get married, for solution to their sicknesses, etc. Sometimes, jobs require people to be away from home frequently and make it hard to attend regular church/worship services consistently in their own community. In this kind of situations, the chaplains are able to fill the void. Chaplains can be found at: at bus stops/terminals, Airports, Cruise, ships, Nursing homes, Hospitals, in Industries, in Schools, Courts etc.
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Some Chaplains work in security agencies like the Fire Service, The Police Service, The Military as well as the Prison Services. They assure the Servicemen about the presence of God (Omnipresence). Chaplain must possess a lot of religious tolerance since all the people in the various institutions mentioned might not come from the same religious group and the chaplain must be much more knowledgeable of additional religions as well in order to be of help to everyone. Ghana as an emerging economy and in an attempt to attain middle income status has most of its workforce working everyday including Saturdays and Sundays which was formerly dedicated to worship/Church services. Government officials are usually seen inviting investors to invest in all sectors of our economy. These investors want to scoop their resources invested as early as possible, hence the need to engage Ghanaian workforce all day, all night. This development, even though beneficial to the economy, has dire consequences on religious aspect of our lives; reducing patronage of our Churches, hence the need for Sector Ministers to minister the Word of God to people in their working environments. Moreso, with the upsurge of Industrialization, workers of some industries in Ghana like VALCO (Volta Aluminium Company limited) work all night, all day depending on the schedule. Those who cannot have access to Churches in their work environment must also be preached about Gods saving grace probably during break periods.

However, Chaplains operate in a pluralistic setting; they serve many people who are not of their denomination or faith group.

In the ministry to the institutions; Hospitals, Military, Police etc, many chaplains know that they not only serve people as individuals or groups, but that they have an equally important task of
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protecting the institutional structure. They must be aware of the way institutions make decisions or formulate policies to insure that structures do not dehumanize people within their institution. They are concerned about the general welfare of all the people whom they serve. They are humanitarians in the best sense of that word. They meet people in the crises of their lives hence the need to create Sector ministry in almost every institution. The Sector ministers strengthen the moral lives of people in institutions like the prisons and other reformation Centers, schools, various services like the Police, the Armed forces, the Prison services etc. They also act as a mouthpiece for the depressed and the voiceless in those institutions they serve by allowing everyone to come to him/her for counseling in time of trouble. (Come to me all you who labour and are heavily burdened..)Mat 11:28.

Most Chaplains operate in a mobile environment. E.g a Chaplain in the Police service can be sent anywhere in Ghana where service men/women need his care. In most cases the people whom they serve are transient. Sector Ministry is not to a stable community, but to a passing parade, hence the need to intensify the message of salvation and training the people to be reliant on God wherever they find themselves.

Chaplains at times may conduct programs that are not religious in focus but which may be characterized by human growth or character building. Sometimes these programs do not prepare persons for church membership but prepare people to lead more ethical and moral lives.

Humans are spiritual beings living in a physical world, hence most physical and spiritual needs must be met. Sector ministry is not an optional or extra part of human care but it is an integral part of the holistic mission.

With current globalization which is making the world shift more towards secularity where concentration is on scientific findings and explanations than spiritual issues is one of the reasons where ministers of religion must intensify their work and train more Chaplains to augment their work. Chaplains must work in research institutions in order to preach the saving grace of God to scientist and imbibe in them that they are only stewards and will be accountable to their maker one day. This will help prevent them from carrying out some researches which are dehumanizing; cloning, testing HIV/AIDS drugs on humans who do not have the infection, manufacturing genetically modified products etc. The need for Chaplaincy or sector ministry is explained further in Mathew 25:31-46; the sheep and the goat story. Matt 25:40 (whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. This shows that whatever we do or fail to do to humankind, we do it to Jesus. Since this parable speaks about the criteria for judgment, Sector ministry must be enforced such that everyone gets the message of God, not only members of a particular denomination. As we go into the world, we will find people who are hurt everywhere, individuals who're sick or dying belonging to hospitals needing comfort. Professionals like police and firefighters, service men and women in the military need someone from time to time, to pray with or to seek understanding of God. Chaplains might be there for just such individuals. A chaplain is there for individuals who're religiously unattached, but still have a need for help. A prayer, a word of advice, a basic ritual, and the touch of a caring hand does much for folks who are alone, without friends, or afraid. Finally, Jesus told Peter after the super in John 21:15-17 ...Feed my sheep. Jesus asked this question three times to emphasis how important the question do you love me more than this? is to Him. Our question is, who are the sheep Jesus was talking about? Christians, Muslims, Jews
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or everyone? Are the sheep only members of the Church, those closely associated with members, friends of the church or will-be members of the Church as well? Sector ministers tend to give all necessary nurturing to the sheep of Jesus both in the field and also at their working environment. Those that benefit from sector ministers include, market people, engineers on the field, construction workers, travelers at the airport and other bus terminals, sick people at the hospital etc. If all this is done properly, the message of Jesus will reach everyone and proper transformation of Ghanaians from materialism to Spiritualism will occur. Some of the Services of sector minister are sweeping societal changes by instituting good morals in school children, converting hardened criminals in prisons, swift advances in health care by carrying Christ to the hurting world advocating for good practices at the hospitals and preaching to the staff and patients of hospitals about their roles as messengers of God given talents which will be accounted for as seen the parable of the talent (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28. A sector minister must have all the functions clearly spelt out for him/her and proper monitoring must be done to ensure he/she is at work. Some of the functions of the sector minister include, sustaining, guiding, reconciling, nurturing, liberating and empowering the people from all sorts of slavery both physically and spiritually through the use of persons, words, emotions, actions, symbols and imagination in order to sustain the roles given to us by the Saviour, Jesus Christ. Mat 28:19.

Reference 1. The Holy Bible, New International Version. 2. M. Wilson, The Hospital- A place of Truth (Birmingham, University of Birmingham Institute for study of Worship and Religious Architecture, 1971) 3. T.S McGregor, Hospital chaplaincy in Alastair Campbell, A Dictionary of Pastoral Care (London:SPCK, 1987). 4. Odonkor, 2011, Handout for Chaplaincy.