Churches obliged to support prisons — Bishop

Contrary to the general perception that churches, like all other social organisations may support prisons whenever convenient for them, Bishop Justice Kojo Bentil of the Kingdom Power Family International (KPFI) at Odorkor Tipper in Accra says it is mandatory for churches to reach out to prisons.

According to him, churches must not assume that it was optional for them to rise to the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of prisoners.

“Jesus died for people. He did not die for physical possessions.  He, however, gives us those possessions to meet the needs of the people,” Bishop Bentil told The Mirror.

He was speaking after the prisons ministry wing of his church presented various items and preached to inmates of the condemned cell at the Medium Security Prisons at Nsawam in the Eastern Region last week.

The items included clothes, food, toiletries, educational material and Bibles. They were received by Rev. Martin Padi, Head of Chaplaincy at the Nsawam Prisons.

“Even if the nation relaxes in its obligation to prisoners, the Church cannot relax because God will by all means ask us how we treated the people.

 “The other thing is that we should not only go and give them food and clothes. We must see to their salvation and nurture them in the Lord,” Bishop Bentil said.

He pointed out that support for prisons by churches was a requirement in the Bible and equated it to parents’ obligation to their children.

“Whether you have the means or not to cater for them, it is your responsibility to do it. They don’t know and even don’t care if you can or not. They just want you to uphold your responsibilities to them.”

The  prison ministry of the KPFI has decided to adopt the condemned cell at Nsawam and Bishop Bentil said his church would pay quarterly visits to help meet some of the needs of the inmates.    

An appeal was last week made by Rev. Dr Stephen Wengam, Chairman of the Prisons Council, to the public and corporate Ghana to support the Ghana Prisons Service  to address the deplorable conditions in the nation’s prisons.