The Seventh-day Adventist Church leadership has expressed concern about the detrimental impact of illegal mining (Galamsey) on their evangelistic activities.
According to Pastor Edward Nyarkoh, the Executive Secretary of the Northern Ghana Union of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the church is unable to baptize new converts in streams in areas affected by illegal mining. This is due to the increased pollution levels in water bodies across the country. As a result, churches have had to build baptisteries for new converts, as they can no longer conduct baptismal services in rivers.
The Northern Ghana Union of the SDA church has 2,251 congregants in the northern sector of Ghana, with a total membership of 218,000 as of the end of July 2024. Over the same period, about 2,000 new converts were baptized.
Traditionally, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has performed baptisms of new converts in rivers and streams, in accordance with their belief in the Biblical baptism of immersion. However, due to water contamination caused by illegal mining, the church has been compelled to construct baptisteries instead.
Pastor Edward Nyarkoh emphasized the impact of illegal mining on the church’s practices, stating, “Previously, we were baptizing in rivers. But nowadays, all the water bodies are contaminated. Therefore, that has resulted in this church building this baptistery so that all those who would be baptized; pastors who are officiating would not be contaminated.”
At the 40th-anniversary climax of the Bohyen-Kropo branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the President of the Mid-Central Ghana Conference, Pastor Daniel Kyei-Baffuor Junior, urged pastors to speak out against illegal mining. He also called on church members involved in galamsey to cease their participation, highlighting the detrimental effects of illegal mining on the environment.
