Pastor Mensah Otabil, founder and General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), has issued a stark challenge to the church, arguing that many believers are walking away from the faith not because they have stopped loving Christ, but because they are hungry.
In remarks that have sparked widespread discussion across Ghana’s Christian community, Otabil described what happens when individuals leave income-generating lifestyles to follow Christ. While the initial excitement and commitment are genuine, he said, the practical demands of life soon take over.
“The bills do not stop coming. The rent does not pray itself away,” Otabil said. “And when survival becomes the daily battle, old ways start looking less like sin and more like options.”
The veteran preacher said the church has become skilled at celebrating conversions but rarely asks what the convert is eating a month later.
According to Otabil, transformation that is not supported practically is transformation that is temporary. “You cannot preach a man into financial stability,” he said. “At some point the sermon has to come with a starter pack.”
He called on churches to integrate business opportunities, skills training, and economic empowerment into their ministries—not as secular distractions from the gospel, but as essential parts of it.
The message, observers say, resonates deeply with a generation of young believers navigating faith in a difficult economy. It cuts across denominations and raises a pointed question: Is the church equally committed to keeping souls as it is to saving them?
Otabil’s comments have been widely shared on social media, with many praising his honesty. Others see it as a necessary corrective to evangelism that neglects material needs.
Neither Otabil nor ICGC has issued further elaboration, but the conversation he started shows no sign of slowing.
