Methodist Church To Go Into Real Estate

An investment unit has been created in the Methodist Church, Ghana, to help raise revenue for the commencement of a real estate project, the Presiding Bishop of the church, Most Reverend Titus Awotwi Pratt, has disclosed.

The move is one of the investments of the church began by the immediate past Presiding, Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, to serve as a respite for congregants who have been fatigued by several fund-raising programmes organised by the various societies of the church.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Most Rev. Awotwi Pratt said the project was one of the church’s  investment drives and vision to help provide affordable housing for rural workers such as teachers, nurses and doctors, while raising revenue for the church.

“My predecessor has gone into it – real estate, and so we would be doing that to provide affordable housing”, he said, adding that the church had already initiated a guest house project to raise funds but  “eventually, where the church has plots that could go into proper real estate, we may start at this time laying the foundations.” 

Affordable housing

Most Rev. Awotwi Pratt explained that the church would essentially provide affordable housing in rural areas, “so that when teachers are posted there they would have to go because they would have somewhere to stay, and when doctors are posted to rural areas they would go because they would have somewhere to stay – some decent dwelling places.”

He also said some lands were being purchased by the church in the Ga rural area “and so if we are able to develop those idle lands into providing houses, the market is ready for us.”

Most Rev. Awotwi Pratt hinted also that the church would revise its system of assessment to reduce the burden on both members and the ministers who were all the time striving to pay their assessments to the church.

“Hopefully, come January 1, 2016, a new system of raising funds would be introduced, which we believe would reduce the tension on our members and allow them time to develop their areas and allow the head office also to be able to run the church financially,” he stated.

He however indicated that the real estate project would commence only after the church had been able to raise enough funds to start it.