Africa-Press – Liberia. The New Water In The Desert Apostolic Pentecostal Church (NWIDA) has reacted to verbal attacks against its Founder and General Overseer Bishop Kortu Brown by the Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) Jerolinmek Mathew Piah.
Bishop Brown is the former President of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC).
It can be recalled that on September 9, Minister Piah blasted Bishop Brown for his recent outburst against public officials of the Unity Party(UP) led-Government.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service for recent graduates of the Mother Tegeste School in Brewerville, outside Monrovia, Bishop Brown described public officials of the Boakai-Koung administration as “mean, lazy and selfish” in performing their public functions.
But Minister Piah questioned the Liberian Clergyman’s ability to focus on God’s works and plant churches to win souls for God.
“You can see a Baptist Church or a Methodist Church but you can’t see New Water in the Desert. The only one here is the church on the VOA Road in Brewerville,” Piah stated.
But in a statement released in Monrovia on Monday, September 15, the Church accused government of using the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) to attack those who differ with it (government)
The Church further accused Minister Piah of straying away from the issue raised by Bishop Brown by questioning the numerical strength of his church.
“Following the assertion by the Minister of Information of the Republic of Liberia, Hon. Jerolinmek Matthew Piah that he has not seen any other “New Water in the Desert” assembly across Liberia, the local church through its leadership is clarifying for the sake of the public that there is more than one “New-Water-in-the-Desert Assembly” (NWIDA) in Liberia and beyond.”
The statement maintained that Minister Piah was in error as the New Water in the Desert Assembly is a denominational headquarters assembly with several local branches across the country.
“The Minister will serve the government’s information dissemination machinery well if he properly researches his facts before going public. Imagine someone outside the country listening to the Minister spewing out such incorrect and misleading information, what will they think about the overall accuracy of the government’s information dissemination machinery?”
The Church disclosed that it members of the New Water in the Desert Assembly and all her affiliates – and by extension the Christian community and general public in and out of Liberia are wondering how the Minister could put out such inaccurate information with such boldness and without remorse when he doesn’t appear to know anything about the religious institution.
The statement maintained that Minister Piah needs to correct his facts or he will make it difficult for many Liberians and non-Liberians in and out of the country to believe the information they provide from the platform of the Ministry of Information of Liberia, weekly.
The statement pointed out that the New Water in the Desert Assembly Apostolic Pentecostal Church encourages the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Liberia to properly research their facts before presenting them to the public to avoid eroding public confidence in government’s information dissemination.
“If the chief government spokesperson can stand on such a big platform and confidently give the public such misleading information, we wonder what else he’s saying to the public with such confidence that’s not true.”
Meanwhile, the NWIDA has reminded the government that the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) weekly platform is meant to disseminate accurate and balanced information on the performance of the government and the country.
It stated that MICAT weekly press conferences are not intended to spew misleading information about other people and institutions who may disagree or question the performances of public officials
The Church said people would lose confidence in MICAT, which is the information dissemination arm of the government, if it continues to spew misleading information to the public.
It stressed that it would also trigger a confidence crisis for the government.
“New-Water-in-the-Desert Assembly however reminds the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Liberia that spiritual strength is not in numbers and buildings. But in the Will and Purpose of God. Jesus rebuked His disciples for trying to fight for Him during His arrest contending that if He wanted to fight He would have asked His Father in Heaven to send Him more than 12 legions of angels according to the Book of Matthew Chapter 26 verse 53.”
The statement maintained that the New Water in the Desert is an Apostolic Pentecostal assembly that believes in the infallibility and inerrancy of the Word of God.
“The church upholds the doctrine and fellowship of the Apostles as recorded in Acts Chapter 2 verses 38 thru 42, and promotes evangelism as the heartbeat of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and prayer and fellowship as cornerstones of our daily communion with God and man. The local and general church continue to establish and administer church points, preaching points, sectional and district church structures around the country, amongst others.”
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