Cameroon: PCC Webmaster told: “Please help us. We are in crisis!”

Rev.Numfor Godwin and wife during the induction

By Christopher Ambe

The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) Webmaster, Synod Office Chaplain and (pioneer) Parish Pastor of Synod Office Congregation was, Sunday March 24, instituted and inducted, in Buea with a call to rescue Christians from social media misinformation and disinformation.

Rev.Numfor Godwin, assigned to perform the three functions of webmaster, chaplain and parish pastor, was inducted in a crowd-pulling but solemn ceremony in the PCC Synod Hall by Rev Besong Johnson Tabe, Secretary of Committee of the Ministry

The ceremony was attended, among other PCC top officials, by the Church’s Chief Shepherd & Moderator, Rt.Rev Fonki Samuel Forba, and the Synod Clerk, Rev.Babila George Fochang.

In his sermon, titled “Crisis Can Provide an opportunity to teach spiritual lessons” inspired by Mark 3:20-27, Rev. Tabe urged the inductee to use the power of God in him to stifle gossips within the PCC and fight social media misinformation and disinformation about the church, especially now with the ongoing Anglophone crisis.

Urging the inductee to brave the odds when carrying out his multiple tasks, Rev.Tabe noted  that “one thing in history is that God’s servants are always misunderstood by their contemporaries”, adding that even Jesus Christ was misunderstood but the latter rather used any crisis he faced to “ teach spiritual lesions”

“The PCC is passing through a crisis period and as Webmaster, you (Rev Numfor) have the power to change mindsets in the church and Ministry,” the officiating pastor remarked. “The Social Media has complicated the crisis situation, making it difficult to manage.”

Rev. Numfor was advised to work in collaboration PCC National Communication Secretary, to re-orientate the mindsets of Christians in the face of social media lies-telling and fake news.

The Chief Celebrant implored the inductee: “Bring up spiritual lessons that should preoccupy our mindsets” other than the social media lies,

Concluding his attention-catching sermon, Rev. Tabe cried out to the inductee, “Webmaster, help us .We are in crisis!”

Numfor Godwin graduated from the Presbyterian Theological Seminary (PTS) Kumba in 2006 and was ordained in 2008.

He holds a Master’s of Science degree in Clinical Counseling (Cameroon Christian University) and another Master’s degree in Theology (Presbyterian Theological Seminary Kumba).

Rev Numfor & wife pose for the Camera with some PCC officials after the induction

Also certified as an ICT specialist, Rev.Numfor before his recent appointment, had served as computer coordinator at PTS Kumba.He would now run the church’s main website www.pcc.cm and other related sites

He had also served as Parish Pastor of PC Baba I in Ndop Presbytery, Chaplain of PCHS Kumbo, Parish Pastor of Tobin, Chaplain of PHS Wum,and Parish Pastor of Kesu.

A native of Mbelili-Bafut, Rev. Numfor is married to Rose Manka’a Mukong,a civil servant and they are blessed with several children.

The PCC now has a million or so Christians, and exists in all the ten regions of Cameroon.PCC was out of the Basel Mission in November 1957 and in 1958,Rev Abraham Ngole became pioneer Moderator(1958-69) .

(This article also appears in The HORIZON Newspaper, Cameroon, of March 26, 2019)