Gospel musician, MOG Music, has pleaded with churches to create counselling offices to help young people struggling with LGBTQ+ in the country.

He says pastors and church leaders should endeavour to make adequate provisions for such people in order to render counselling services to them and deliver them from their conditions.

Speaking in an interview on Up-Close, a new personality-focused segment of Joy FM‘s ‘The Reason is Jesus‘ on Sunday, the award-winning singer posited that enacting laws cannot stop people from engaging in same sex marriages and their related activities.

Hence, the church must strive to show love and compassion to LGBTQ+ people devoid of hasty generalisations and judgements.

“Honestly, if you’ve really travelled, the people that show you a lot of love when you are at work or abroad are these LGBTQ people; they will show you love, per discussions that I’ve had with people who work abroad.”

“I believe that if the pastors and bishops really want to help these people, set up counselling offices in your church and let it come in the news that ‘we have this office, there are counsellors so anybody who has issues with LGBTQ and needs somebody, will receive counselling without us judging you’,” he suggested.

According to him, “it will amaze you the number of people who will walk into those offices for you to counsel and take them through deliverance and then help them out of it.”

“There are certain laws against it and all that but it’s not going to stop it at all. We need to show them love and create room to help them.

Anti-LGBTQI+ Bill

A Private Member’s bill christened ‘the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill’ has been laid before Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee for consideration and passage into law.

It stipulates that “a person who abuses, assaults or harasses an accused person or a person suffering from any gender or sexual activity identity challenge commits an offence under the Bill and is, on summary conviction, liable to a term of imprisonment of not less than six months and not more than three years.”

Since its introduction, the bill has received mixed reactions and opposition from some Ghanaians as some argue it will undermine the rights of the LGBTQ community and the ordinary citizen.

Some have argued that the Bill is unconstitutional but its proponents believe otherwise.