AYV News, April 4, 2025
The Christian Lawyers Centre (LEGAL LINK) conducted a legal and compliance training session for over 250 church leaders, administrators, and Christian law students in Freetown.
The event, held at New Life Ministries International Church (Miracle City) on Ross Road, focused on helping church leaders understand legal matters and how to follow the law in their ministries.
The training aimed to help church leaders handle the growing number of legal issues that churches face. The goal was to equip them with the knowledge needed to protect their churches and avoid legal problems.
Rev. Gibril Kargbo, a pastor at New Life Ministries, welcomed the participants and encouraged them to make the most of the training. He explained how the knowledge gained would help them in their roles as pastors and administrators.
Rashid Dumbuya Esq., the Executive Director of Christian Lawyers Centre, also spoke to the group. He explained that the training was designed to address the increase in legal problems involving churches and pastors in Sierra Leone. Dumbuya reminded the attendees that running a church isn’t only about spiritual leadership but also involves following the law. He emphasized that by learning from the training, church leaders could prevent many legal issues and better manage their ministries.
The training covered several important topics for church leaders. These included how to register a church, the process for acquiring church property, creating legal documents like constitutions and financial policies, and dealing with conflicts within the church. Other topics included handling employment matters, understanding marriage and divorce laws, keeping churches safe, and how to handle church-related legal cases in court.
The training sessions were led by legal professionals, including Barrister Rashid Dumbuya, Bishop Mike C. Obot (Sierra Leone’s first legal Pentecostal bishop), Barristers Wisdom Veronica Kanu and Jeelo Kainwo, and His Grace Bishop Dr. Jonathan Archibald Cole. Each speaker shared practical advice to help church leaders better understand the legal issues affecting their work.
The event began at 10:30 a.m. with registration, followed by a brief praise and worship session. After each presentation, there was a Q&A session where participants could ask questions. After a lunch break, the second half of the training continued with more sessions and discussions.
Many of the participants were pleased with the training, saying it was very helpful and timely. With more and more churches facing legal challenges in Sierra Leone, some attendees suggested that similar training be held in other provinces so that church leaders across the country could benefit.
At the end of the training, Rev. Gibril Kargbo presented certificates of completion to all the participants on behalf of New Life Ministries. A WhatsApp group was created to share the training materials, so participants could review the content and use it in their own ministries.
Since its beginning, Christian Lawyers Centre has trained over 6,000 church leaders and administrators in Sierra Leone. This training session was another part of the Centre’s ongoing effort to help churches avoid legal problems and succeed in their work.
