Birth
Clement Corley Agbovi Hushie, was born on July 16, 1921 at Keta in the Volta Region of Ghana. His hometown is Ada, in the Greater Accra Region. His mother was Madam Lydia Tay from Keta. His mother was a baker by profession. His father was Mr. Martin Tawiah Agbovi Hushie a native of Ada.
Education
Rev. Hushie attended the Roman Catholic School at Keta. At Standard six (6), he gained admission to the Gold Coast Pupils College of Ada (currently located at Dodowa and known as Ghanatta Secondary School). On reaching secondary school form four, as a result of financial constraints, his father could not further his education. His mother had died earlier whilst he was in the middle school.
Employment
His father wanted him to join the Gold Coast Army but because he was not interested, he ran away to Accra to start life on his own. Because he did not have a place of his own, he squatted at the premises of the City Press, which was owned by A. J. Ocansey and H. P. C. Ocansey. It was the first and biggest printing press in West Africa. The company was the publisher of the African Morning Post and the Daily Spectator newspapers, which were edited by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who later became the first President of Nigeria.
The Press occasionally assigned him some tasks around its premises until they found him suitable for employment and subsequently appointed him as a dispatch clerk. After undertaking some correspondence courses in journalism, he was appointed a journalist. By dint of hard work, he rose through the ranks to the position of advertising and circulating manager of the newspapers. He worked with city press between 1943 and January 1950.
Conversion and Call into the Full-time Ministry
He was born into the Roman Catholic Church where he served as Mass Boy for many years. Around 1947 when the fire of the Holy Spirit was burning brightly in the Gold Coast, groups of young people were causing stir in the city with their powerful preaching with signs and wonders following the phenomenon of speaking in tongues. As a journalist, young Corley attended one of their services around Merry Villas area near the Palladium cinema. His intention was to investigate and cover the activities of the group for his paper. In order to have an insider’s experience, he responded to the altar call for fun and said the ‘sinners’ prayer. According to him, from that time, certain strange things started happening to him, which he could not understand. For example, his appetite for the usual nightly glass of whiskey vanished completely to the extent that he actually started hating the smell of alcohol. He, therefore, ended up being converted to the Apostolic Faith. He became a member of the ‘Bombers Group’ where he joined hands with Elders Johnny Mallet, S. O. France and others to propagate the gospel.
At a prayer meeting of the ‘Bombers group’, there was a prophecy that members of the group would be sent to the field. In December 1949, at a Christmas convention at Akim Oda, there was a second prophecy confirming his calling into full time ministry. His resignation from a well-paid job and brilliant career to become a minister of what his friends and family members considered as “a church of illiterate noisemakers and tongues speakers”, caused a big stir in the family and at his workplace. This notwithstanding, in January 1950, he was called into full-time ministry and stationed at Peki in the Volta region in February 1950. The church membership stood at four (4).
He was called into the pastorate in 1954. That same year, he was also called into the prophetic office. At the General Convention at Peki in 1957, a word of prophecy through Prophets S. H. Ankamah and M. K. Yeboah, he was called into the apostolic office.
Stations Served
Peki – 1950 – 1952 Keta – 1952 – 1956 Peki – 1956 – 1960 Ho – 1960 – 1965 Koforidua – 1965 – 1968 Nkawkaw – 1968 – 1976 Lome (Togo) – 1976 – 1978 Akim Oda – 1978 – 1982 Sunyani – 1982 – 1986
Appointments
- Executive Council Member (1961-1973).
- For 30 years, he served as chairman of the literature committee until his retirement.
Apostolic Ministry
Apostle C. C. A. Hushie was a keen church planter. He was gifted with the gift of healing, which manifested as he ministered the word of God. Being the first pastor of the church in the Volta Region, he played a pioneering role in establishing the work there. When other ministers seceded to form their own churches, he remained steadfast. He was tasked to serve twice at Peki because of the challenges within the Region. Apostle C. C. A. Hushie always had this admonition for the pastorate: “Know your God. Serve God, but not man. Be faithful to your God. Be fair and frank with all men; do not to be influenced by an individual’s social standing, position in the church or wealth.” He also advised the ministers to be vigilant and respectful to all.
Being a bold and frank person, some of his peers considered him as ‘insubordinate’. Although he loved and cherished the leadership style of Pastor James McKeown, he did not hesitated to point out what he considered as mistakes of Pastor McKeown to him. For example, at a certain time in the history of the church when there was no succession arrangement in place, he wrote a letter to that effect expressing fear of the church breaking along ethnic lines should there be any sudden leadership vacuum. This was misconstrued to mean that he wanted Pastor McKeown out of the way. He also complained about the inadequate pastor’s remuneration, and the apparent fear of leadership that had gripped the pastorate to the extent that “even the apostles feared the Chairman”. In his view, Pastor McKeown was paying too much attention to the concerns of the elders to the extent that he appeared to trust the elders more than his pastors. Pastor McKeown loved Apostle Hushie for being able to point out these issues.
Marriage
In 1945, C. C. A. Hushie got married to Lucy Korkor Ocansey, a distant cousin on the maternal side. Her uncle owned the City Press where they were both working. Rev. A. S. Mallet blessed their marriage at Keta in 1955. They were blessed with eight children – six males and two females.
Hobbies
Apostle Hushie was a musician and a guitarist. He showed keen interest in football and was a badminton player.
Significant Contributions of Apostle Hushie to The Church of Pentecost
- Being the first ordained minister of the Church in the Volta Region, he played a very important pioneering role in the establishment of the Church there. He spent a total of 15 years of his 36-year long full-time ministry in that Region.
- Using his journalistic acumen to the benefit of the Church, he helped to start the publication of the Church’s official magazine Pentecost Fire. He also helped to establish the Church’s printing press. Similarly, by serving as chairman of the literature committee for 30 years, he helped to develop the literature of the Church.
- His loyalty to the Church was solid. When others were leaving the Church to establish their own ministries, he remained faithful even during the Church’s crisis with the Apostolic Church.
Retirement and Death
Having served meritoriously for thirty-six (36) years, Apostle Hushie was retired from the active ministry at Sunyani in 1986. On September 9, 2000, he passed on to glory at the age of 79.
