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Pastor James McKeown and his wife, Mrs Sophia McKeown

BRIEF HISTORY

The Church of Pentecost, like most great institutions, started in a small way. The Church’s beginnings are linked to the ministry of Pastor James McKeown (1900-1989); an Irish missionary sent by the Apostolic Church, Bradford, United Kingdom (UK), to the then Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1937 to help a group of believers of the Apostolic Faith led by Rev. Peter Newman who later became the founder of Christ Apostolic Church in a town called Asamankese.

Due to doctrinal differences bed on divine healing, the group split in 1939 into the Christ Apostolic Church and the Apostolic Church, Gold Coast. The latter saw great expansion under Pastor James McKeown. In 1953, a constitutional crisis led to the founding of Gold Coast Apostolic Church lead by Pastor James McKeown.

On the attainment of independence by the country in 1957 and following the changes of its name to Ghana, the Gold Coast Apostolic Church was renamed the Ghana Apostolic Church. The split in 1953 did not end the crisis. New conflicts compelled the then President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Dr Kwame Nkrumah, to advise the leadership of the Ghana Apostolic Church to adopt a new name in order to foster peace and harmony on the Pentecostal front. Therefore, on August 1, 1962, the new name, The Church of Pentecost, legally replaced the Ghana Apostolic Church.

The Church of Pentecost has since seen tremendous growth under various leaders as noted below.

PAST CHAIRMEN

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1962-1982 Pastor James McKeown
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1982-1987 Apostle Fred Stephen Safo
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1988-1998 Prophet Martinson Yeboah
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1998-2008 Apostle Dr Michael Ntumy
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2008-2018 Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah

PAST GENERAL SECRETARIES

Aps. Joseph Egyir Paintsil
1962-1982 Apostle Joseph Egyir Paintsil
Aps. ANY Kumi-Larbi
2013-2023 Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi
Apostle Daniel K. Arnan (1982-1988)2
1982-1988 Apostle Daniel K. Arnan
Aps. Rigwell Ato Addison
1988-1993 Apostle Rigwell Ato Addison
Aps. Albert Amoah
1993-2003 Apostle Albert Amoah
Aps. Dr Alfred Koduah
2003-2013 Apostle Dr Alfred Koduah Ntumy

PAST INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS DIRECTORS

Aps. Opoku Onyinah
1991-1996 Apostle Opoku Onyinah
Aps Dr Stephen Baidoo
2001-2011 Apostle Dr. Stephen Baidoo
Aps. Benjamin Arthur
1996-2001 Apostle Benjamin Arthur
Aps Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo
2011-2021 Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo