Posts in category: Church History

Birth

Joseph Egyir-Paintsil, a native of Abura Dunkwa in the Central Region of Ghana, was born on 28^th May 1928 at Mbrom in Ashanti-New Town, Kumasi. He was the eighth of ten children born to Mr. Kojo Paintsil (Carpentry foreman of the Methodist Church) and Madam Adwoa Kwansima of Abura Dunkwa. It is on record that his father was the carpentry foreman who supervised the roofing of the Adum Methodist Church and Wesley College buildings in Kumasi.

Education                                                                                                                                                              

He started his primary education at the Salvation Army School, Kumasi in 1934 and later completed his elementary education at Dunkwa Methodist School in 1944. He passed with distinction. Rev. Egyir-Paintsil won a full scholarship to the Achimota Secondary School, but his parents were not able to support him financially to continue his education. However, by dint of hard work, he studied privately to gain admission into the university, but he preferred to be in the Lord’s service instead. Whilst in the ministry, he pursued short courses in theology, missions and ministry in the UK. He also attended the Advanced Leadership seminar at the Haggai Institute in Singapore.

Employment                                                                                                                                        

Yaw Brainoo, as he was known in family circles, moved to live with his sister Afua Ayew in Accra. He was employed at the U. A. C. (Ghana) Ltd., in 1945 as a comptometer operator until 1949 when he resigned to become a full-time minister of the Apostolic Church of Gold Coast.

Marriage                                                                                                                                                         

In February 1954, Joseph Egyir-Paintsil wedded Miss Vivian Amma Baawa Arkosah in Kumasi. Their marriage was blessed with four children: Joseph Kwamena Paintsil, Elizabeth Jemima Lamont Nana-Aba Paintsil, Sophia McKeown Araba Kokoa Paintsil and Victoria Patience Adjoa Paintsil.

Conversion and Call into the Full-Time Ministry                                                                                 

In 1947, Egyir-Paintsil accepted the Lord as his personal savior at a rally where he heard the message: “Adam, where are you?” From then, he literally became ‘married’ to the Church. He became a staunch member of the Young People’s Movement and later became a member of the Bombers Group, an evangelistic group within the Church in Accra.

God had a purpose for his life and called him into the full time ministry of the Church as an Overseer on December 27, 1949. On April 13, 1952 he was called into the pastorate and was appointed to the post of General Secretary of the Church. Finally, he was called and ordained an Apostle on January 29th, 1953. He rose through the ranks in succession.

Stations Served

Akim Oda       –           1950                                                                                                                                              Saltpond              –           1950-1951                                                                                                                                                            Achiasi             –           1951-1952                                                                                                                                                            Accra                         –           1952-1953                                                                                                                                                     Koforidua       –           1953                                                                                                                                                  Takoradi             –           1953-1958                                                                                                                                                               Kumasi             –           1958-1965                                                                                                                                                          Accra                         –           1965-1981

Other Appointments Held                                                                                                                        

Apart from his Church appointments as an Apostle, General Secretary, Trustee and Ex- Officio Member of all Boards and Committees of the Church, he held the high offices of National Chairman, Bible Society of Ghana and President of the Ghana Pentecostal Council (1979-1981).

Conferences Attended                                                                                                                                                     

Rev. Egyir-Paintsil represented the Church at several conferences overseas. He toured the Cameroun, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), and Liberia in the interest of the Church. He had intimate acquaintances with spiritual giants such as Dr. Thomas Wyatt, T. L. Osborn, Billy Graham and Morris Cerullo.

Literary Works and Giftings                                                                                                                                                   

Rev. Egyir-Paintsil presented a number of papers and addresses on various topics to congregations, students and fellowships. His last public address was that delivered at the Independence Square on Sunday, February 22nd, 1981 during the 12th anniversary of the Ghana Pentecostal Council He was a speaker on the Pentecost Hour religious programme and co-editor of the Pentecost Fire. He endeared himself to both the young and the old as an intelligent, widely read, broadminded and scholarly public speaker. He knew his Bible and preached with fervency and authority. He was a multi-gifted minister who exercised the gifts of prophecy, teaching, administration and healing.

Prayer Life                                                                                                                                                            

He was a great prayer warrior who never permitted anything to break his communion with God – a habit which sustained him in his numerous and onerous tasks.

General Secretary                                                                                                                                          

As General Secretary, he was never found wanting. He could sit out throughout the nights preparing his minutes for distribution soon after Executive meetings or General Ministers’ Council meetings.

Regional Apostle                                                                                                                                                

He worked harmoniously with his district pastors and presbyteries. He never left things undone. As if he knew he would soon die, he prepared his regional report for the 19th Session of Church Council, two weeks before he took ill and gave copies to his senior Pastors. This was something he had never done before.

Shining Example                                                                                                                                                

By his life of faithfulness, sense of responsibility and boldness in the defense of the faith once delivered to the saints, he has left a shining example on the sands of time for the youth of today to emulate. 

Tributes

A tribute on behalf of Rev. James McKeown and the Executive Council of the

Church of Pentecost, partly read as follows:                                                                                                                              

“A great son of the church has fallen;                                                                                                                                           

A gallant fighter has finished his course;                                                                                                                                    

A brilliant scholar has breathed his last;                                                                                                                              

Joseph Egyir-Paintsil has breathed his last.”

Another tribute on behalf of the General Council stated:”A minister of the prophetic order, he was humble, obedient and full of wisdom. Though he frowned on sin and any form of disobedience, he had great compassion for the lost and did all he could to win them into the Lord’s fold. Through his prophetic ministry many ministers were called to serve in the offices of apostle, prophet and evangelist.”

Significant Contributions of Apostle Joseph Egyir-Paintsil to The Church of Pentecost

• As the first and longest-serving General Secretary of the Church, he laid a solid administrative foundation for the Church.
• His fortitude, commitment and faithfulness to the Church, especially during the crisis of 1953-1962 is just admirable and worthy of emulation. He stood resolutely behind Pastor McKeown when the government wanted to deport Pastor McKeown in July 1962. He was with Pastor McKeown at the Flag Staff House (the seat of the Government of Ghana) during the epic July 12, 1962 judgment on the Ghana Apostolic Church and the Apostolic Church of Ghana. That meeting was presided over by the first president of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
• He is generally considered as someone who was literally ‘married’ to the Church.
• He served as the chairman of the Ghana Evangelical Fellowship (GEF), which was later changed to the Ghana Pentecostal Council (GPC). From 1979 to 1980, he served as President of the Ghana Pentecostal Council (now Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council).

Death

After serving as a full-time minister for thirty-two (32) years, Apostle Egyir-Paintsil was called to glory at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on March 22, 1981 at the age of 53.

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.