Elder & Wife Builds Church For Agbevekope Community

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Dr Daniel Workman Atsu, an Elder of The Church of Pentecost, together with his wife, Mrs. Lydia Atsu, have built a magnificent church building for the Agbevekope Assembly in the Agbozume District in the Aflao Area of the church.

The one-storey church building, has an air-conditioned conference room, offices, and stores. The building also has a state-of-the-art audiovisual studio, television sets, an LED screen, and church-branded furnishings.

Elder Dr. Atsu has also constructed four other church projects in the Aflao Area. The projects, totalling GH₵ 2,157,000, are the Agbevekope Children’s Ministry Auditorium and a Baptistry, Tsivoli and Govinakope Assemblies Church Auditoriums.

Other ancillary projects done by him in the community also at the cost of GH₵1,459,000, are 8 Agbevekope Community Basic School Buildings (including the extension of water supply and electricity to the school and parts of the community), Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) building, and 21 self-contained Nurses and Teachers flats.

A special dedication ceremony was held on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at the Agbevekope in the Volta Region. The service was officiated by the Chairman of the church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye.

The Chairman was assisted by Apostle Dr. Dela Quampah, Ho Area Head and Co-ordinator of the Volta and Oti Regional Co-ordinating Committee, who also serves as an Executive Council member of the church.

Speaking at the event, Apostle Eric Nyamekye stated: “You cannot confine God to a place because He is a spirit. Therefore, let us not worry ourselves about where God exists.”

The Chairman, however, noted that God may not dwell in temples made by human hands, but they are not useless.

Reading from 1 Chronicles chapter 22, Apostle Nyamekye explained that King David desired to build a temple for the Lord before his death. However, God instructed his son Solomon, his successor, to rather build the temple.

“When Solomon built the temple, God filled it with splendor that even the priests could not enter the temple,” he said, stressing that, “the temple of the Lord carries the Ark of Covenant (presence of God) and the holy vessels of God (people of God).”

Apostle Nyamekye admonished Christians to avoid living the presence of God behind when going to church. This, he noted, is a prerequisite to having an encounter with God in church.

The Chairman of the church then commended and prayed for Elder Dr Atsu and his family, saying, “You are a replica of the centurion who built the temple for God.”

In an interview with PENTECOST NEWS, Elder Dr Daniel Workman Atsu revealed that his encounter with Jesus Christ led to fundamental changes in his attitude to life and relationship with people.

“I have received motivation and empowerment to show an uncommon love for members of my family, the church, my community, and humanity at large,” he stated.

He pointed out that he has dedicated his life to helping the youth who are desirous to pursue academic excellence or learn trade and skills which could enable them to earn a decent living.

“The school, the health facility, and the church in the Agbevekope community provide the opportunity for the people who want to develop and become blessings to their families and communities,” he added.

Present at the ceremony were the chiefs and community leaders of Agbevekope and its environs, members of the church, and the community members.

Also present were Apostle Peter Kofi Dzemekey (Aflao Area Head), Apostle Joseph Osei-Wusu Brempong (retired) – former Area Head for Aflao, and the Aflao Area pastorate.

PENTECOST NEWS.

Two Pent Media Journalists Selected For Africa Media Fellowship

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Elders Joseph Bill Danquah and Prince Kojo Asare of Pent Media Centre have been selected to participate in the 2022 edition of the Young Africa Media Summit (YAMS) in Accra.

The event, which is being hosted by YALI TV & Partners, is Africa’s premier platform for strategic dialogues on new media technologies, digital transformations in communication, media entrepreneurship, and investment in Africa.

This year’s edition is themed “The Media Industry as an Investment Opportunity in Africa” and would feature plenary sessions, public lectures and experience-sharing between high-profile media and communication experts, institutions and individuals.

The US Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Virginia E. Palmer, together with other top US government officials are expected to grace the event.

The African Union (AU) Media Fellowship has been initiated by the AU Information and Communication Directorate to ensure that the continent takes advantage of emerging technologies and benefits from the digital transformation across globe.

Among other objectives, the AU Media Fellowship seeks to train and equip African journalists and content creators to leverage creativity and innovation within the continent and build their capacity around innovative and transformative tools in journalism and media.

The fellowship would also create a platform for journalists to network and share on best practices and the future of journalism in Africa and the world at large.

Pent Media Centre, the media arm of The Church of Pentecost, would be represented at the event by Elder Danquah, a broadcast journalist and a Master Control Room (MCR) officer of Pent TV who serves as lead-host of the “Asembi Morning Show.”

Elder Asare, a Senior Editor at the Pent Media Centre and head of the church’s digital media team, has also been selected to take part in the training programme on Thursday.

Both journalists would be joined by other young journalists, content creators, bloggers, vloggers and podcasters within the African diaspora for the AU-sponsored event.

PENTECOST NEWS

PEMEM Director Presents Agri-Business Concept In Ho

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The Director of the Pentecost Men’s Ministry (PEMEM), Apostle Vincent Anane Denteh, has presented the ministry’s entrepreneurial concept in Agri-Business to members of the ministry in the Ho Area of the church.

Addressing local, district and area executive committee members of the ministry at the Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Ho as part of his recent tour of the Area from 16th to 17th June 2022, Apostle Anane Denteh, who is a member of the Executive Council of the church, disclosed that the ministry has introduced a project called Agri-Business concept to develop the capacity of men in the church.

“This is to beef up the income generation opportunities of the members which is part of the ministry’s social development agenda for its members,” he stated.

He explained that the agri-business concept is in a form of a collapsible fishpond of 1,000 fingerlings to start with. This innovative idea, he said, is easy to construct and through skill development training, the individual who may have no idea in aqua-culture would be tutored into acquiring the basic skills in the management of the fishpond and caring for the fingerlings.

He recommended this to all entrepreneurial and unemployed persons as well as the youth to venture into the business. This, he said, could supplement the income of members of the church.

He added that The Church of Pentecost, in collaboration with the Israeli Embassy, is rolling out more innovative business ventures for the betterment of the members.

He concluded that PEMEM is about to launch its new project dubbed the Pentecost Agri-Business Class to empower the members at the grassroots to develop their social life.

The Ho Area Head and Executive Council member, Apostle Dr Dela Quampah applauded the ministry for the thoughtful interventions and expressed the Area’s readiness to commence the project.

Pastor Michael Arthur, the Ho Area PEMEM Leader and District Minister for Ziavi Dzogbe, also lauded the concept and pledged the Area’s eagerness to implement the Agri-Business project.

Report by Pastor Felix Brakatu.

Aflao French Assembly Church Building Dedicated

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The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has dedicated the ultra-modern Aflao French Assembly church building, worth GH₵ 1,045,088.50 to the glory of God.

The about 800-seater auditorium has a children’s auditorium, eight washrooms, two offices, among other facilities.

The dedication ceremony was held on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at the Shekinah Central Auditorium, Aflao in the Volta Region. The Chairman was supported by Apostle Dr. Dela Quampah, an Executive Council Member and Co-ordinator of the Volta and Oti Regional Coordinating Committee, who also doubles as the Ho Area Head of the church.

In a sermon, Apostle Nyamekye said that when God calls a leader, He equips and gives him a message for the work assigned to them.

“Officers are the constituency of the church that without them, the church cannot function well because of the vital roles they play,” the Chairman said.

Apostle Nyamekye iterated that the mandate of the church is for Christians to go out into the world as the light of the world to expel the darkness. Hence, the ‘Possessing the Nations’ agenda of the church.

“Every generation of Christians should be concerned with the values and standards that rule their world or determine their culture,” he stated.

He charged members of the church to arise and push away the gates of hell out of the world.

The Chairman of the church urged Christians to live in righteousness and holiness. He further urged that they carry the garments of priests in possessing the nations in their spheres of work.

He noted that the French church, which is one of the Home and Urban Missions of the church in the area, will allow Francophones living around to serve God freely, saying, “Everybody everywhere ought to love Jesus.”

The French Assembly started in 2019 with 18 members. It has developed over the few years into four local assemblies namely, Aveyiborme, Duta, Fihokope, and Aflao Central assemblies.

The sod was cut for the commencement of the church building on January 13, 2021, by Apostle Peter Kofi Dzemekey, Aflao Area Head.

On his part, Torgbui Adzonugaga Amenya Fiti V (Paramount Chief of the Aflao Traditional Area) and member of the church, commended the church for the various developmental contributions in the area.

He then pledged his continuous support to the Home Missions of the church and called on the Chairman to open more branches in the area.

Present were the Aflao Branch Manager of Ecobank and some members of the Aflao Area Security Guild.

Also present were Apostle Peter Kofi Dzemekey (Aflao Area Head), Apostle Isaac Tetteh Judah (Sogakope Area Head), Apostle Lare Banimpo Jules (National Head of Togo), Apostle Joseph Osei-Wusu Brempong (Former Area Head for Aflao), the pastorate from Togo, Aflao Area, Sogakope Area and Ho Area.

The French District, led by Pastor Jeremie Atakpa, has a total membership of 371, comprising 311 new converts, representing 84% of the total membership.

The Chairman of the church is on a working tour of the Aflao and Sogakope Areas from Monday, June 20, 2022. He is expected to end his tour on Thursday, June 24, 2022.

PENTECOST NEWS.

Sunday School Child Wins Ministry Of Communication ICT Award

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An 11-year-old Basic 5 Pupil of Prang R/C Primary School, Kumi Nkamageen Princess, who is a Children’s Ministry member of Prang District in the Atebubu Area of The Church of Pentecost, has won a Ministry of Communication and Digitization award.

The award was presented to her at a ceremony organised by the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization in collaboration with the Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence and MTN Ghana and GIFEC on April 20, 2022, at the Valley View University, Techiman Campus in the Bono East Region.

The event was organised to climax an ICT programme known as GIRLS-IN-ICT which is an intensive ICT training for girls in Scratch Programming, Cyber Security, and Fundamentals in Basic Computing.

The one-week programme involved programming language used in creating games, stories, graphics and animation as well as staying safe on the internet. The girls were selected from the various public schools across the region to be trained. At the end of the training, Kumi Nkamageen Princess emerged as the overall best student.

Presenting the award, the Minister for Communication and Digitization, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, congratulated her for emerging the winner out of a hundred finalists from the 11 Municipal and District Assemblies in the Bono East Region.

Hon. Owusu-Ekuful promised that the Ministry would construct a well-furnished computer laboratory for her school and encouraged her to put up her best in the upcoming national event.

Present at the event were the Bono East Regional Minister, Hon. Akwasi Adu-Gyan, traditional authorities of the Techiman Traditional Area, the Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) in the region, officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Officer-in-charge of ICT/Statistics and Data at the GES, Mr. Kwame Aboagye, and the Girl-Child Co-ordinator, Madam Owusua Gladys, facilitators who assisted in the training of the girls, among others.

Report by Pastor Daniel Teye Narh, Atebubu.

The Church of Pentecost Member Represents Ghana At Global Conference

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Lucky Adomba Agbavor is a member of the Dunamis English Assembly in the Community 12 District of The Church of Pentecost. He is one of the beneficiaries of the educational scholarship offered by the Church at the Pentecost University.

He is currently a student nurse at the university and a Child Labour Survivor advocate of the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards.

Lucky shares an inspiring testimony of how, through the grace of God, he was selected to represent Ghana at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour held in Durban, South Africa:

__________

I read a news article about the “Honest Taxi Driver,” Mr Kwesi Ackon on The Church of Pentecost website, and was greatly inspired to share with you an exceedingly great testimony about what the Lord has also done for me in the past few weeks.

My main objective for sharing this testimony is to inspire you and encourage you to keep trusting in the Lord.

To put this in context. I come from a very humble background. To add salt to injury, I was rejected by my father, and had to endure excruciating hard labour as a child to be able to make ends meet. For the past six years, I have been lodging at Blessed Assembly church auditorium in Community 11. Life was unbearable, but the Lord is faithful; He has seen me through all my predicaments as well as my education. Through the grace of God, I obtained a scholarship from the Tema Area of The Church of Pentecost to pursue nursing at the Pentecost University. 

After completing my clinical internship at the Tema General Hospital, I went back home to my mother at Sogakope in the Volta Region of Ghana for the rest of the holidays. On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, I received a phone call from the office of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS).

The caller introduced herself as Miss Bridget Agyemang, the Secretary for Programmes and Projects at NUGS. According to her, she had been directed by the NUGS President, Mr. Dennis Appiah Larbi Ampofoh, to inform me that I have been selected as a Guest Speaker for the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour to be hosted by the Government of South Africa. 

I instantly became dumbfounded and could not process all that I had been told. I was well overcome with shock. I only came back to myself after she asked the question: “Lucky, do you have a passport?” To which I responded, “No please.” Through the assistance of NUGS, All-Africa Students UNION AASU, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation and the 100 Million Campaign Foundation, I went through all the processes and obtained a passport and the visa for the trip.

The conference was slated for Sunday, May 15; I touched down in the Kwazulu-Natal Province of Durban on Sunday afternoon and headed straight to the International Convention Centre (the largest convention centre in Africa) to a room full of top government officials, renowned business people, trade unionists and NGOs from all over the world.

Everything was happening so quickly that I could hardly process it. Just an hour later, I shared the same stage with some great personalities such as H.E. Stefan Löfven (Prime Minister, Sweden), Mr Kailash Satyarthi (Indian Nobel Peace Laureate), Hon. Thembelani Thulas Nxesi (Minister of Labour, South Africa), Mrs Leymah Roberta Gbowee (Liberian Nobel Peace Prize Winner-2011), and Miss Nozipho Tshabalala, a globally-recognised South African moderator.

The session, dubbed the “Peace Laureate,” gave me the opportunity to share my story with the world as a Child Labour Survivor. I was also interviewed by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) News Agency, Voice of America (VOA), US Presidency’s Media Agency (USPA), and the France24 News Network, among several other international media outlets.

I would like to thank the Almighty God for locating me with His grace. I owe it all to Him. I would also like to thank the Tema Area of The Church of Pentecost for granting me the scholarship to study at the prestigious Pentecost University. It is this kind gesture that granted me the avenue to become who I am today.

To God be the glory!

PENTECOST NEWS

PU Offering & COPCEF Relaunch Comes Off At All Local Assemblies

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The annual fund-raising exercise of The Church of Pentecost to support quality tertiary education at Pentecost University (PU) comes off on Sunday (June 26, 2022). 

The exercise, dubbed “the Pentecost University Offering Day,” would be observed across all local assemblies of the Church.

The Church instituted the PU Offering Day to raise funds from members to support education at Pentecost University. The proceeds are used for internal scholarships, infrastructure and staff development, among others.

It is also a day where members discuss opportunities at Pentecost University, in particular, and the need for higher education for members and support systems available.

As part of the PU Day observance, documentaries and other items would be distributed to all local assemblies through the Area Heads and District Pastors meant to provide useful information about happenings at Pentecost University and how the last year’s offering has helped the University. 

The documentary also gives testimonies, academic and other opportunities available at the University.

In addition to the offering, PU representatives and church leaders would create more awareness about The Church of Pentecost Chainman Education Foundation (COPCEF) by relaunching it at the local level. COPCEF is an education-support fund instituted by the Chairman, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, for needy but brilliant students.

PENTECOST NEWS

PEMEM Embarks On Health Walk

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As part of activities to mark the National Week Celebration of The Church of Pentecost Men’s Ministry (PEMEM), members of the ministry in the Yennyawoso District went on health walk through the principal streets of Dichemso in Kumasi.

The event, held in collaboration with Pentecost International Worship Centre, New Tafo (PIWC- New Tafo), took place on Saturday, June 18, 2022.

The walk, which ended at the forecourt of PIWC -New Tafo with aerobic session, saw excellent patronage as the Yennyawoso District Minister, Pastor Charles Oduro, and his wife, Mrs. Gladys Nana Yaa Animah Oduro, participated. 

Addressing the participants, Pastor Oduro commended them for availing themselves for the exercise and urged them to prioritise their health by exercising regularly. 

On his part, the Yennyawoso District PEMEM Leader, Elder Samuel Nana Brobbey, emphasised the need for regular exercises in order to maintain good health since good health also plays a vital role in Christianity. 

He, therefore, disclosed that the ministry has planned to make the event a monthly feature to help members exercise regularly.

As side attraction, participants were treated to sumptuous mashed kenkey and bread.

Among the participants were Brother Samuel Opoku Mensah (PIWC-New Tafo PEMEM Leader), Elder Anthony Anane (Yennyawoso Central Assembly PEMEM Leader), and others.

Report by Yennyawoso District Media Team

Women’s Ministry Donates To Kasoa Pentecost Preparatory School

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The Kasoa Area Women’s Ministry of The Church of Pentecost has donated some items to students of the Pentecost Preparatory and Junior High schools at Kasoa.

The items, which include books, pens, mathematical sets, toiletries, liquid soap, disinfectants and a pack of yoghurt, were presented to the school during a short ceremony at the Kasoa Central Assembly church auditorium. 

Handing over the items, the Area Head, Apostle James Kwabena Asare, said the donation is in line with the Church’s vision of possessing the nations by influencing every sphere of society, including the educational sector, with the principles and values of the kingdom of God.

Apostle Asare also advised the students to take their studies seriously. He urged the school management to do well to instil godly values in the students to enable them impact their generation. 

He also advised the teachers to give out their best so that their students would soar high in their academics.

Elder Leonard Atsu Doe, the headteacher of the school, who received the donation on behalf of the students, thanked the Church for their kind gesture.

Report by Pastor Daniel Bentum (Kasoa Area Media Pastor)

Is God Silent?

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Erwin W. Lutzer, in his book, “Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible,” narrates the story of Ingmar Bergman, a Swedish film director who one day stood next to a portrait of Christ in a cathedral in Europe and whispered, “Speak to me!” He only encountered dead silence after waiting enough while. Bergman was motivated by this experience to come out with a movie entitled Silence, which portrayed people who despaired in their attempt to seek God. Bergman’s frustration was evident in his words: “In our world, we hear only ourselves. No voice comes to us from outside the universe. When we seek a word from God, we are confronted with dead calm”.

An atheist known as Richard Carrier also stated, as the first of four reasons why he is not a Christian, that God is silent. He argues that if God really wants to save us, why wouldn’t He come to us individually with His own message about Himself? Why does He leave us in the hands of people who come to us at different times with different messages?

I have also read an article by Edward Tabash, another American atheist, who said “after a lifetime of spiritual search”, he had come to a conclusion that there is no God.

Isn’t it amazing that we can think we are intelligent enough to outline some line of actions or some criteria we think if there is a God He should satisfy or comply with? Interestingly, as humans, we haven’t even finished understanding what makes us human. Neither have we finished understanding our world. Day in day out we make new discoveries about ourselves and the world around us. Yet, we are bold enough to specify what God should do to prove Himself God.

We cannot know how God should be until God Himself tells us how He is. We cannot know how God should act until He tells us the reasons behind His own actions. Consider this analogy. Your three-year-old daughter or little sister may misunderstand most of the things you do such as preventing her from eating too many sweets. Does her incomprehension make your actions wrong? She will grow and eventually learn to understand how right your actions were. Won’t she? This is similar to the problem we have with God. Before the God of unlimited wisdom and boundless knowledge, our own knowledge, insight and understanding is too shallow to fully comprehend all of His deeds.

Now, let’s revisit Bergman’s experience with the silent portrait of Christ for a moment. Well, a portrait of Christ cannot speak. It is only Christ Himself who can speak. Imagine I take a photograph of the prime minister of Britain and pose a question to it. I will certainly be confronted with dead silence. Does that mean Britain’s prime minister never speaks? If we cannot hear from God, the logical conclusion should not be that He is silent since there is the possibility of us being so “spiritually deafened” we cannot hear Him, or we seeking Him in just the wrong way.

Not only atheists have a challenge with the seeming “silence of God”; many believers also have a high time believing that God can and does speaks to them personally. Without an appreciation of the fact that God speaks, it will be difficult to have a deep, personal relationship with Him.

So, is God really silent? First of all, God chooses His own way of speaking to us at any particular point in time. He is sovereign. He can choose to speak to us through dreams, visions, nature, circumstances, people, and other possible means. All the above means notwithstanding, God chose to communicate His most important message to the inhabitants of the earth through His Son, Jesus Christ.

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

God has indeed communicated a common message to us about Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. But why Jesus? Before we worry about how God should save us, as Richard Carrier expressed concern about, we need to ask ourselves how come we need salvation in the first place.

Our main problem, as human beings, is sin. If we can conceive of an all-righteous being we call God who is invariably interested in us being righteous, then we can also conceive of an all-evil being called Satan who is enthusiastically concerned about us being evil.

So how did we get into sin? Did Satan come to all of us one by one telling us why and how we should be evil? Think about it for a moment. God does not also have to come to us individually in order to save us. The best path to use to return to the right track is always the very path you used that got you out of the right way. So just as the first Adam led us into sin, God introduced Jesus as the second Adam who leads us into righteousness.

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)  

The Scriptures therefore lay to rest Richard Carrier’s concerns by revealing to us that the way to salvation is by believing in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.

God says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). The way to find God is to seek Him with all our hearts – thus, without reservations. That means there is a possibility of us not finding God if we seek Him in a way other than with all our heart. This makes me wonder the kind of unsuccessful “spiritual search” Edward Tabash was referring to.

If you are reading this and you wish to hear God and build a deep, personal relationship with Him, I invite you to say an honest heartfelt prayer right now, wherever you are. Tell God that you really want to know Him and to hear Him speak to you daily. Tell Him to teach you to hear His voice, however He may speak. God will speak to you in His own way and you will know that He has spoken to you. And over time, as you keep on building on your relationship with Him, you will become more experienced in discerning His voice.

“But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14)

What certain intellectuals could never find; you can find with just an honest prayer. You can experience a new, exciting relationship with God when you learn to hear His voice. You will begin to understand that the biblical stories about God having such a close relationship with people like Moses, Abraham, Joshua, Elijah and more others are not folktales. Your life will completely turn around because you will hear God.

Written by P/Ovr. Joel Kwesi Baidoo (+233207079250)