Posts in category: Church News

Six ministers of The Church of Pentecost (CoP) are set to proceed on retirement tomorrow, Sunday, November 15, 2020, having served God and the church meritoriously for several years.

They are Apostle Abraham Lincoln Angoh, the Bompata Area Head, who served for 38 years, Apostle Matthew Larbi Wettey, the Tema Area Head, who served for 32 years, as well as Apostle Nicholas Appiah-Missah, the Ashanti Bekwai Area Head and Evangelist Moses Agratey Kenney, the Ejisu Area head, who have both served for 31 years in active ministry.

Former Directors of the Pentecost Men’s Ministry and the Evangelism Ministry of the church, Apostle Julius Franklin Asante-Ayeh (now Techiman Area Head) and Apostle Michael Collins Asiedu (now Suame Area Head) would also be retiring from active service on Sunday having served for 28 years and 31 years in the full-time ministry of the church, respectively.

In view of this, special services are scheduled to be held in their honour to mark the occasion of their retirement from active ministry in their respective areas.

AYEKOO!

PENTECOST NEWS

Former President Of Ghana Jerry John Rawlings Is Dead.

He died Thursday morning at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra Graphic Online has gathered.

Mr Rawlings had been on admission at Korle Bu for about a week for an undisclosed ailment.

Graphic Online gathers he felt sick after his mother’s burial about three weeks ago.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The La Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle John Osei Amaniampong, has advised young people not to be swayed by political factions into indulging in violence in the run-up to the December 7 general polls.

Apostle Amaniampong said this when he joined the Maamobi Zone of the La Area to launch the “Agent of Peace” campaign, which was held on Sunday, November 1, 2020, at the Kotobabi SWAG Park.

The Area Head advised the youth to be mindful of the consequences of their actions during the election period. “Don’t be easily swayed when ill-meaning politicians call on you with some small financial reward to perpetrate violence, confusion, and mayhem in the 2020 electoral process.

“You have the right and responsibility to choose people into government; the decisions you take now have consequences that will last through the next four years. Therefore, do not sell your birthright just for few cedis,” he stressed.

On his part, a representative of the Kotobabi District Police Command advised Ghanaians not to feel intimidated but come out in their numbers to vote peacefully for their preferred Presidential and Parliamentary candidates.

He advised the youth not to engage in any act of violence before, during, and after the polls, saying, “Don’t attempt to indulge in violent acts because culprits will be dealt with per the law.”

In attendance were representatives from other churches, the Muslim community, among other stakeholders.

Report by Daniel Tetteh, La Area Reporter.

The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has averred that the only means by which one can be part of God’s family (the Church) is to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour.

“Anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord, no matter the background, is born into God’s family and has become a brother,” he said, adding, “Whoever believes in Christ becomes part of God’s family; they come with their nationalities; they come with their race; they come with their backgrounds; they come with their perspectives. Whether we like them or not we have become one family in Christ and then we form the temple of God in which God dwells by His Spirit.”

Apostle Nyamekye made this known in a live televised sermon on Pent TV on Sunday, November 8, 2020, as part of the Sunday Special Evening Service with Chairman series.

Speaking on the topic, “The Family of God,” the Chairman explained that the church is an extension of the family of God in heaven. He further said that the church is the house of God and it is a great house because there are all kinds of vessels.

Apostle Nyamekye noted that the church should be new humanity, God’s new community, a model of a human community, a family reconciled to God and to one another, who love their Father and love each other with whom God dwells by His Spirit and this Spirit cries in them “Abba Father!”

He added that as a new human race whose characteristics are no longer alienation but reconciliation, the church must avoid division and hostility but rather propagate peace and unity.

Reading from Galatians 3:28-29, the revered theologian established that the church is nothing short of the new creation. He stressed that if only a person belongs to Christ, then they are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise, without taking into consideration their nationality, sex, tribe, and educational level.

“Our identities have been dissolved in the blood; we have all put on Christ so Christ covers our identities,” he said.

Buttressing his assertion, Apostle Nyamekye quoted Ephesians 2:18 and Romans 8:11 to explain how Jews and Gentiles have access by one Spirit to the Father through Jesus Christ.

“Jesus’ Father is our Father; the Creator Holy Spirit lives in us. The same Spirit that was in Christ is the same in us, who are born again. By this Spirit, He cries Father and with the same Spirit we also cry Father,” he said.

Also, reading from Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:11-12, 17; Acts 9:13, the Chairman stated: “In this family, if God is our Father, then Jesus is our big brother because we know that He is the Son of God.

“Jesus rent the curtains that separated us from God and has allowed us access to God and reconciled us to one another. We have been born into the body of Christ and God’s family.”

According to the Chairman, the power of this great family of God lies in unity (Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 30:29-30).

“The greatness of this family or the power of this family is not because God is our Father, No. Not because Jesus is our big brother, No. But it is in our unity; our oneness. Our unity is our beauty, our testimony, our strength that we are children of God,” he pointed out.

He, however, stated: “Disunity renders our prayer non-effective and our fellowship unavailing. So without unity, we may have God, we may have Jesus; we may have the Holy Spirit but our prayer will not be effective. So when we gather together it will be a futile exercise, sometimes a waste of time.”

Apostle Nyamekye explained that it is against this backdrop that the devil always sows seeds of disunity among the people of God to divide them to see themselves as enemies.

The Chairman mentioned that the rule for the people in God’s family is the word of God and nothing else (Hebrews 1:5-7).

“In this family, our rule is the Word; it sets our boundaries. Our aim is His glory. Our rule is not what angels say; it doesn’t come from the dreams of people. Angels serve us; we don’t take instructions from them,” he said, whilst narrating the story of the old and the young prophets in which the latter was deceived to disobey God’s word as contained in 1 Kings 13.

Apostle Eric Nyamekye, therefore, admonished church leaders to be careful not to build what Jesus has demolished (Galatians 2:18), saying, “The Gospel has the power to equip the believer with the help of the Holy Spirit to live holy and God-honouring lives.”

Report by Emmanuel Nana Nsiah.

Pastor James W. K. Annan is a pastor of The Church of Pentecost in charge of the Ajah District in Lagos East Area in Nigeria. He narrates how he was abducted by unknown armed men who shot him in the eyes but was saved by the Lord Jesus Christ:

It all happened on Thursday, 30^th July, 2020, when I left the house for lkorodu to convey my daughter who was doing a nursing internship in a hospital at lkorodu.

I set out at about 5:30 AM Nigerian time (04:30 GMT). Whilst waiting for a bus, a Toyota Camry saloon car emerged at the bus stop and the driver called the transit point I was heading to, and so I boarded the vehicle. Inside the car were four passengers, including the driver. In less than ten minutes into the journey, the man sitting beside me at the back seat pounced on me and dislodged me to the middle seat (in between them at the back).

They asked me to cooperate with them as they searched my pocket and removed all the money on me. Then they demanded my ATM card. And I told them that the card was not with me at the moment. They then asked me to give them the ATM PIN, which I did. After that, they asked me to disclose the total amount in my account, which I did. But they said that looking at my age and personality, the money I mentioned wasn’t true. They told me that since I was not forthright with them they were going to dump me at their base and my people will rather beg them to request the amount they would need to release me.

At that point, they seized my Samsung tablet phone and subjected me to severe beatings. One of them pulled a gun and targeted my right eye and fired it straight at me. All that I could remember was that I shouted JESUS! And as he fired the gun, I heard a blast in my head and slumped dead in my seat.

I did not see anything again for about twenty minutes and while the vehicle was still in motion, surprisingly I regained consciousness. They became frightened, thinking that I have extraordinary charms, so one of them asked me in pidgin English, “Baba na so you be.”

They decided that since I could not die from a gunshot, they would rather send me to their base for me to die over there. However, the one who shot me exclaimed that it was enough and that since I have survived the gunshot, if they take me to their base something strange will happen to them. He continued that this man [referring to me] has shown to be a great spiritual person and it is not every time they can succeed in their expedition.

He then ordered the driver to stop and allow me to go. At his orders, the driver stopped and they opened the door for me to alight and they sped off. 

I had to trek for about 5 miles to a nearby town to see a deaconess of the church for transport support to my house. As soon as I reached home, my two eyes closed completely. I never thought that I could see with my eyes again. However, after three days, my eyes miraculously opened without any surgery of a sort. I have been certified fit by medical doctors.

Jesus Christ is truly a healer. His spiritual operation on me has been awesome. I thank Him for saving my life.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has entreated Christians, especially leaders to guard their hearts against harbouring bitterness which tends to destroy their physical and spiritual lives.

“Do not nurse grudges which will end up in bitterness,” he said adding, “Bitterness can destroy a person, marriage, family, friends and the church. And such bitter persons think everyone is against them.”

Apostle Nyamekye said these when he interacted with officers in the Teshie-Nungua Area of the Church at the Fred Stephen Safo Memorial Temple at Nshorna, Nungua on Wednesday and Thursday, November 4 & 5, 2020.

According to the Chairman, “if you open your heart to anything, not of God, you invite evil to enter your heart and when you nurse it, it germinates into other vices such as bitterness, anger, rancour, among others.”

Reading from Hebrews 4:12; 3:12-13; 12:14-16, Matthew 12:35, among other scriptures, Apostle Nyamekye encouraged Christians not to harbour bitterness in their hearts against one another since offenses are inevitable.

“No one is born with bitterness but through what one hears and what people say to them, one is exposed and may harbour bitterness in their hearts which destroys the body,” he pointed out.  

According to him, bitter persons normally portray a level of shyness, keep records of grudges (Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 32:35), and nurse grudges (Genesis 27:41, Genesis 4:5-6, Mark 4:13), very unforgiving, and sometimes have sleepless nights. 

Apostle Nyamekye stated that when one is bitter, he or she is likely to express it (1 Samuel 25: 12-13), suppress it (2 Samuel 13:22-23), repress it (2 Samuel 3: 26-27) and confess it (1 Samuel 1: 15-16, Mathew 18:15). He advised Christians not to be bitter or angry about things of this world and not to let the sun go down upon their wrath as Apostle Paul admonished Christians in Ephesians 4:26.

He further urged officers of the church to always check their motives and be mindful of the heart with which they serve in the house of the Lord, saying, “Do not glorify yourself in the position as a church leader but be mindful of the heart with which you serve the Lord and others.”  

“If your heart is clean and that of mine is also clean, then God will come and reside in us and the church will be prosperous,” he concluded.

The meeting was also attended by some Executive Council Members of the Chruch, the Pastorate and their wives, among others.

The Area Head, Apostle Dr. Alfred Koduah, was grateful to the Chairman for the visit to the Area.

Report by Yaa Asantewaah Adu Boahene.

The Wa Area of The Church of Pentecost has dedicated 13 projects. The dedication ceremonies, which took place separately from Tuesday, October 27, to Saturday, October 31, 2020, were officiated by the Wa Area Head, Apostle Daniel Nii Tetteh Tackie, assisted by the Area Pastorate.

The projects include nine (9) Community Based Church Buildings (CBCBs), two (2) Mission Houses, and two (2) mechanized boreholes.  

Delivering the sermon on the topic, “You Are the Glorious Temple of God To Possess The Nations,” based on Exodus 29:44, Revelations 21:3, and 1 Corinthians 3:16, Apostle Tackie stated: “God through His Spirit has made the believer’s body His dwelling place such that wherever the believer goes, God’s presence goes with him.”

He added: “In the Old Testament, God dwelt amongst His people in the temple made by human hands but in the new dispensation, God, through His Spirit, dwells in the believer, making the believer’s body His temple. With this knowledge, we must all endeavour to live holy lives by eschewing all forms of evil so we can possess the nations for Christ.”

The colourful service was well attended by members of the church and key stakeholders including chiefs, landlords, and Assemblymen in the beneficiary communities.

In a remark, the Chief of Dapouri lauded The Church of Pentecost for citing the project in his community and promised to support the church in any way possible. At Bulenga, the Bulenga Chief donated GH¢1,000.00 in support of the Bulenga Central Church building.

The dedicated CBCB projects were Loho Assembly of Wapani District, Kumbiehe Assembly (Kumbiehe District), Dapouri Assembly (Bamahu/Blue Hill District), Bulenga Central and Danyokura Assembly both of Bulenga District, Nanvilli Assembly (Nator District), Buli Assembly (Lassie Tuolo District), Lambussie Central Assembly in the newly created Lambussie District and Kalsagri Assembly of Lawra District. Also, the mission houses of newly created Sabuli and Lambussie districts which were carved out of Jirapa and Nandom districts respectively were dedicated.

Meanwhile, the foundation stones for the first-ever church building among the Chakali people (Gurumbelle Assembly) and the Bulenga mission house have been laid. The project is being funded by the Pentecost International Worship Centre, Dansoman through the Home and Urban Missions (HUM) of the Church.

The mechanised borehole projects commissioned by the Area Head at Babile and Eremon were funded by the Suhum Area and the Headquarters of the Church respectively through the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS) Directorate.

Fundings for the remaining projects were secured from the Headquarters with support from the Wa Area, District, Local, and individuals freewill offerings.

Report by Pastors Gordon Ansah & Nathaniel Adjei Okpoti.