Posts in category: Church News

A special graduation ceremony was held yesterday for 27 couples who had successfully passed out of a 12-week Post-Marital School organised by the Shalom Worship Centre of The Church of Pentecost.

The graduands, clad in academic gowns, were beaming with smiles as they each took their turn to receive their certificate at the event which had in attendance the General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, and his wife, Mrs. Rose Dansoa Kumi-Larbi.

The Post-Marital School, a novelty of the Resident Minister, Pastor James Agyin, was organised to help promote healthy marriages in the Church.

The school was held on a weekly basis with Pastor Agyin, and his wife, Joyce, as the resource persons. The duration for each session was two hours with take-home assignments in a workbook titled “Becoming One”. 

Some of the topics treated at the school are: Our Desperate Need for Love and Oneness, God’s Purpose for Oneness, God’s Provision in Oneness, God’s Power in Oneness, God’s Instrument of Change: Love and Blessing, God’s Order for Marital Oneness, Communication and Conflict Resolution, Managing In-Laws: The Christian Way, Romance: Naked and Unashamed, among others.

According to Pastor Agyin, the first batch of students, made up of 14 couples, was enrolled in 2019, however, the graduation ceremony which was slated for April 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions. He further stated that the sessions for the second batch, comprising of 13 couples, took place from June to September 2021.

“Graduates from both batches have since been added to the pool of counselors at the local and district levels and have really been of immense help to the Church,” he added.

Speaking on the topic: “Jesus Christ and His Church; A Model for A Good Marriage,” Mrs. Kumi-Larbi challenged Christian couples to honour God with their marriages.

She said that marriage is hard work and therefore requires the utmost commitment of both parties in order to succeed.

“A healthy marriage requires diligent work to build. A good marriage is not something you find; it is something you make and continue making,” she said.

Apostle Kumi-Larbi, on his part, challenged Christians to lead by example in every aspect of their lives. He urged them to endeavour to practice what they preach so that others, especially the younger generation, can emulate them.

“Until we practice what we preach, our leadership would yield little or no results,” he cautioned.

The General Secretary, therefore, urged the graduands to do well to practice all they had learnt during the training period.

Apostle Dr. Samuel Ofori, a Lecturer at the School of Theology, Mission and Leadership of Pentecost University, who represented the Kaneshie Area Head at the event, commended the participants for availing themselves to undergo training.

He noted that there is a clear connection between study and humility, hence they should continue to avail themselves for training, saying that: “Arrogance and a teachable spirit are mutually exclusive.”

The event also saw 100 members of the Church receiving certificates for successfully completing a 40-week discipleship programme, dubbed the “Shalom Workers’ College.”

PENTECOST NEWS.

Mrs. Rose Dansoa Kumi-Larbi, wife of the General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, has advised Christian couples to strive to build good and healthy marriages, emphasising that marriage is hard work! 

“A healthy marriage requires diligent work to build. A good marriage, is, therefore, not something you find; it is something you make and continue making,” she said when she exhorted members of the Shalom Worship Centre during a graduation ceremony for graduands of the church’s Post-Marital School yesterday.

Delivering a sermon titled: “Jesus Christ and His Church; A Model for A Good Marriage” with Ephesians 5:21-33 and Philippians 2:1-8 as scripture references, Mrs. Kumi-Larbi said that a healthy marriage is very beneficial to both parties in the marital union.

She said that a good marriage brings happiness, peace and good health to couples. It also promotes the wellbeing and development of children, serves as a springboard for one’s professional career, earns one respect in society and grants couples unhindered access to God, she added.

Mrs. Kumi-Larbi, however, noted that marriage requires the utmost commitment of both parties in order to succeed.

“For me, marriage is like salvation. We are saved only by grace, but we are expected to work on our salvation so that we do not lose it. In the same vein, it is the Lord who leads us to our partners, but we are required to work on our marriage to achieve the purpose for which God brought us together as a couple,” she explained.

Mrs. Kumi-Larbi said that marital unhappiness and divorces are on the rise in the contemporary generation due to the self-centred nature of the people who enter the holy estate.

She explained that Christ’s relationship with the Church serves as the ideal model that couples should emulate to have successful marriages.

Reading from the Ministers’ Manual of The Church of Pentecost, Mrs. Kumi-Larbi stressed that marriage is an image that mirrors Christ’s relationship with the Church, and, thus, must be honoured by all.

She defined honour as the act of ascribing the great respect to something or someone and urged Christians to honour God with their marriages.

“Honour your wife or husband because when you honour your spouse, you honour God,” she charged.

To enjoy marital bliss, she urged couples to emulate Christ’s selflessness, humility, mercy, servant-leadership and love towards the Church in their marriages.

She, therefore, advised husbands to endeavour to love their wives unconditionally and be merciful to them when they offend them in any way; whilst advising wives to be humble and honour their husbands in their speech and conduct.

“Don’t compete with each other in marriage. You are partners and not competitors!” she further stated.

Mrs. Kumi-Larbi also cautioned prospective couples and singles that marriage is a holy estate that should not be taken lightly, but undertaken and entered into in all solemnity, with wisdom and forethought, reverently in the fear of God.

This, according to her, should be done with the clear understanding that marriage was first ordained for the mutual help, fellowship and comfort that the one ought to have for the other, in prosperity and adversity, for the honourable procreation of children and their training in love and obedience to the Lord.

“Marriage is not just about funfair, wedding ceremonies and receptions; it is hard work,” she reiterated.

PENTECOST NEWS

The pastorate of the Asokwa Area of The Church of Pentecost, led by Prophet James Osei Amaniampong, and his wife, Georgina, have embarked on a Missions Outreach to the Bono East, Upper East and Northern Regions.

The three-day outreach, which took place from March 23 to 25, 2022, among other things, sought to strengthen the bond of fellowship amongst ministers, get first-hand information on the work of missions in these areas, and show the love of God to people by easing some of the challenges of the churches and the communities visited. The places visited included Busunya District (Techiman Area), Babator District (Kintampo Area), Bolgatanga Area, as well as the Tamale and Damongo districts (Tamale Area).

At Busunya District, which was the team’s first point of call, an amount of GH¢10,000.00 was presented to the district to support works on the Central Assembly church building. In addition, they donated a brand-new motorbike, three bicycles, over 100 wax prints, bales of clothes and assorted clothes and beddings, over 100 shoes, 200 exercise books, and 100 mosquito nets, at a cost of GH¢51,200.00 to the district. 

The Babator District in the Kintampo Area, which was the Missions Outreach’s second point of call, was presented with a brand-new motorbike, three bicycles, over 100 wax prints, bales of clothes and assorted clothes and beddings, shoes and sandals for men and ladies, exercise books, 200 mosquito nets, all to the tune of GH¢49,000.00 to support their evangelism efforts. An additional GH¢10,000.00 was given to the assembly to help works on their Church building.

Bolgatanga Area, on the other hand, was presented with two motorbikes, nine bicycles, 150 wax prints, bales of assorted clothes and beddings, over 600 pairs of gents and ladies’ shoes, 1000 exercise books, 600 pencils and erasers, 200 mosquito nets, a set of drums, a wheelchair for the Ministry to Persons with Disabilities (MPWDs), sanitisers and nose masks, at a total cost of GH¢ 207,200.00, to support the work of mission and aid evangelism in the Area. The motorbikes were assigned to the Pentecost International Worship Centre, Navrongo (PIWC-Navrongo) and the Paga District.

Paga District was given an additional GH¢20,000.00 to support the construction of a new District Mission House as the former was no longer habitable and consequently declared a death trap. Moreover, an amount of GH¢15,000.00 was donated to PIWC-Bolgatanga to support their ongoing children’s auditorium building project.

The Bolgatanga Area also received an amount of GH¢20,000.00 to help them purchase a modern musical and sound equipment for evangelistic purposes. A brand-new motorbike, three bicycles, wax prints, bales of clothes and assorted clothes and beddings, 100 pairs of gents and ladies’ shoes and 100 mosquito nets, all worth GH¢42,800.00, to support the work of mission and aid evangelism in the Area. 

The Asokwa Area Missions Outreach finally visited the Tamale Area. A cheque of GH¢17,500.00 was presented to the Damongo District to construct a mechanised borehole water facility. 

The kind gesture by the Church was part of efforts to ensure access to potable water for more than 3,000 residents in the beneficiary communities of the Church.

Speaking at a brief presentation ceremony, the Asokwa Area Head, Prophet James Osei Amaniampong, said that the leadership of the Asokwa Area conducted a needs assessment of the Tamale Area and identified that the people of the two communities were in dire need of good drinking water and that informed their decision to construct the mechanised boreholes.

“This is part of our mission to possess the nation through the provision of social amenities. We will work to provide what is urgently needed by the people to the glory of God,” he stated.

Prophet James Osei Amaniampong was hopeful that the provision of the boreholes would meet the water needs of the residents, particularly women, and reduce the number of hours they spend in search of water so that they would have adequate time to engage in productive activities.

He called on the residents to take good care of the facility and maintain them in order to prolong their lifespan.

In addition, three bicycles, bales of clothes and assorted clothes and beddings, pairs of gents and ladies’ shoes and 100 mosquito nets, all at a cost of GH¢35,000.00, were donated to support the work of mission and aid evangelism activities in the Area. 

The Tamale Area also received one motorbike, three bicycles, a set of drums, shoes for both men and ladies, bales of clothes and assorted clothing and 200 mosquito nets, at a total cost of GH¢34,100.00.

On his part, the Area Secretary for Tamale, Pastor B. A. M. Abogorago, who received the items on behalf of the Area, together with Mrs. Vivian Arhin (the wife of the Tamale Area Head), expressed appreciation to the Asokwa Area pastorate for funding the water project and the donations. He called on other capable persons to emulate the benevolent deeds of the Asokwa Area.

The team visited the Fiema Monkey Sanctuary at Busunya, Kintampo Waterfalls, Paga Crocodile Pond and the Slave Camp and the Mole National Park to round off their mission trip.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Ablekuma Agape District of The Church of Pentecost in Anyaa-Ablekuma Area, in partnership with Ablekuma Pentecost Prayer Centre, has donated assorted items worth about GHS12,000.00 to the Nsawam Female Prisons.

The gesture, which took place on Monday, April 18, 2022, was in line with the scriptures, where Jesus admonished His followers to show love to all persons, especially the vulnerable such as the sick, poor, destitute, prisoners, and the likes.

The assorted items included drugs of different kinds meant to cure different ailments, rice, sugar, assorted soap, toiletries, slippers, and many others.

Speaking to the Prisons Officers during the presentation, the Ablekuma Agape District Minister of The Church of Pentecost, Pastor Frank Awuah Fordjour, explained that the gesture was a way of showing love to the female inmates.

“It is something the church does every year to show love to humanity, especially prisoners and other vulnerable ones. We are not only supporting them in prayers, but also in kind,” he said.

Pastor Awuah commended the officers and inmates of the facility for keeping the place tidy.

“The place is kept very neat, especially the compound and their place of worship. The only challenge was their kitchen; they need a new one. I’m, therefore, pleading that anyone who is blessed and can assist in putting the kitchen in good shape should kindly do so as urgently as possible, and the Lord will bless him/her,” he pleaded.

The Ablekuma Pentecost Prayer Camp Leader, Elder Thomas Ansong, on his part, said that the female inmates need a lot to make their stay over there a bit more comfortable.

“Getting the opportunity to visit some of the officers’ offices, we realised that they lack furniture, especially tables and chairs. I will therefore plead that we help them with new furniture to ease their work. Again, other items such as clothes, food items, soaps, and anything that can help their stay can be given to them,” he stressed.

The Church of Pentecost Prisons Ministry National Executive Member, Elder Albert Narh, on his part, commended the Ablekuma Prayer Centre and the Agape District for their kind gesture.

He also urged individuals and institutions who can afford to show their love to the inmates.

The Officers expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the church, especially Ablekuma Agape District and the Ablekuma Pentecost Prayer Centre for their consistent support for the Nsawam Prisons.

Report Alex Nana Owusu Nkrumah.