Posts in category: Church News

The remains of the late Elder Dr Johnson Addo, CEO of Raphal Medical Centre and Trustee of The Church of Pentecost, were today, December 9, 2023, laid to rest after a burial service was held in his honour at the St. Stephen Anglican Park in Tema.

Present at the service were the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye; the General Secretary, Apostle Samuel Gyau Obuobi; the International Missions Director, Apostle Emmanuel Agyemang Bekoe,  and their wives; Area Heads and other ministers of the church.

Also present were members and officers of the church, and well-wishers.

The Chairman, Apostle Nyamekye gave a short exhortation based on Daniel 12:13, where Daniel was told to go his way until the end of the world.

He said that humanity do not have answers to why good people like Dr. Addo die, but believers have the word of God, which lives forever.

He said: “The word of God is the only thing that can give us hope and comfort in times of grief and loss.”

He praised Dr Addo for living and dying for Christ, saying, “He was a great man who balanced his excellence in his profession with his humility in his faith. He was not an Apostle on earth, but he was one in heaven.”

He urged the gathering to live by the word of God, which is the source of their salvation, sanctification and glorification.

 “There is a limit to all perfections, but only the word of God lives forever. Let him go his way, until the end of the world, when he will receive his allotted inheritance from God,” Apostle Nyamekye concluded.

The former International Missions Director of the Church, Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo, in a sermon explained that living for Christ means making Christ one’s occupation and preoccupation.

“Living for Christ means following his example, obeying his commands, sharing his gospel, and serving his people,” he stressed.

He used the life of Elder Dr Johnson Addo as an illustration of someone who lived for Christ.

He said that Dr Addo was a dedicated medical doctor who used his profession to heal and help many people.

He said that Dr. Addo was also a faithful Christian who loved God and his church, was a humble and generous man who gave his time, talents and resources to the cause of Christ.

“He was also a role model and a mentor to many young people who looked up to him,” he added.

Biography of Elder Dr Johnson Addo

The late Dr Johnson Addo, affectionately called Dr. Addo, was born on January 21, 1952, to Mr. F. C. Addo and Madam Diana Nyarkoa Addo of Boso, both of blessed memory at Abamkrom in the West Akim District of the Eastern Region.

He started his schooling at the Methodist Primary School at Abamkrom and later to the Presbyterian Boys School from 1963 to 1965. He attended Prempeh College between 1965 and 1972 pursuing his School Certificate ‘O’ & ‘A’ Level certificates. After successful completion of the ‘A’ level, he was admitted into the University of Ghana Medical School where he studied Medicine.

His first station after his ‘housemanship’ was Ashanti Mampong, where he spent two  years before traveling to Nigeria to pursue greener pastures. He dedicated six years of his prime working life in Nigeria at a private hospital as a Medical Director.

Upon his return to Ghana, he settled in Tema and worked with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and Tema General Hospital between 1988 to 1991 and 1987 to 1988, respectively. He also worked with SSNIT Clinic in Tema, from

1991 to 1999.

In the 1999, Dr Addo finally ventured into private practice by setting up his medical facility in 1999, the Raphal Medical Centre at Tema Community 1.

Dr Addo got married to his wife, Mrs. Diana Adarkwah Addo in 1978 with whom he had three children – Dr. Alex Johnson Addo, Mrs. Belinda Addo Asante-Amankwa, and Mr. Justice Maklean Addo. He was also blessed with three adorable granddaughters and two grandsons.

On August 9, 2023, he was admitted to his own facility, the Raphal Medical Centre after a severe bout of illness and was later transferred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. But on September 9, 2023, Dr. Addo was called to his eternal rest.

Tributes

His wife Diana  described him as devoted to his patients. She noted that her husband was a hardworking man, committed to healthcare and had compassion to all.

“He was a wonderful orator and spoke frequently during church services and alike,” she said.

His children, with sobbing words, described him as “selfless and exemplary in all situations.”

“Death has robbed us of his presence and those golden moments, but it has not extinguished the fire he sparked in us,” they said.

The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, in his tribute, described Elder Dr Johnson Addo as “a complete gift from God to humanity.”

“This was demonstrated in the way he lived selflessly for others. He loved the Lord, and the church. As an Elder of The Church of Pentecost, he acquitted himself creditably in all roles assigned him,” the tribute read.

The General Council of the Church stated: “Elder Dr Johnson Addo was an illustrious son of The Church of Pentecost who held various challenging positions in the church at various times during his eventful and fruitful life on earth.”

“He played the roles of Presiding Elder, District Secretary, District and Area Executive Committee Member, Board Member of Pentecost Hospital, Madina, and the high office of Trustee of the church, among others,” it added.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The two newly created districts in the Sawla Area of The Church of Pentecost have received a set of musical instruments each worth GHS 15,000.00, financed through a grant from the Church’s Headquarters.

The instruments donated include a pair of Mid Speakers, Mixer-Amplifier, Microphone, Generator, and cables.

The items were presented to the districts by the Sawla Area Head, Pastor Frederick Obboh, at the Sawla Area office.

Receiving the items on behalf of the districts, the Garkuon District Minister, Probationary Overseer Micaiah Edwin Cudjoe, expressed overwhelming joy at the kind gesture done by the Church’s headquarters through the Area.

He said that the donation was timely as it would help the districts in their Christmas Convention.

He thanked the Mission Board for their prompt response to the needs of Mission areas of the church.

The elated minister also expressed his appreciation to the Area Head and wife for their goodwill towards the Area and for remembering the districts.

Present were Pastor Samuel Awuah (Sawla Area Evangelism Ministry Leader), and Overseer Philip Nana Addo (Sawla Area Estate Committee Chairman), among others.

Report by Sawla Area Media Team

The National Discipleship and Leadership Development Committee (NDLDC) of The Church of Pentecost has held a two-day consultative forum on the mandate of the committee in Vision 2028 for the church.

The committee, chaired by Apostle Samuel Kojo Gakpetor, is tasked with discipling the church and training leaders for the church at all its facets. The two-day consultative forum teased out all issues outlined in Vision 2028 that relate to the committee’s mandate and carved out a strategic plan aimed at running with the vision.

The forum was under the theme: “The Repositioned Local Church as a Discipling and Unleashing Centre.”

Opening the forum, Apostle Gakpetor took the participants through the second chapter of 1 Peter (the main text for the 2024 theme) in a group expository discourse to serve as the bedrock for deliberations.

Apostle Gakpetor revealed to the participants that at the core of Vision 2028 lies the mandate of NDLDC.

“It is the discipled member that is unleashed to transform society,” Apostle Gakpetor observed, adding that “social services alone won’t change Ghana but social action and social change, and we must equip and unleash the members to lead that agenda in their worlds.”

He charged the participants to allow the Holy Spirit to lead them to come up with practical strategies aiding the implementation of the committee’s mandate in the light and direction of Vision 2028.

Touching on the leadership development mandate of the committee, Apostle Gakpetor mentioned that one challenge consistently running through reports from the grassroots church, especially from internal mission areas, has been the lack of leaders.

Apostle Gakpetor explained that it is not because there are no people there but because the people could not read and write.

He mentioned that through the Pentecost Literacy Project, there’s a need to equip the indigenes, especially those who have established there, to aid in raising leaders to drive the vision at the grassroots.

The participants, after a collective brainstorming period, later went into three cohorts to discuss components of Vision 2028 that were continuity of Vision 2023 in Vision 2028, new directions for the NDLDC under Vision 2028, strategies to aid in the specific implementation of Bible Study groups for discipling members, Home Cell for fellowship, pastoral care, and community impact, lay leadership training school for equipping church workers, Pentecost Literacy Project to empower members to read and write, community impact initiatives to transform the communities, and a mentoring framework for a succession plan.

Other issues touched by the forum were team formation and mandate to push the task of NDLDC, identify collaborators and strengthen their role or cultivate new ones, strategy for social media use to accelerate the implementation of the vision by the committee, amongst others.

The 17-member consultative panel was made up of members of the National Executive Committee of the NDLDC, representatives from various sub-teams of the committee, and some prominent members and ministers of the church, including two retired ministers, Apostle Peter Ayerekwa and Pastor Henry Ako-Nai.

At the end of the forum, the NDLDC drafted a strategic framework with timelines and assigned responsibilities tailored to ensure a successful implementation, evaluation, and monitoring towards achieving the dictates of the vision. This shall be pursued after further consultation with the top leadership of the Church.

Report by Pastor George Osei-Asiedu

A four-day retreat was organised for ministers and wives in the Tamale Area of The Church of Pentecost from November 28 to December 1, 2023.

This retreat, initiated by Apostle J. B. K. Tawiah, the Tamale Area Head, aimed to equip ministers and their wives for effective service. It also served as an orientation for newly posted ministers and wives and an avenue to introduce the Church’s theme for 2024 to them.

Addressing the participants, Apostle J.B.K. Tawiah introduced the 2024 theme, emphasising its focus on empowering and unleashing the entire church to transform their world with the values and principles of the kingdom of God.

Drawing inspiration from 1 Peter 2:9 and Acts 1:8, he described the church as a people of God carrying the Holy Spirit as their source of power for extraordinary exploits.

Quoting Chairman of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, Apostle Tawiah rechoed the call for a revival, stating, “What the church desperately needs is not just another new denomination or branch of the church, neither is it conferences and seminars nor better machinery and organisations. What the church needs now is fire – fire to awaken itself from its sleep.”

To achieve this, the Tamale Area Head urged ministers and wives to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging God’s faithfulness for the first phase of the “Possessing the Nations” agenda.

In the face of attempts to sideline God from human affairs, Apostle Tawiah asserted that the church must be portrayed as a credible community reflecting Christ’s radiance everywhere. This portrayal, he said, would help the church serve its dual purpose: being called out to God and sent back to transform the world.

Providing the rationale of the “Possessing the Nations” Agenda (Phase 2), Apostle Tawiah explained that the rationale for Vision 2028 aims to build the Church as Christ’s beautiful bride and God’s end-time militia, fully prepared and unleashed into enemy territories.

Emphasising the strength of the church, which constitutes over 10% of Ghana’s population, its solid spiritual foundation, strong governance, administrative structures, and its broad reach spanning over 150 nations, Apostle Tawiah intimated that it was time for the church to unleash its power for national and global transformation.

After outlining the thematic areas of the theme, Apostle Tawiah concluded his message by placing particular emphasis on the term “Unleashed,” signifying becoming an unrestrained, strong, and unstoppable force. To be unleashed as a church means releasing the tremendous power within for the transformation of nations (2Cor. 10:2-4), a call for every member of the church to engage in a form of ministry to contribute to the transformation of nations for God.

Various topics were covered during the four-day event, and prayers were offered for the Tamale Area, the leadership of the Church, and the nation. The meeting was attended by ministers and wives from the 36 districts of the Area.

Report by Tamale Media Team

The Great Commission Movement of Ghana (GCMG), a Christian organisation that aims to spread the gospel and make disciples of all nations, has donated some evangelism equipment to The Church of Pentecost (CoP), one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Ghana.

The donation was made on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at the CoP headquarters in Accra.

The equipment included a projector with a microphone that can reach over 3,000 people, a table for the projector, a generator, a backpack with a projector and a battery inside, a tablet with a speaker and a solar panel that can reach up to 10 people. The equipment is meant to be used for film evangelim and one-on-one evangelism on the field.

The delegation from GCMG was led by Evangelist Kumah Doe, the Director of the organisation.

He expressed his appreciation to the CoP for the partnership and the impact they have made together in advancing the kingdom of God.

He said they have worked with the CoP over the years, especially with the Youth Ministry, and have witnessed the fruits of their collaboration.

He cited the example of the first donation of equipment that GCMG made to the CoP in 2021, which resulted in over 3,464 souls won and over 30 local assemblies opened.

The General Secretary of the CoP, Apostle Samuel Gyau Obuobi, who received the donation behalf of the Church, thanked the GCMG for the visit and the generous gesture.

He said he was grateful to God for the partnership and the progress they have made in fulfilling the Great Commission. He commended the GCMG for upgrading their technology and enhancing their evangelistic methods.

He affirmed the CoP’s commitment to evangelism and discipleship, which are the core of their vision of possessing the nations.

He said he believed the donation would go a long way to help the evangelistic work of the Church and lead to more souls being won to the glory of God.

He assured the GCMG of the CoP’s cooperation and support in strategising to make sure the kingdom of God is well established.

The ceremony was attended by other officials from both organisations, including Apostle Amos Jimmy Markin (Evangelism Director of the CoP), Pastor Emmanuel Appah (Finance and Administration Director of the CoP HQ), Apostle Ebenezer Hagan (Youth Ministry Director of the CoP), Pastor Dr. Felix Dela Klutse (Media Ministry of the CoP HQ), Pastor Alexander Nyame (Coordinator of MPWDs), Pastor Kwasi Asante Annor (Pent TV Manager), Deaconess Angela Peasah (Board Chairman of the GCM), Elder Samuel Addo Mantey (Human Resource Manager for the CoP HQ), Deaconess Comfort Attah (Executive Assistant of the GCM) and others.

PENTECOST NEWS