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Chairman Meets Officers In Downtown Ofaakor Area

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The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, met officers in the Downtown Ofaakor Area on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, to start his three-day visit to the Area.

The meeting, which took place at the Downtown Central church auditorium, was the Chairman’s first official visit to the Area since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Apostle Nyamekye took the opportunity to commend the officers for their hard work and sacrifices in maintaining fellowship within the church even in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He, however, cautioned that as church leaders it is important that they regularly examine themselves to see if they are still in the faith. He said that it is not enough to go about their duties as officers but what is most important is that they remain in the faith.

He, therefore, urged them to show value for the salvation they have received in Christ Jesus and must be prepared to hold on to it till the end at all cost.

Speaking on the topic: “Bitterness,” Apostle Eric Nyamekye explained that the human being is a tripartite being made up of a spirit, soul and body.

“The human being is a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body. The heart is the combination of the soul and the spirit. The Bible describes that as the inner man, the man on the inside,” he said.

He said that bitterness is a seed of resentment in the human heart. However, people do not consciously store up evil, but when they keep offences within them, it grows and causes harm to them and those around them.

According to the Chairman, a lot of Christians have backslidden due to offences inflicted on them in church which they did not let go.

He said that God expects believers to have a pure heart because it is only those who are pure in heart that would see God (Matthew 5:8).

Referring to the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis Chapter 4, Apostle Nyamekye said that God saw the bitterness in Cain’s heart and forewarned him to master it, unfortunately, he did not heed to his warnings and ended up killing his own brother in cold blood.

He said that whenever people are embittered, they give room to the devil to water the bitter seeds to cause havoc to themselves and those around them.

Reading Matthew 12:35 and 15:18-20, the Chairman asserted that a good man is known from what flows out from within them and that translates into his/her actions. “You will not see it from the kind of attire she/he is wearing, rather by the state of his/her heart. What this implies is that the stores of the heart determine our actions and ultimately defines us,” he said.

The Chairman indicated that people who are consumed by bitterness are unforgiving and keep mental records of wrongs, saying, “Some even go to the extent of writing them down in a diary for record-keeping purposes. They tend to have very poisonous and sharp tongues due to the pent-up resentments they keep within. Hence, anytime they open their mouths to speak, they spew all forms of vituperations and invectives, sometimes, without even noticing it themselves.”

He also noted that bitterness weakens the individual spiritually and causes their anointing to run dry.

Apostle Eric Nyamekye, therefore, urged church leaders and Christians in general, to rid themselves of any bitterness they may be nursing within in and to guard the heart against the malady of bitterness (Proverbs 4:23) so that they would not lose their position in Christ.

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Authority Is For Building People Up – Chairman Tells Church Leaders

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The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has said that authority is given to leaders, particularly church leaders, to build others up and not for tearing them down.

According to him, people are not placed in positions of authority to lord themselves or undermine those under them, but to exert special influence over their subordinates and inspire them towards the realisation of permanent beneficial goals that fulfil real needs.

The Chairman said this on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, during an orientation programme for newly appointed/called Apostles, Ministry Directors and Area Heads at the Pentecost Pension Guesthouse, Gbawe.

Speaking on the topic: “Power and Authority,” Apostle Nyamekye explained that although power and authority are sometimes used interchangeably, they are both distinct in meaning.

He noted that whereas “Authority is the mandate to perform, Power is the ability to perform or cause effect.” Another difference he pointed out was that whilst authority is given, power is generated by the individual.

Expounding more on the former, he explained that authority is given by a higher authority (Numbers 27:20), and for this reason, the leader to which the authority has been given is always accountable to the source of his or her authority. He, therefore, emphasised that authority is measured (Ezra 7:24) and could be taken away when not effectively exercised (Daniel 4:31).

The Chairman further noted that since authority is conferred, people are always curious to find out or question its source. He cited an instance in Luke 8:1-8 when Jesus Christ was questioned by His hearers on whose authority He was teaching.

“This was a legitimate question the people asked Jesus. They wanted to know by whose authority he was operating. Jesus knowing this responded with another question because He did not want to respond to them,” he said.

He said that the Lord Jesus has conferred on believers the authority to drive out demons, cure diseases, preach the Good News and to heal the sick (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 9:1-2, Philippians 2:9-11) and should, therefore, exercise this authority in His name.

Apostle Nyamekye noted that people always want to test the authority of a person to prove the amount of power they carry. “Hence, authority should be able to answer questions, solve problems and meet needs. When authority fails to do these, then, it lacks power, and this creates dissatisfaction and all sorts of chaos,” he cautioned.

Buttressing this assertion, he quoted 2 Chronicles 9:1-6 and pointed out how Queen Sheba, having heard about the wisdom of Solomon, went to him to test him with hard questions in an attempt to find out whether the report she had heard about him was valid. Solomon, however, was able to answer all her queries to the extent that she became overwhelmed by his wisdom.

He, therefore, urged church leaders who have received this authority to work to generate power to affirm the calling which they have received. “A man’s physical appearance may give an impression of him but what he carries on the inside will define his or her destiny; real power is within, it is found in the inner person,” he asserted.

He reiterated that “unlike authority which can be taken away, the power generated can never be stolen or lost because it comes as a result of one’s effort.”

To generate enough power for effectiveness, the Chairman avowed requires that they wait upon the Lord and seek His knowledge through the consistent study of His word, stressing that: “Authority is earned or conferred, but you need to back it up with power to be effective.”

He also urged them to seek to learn of Jesus, drink on the Holy Ghost and feed on the Word and work hard at increasing their capacity.

He said that when church leaders undertake such spiritual exercises, streams of living water will flow from within them so that their followers who thirst for God could drink (John 7:37-38) and be happy.

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Minister Through Fasting & Praying – Chairman Tells Church Leaders

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The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has urged ministers and their spouses to devote themselves to fasting and praying in order to excel in their mandate.

Apostle Eric Nyamekye made this clarion call on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, during Day Two of the ongoing Global Ministers and Wives’ Retreat of the Greater-Accra West Zone of the Church at the Sampson Okyere Memorial Temple. 

Exhorting ministers and their wives on the topic: “Fasting,” the Chairman said that, like Abraham (Genesis 12:1-2), God desires to make anyone who submits to Him a blessing to others. He, however, noted that this could only come to pass if the individual avails themselves to be moulded by God as clay in the hand of the potter (Jeremiah18:1-6).

He said that the process of moulding may not always be an easy one, but one is certain that it would lead to a desirable end.

He noted that a significant part of this process is the practice of fasting and praying. He said that as ministers of the Gospel it is expedient that they spend considerable amount of time with God, so that they would always receive life to bless others.

Reading Mark 3:13 and Luke 6:12, the Chairman pointed out how Jesus, their utmost example, often spent time, praying to God, sometimes throughout the night. He urged ministers to drink deep from the spirit so that they would be able to impact those entrusted to their care.

Touching on the benefits of fasting, Apostle Eric Nyamekye used Daniel as an example of a man who regularly engaged in fasting and praying. He also shared some of his personal experiences on how fasting has been beneficial to his ministry to encourage ministers to do same to cause a great revival in the church. 

He said that every revival begins with repentance, thus, a decision to return to God or change from one’s old ways (2 Chronicles 7:14). He however, stressed that repentance must always be backed by action and not mere rhetoric.

Apostle Nyamekye said that when ministers devote themselves to fasting and prayer, they would be able to minister to the spiritual needs of their members. He said that the practice of fasting and prayer, therefore, helps the minister to grow spiritually and to be more spiritually potent.

Other benefits of fasting, according to the Chairman, were that it sharpens one’s spiritual giftings, brings breakthroughs and restoration and causes them to stay spiritually fresh (Luke 2:25-38).

Apostle Eric Nyamekye, therefore, called on church leaders to minister (serve) through fasting and praying as is recorded of Anna in the Bible (Luke 2:36-37).

Through the Global Ministers and Wives’ Retreat dubbed “GMWR”, which is being held from Monday, August 10, to Friday, August 14, 2020, the leadership of The Church of Pentecost aims to lead the charge for a great revival in the church and the world.

Present at the meeting were the General Secretary, Apostle ANY Kumi-Larbi, Apostle David Tettey Tekper (Achimota Area Head), Mrs Mary Nyamekye (Wife of the Chairman), as well as ministers and wives in the Greater-Accra West Zone comprising the Achimota, Odorkor, Kaneshie, Anyaa Ablekuma, Dansoman Areas, Kasoa and the Downtown Ofaakor Areas.

Scenes from the event.

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Christian Clerics To Pray For Ghana

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The Chairman, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, was among some respected Christian leaders invited to the Jubilee House, the seat of government, on March 19, 2020, to offer special prayers for Ghana in the wake of the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

The prayer breakfast meeting which was held at the instance of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, saw other heads of churches in attendance. They include Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah (immediate past Chairman of The Church of Pentecost and former President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council), Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso (General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Ghana, and President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council), Right Reverend Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah (Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana), and Rt. Rev. Paul Kwabena Boafo (Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana).

Others were Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams of the Action Chapel International, Reverend Sam Korankye Ankrah (Apostle General of the Royalhouse Chapel International), Bishop Dag Heward-Mills (Presiding Bishop of the Lighthouse Group of Churches), Bishop Charles Agyinasare of the Perez Chapel International and Rev Eastwood Anaba of the Fountain Gate Chapel, among others.

The clergy prayed for Ghana, the medical personnel fighting the deadly disease, the President and the government and divine intervention against the spread of the disease.

In an address, President Akufo-Addo admonished Ghanaians to seek the face of God, in the wake of the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in the country, whilst observing, at the same time, the enhanced measures announced by government in dealing with the menace.

President Akufo-Addo expressed his belief that Ghanaians, with their abiding faith in God, will overcome the Coronavirus pandemic, adding that “this, too, will pass.”

Reiterating his conviction that ‘these are not ordinary times’, he noted that “in such times, a country whose population is predominantly Christian, must seek the face of the One True God for healing and restoration.”

Chairman Reassures Nurses & Midwives Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Chairman Assures Nurses & Midwives of God’s Protection

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A meeting of the leadership of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana (N&MC) was held on March 24, 2020, to strategise towards combating the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

The meeting, which was convened by the Governing Board of the N&MC, was to encourage nurses and midwives, who form about 70% of Ghana’s health workforce, as they brave the odds to confront the Coronavirus pandemic.

The event was attended by the three principal officers of The Church of Pentecost, namely Apostle Eric Nyamekye (Chairman), Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi (General Secretary) and Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo (International Missions Director). Also present was the then Deputy Health Minister, Hon. Alex Kodwo Abban.

Addressing the health workers on the topic: “What To Do & What Not To Do In Times Like These As Frontliners,” Apostle Nyamekye said that the rate of the spread of COVID-19 is a cause for concern for all, especially for health officials who are at the frontlines. “This is perhaps the greatest medical challenge of our lifetime, and in critical times like these our hope comes from above,” he said.

Referring to the story of Gideon in Judges chapter 6, the Chairman explained how the Israelites were handed over to the Midianites by the Lord due to their disobedience. The Israelites, therefore, hid in caves because of fear. After several years of oppression, the people of Israel cried unto the Lord and He decided to go to their rescue through a young man called Gideon.

Apostle Nyamekye called on health professionals to glean some lessons from what ensued when Gideon received an angelic visitation. According to him, in such devastating times, some people cannot help but question the existence of God and whether He is still with them.

He pointed out that, when the angel urged Gideon to advance and lead the Israelites to battle against the Midianites, he was hesitant, because he felt inadequate being the least in a family that belonged to the weakest clan of Manasseh. The Chairman, therefore, advised that, as frontliners, health workers should desist from complaining about the inadequate resources they may have and rather focus on doing the best with the little they have, trusting that the Lord will go with them and supply their needs.

Touching on what to do as frontliners, the Chairman advised health professionals to adopt the strategy of Joab, when the Israelites went out in battle against the Arameans and the Ammonites as recorded at 2 Samuel 10:9-13.

He explained that when Joab, the commander of the Israeli troops, realised that they were surrounded by the Ammonites on each side of the battle, he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans, whilst he put the rest under the command of his brother, Abishai, and deployed them against the Ammonites.

“Joab then said to Abishai, ‘If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight,’” he stated.

Apostle Nyamekye urged the health workers to employ the same tactic by collaborating and standing bravely together in the fight against the pandemic. He, therefore, called on all health professionals to gird their loins and be prepared to provide the needed medical support whenever they are called upon.

He assured them that, although they may be at the frontlines, the church is solidly backing them in prayers.

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Israeli Ambassador Calls On Chairman

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The Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Shani Copper-Zubida, on March 10th, 2020, paid a courtesy call on the Chairman, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, at the Headquarters at La in Accra.

The meeting was part of the Ambassador’s official visits to key Christian denominations in the country to establish relations with them and explore possible areas of collaboration.

Ambassador Copper-Zubida was received at the Head Office by the Chairman, the General Secretary, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw-Kumi-Larbi and the International Missions Director (IMD), Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo. Also present were the Personal Assistant to the Chairman, Pastor Benedict Eghan, and the Director of Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS), Elder Richard Amaning.

During the interactions, Apostle Eric Nyamekye briefed Ambassador Copper-Zubida on the church’s community transformation agenda; dubbed “Vision 2023”, which forms part of her strategic vision for the next five years.

Among other social interventions, the Chairman mentioned the construction of correctional facilities by the church to decongest overcrowded prisons in Ghana and provide formal education as well as skills training for prison inmates. “These correctional facilities would serve as a place where prison inmates are reformed and reintegrated into society as responsible citizens, and not a place to harden them. So, we will seek to work on their hearts (share the gospel message of Christ with them), minds (provide them with formal education) and hands (give them skills training),” he said.

On possible areas of collaboration between the Israeli Embassy and the CoP, Apostle Nyamekye shared with Ambassador Copper-Zubida the church’s plan to establish irrigational facilities in the northern part of the country. This, he said, would provide people living in the northern regions, who are predominantly farmers, favourable conditions for farming throughout the year.

“The church has over 290,000 members in the northern part of the country. We are confident that constructing these irrigational facilities will promote agriculture in the north and empower them to have sustainable livelihoods,” he said.

Although Israel has only 20% arable land; that is, the geography of the country is not naturally conducive for farming, the country has emerged as a major exporter of fresh farm produce and a world-leader in agricultural technologies such as irrigation farming.

The Chairman, therefore, appealed to the Israeli Ambassador to partner with the church to ensure that the irrigation project becomes a reality.

Ambassador Copper-Zubida, on her part, commended the church for the laudable initiative and pledged her country’s support to the project by making available rich expertise in irrigation farming to the church in order to ensure the success of the project.

Chairman Visits COVID-19 Patients And Health Workers At PCC

Chairman Visits COVID-19 Patients And Health Workers At PCC

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The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, on April 27, 2020, paid a visit to frontline health workers and COVID-19 patients receiving treatment at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC) at Gomoa Fetteh.

This was after the Church handed over the multipurpose facility to the Government of Ghana on April 23, 2020, to be used as an isolation and treatment centre for persons who have been exposed to the deadly virus.

Ministering to the patients, medical personnel, and other attendants at the facility via an on-site Public Address (PA) system, Apostle Nyamekye encouraged them to keep trusting in God for total healing from the viral disease. He indicated that, another name for the Convention Centre is ‘Yesu Krom’ (The City of Jesus), therefore, they should expect a miraculous touch of God during their stay at the facility.

He further revealed that some ministers of the church have been assigned to the Centre to hold daily prayer sessions with the health personnel attending to the patients. Also, Audio Bible and spiritually-edifying tunes are played daily through the PA systems at the Centre to facilitate the healing process of the patients.

Apostle Eric Nyamekye was accompanied by Apostle David Tettey Tekper (Executive Council Member and Achimota Area Head) and Apostle Samuel Nana Yaw Agyei (Centre Manager), among others.