Posts in category: PENTSOS

The Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS), the social services arm of The Church of Pentecost, in partnership with ICM-Ghana (a Christian non-governmental organisation), has commissioned a state-of-the-art library facility at the Pentecost Preparatory School at Dunkwa-on-Offin.

The facility forms part of ICM’s School Library Improvement initiative aimed at instilling reading habits among pupils in Pentecost Schools in deprived areas.

The PENTSOS Director, Elder Richard Amaning, said in an interview with PENTECOST NEWS that the project will go on a long way to impact on the quality of teaching and learning across beneficiary schools.

ICM-Ghana is committed to setting up P.E.A.C.E Centres (Libraries) in the Eastern and Central regions of Ghana and to equip the pupils with leadership skills.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Wa Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Daniel Nii Tetteh Tackie, on Thursday, August 4, 2022, commissioned a weaving centre for smock and kente making constructed by the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS) at Kaleo, a community in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

The project falls under the Economic Empowerment Programme (EPP) of PENTSOS, which seeks to economically empower church members, especially the youth, to gain sustainable employment.

Apostle Tetteh Tackie, in his welcome address, indicated that the centre is in line with the transformation agenda of the Church, dubbed “Vision 2023: Possessing the Nations.” 

He thanked the Executive Council for the impactful vision. He also applauded the Kaleo District Minister of the Church, Pastor Sampson Agyei, and the Kaleo District Executive Committee for initiating the training programme to provide employable skills and reduce urban migration among the youth. 

The Domwine District Minister, Pastor Felix Opoku, in a short exhortation based on 1 Samuel 21:8-9, encouraged staff and trainees to make every effort to take good care of the centre.

In a brief remark, Elder Ing. Frank Adutwum, the Operations Coordinator of PENTSOS, said it is the vision of the leadership of the Church to provide income-generating ventures for her members, hence the construction of the centre. 

He noted that the centre comprises a training area, an office and a storeroom for the vocation. 

Elder Adutwum further indicated that three similar projects have been completed at Temaa in the Walewale (for sewing) Area and Daloagyili in the Tamale Area (for weaving, sewing and hairdressing) and Zebilla in the Bawku Area (for smock weaving).

“In all. 220 youth are being trained in these four centres,” he said.

The Kaleo Weaving Centre started in 2019 with four apprentices. The centre currently boasts 50 trainees, out of whom 13 have successfully graduated after passing their National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) exams. In addition to the centre, the Wa Area of the Church runs two smock-weaving centres at Wa and Wapani.

The commissioning of the centre was witnessed by a cross-section of the area pastorate and their wives, the Chairperson of Upper West Weaving Association, the Chairperson for the Kaleo Weaving Association, family members of graduands and members of the Church.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana on Friday, June 17, 2022, organised and supervised the 2022/2023 academic year elections of Pentecost Preparatory School, Ansaful (PPS-Ansaful) at the school premises. 

This historic event was held under the auspices of Apostle Samuel Out-Appiah (Winneba Area Head, The Church of Pentecost), Elder Ishmael K.A. Otabil (Headteacher, PPS-Ansaful), and Pastor Kwao Dosu (Manager, PPS -Ansaful)

According to Elder Ishmael Otabil, the motive of involving the EC in the school’s elections is to train and educate students on democratic governance and the act of exercising their franchise.

He further noted that nomination forms were declared about a month ago, and 11 students picked up forms for various positions. 

Before the start of the voting process, the various aspirants shared with the students and staff their manifesto.

Elder Otabil urged the aspirants, students, and other staff to seek for peaceful and healthy election to prove to the whole community and country that the school is a mission school and the election is about choices and not chaos. 

After a successful voting process, the EC officials declared the results amidst wild jubilation and cheers from the students. 

The winners were: David Aidoo (School Prefect), Emmanuel B. Arthur (Assistant), Erica Buah Odoom (Girls Prefect), Jessica Aglubi (Assistant), Kwabena Saah (Sports Prefect), Samuel kweikuma (Assistant), Florence Akorusu (Girls Sports Prefect), Charity Asabea (Compound Overseer), and Grace Akoa (Assistant).

The newly-elected prefects were prayed for to be endowed with strength, wisdom and knowledge to execute the task as expected. The school staff also took them through an orientation to make them more effective and efficient.

Apostle Samuel Otu-Appiah extended his warmest felicitations to the students and the school management for conducting the 2022/2023 academic year school prefects’ election in such an unprecedented manner. 

Report by Pastor Isaac Sunkwah Nekasen, Gyahadze District

The Bawku Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Gyambibi Boateng, has commissioned a weaving centre for smock making constructed by the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS) at Zebilla in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The project falls under the Economic Empowerment Programme (EPP) of PENTSOS, which seeks to economically empower members of the Church, especially the youth, by providing them with skills training so as to gain sustainable employment.

Apostle Gyambibi, in his address at the commissioning ceremony last Sunday, indicated that, two years ago, the Area birthed the vision to start the weaving centre due to the high unemployment among the youth and the frequent travel to the south to seek livelihood opportunities. 

“The centre was, therefore, established at the premises of the Zebilla Central Assembly church to train members with economic livelihoods and empower the women to support themselves and their families,” he said.

According to him, the project is in line with the Church’s strategic vision, dubbed “Vision 2023: Possessing the Nations,” which seeks to influence every sphere of society with the values and principles of the kingdom of God. He, therefore, thanked the Chairman of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, and the Executive Council for the vision.

Elder Richard Amaning, the PENTSOS Director, stated that, beyond preaching the gospel message of Jesus Christ, Christians must seek to transform their communities. Hence, after discovering the centre during its routine monitoring exercise, his outfit decided to construct a suitable structure conducive for the training, he added.

He noted that the centre comprises a training area, an office and a storeroom for the vocations whose activities are affected by the vagaries of the weather. 

Elder Amaning further indicated that a similar project has been completed at Temaa in the Walewale Area (for sewing) and Daloagyili in the Tamale Area (for weaving, sewing and hairdressing). Meanwhile, the project at Kaleo in the Walewale Area is also ongoing.

It is also worth noting that PENTSOS, as part of its initial support to the centre, provided 15 weaving machines to the centre in 2021. 

The Bawku Area currently has three smock-weaving centres at Zebilla, Bawku and Garu, with a total enrolment of 192. The Zebilla centre currently has 76 apprentices, 37 of whom are due for graduation. It is the vision of the leadership of the Area to establish a vocational and technical school in the future. The Chief of Zebilla has donated nine acres of land to the Church for the school project.

Speaking to PENTECOST NEWS, Deaconess Comfort Tia, the trainer at the Zebilla centre, said that, since its establishment, the centre has provided hope and brought transformation to many teenage girls since they are no longer burdened with raising the “Masters fee” or buying weaving machine before gaining admission. This, she said, has contributed to reducing the migration of young girls to the south to engage in the head-porting (kaya) venture.

PENTECOST NEWS

The 10-acre solar-powered irrigation farm project initiated by the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS) last year at Tanga in the Upper East Region of Ghana has been commissioned.

The project, which falls under the Sustainable Livelihood Programme (SLP) of PENTSOS, was commissioned by the Bawku Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Gyambibi Boateng, on behalf of the Chairman, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, at a special ceremony held yesterday.

The SLP, among other objectives, seeks to empower members, especially the youth and other local farmers, to gain sustainable income.

Apostle Gyambibi, in his welcome address at the ceremony, indicated that the mandate of the Church is to disciple the nations, and embedded in this charge is the responsibility of transforming society. 

The Area Head said the irrigation project is, therefore, a catalyst for achieving relevant priorities in the five-year strategic vision of The Church of Pentecost (Vision 2023) aimed at “possessing the nations” by transforming society with Kingdom principles and values.

He further noted that the Church leadership remains hopeful that, through such projects, young people in the northern part of the country would no longer migrate to the south in search of non-existing greener pastures during the dry season. 

Apostle Gyambibi, therefore, thanked the Chairman, the General Secretary (Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi) and the Executive Council for their immense contribution to the success of the project.

Explaining the rationale for the project, the Director of PENTSOS, Elder Richard Amaning, said that “a major challenge identified in the northern regions is the one farming season (May-September).”

Therefore, to enhance food security and job opportunities, PENTSOS, in partnership with the Headquarters and the Bawku Area, decided to embark on dry-season irrigation farming (mainly short-cycle vegetable production) to support members of the church to create job opportunities and sustainable income, he added.

According to him, the irrigation facility would directly support 50 smallholder farmers to cultivate vegetables like okra, onion, pepper, tomatoes, cabbage etc. and reduce their dependency on rain-fed agriculture, which is on a balance of probabilities.

Highlighting the scope of the project, the Operations Coordinator of PENTSOS, Elder Ing. Frank Adutwum stated that the project, which cost GHS 290,000.00, has three boreholes, supplying about 70,000 litres (15,400 gallons) of water for eight hours daily. Two boreholes have also been connected to solar pumps delivering about 50,000 litres of water into four installed Polytanks, while the remaining borehole operates on a generator. In addition, a drip irrigation technology has been installed on a three-acre portion of the land to ensure adequate supply of water on the farmland.

To ensure the sustainability of the system, Elder Ing. Adutwum said beneficiary farmers have been trained and facilitated to form an association with established modalities to contribute to the maintenance of the irrigation scheme. Also, PENTSOS is working with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Bawku West District, to provide agronomic services to farmers. 

Mr. Abass Imoro, Deputy Coordinator Director at the Bawku West Assembly, on his part, said that the intervention is in line with the One-Village-One-Dam (1V1D) policy introduced by the government of Ghana to support irrigation farming and called on other faith-based organisations to emulate the gesture of The Church of Pentecost. 

The Chief of Tanga, Naaba Sampson Ayaba Ayuubo, in his remarks, thanked the church for the project, describing it as “more than gold or silver.” He also called on the entire community to take full advantage of the facility to ensure its success.

Among other dignitaries at the commissioning ceremony were Pastor Joel Essel Donkoh (Bawku Area Secretary), Pastor Sampson Boakye (Tanga District Minister and Chairman of the Project Steering Committee), Elder Kwame Frimpong (Health Coordinator, PENTSOS), a cross-section of the pastorate and their wives, Bawku Area Executive Committee members, beneficiary farmers and members of the community.

The farmers expressed sincere gratitude to God and The Church of Pentecost for bringing them tangible hope. The farmers harvested some okra planted on the drip system during the event.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Pentecost Hospital in Madina, Accra has been rated among the top four mission hospitals in Ghana by PharmAccess, an international agency that accredits health organisations for improving patient care.

The hospital, fully owned by The Church of Pentecost, achieved a SafeCare Level 4 certification for providing quality healthcare and upholding international best practices.

The other three mission hospitals which fall under the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) that achieved the SafeCare Level 4 certification are St. Francis Xavier Hospital in Assin Foso, Holy Family Hospital in Techiman and St. Joseph Hospital in Nkwanta in the Oti Region.

With the SafeCare Level 4 certification, the Pentecost Hospital, Madina is one step ahead to become a world-class hospital.

PharmAccess Country Director, Dr. Maxwell Akwasi Antwi, and SafeCare Country Manager, Bonifacia Benefo Agyei, were at the Headquarters of The Church of Pentecost, La-Accra on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, to present the certificate to the Chairman of the church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye. Present was the Finance and Administration Director (FAD), Apostle Lawrence Otu-Nyarko; the Director of the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS), Elder Richard Amaning; the Medical Director of the Pentecost Hospital, Madina, Pastor Dr. Edward Arko Koranteng, and the Health Co-ordinator for PENTSOS, Elder Kwame Frimpong.

Explaining the concept of the quality review assessment, Dr. Maxwell Akwasi Antwi said that the CHAG-SafeCare collaboration towards quality improvement among all CHAG healthcare facilities commenced in late 2019 and is making great strides among all facilities of the various denominations of CHAG.

According to him, the programme’s key objectives are to measure, rate, certify, improve, and benchmark all CHAG healthcare facilities.  

He revealed that so far, out of the 311 CHAG healthcare facilities assessed with the SafeCare international standards, four facilities have attained and have been awarded SafeCare Level 4 Certificates.

“The summarized interpretation or impact of the SafeCare Level 4 is that the healthcare facility is accustomed to operating according to standardized procedures and is monitoring the implementation of procedures and guidelines,” he said, adding, “This facility has a monitoring eye on high-risk procedures and activities and the quality of its services is less likely to fluctuate.”

He stated that globally, there are about 2000 health facilities on the quality improvement programme, with about 600 in Ghana, and that about 900 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other paramedics have been trained to do the peer review assessment.

“For the first time in Ghana, we have four health facilities that have made it to the SafeCare Level 4 standard. Level 5 means that the hospital is good as any other hospital in the world. So, to really move from level one through to level four, what it means is that Pentecost Hospital, Madina is a step away from a world-class hospital,” Dr Antwi said.

He was hopeful that with consistent improvement in quality healthcare delivery, Pentecost Hospital Madina could attain the ultimate goal of becoming the first world-class SafeCare hospital in Ghana.

Elated by this development, the Chairman of the church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, commended the Medical Director of the Pentecost Hospital, Madina, Dr. Arko Koranteng, and his team of workers, the PENTSOS Director and all others who contributed in various ways to the success story of the hospital.

Apostle Nyamekye attested to the fact that there have been visible changes at the Pentecost Hospital, Madina in the area of infrastructural development and quality care delivery, saying, “I see the assessment as a genuine account of what is now happening at the hospital.”

He pledged the church’s resolve to provide access to quality healthcare delivery in Ghana to complement the government’s efforts in improving quality and accessible healthcare delivery to Ghanaians.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Church of Pentecost, Ghana’s largest Pentecostal denomination with a presence in 136 countries, has been hailed as the country’s foremost Christian organisation, providing jobs for many Ghanaians.

As of December 31, 2021, The Church of Pentecost has offered direct employment to a total of six thousand and fifty-four (6,054) Ghanaians, making it one of the highest private sector employers in the country.

The figure is very significant due to its economic impact on the many households and other dependants who might have derived a direct benefit from the people employed by the church.

Findings by Pentecost News indicate that out of the total figure, the Headquarters alone has employed 406 people, while those employed in the full-time pastoral ministry (pastors) were 1,826.

Other sectors of the church such as the Pentecost University (PU), has a total staff strength of 179. Pentecost Press Limited (PPL) has employed 56 people, while PENT TV and Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC) have employed 32 and 61 persons, respectively.

Pentecost hospitals, numbering 10 (Pentecost Hosptial, Madina; Pentecost Hospital, Tarkwa; Pentecost Hospital, Ayanfuri; and the Pentecost Clinics at Enchi Kwawu, Kasapin, Yawmatwa, Kpassa, Twifu Agona, Abrafo-Odumase, and Kultamise), have together employed a total of 1, 043 workers.

“Pentecost schools, comprising 98 basic schools, two senior high schools and two vocational training institutes, have together employed a total of 2,184 workers,” the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has stated when delivering the State of the Church’s Address today at the opening sessions of the 17^th Extraordinary Council Meetings held at Gomoa-Fetteh, Kasoa in the Central Region of Ghana.

On the financial and economic empowerment sector, the church, through the Pentecost Co-operative Mutual Support and Social Services Society Limited (PENCO), has created direct employment for 267 people.

The 6,054 figure excludes the number of Ghanaians employed by the various districts offices of the church.  The Church of Pentecost as at December 2021 had 1,571 districts.

The global employment impact of The Church of Pentecost runs into about 10,000 as the church currently has branches in 136 nations, where full-time ministers have been employed to man the churches there in addition to the auxiliary workers. The total number of ministers in the missions field was one thousand, two hundred and fifty-nine (1,259) in 2021.

The church runs a number of Bible colleges in its external (foreign) branches such as the Birmingham Christian College (BCC) – UK, Pentecost Biblical Seminary (PBS) – USA, and Pentecost Francophone Theological Bible School (PFTBS) – La Cote D’Ivoire, as well as various clinics and hospitals, dotted across the world, which has provided employment avenue for hundreds of people.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Church of Pentecost, under its Community Safe Water Improvement Project, continues to reach out to the underserved communities, and institutions in Ghana, without access to potable drinking water.

Through such initiatives, The Church of Pentecost, in 2021, constructed 51 boreholes within 23 Areas of the Church. The facilities are now serving over 60,000 people who previously travelled long distances in search of potable drinking water.

This was revealed by Apostle Eric Nyamekye, Chairman of the church, on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, during the Opening Session of the 17^th Extraordinary Council Meetings, at the Pentecost Convention Centre, Gomoa-Fetteh, near Kasoa in the Central Region of Ghana.

He noted that the Headquarters of the church financed 15 of the water projects, while some Areas and Districts funded 34. However, two of the boreholes were funded by individuals, namely Lawyer Agyei-Gyamfi of New Achimota District of The Church of Pentecost and Elder Kwabena Boamah of Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Michel Camp.

“Cumulatively, in the past three years (2019 – 2021), the Church has provided 124 water facilities in deprived communities, institutions (schools, prisons, police stations, and health facilities), and mission houses in Ghana,” he iterated.

The afore-mentioned initiatives were spearheaded by the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS). PENTSOS is a Directorate of The Church of Pentecost, registered as a non-governmental organisation (NGO), and mandated to fulfill the social/charitable mission of the Church. Its core functions include the initiation, promotion, development and management of social services and projects of the Church.

PENTECOST NEWS.

Members of The Church of Pentecost (CoP) in Ghana in 2021 benefitted from health care support of the church at an accrued amount of GH₵ 2,951,453.04.

This includes medical bills of some needy members of the church who struggled with basic medical care, while others with special medical conditions that needed immediate response and provision were not left out.

Delivering the State-of-the-Church Address during the Opening Session of the 17^th Extraordinary Council Meetings on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa-Fetteh, near Kasoa, the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, stressed that to advance health care provision in deprived Ghanaian communities, the church constructed two (2) new health facilities, namely Kultamisi Pentecost Clinic, near Bawku in the Upper East Region and the Abrafo-Odumase Pentecost Clinic in the Central Region, in addition to the existing eight health facilities of the church.

The existing eight health facilities of the church are Pentecost Hosptial, Madina; Pentecost Hospital, Tarkwa; Pentecost Hospital, Ayanfuri; and the Pentecost Clinics at Enchi Kwawu, Kasapin, Yawmatwa, Kpassa, and Twifu Agona.

He mentioned that the 10 health facilities have a total staff strength of 1,043, comprising doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, anesthetists, and biomedical scientists.

“These health facilities recorded a 24.6% increase in the Out-Patient Department (OPD) attendance from 176,112 in 2020 to 219,376 in 2021,” he stated.

PENTECOST NEWS.

Fifty-four youth in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district of Ghana have been trained in beekeeping and honey production by the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS).

The project is in line with the Sustainable Economic Development programme of PENTSOS, which aims at building the productive capacity of the youth and creating employment opportunities for young members in the church.

The exercise is being undertaken in partnership with Nkunim Foods, a private sector business in Ghana, which also acts as off-takers for the honey when harvested. The company supplied 62 hives to all 54 beneficiaries of the programme.

Speaking to PENTECOST NEWS during a routine monitoring exercise at Sawla yesterday, Elder Ing. Frank Adutwum, the PENTSOS Operations Coordinator, said that these community-level livelihood projects are income-generating will serve as an alternative livelihood.

“The ultimate objective of the beekeeping and honey production project is to improve on household income,” he said.

Elder Adutwum further stated that the project would also serve as a short-term measure in creating jobs for the members of the Church in deprived communities and reducing rural-urban migration.

PENTSOS and Nkunim Foods are currently embarking on a monitoring exercise to provide technical assistance to the beekeepers to enable them to harvest the honey without contamination. 

After the harvest, Nkumin Foods, as part of the arrangement, would purchase the extracted honey, thereby creating a ready market for the product.

PENTECOST NEWS