Posts in category: Top Stories

Pastor Samuel Boateng of Redeemer City Church has underscored the urgent need for Ghanaian churches to create welcoming and gospel-centered communities that fully integrate expatriates—not merely as visitors, but as family in Christ.

Delivering a thought-provoking presentation on the topic “From Strangers to Family: Effective Integration Strategies for Expatriates” at the ongoing Home and Urban Missions (HUM) Conference 2025, Pastor Boateng offered deep theological insights and practical strategies to help churches reach and retain expatriates with love, relevance, and intentionality.

The three-day HUM Conference, which began on July 10 and ends on July 12, 2025, at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, has brought together missional leaders, pastors, and practitioners from across Ghana and beyond. It seeks to deepen commitment to reaching marginalised and unreached people groups in urban and peri-urban centres, in line with The Church of Pentecost’s broader mission.

In his session, Pastor Boateng stressed the importance of nurturing churches that are authentically biblical, gospel-centered, Spirit-empowered, and culturally aware.

Referencing the need for contextualisation, he defined it as the practice of answering the real questions people are asking in their specific time and place—using language and forms that resonate with them, even if they don’t yet agree.

“The gospels themselves are contextualized. We must communicate the unchanging message in ways that are understandable, relevant, and compelling to those from different cultures,” he stated.

Pastor Boateng challenged churches, particularly Pentecost International Worship Centres (PIWCs), to recognise that their pastoral and missional focus must extend beyond Ghanaians.

“Don’t forget that you are reaching and pastoring not only Ghanaians. Every city church must intentionally identify the expatriate groups around them and plan to reach them,” he advised.

Drawing from the “Theological Vision” model popularised by City to City Africa, Pastor Boateng explained how doctrinal foundations (hardware), theological vision (middleware), and ministry expressions (software) must work together to design ministries that reflect both timeless truth and cultural relevance.

He urged churches to rethink Sunday services by using a sermon style that is topical, expository, gospel-centered, and evangelistic, assuming non-Christians are present; and selecting music that blends Pentecostal zeal with rhythms and lyrics familiar to expatriates, possibly borrowing from their cultures.

“We must carefully consider who stands at the door to welcome people and who leads various parts of the service, as representation matters,” he further added.

Pastor Boateng also stated that expatriates often desire not only to find spiritual family but also to make a meaningful impact in their host city. “Help them see how the Church enables them to serve others. Give them a mission beyond themselves,” he said.

He advocated for forming small groups within Sunday gatherings to promote deeper community and biblical growth, noting that many expatriates are searching for safe, trusting relationships. He also advised forming intentional core teams made up of both locals and expatriates, trained to be the Church’s “evangelists” to targeted communities.

In addressing perceptions of the church among expatriates—such as suspicion of exploitation or financial motives—he called for gospel-centered leadership, hospitality, and cultural humility. “Invite them into your homes and lives so they see Christianity beyond Sunday,” he urged.

Pastor Boateng further encouraged churches to use existing resources—such as multilingual members who can bridge language gaps—and to train and release them for focused mission work. “Language is God’s powerful tool to reach us. Let’s use it to reach others of different cultures in our cities.”

He affirmed that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church can indeed live up to her calling—reaching and embracing expatriates, not as outsiders, but as fellow citizens of God’s household.

“With a Christ-like heart, we can hold out the Kingdom of God to expatriates. With a humble heart, we can enter their cultures and proclaim the unchanging word of God to a changing world,” he concluded.

PENT NEWS.

Pastor John Angoh, the Resident Minister of the City Churches of The Church of Pentecost in the Netherlands, has called on churches to intentionally embrace cultural and ethnic diversity as a demonstration of the Spirit’s power and Christ’s mission to reach all nations.

He made this passionate appeal during his presentation on the topic “Unity, Diversity, and the City Church: Embracing the Nations Through the Power of the Spirit” at the maiden edition of the Home and Urban Missions (HUM) Conference 2025, held at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh.

Referencing Jeremiah 32:27, Pastor Angoh reminded participants that God is the “God of all flesh,” and that nothing is too hard for Him—including building united, multicultural churches in increasingly diverse urban spaces.

Drawing from Psalm 133, he described unity as both beautiful and powerful, comparing it to sacred oil and the refreshing dew of Hermon. “Where there is unity, there is God’s commanded blessing,” he said, stressing that a truly unified church creates the conditions for spiritual vitality and fruitfulness.

Pastor Angoh pointed to Acts 2:1–2 as a vivid example of the power of unity, where the early disciples were together in one place, leading to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

He asserted that the original design of the Church is that of a Spirit-filled, united, and multicultural body that breaks down barriers between people groups.

He also acknowledged the practical challenges of building inclusive churches in multicultural settings, including language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, and subconscious bias. However, he offered biblical solutions and urged the Church to take intentional steps—such as confronting stereotypes with humility, promoting cultural sensitivity, and selecting diverse leadership that reflects the full body of Christ.

Citing Ephesians 2:14–18, Pastor Angoh emphasised that Jesus’ mission was to create a new humanity out of divided peoples. “This is our calling—to build a church that is not only diverse but deeply united in Christ,” he said.

He further drew lessons from the early Church in Acts 2:42–47, which thrived in community, shared resources, and continued steadfastly in fellowship, prayer, and the apostles’ teaching. Highlighting Acts 6:5–6, he said diversity in leadership is key to addressing cultural tensions while maintaining unity.

On the progress being made in the Netherlands, Pastor Angoh said The Church of Pentecost City Churches are already seeing growth through prayer, teaching, discipleship, strategic media use, and culturally relevant outreach.

He stated that the Church’s goal is to have more ministers from different nationalities by 2028, emphasising the need for sacrifice and intentionality to achieve this.

“Inclusive churches must foster a Christ-centered culture where the only dress code is Christ Himself (Galatians 3:27),” he said.

He encouraged churches to structure their services, squads, and leadership to reflect the diversity of the body of Christ, adding that worship styles, languages, and customs must be navigated with love, humility, and without compromising sound doctrine.

Pastor Angoh outlined several challenges multicultural churches may face, including segregation within congregations, unintentional exclusion, and language barriers. However, he affirmed that with prayer, sound biblical teaching, genuine hospitality, and openness to the Holy Spirit, these challenges can be overcome.

“I envision a Church for the nations—anointed for the city—characterised by dynamic worship, fervent prayer, relevant preaching, strategic media use, and organisational excellence. This is what it means to be a Spirit-filled, multicultural, and mission-focused community,” he stated.

The ongoing three-day HUM Conference, which began on July 10 and ends on July 12, 2025, is equipping participants to reach marginalised and unreached people groups in urban and peri-urban areas.

Leadership of The Church of Pentecost believes the conference will be a major catalyst for the Home and Urban Missions agenda, in line with the church’s broader missional vision.

PENT NEWS.