Posts in category: Top Stories

Christian singles, especially women, should always look out for God-fearing persons when choosing a spouse for marriage, Mrs. Gladys Oduro, wife of the Yennyawoso District Minister of The Church of Pentecost, has advised.

Mrs. Oduro administered this piece of advice when she delivered a sermon at the climax of the New Tafo Area week celebration on Sunday, July 10, 2022, at the Yennyawoso Central Assembly auditorium. Referencing Colossians 3:18-21; Matthew 19:2-8; Malachi 2:15-16, among others, she spoke on the topic: “Causes and Effects of Divorce.”

According to her, material things, profession, and physical appearances should not be the criteria for selecting a life partner as such do not guarantee a peaceful and successful marriages.

She, therefore, charged single people to have a prescience to look beyond physical attributes of their suitors before accepting or turning down their proposals.

Mrs Oduro further noted that one reason for the institution of marriage was for couples to raise godly children. In that sense, she admonished couples not to pull apart what God has joined together because whoever divorces their spouse becomes an enemy of God as divorce defeats God’s purpose of marriage.

“God will not forgive us if we do not marry in accordance with His directives because marriage is dear to Him,” she cautioned.

Admitting to the challenges and painful nature of some happenings in marriage, Mrs. Oduro incited married couples to strive to exercise patience no matter the circumstances, stressing that “marriage is work.”

She advised the congregants against failure to obey God’s word, fantasies, unforgiveness, distant relationship, bad company, laziness and poverty as such are potential causes of divorce.

On effects of divorce, Mrs. Oduro attributed the moral decadence and social vices such as streetism, waywardness of children, drug addictions, teenage pregnancies, armed robberies, among others, to broken homes.

She, therefore, urged married and prospective couples to use means of managing marital issues to avoid incidence of broken homes for proper upbringing of their children. This, she said, could be done through prayer, God’s guidance and adequate planning, noting that all married couples living by the rules of love and submissiveness as enshrined in the scriptures can make their marital union glorious.

“Next to Christianity is good marriage,” she remarked.

She also noted that childlessness does not negate God’s original design for the family because whether or not married couples have children, God still considers them a family.

The week-long event, dubbed “Kohinta,” was held in two sessions; morning and evening. The event was organised under the general theme: “God’s Original Design For The Family” (Colossians 3:18-21) with several thematic areas exhaustively treated by various speakers.

Report by Yennyawoso District Media Team

The James Mckeown Worship Centre (JMWC) in the Dansoman Area of The Church of Pentecost has organised a special service to educate church members on personal security and other emerging threats. 

The event, dubbed “Security Sunday,” had the Deputy Commander of the Ghana Police Academy, ACP Dr. Gustav Herbert Yankson, as the resource person. 

Dr. Yankson revealed in his presentation that the main aim of the activities of terrorist groups was to cause fear and panic in the populace. 

According to him, these groups attack places of high occupancy, making the church a prime target. 

He enumerated some actions the church must undertake to improve security in and around its premises. 

He further stated that the church must procure and install CCTV cameras, designate and adequately train its security team to detect suspicious characters early and educate members on what to do during terrorist attacks. 

He also charged members not to delay to report strange people with strange characters in the church to the leadership.

Concerning personal security, ACP Dr. Yankson advised members to be moderate in showing off their possessions and locations on social media, be very observant with people in and around their environment, and inform close family members of their movements. 

He also encouraged parents to desist from sharing pictures of their children, the schools they attend and their routines on social media.

“This may give kidnappers and other potential criminals easy access to information to profile your children to harm them,” he said.

On his part, the Resident Minister, Overseer Dr. Perez Sepenu, indicated that due to the rising trends of terrorist attacks on big gathering points in neighbouring countries and churches in other jurisdictions, it was crucial to sensitise church members on how to detect early activities of terrorists.

He, therefore, stated that “Security Sunday” is a sensitisation programme to empower members to become security conscious and draw the attention of appropriate authorities when necessary. 

“The church exists not only to cater for the spiritual needs of members but also the physical needs of its members, and this sensitisation talk is one of the ways to meet the security needs of the members through knowledge empowerment,” he added.

Present at the event were Dr (Mrs) Naa Akushia Sepenu (Wife of the Resident Minister), members of the District Executive Committee, officers and members of JMWC.

Report by JMWC Media

Participants of the maiden “Singles’ Outing”, organised by the A-Lang Worship Centre of The Church of Pentecost, had the time of their lives at the Aqua Safari Resort, an eco-friendly luxury recreational facility located in the heart of Ada in the Greater-Accra Region of Ghana,

The event, a brainchild of the Resident Minister, Apostle Dr. Christian Tsekpoe, aimed at equipping young men and women in the Church on how to make productive use of single life whilst dealing with its associated challenges.

The church delegation of 24 people was led to the resort on Saturday, July 2, 2022 by the resident minister, his wife, Mrs. Olivia Tsekpoe, and Elder Isaac Danful, the Presiding Elder for the English Assembly,

After enjoying the serene and natural ambience, various indigenous and exotic tree species, beautiful landscape, ponds and aquariums, the team settled at the summer hut, where they held open discussions with the resident minister and his wife.

Apostle Dr. and Mrs. Tsekpoe, both seasoned relationship counsellors and co-authors of the book “The Power of Vows,” shared with the audience some practical life lessons to help them prepare adequately towards marriage.

Mrs Tsekpoe, in her presentation, stressed that single life is a period of self-development and empowerment through education, Christian fellowship, character formation and holistic living.

She advised the youth to have a personal encounter with God, saying: “You should be able to discern the Lord’s voice and know how to commune with Him at a personal level.” 

Quoting Proverb 20:6: “A man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?” Mrs Tsekpoe urged single women to make it a habit of praying for their future husbands by using the scripture as a guide.

“Pray towards your marriage and ask God to give you a faithful and godly man as a husband,” she advised.

Dr. Christian Tsekpoe, on his part, also urged single men to pray earnestly towards their marriages using Proverbs 19:14: “Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord,” as a guide.

The Resident Minister advised single people to always be on the lookout for genuine God-fearing and teachable persons when choosing a life partner.

“If the person lacks one of these qualities, you should not be in a relationship with them or even think of marrying them,” he cautioned.

He also advised Christian singles not to rush into marriage but wait on the Lord for His appointed time. He buttressed this assertion with a statement by Niall James Horan, an Irish singer, that “being single does not mean you are weak. It means you are strong enough to wait for what you deserve.”

“As singles, we should also know that marriage is meant to fulfill a mandate and not for the temporary gratification of the flesh or human desires. Marriage is for better and for worse, so as Christian singles, we ought to take our time and, with the help of God, choose the right person. We should, therefore, not be desperate to get married,” he stressed.

As part of the event, participants were treated to a variety of local and international dishes. They also engaged in various games and activities, including football, horse riding, bow and arrow, cycling and Segway riding. 

The singles’ outing was, indeed, a great success. Not only did the participants leave the resort with great lessons and fun pictures, but also beautiful memories that would stay with them forever.

Report by Grace Danful

The Vice-Chancellor of Pentecost University, Apostle Prof. Kwabena Agyapong-Kodua, has urged ministers of The Church of Pentecost to be purposeful about the “possessing the nations” agenda since it is central to the work of the ministry.

According to him, “the vision of possessing the nations is a lifelong agenda and is actually the heartbeat of Christ.”

Prof. Agyapong-Kodua said this during a preparatory retreat for the 2022 batch of ministerial students School of Theology, Mission and Leadership (STML) of the university ahead of their official commissioning on Friday.

In a four-point teaching on the theme “The Purpose of The Call,” the VC gave clarity on why an understanding of the purpose of the call was necessary; the enablers of the call; and the kind of ministers required to possess the nations.

With multiple biblical references including Obadiah 21, Daniel 7:26, Revelation 11:15 and Ephesians 3:10, he asserted that God’s purpose is that, the Kingdoms of the world would become His. 

According to him, this agenda of God is revealed when He called Abraham (Genesis 12); and out of him the nation, Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6)- his treasured possession; and out of Israel, Christ Jesus, the Saviour.

Referring to Ephesians 3:10, he further stated God is now using the Church as a conduit to make Himself known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. 

“Everything God is doing or going to do with us is for one purpose- to facilitate His agenda of reclaiming the Kingdoms of this world unto Himself. For this reason, ‘the purpose of our call as ministers is to pursue the ‘possessing the nations’ agenda.’” 

The Pentecost University VC further indicated that everything is warming up to the day that all the Kingdoms of the world will surrender to the authority of God and that ministers have been called as agents to facilitate that. 

To achieve this objective, he advised ministers to constantly avail themselves for the infilling of the power of the Holy Spirit and to demonstrate a Christ-like lifestyle, stressing that: “these two attributes are essential for the success in ministry.”

Prof. Agyapong-Kodua enumerated activities such as evangelism, baptism, prayers, and worship, among others, as useful enablers that should be adopted and carried out intentionally to equip the Church to accomplish her ultimate purpose of “possessing the nations.” 

The School of Theology, Mission and Leadership is a school under Pentecost University. It is responsible for training individuals called into the full-time ministry of The Church of Pentecost and those interested in biblical and theological studies. The STML plays a critical role in the University A+ agenda of Pentecost University.

Report by David Gunn

The Adukrom District of The Church of Pentecost in the Koforidua Area has held a retirement service for 18 officers of the church who have served for several years.

The service took place at the Adukrom Central Assembly Auditorium held on July 10, 2022.

The retired officers consisted of five Elders, one Deacon, and 12 Deaconesses. They are Elders Samuel Kwame Odame (served for 54 years), Nicholas Akrofi (served for 44 years), Emmanuel Atta Ansah (served for 40 years), Joseph Arko Adjei (served for 32 years) and Emmanuel Bekoe (served for 28 years), as well as Deacon Alex Adu Bonsra (served for 27 years).

The retired deaconesses are Rosina Asare (served for 45 years), Grace Mante (served for 37 years), Margaret Owusu (served for 37 years), Leticia Ofori Ansah (served for 37 years), Esther Manu (who served for 32 years), Patricia Obuobi (served for 31 years) and Jane Ashia (served for 28 years).

The rest are Cecilia Akrofi (served for 26 years), Rose Okai (served for 24 years), Grace Amoako Mensah (served for 15 years), and Henrietta Oye Ayisi (served for 12 years).

Speaking at the service on the topic, “They are Worthy of Double Honour” based on Matthew 25:9-13 and 1 Timothy 17:20, Pastor Seth Ofei Badu, District Minister of Koforidua Old Estate District, noted that the work of an officer of the church is a great responsibility, which comes with rewards at the end.

In a short address, the Area Head for Koforidua, Apostle Samuel Osei Asante, who doubles as an Executive Council Member of the church, congratulated the retirees for their selfless services to God and the church over years.

He advised officers in active service to emulate the exemplary qualities of sacrifice, commitment, humility, hard work, perseverance, and prayer life exhibited by the retired officers.

Present at the service were Prophet Ebenezer Appiah (Dansoman Area Head), Pastor Samuel Kwaku Asante (Chemunaa District), Pastor Alfred Ahorsu (Akropong District), Pastor Dennis Gatorwu (Kitase District), and the pastorate in the Koforidua Area.

Report by Deacon Isaac Agyei.

The Asokwa Area of The Church of Pentecost, under the leadership of Prophet James Amaniampong, has donated food items to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) branch of the Pentecost Students and Associates (PENSA) and the KNUST Food Bank to support the welfare needs of students.

The items, worth GH¢ 75,000.00, included 80 bags of rice, 20 packs of sardine, 20 boxes of mackerel, 30 packs of 1-litre oil, 30 boxes of tomato paste, 30 boxes of milk, 500 packs of gari, 20 boxes of Milo, 30 packs of Yazz sanitary pads, 20 boxes of Voltic water, 100 bags of sachet water, among others.

Present at the brief presentation ceremony on Sunday, June 26 2022, at the PENSA-KNUST building site grounds at Ayeduase, were the Asokwa Area pastorate and their wives, some officers of the church and their spouses, representatives of KNUST staff, the University Relations Officer and his team and about 200 members of PENSA-KNUST

Addressing the gathering at the event, Prophet Amaniampong said that the Lord laid it on the heart of the Area leadership to visit PENSA-KNUST and use the opportunity to extend brotherly love to those who, for one reason or another, may be in need. 

“We cherish you and appreciate your efforts and seriousness. We have followed your performances as a church, and we are proud of you. We will continue to pray with you for success in all your disciplines,” he said.

The area also donated food items to the KNUST food bank. The donation was received on behalf of the university by Mrs Theodora Oduro, the Senior Assistant Registrar, Student Affairs. She expressed gratitude for the generous gesture, describing it as a timely intervention.

“Over 1,200 people applied for the Food Bank last semester, but we could only serve 500 people,” she remarked, adding that the donation would greatly ease the burden on her office.

Pastor Jonathan Ebo Quaye, the KNUST Resident Campus Minister of the Church, and Elder Francis Amihere (PENSA-KNUST President) accepted the donation on behalf of PENSA-KNUST; they were grateful to the leadership of the Asokwa Area for this kind initiative. 

Present to grace the occasion were Apostle Dr. Joseph I.T Buertey (Resident Minister, PIWC-Asokwa), Pastor Lt. Franklin Kumi-Lartey, Pastor Peter Blood Asante (Resident Minister, PIWC- Kotei), Pastor Johnson Asiedu (Ahinsan Estate District Minister), Pastor Samuel Engman (Esreso District Minister), Pastor Boakye Yiadom (Ahinsan District Minister), Pastor Kyei Mensah (Gyinyase District Minister), Pastor Benjamin Kwarifa (Kaase District Minister), Pastor Ebo Dadzie (Abidjan Nkwanta District Minister), Elder Dr. Isaac Okyere (Asokwa Area Executive Member) and Elder Omane Siaw.

Also in attendance were Mrs Georgina Amaniampong (Wife of Asokwa Area Head), Mrs Joanna Dwomoh Quaye (Wife of PENSA KNUST Campus Pastor), Mr Charles Ankah (Directorates of Needy Students) and Dr. Pearl Adu Nyarko (KNUST Staff)

Report by PENSA-KNUST Media Team