The Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC)-Takoradi, has dedicated its Children’s Auditorium. The edifice which is made up of a changing room, washroom and a recreational area was completed at the total cost of GH¢150,000.00, fully financed by some anonymous members of the church.
The dedication service, which was officiated by the Takoradi Area Head of the church, Apostle Joseph Kwame Assabil, assisted by the Resident Minister, Pastor Daniel Okyei Boakye, took place on Saturday, April 3, 2021, during the Easter convention.
According to the District Estate Committee Chairman, Elder Kweku Kum, the decision to put up the auditorium was taken in 2018 in an effort to find a conducive meeting place for the children.
Speaking at the service, Apostle Assabil emphasised the need for Christians to be useful articles in the house of God and use their resources wholeheartedly and generously to support the work of God.
In attendance were Pastor Stephen Okyere Acheampong (Area Secretary), Mrs. Rebecca Assabil (wife of the Area Head), Mrs. Abigail Okyei Boakye (wife of the Resident Minister), Deaconess Dr. Gladys Quartey (National Executive Member of the Women’s Ministry), among others.
Report by Pastor Ernest Perbi-Asare, Assakae District.
The International Missions Office of The Church of Pentecost has donated a fibre boat worth GH¢102,034.00 to the Afram Plains Area of the church to enable them to send the gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ to the unreached people on the Dwarf Island communities. The Dwarf Island is made up of more 150 clusters of communities and is surrounded by the Volta Lake.
The boat, which was designed by Norch Maritime Engineering Service at Sekondi in the Western Region, was officially handed over to the Afram Plains Area of the church on Friday, March 26, 2021. It was subsequently dedicated on Friday, April 9, 2021, at Bruben by the Afram Plains Area Head, Pastor Victor K. Asamoah.
The Area Head expressed his appreciation to the Missions Board and the Executive Council for coming to the aid of the Area. “This gesture will ease the burden of transporting members across the Volta Lake to the communities on the Island for evangelism,” Pastor Asamoah stated.
He assured the leadership of the church that the Area will take good care of the boat so that it will last for a longer period.
Report by Pastor Francis Lamptey, Afram Plains Area Reporter.
The Mamponteng District in the New Tafo Area of The Church of Pentecost has intensified efforts to win more souls for Christ in the ghettos as it plans to turn frustrated souls in the ghettos to Christ for reformation.
As part of the church’s vision to possess the nation as agents of transformation, the District Evangelism Ministry, led by Elder James Blewusi, under the auspices of the District Minister, Pastor Jerry Kusi Acquah, stepped up their evangelism strategies and extended the Gospel to deprived areas in the district during the Easter convention.
The ghettos were occupied by suspected drug addicts, alcoholics, and others. The people were presented with the good news which centered on God’s love for them which they gradually embraced.
According to Elder James Blewusi, the initial plan was to invite the new converts to church but because they saw themselves as rejected, it became necessary to organise church services for them in the ghettoes on Sundays.
The ghetto church in the community has an active membership of 18 people. During the Easter convention, almost 30 people took part in the Easter service. The scene was a sign of fulfillment as they expressed their appreciation to the church for opening its arms to receive them.
Some of them gladly took photographs with the evangelism team to express their newfound love in Christ.
The Osino and Anyinam districts of The Church of Pentecost in Suhum Area have donated a motor tricycle, generator, and other items worth GH¢ 17,300.00 to Jato Akura District in Kete Krachi Area.
The Suhum Area Head, Pastor Anthony Eghan Kwesi Ekuban, presented the donation to the beneficiary districts on Sunday, April 11, 2021, at the forecourt of the Suhum Area Missions House.
Elder Joshua Ogum, who received the items on behalf of the Jato Akura District Minister, Pastor Jerry Dordunu, thanked the two districts for their act of kindness and immense contribution to missions work.
Present at the short presentation ceremony was Pastor George Timinca, Anyinam District Minister, who also doubles as the Area Missions Chairman.
“That a man would lay down his life and take it back again is the greatest miracle that has ever happened in history. The natural mind just cannot take it. As a result, it is also the most attacked because its consequences are far-reaching. It is life to many and death to some. The simple truth is that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a well-attested fact in history.”
This was contained in a sermon delivered by the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, on the evening of Resurrection Sunday [April 4, 2021] as part of his weekly televised service on PENT TV dubbed ‘Sunday Special Evening Service With The Chairman’
Speaking on the topic: “The Legacy of Jesus’ Resurrection,” Apostle Nyamekye explained that the death and resurrection of Jesus divide history into two parts – it ends an era and begins another.
The Chairman observed that during the Easter celebration, little or no attention is given to the Saturday as compared to the other days, “The day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday is the toughest in history. It was the difficult day between the battle of heaven and hell.” He added: “The Saturday was the real battle.”
Explaining why, the revered theologian read Matthew 27:62-66 and Acts 2:23-24 to emphasize that the chief priests, the Pharisees and the forces of hell determined to keep Jesus in the grave and prevent Him from rising from the dead.
However, he said, God exerted incomparably great power to raise Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1:18-28).
“So, Paul is trying to give us the impression that the raising of Christ from the dead was a really tough thing to the extent that God had to exert power. God who stood in the darkness and called light out, when He had to raise Christ exerted power because forces of hell did not want Him to rise,” he said, adding, “But God raise Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand.”
Reading from Matthew 28:11-15, Apostle Nyamekye pointed out that there are so many conspiracy theories disputing the resurrection of Christ.
He mentioned some of them as “Jesus never really died, instead, He lost consciousness and regained it after being laid in a cool tomb (swoon theory); the disciples of Jesus stole His body and then lied about His resurrection; the disciples had hallucinations and dreams that they mistakenly confused with physical a resurrection; resurrection is the personal experience in the heart by faith but not an event in history and that the resurrection has already taken place already (2 Timothy 2:16-18).”
Amid all these conspiracies and myths, the Chairman was emphatic that Jesus is the resurrected Saviour.
“Christ has indeed risen from the dead. He is the first fruit of all those who have fallen asleep. The simple truth is that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a well-attested fact of history,” he said.
He added: “Scripture depicts the personal and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is supported by evidence of the empty tomb, His grave clothes, He presented Himself severally to the disciples on many occasions, and the women’s testimony and the likes.”
Substantiating the resurrection of Jesus Christ beyond any reasonable doubt, Apostle Eric Nyamekye read Luke 24:44-49 and Acts 1:8 to expatiate on what Jesus Himself said would be the real proof or legacy of His resurrection.
According to the Chairman, the real proof or legacy of the resurrection came after the resurrection. These, he said, include the preaching in the name of Jesus for the repentance and forgiveness of sins, the disciples’ primary role as witnesses to the fulfilment of scripture in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Touching on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as timeless proof of Jesus’ resurrection, Chairman Nyamekye stated: “But for the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the story of the resurrection would have been like any other story.”
He further noted that “the rumours would have died down and the conspiracies would have prevailed. But when the day of Pentecost came, the story turned around, God trumpeted the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Buttressing his assertion, Apostle Eric Nyamekye quoted Acts 2 and explained that the coming of the Holy Spirit stresses the fact that Jesus Christ indeed resurrected.
“For as long as the Holy Spirit remains on earth, we will remember that Jesus came to die and He rose from the dead, and He gave us the Spirit when He went to be with the Father.
“Anytime people hear us speaking in tongues, what that means is that some time ago, a certain man called Jesus came on this planet earth; He died, He was buried, and on the third day, He rose again and ascended to heaven, and from there, He gave us this gift,” he reiterated.
The Tarkwa Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Dr. Daniel Okyere Walker, has revealed that, “It is finished,” a statement Jesus Christ made on the cross in John 19: 30, is a “triumphant cry.”
He said this during a communion service at the J.W. Sackey Worship Centre on Sunday, 28th March, 2021.
Apostle Walker, a member of the Executive Council and former Vice-Chancellor of the Pentecost University, quoted Ecclesiastes 7:8 (The end of a matter is better than its beginning) and said that completing an assigned task is very important.
He explained that Jesus’ shouting on the cross that it is finished was not a mark of defeat or failure but a victor’s cry.
Systematically running the congregation through the words of Jesus on the cross, Apostle Dr. Walker mentioned that the first word of Jesus on the cross was “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” This, he said, was a word of forgiveness that Jesus prayed for his accusers and executioners.
The second was “Today you will be with me in Paradise” which was an assurance of salvation that he pronounced on the sinner on the cross. The third was “Woman, behold, thy son; son, behold thy mother” – a message of love. The next was a loud cry of why the Father had forsaken him. Then came the cry for water, and his victory cry of “it is finished.”
Explaining further, Apostle Dr. Walker mentioned that the Greek word for “It is finished” is “Tetelestai” which is a battle and a victory cry. He indicated that while Jesus was on the cross, he was battling with the ruler of the world – the devil.
“Therefore, by pronouncing ‘Tetelestai,’ Jesus declared that he has won the victory over the devil and has paid all our penalties of sin,” he stated.
Explaining Jesus’ motive for crying ‘Tetelestai’ on the cross, Apostle Dr. Daniel Okyere Walker said that Jesus meant that he has dealt with our sufferings, completed the command and the will of the Father and that all scriptures concerning his death have been fulfilled, with the ceremonial law being abolished, hence the abundance of grace for all who believe in him.
The Nkawkaw Area of The Church of Pentecost, led by Prophet Foster Kwasi Aniakwaa, has donated 366 pieces of wax prints and two megaphones to the Headquarters towards the promotion of the work of God in the missions field.
The chairman of the Area Missions Committee, Pastor George Oppong, and the Area Coordinator of the Home and Urban Mission (HUM), Pastor Isaac Kweku Koomson, on behalf of the Area Head, presented the items to the Missions Office on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at the Head Office at La, Accra.
Present to receive the donation on behalf of the International Missions Director (IMD), Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo, was the Administrative Manager at the Missions Office, Mrs. Victoria Kumi-Woode, and the Personal Assistant to the IMD, Pastor Gideon Kofi Boadu-Yirenkyi.
The districts to benefit from the donation are: Mirigu, and Sirigu districts, both in Bolga Area; Wulensi district in Yendi Area, and Boafri district in Kete-Krachi Area.
The rest are: Makango district in Atebubu Area, Nadowli district in Wa Area, Han and Yikpabongo districts in the Tumu Area.
Mrs. Kumi-Woode on behalf of the IMD thanked the Area Head and members of the Nkawkaw Area for supporting the missions agenda of the church.
The Koforidua Effiduase Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Daniel Yeboah Nsaful, has admonished Christians to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ, saying, “The Lordship of Jesus is connected to our salvation.”
Apostle Nsaful gave the advice in a sermon he preached at Nsukwao Central Assembly on the evening of Friday, April 2, 2021, during the Easter convention of Nsukwao District. The convention was on the theme, “Jesus is Lord, yet He died for the sins of the world.”
Quoting from Luke 24:33-34; Philippians 2:6-8, John 1:27; 3:16 and Romans 4:10, Apostle Yeboah Nsaful said that even though Jesus is Lord, he humbled himself to the point of dying like a criminal to save the world from sin. He stated: “To be a Christian, one must accept Jesus as Lord.”
Expatiating on the death on the cross, Apostle Nsaful said it was the worst form of punishment and was meant for hardened criminals condemned to death. “So to say Jesus is a Messiah was nonsense to the philosophers of the time,” he said, adding, “The Jews who believed in miracles could not accept the fact that Jesus is a Messiah because he could not save himself from the cross, but Jesus is Lord even in the grave.”
On why Jesus, who is Lord, should die for sinners, Apostle Daniel Yeboah Nsaful said that Jesus as a servant leader died to save the world from sin, to demonstrate the love of God, to be a ransom for the world, to reconcile man to God, for justification and to prove that he is the lord of both the dead and the living.
Concluding his sermon, Apostle Nsaful advised Christians to accept the lordship of Jesus Christ in every aspect of their lives, commit to him, and expect his second coming.
The leadership of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) led by the Chairperson, Ms. Josephine Nkrumah, was on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, at the General Headquarters of The Church of Pentecost at La, Accra, to convey their utmost appreciation to the church for the unprecedented support they received from the church during the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus pandemic last year.
It would be recalled that The Church of Pentecost on March 24, 2020, released 12 cinema vans to the NCCE to augment the Government’s efforts towards intensifying public awareness creation when the pandemic broke out. The vehicles were fueled by the church throughout the period.
The high-profile delegation included Mr. Samuel Asare Akuamoah (Deputy Chairman, Operations), Mrs. Hajara Rufai Mohammed (Commission Member), and Mr. Kojo Tito Voegborlo (Commission Secretary).
Others were Mr. Rockson Gbande (Acting Director, Programmes), and Mrs. Joyce Benedicta Afutu (Director of Communications & Corporate Affairs), and her Deputy, Mrs. Rita Amparbin Tetteh, among others.
They were received by the Chairman of the church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, together with the General Secretary, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi; the International Missions Director, Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo, and the Finance and Administration Director (FAD), Apostle Lawrence Otu Nyarko.
Interacting with the leadership of the church, Ms. Josephine Nkrumah was full of gratitude to the church for the support. “A year ago, we had unprecedented support from The Church of Pentecost. It did not come at our request but out of the church’s own benevolence. It came at the time that the Commission was in dire need of logistics and being lambasted in the media.
According to her, the vehicles enabled the NCCE to carry out intensive public education in all 16 regions to drum home the need for the citizenry to observe all the COVID-19 protocols which went a long way to stem the spread of the disease in the country.
The NCCE Chairperson further thanked the church for opening its doors to the staff of the Commission across the nation.
“That is really the true calling of the church. For The Church of Pentecost to stand out at that time to support the work of the Commission, it has proven to be a church that is compassionate to humanity and that is what Jesus Christ represents.
She also commended the church for playing a vital role in the success of the 2020 general elections through the “Agent of Peace” campaign it embarked upon.
A citation the Chairperson of the NCCE presented to the Chairman of the church in appreciation of the gesture read: “For God and country, The Church of Pentecost lived these Christian values and supported the NCCE to reach out to the many citizens who were uninformed about the realities of COVID-19.
“The church’s timely and enviable support to the NCCE propelled the Commission’s public awareness campaign on COVID-19 to sensitise the Ghanaian citizen on the pandemic.
“The NCCE appreciates this patriotic gesture by The Church of Pentecost and thanks the church for fulfilling the values that define Christianity.”
The Chairman of the church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, on his part, commended the leadership of the Commission for appreciating the gesture by the church.
He stated that the relevance of the church is the development it brings to the nation. He indicated that the major interventions that the church is embarking on in the country as part of its vision of “Possessing the Nations” are to ensure that its members who constitute about one-tenth of the Ghanaian population become agents of transformation in Ghanaian society.
Apostle Nyamekye advised the NCCE to collaborate with churches and other corporate organisations to help them effectively carry out their mandate. He noted that The Church of Pentecost has opened its doors to establish a deeper collaboration with the Commission so that civic education can go down to the grassroots.
Pastor Joshua Baffoe Ennin, 36-year-old young, vibrant, and enterprising minister of The Church of Pentecost who lost his life a few weeks ago was laid to rest last Saturday, March 27, 2021, at Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
The late pastor until his untimely death which occurred on February 27, 2021, after a short illness, was the resident minister of the Obuasi branch of the Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC, Obuasi). He left behind a wife, Mrs. Sarah Ennin, and three young adoring daughters.
At the burial and memorial service held at the Anglogold Ashanti School Park at Obuasi, mourners, mostly ministers and members of the church, friends and loved ones, and family members could not hold back their tears as they wept in bidding him farewell.
The solemn service was officiated by the International Missions Director (IMD) of the church, Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo, aptly assisted by Prophet James Osei Amaniampong (Chairman of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Committee & Asokwa Area Head), Apostle William Boakye Agyarko (Obuasi Area Head) as well as other Area Heads in the region and from other parts of the country.
The IMD on behalf of the Chairman, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, and the Executive Council, expressed his condolences to the bereaved family for their painful loss, which, he said, has created a vacuum in the family that would be difficult to fill.
Apostle Gyesi-Addo, however, thanked God for giving Pastor Joshua Ennin as a gift to the family using him to do great work in the church within the relatively short period that he spent on earth.
According to him, it is not the number of years that one spends on earth that matters, but the impact that they make in the lives of others.
In a sermon, the Madina Area Head of the church, Apostle Martin Seth Appiah, spoke on the topic: “When the flesh appears, the voice must disappear” – Matthew 3:1-3; 11:10.
He explained that God has placed something special in the hands of every born-again believer and He expects them to work with it. He mentioned that God has also marked a specific time for every believer within which they are supposed to work and end their earthly assignment. As soon as they finish their work, he said, God whisks them away. “The death of such vibrant believers becomes very difficult for humans to understand it,” he indicated.
Apostle Appiah disclosed that Prophet Isaiah who prophesied about the birth of Christ in Isaiah 9:6 also prophesied about John the Baptist, who was also called a “Voice” in Isaiah 40:3.
“Comparing Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:3; 11:10 and other scriptures, the common name used to refer to John was the ‘Voice.’ The main task for the ‘Voice’ was to be a forerunner of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
According to Apostle Appiah, when John was born and attained age 30, he began his work by telling the people of Israel about the coming Messiah. So John by destiny and in God’s plan was to give way when the Word becomes ‘Flesh’ as in John 1:1, he revealed.
“Like John the Baptist, Pastor Joshua Baffoe Ennin knew that he was to end his ministry here at Obuasi after three years just as he told his wife. His zeal for God was like John the Baptist, because he would call spade a spade, white, white and black, black. He never joked with the word of God and he preached it with all his strength at all times.
“Those who have a shorter time on earth execute their task in haste because there is a greater prize waiting for them in heaven.
“There is a mystery behind the death of Pastor Joshua Ennin. No devil or witchcraft can kill us. His work on earth has just come to an end and he must go quickly. There is another church in heaven (the triumphant church) and Joshua is needed there.
“Joshua came as a voice. The flesh has come and the voice must go and that is why he is no more,” he disclosed.
Profile of Pastor Joshua Ennin
Pastor Joshua Kofi Baffoe Ennin was born on May 11, 1984, in Accra to Mr. Peter Kofi Ennin and Millicent Sey, both of blessed memory. He completed basic school in the year 2000 at Christ Mission School, Kwashieman. He then proceeded to Swedru Senior High School and studied Business and successfully completed in 2003. He became the Student Representative Council (SRC) President in his final year. He had a diploma in Special Education from the University of Education, Winneba, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (Human Resource Option) from the University of Ghana, Legon.
He had his National Service at The Church of Pentecost Headquarters and served at the office of the then Chairman, Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, where he worked till his call into the full-time ministry in 2012. He started his ministerial service at Nsawora District in the Sefwi Wiawso Area, serving four years and later at PIWC-Obuasi, where he passed away after serving for four years.
Various tributes read in his honour eulogized him for being a minister, husband, father, and Christian with a difference – a man whose zeal and passion for the work of God was unparalleled.
