HEADS MEET

Missions Office Organises Seminar For National Heads

by with No Comment Church NewsMissionsTop Stories

The International Missions Office has organised a training programme for national heads in the external branches of The Church of Pentecost on the back of the recently-held November Heads’ Meeting.

The event, which is in fulfilment of the Church’s Vision 2023, was held yesterday at the Pentecost Pension House, Gbawe, under the theme: “A Missionary Revived To Possess The Nations” (Ephesians 5:27; Ephesians 3:10).

The main facilitators for the event were the Chairman of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, the General Secretary, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, and the International Missions Director (IMD), Apostle Emmanuel Agyemang Bekoe.

Other facilitators were the Pentecost Men’s Ministry (PEMEM) Director and Executive Council Member of the Church, Apostle Vincent Anane Denteh, and the Finance and Administration Director (FAD), Apostle Lawrence Otu Nyarko.

In his closing address, Apostle Eric Nyamekye advised participants to endeavour to apply all that they had received at the event.

He urged them to emulate Apostle Paul’s unreserved determination to serve the Lord and to commit themselves to the work of God even at the peril of their lives.

“It is a choice to serve the Lord. So, go all out for Christ!” the Chairman charged.

He also encouraged the missionaries to keep working wholeheartedly for the Lord and trust Him to cater to their needs.

In his presentation, Apostle Kumi-Larbi advised the participants to familiarise themselves with the policies of the Church and strive to uphold them. He noted that as National Heads they must act as role models to officers and members of the Church in adhering to the financial policies of the Church.

According to Apostle Agyemang Bekoe, the seminar was organised for capacity-building purposes and to provide missionaries an avenue to engage the leadership of the Church on issues that are peculiar to their respective nations. 

Some of the topics handled at the event were “Knowing & Implementing Church Policies,” “Financial Issues of Concern,” “New Mission Trends,” and “Missions Perspective Document.”

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Blind Lady Regains Sight

by with No Comment Church NewsTestimoniesTop Stories

Madam Monica Jayo, a Muslim convert who went blind under strange circumstances, regained her sight when she was prayed for by the Sibi District Minister of The Church of Pentecost, P/Overseer David Boateng, and his wife, Hagar.

Mrs. Jayo, accompanied by her husband, Mr. Moses Labida, rushed to the District Mission house on Tuesday dawn (at about 4:30 am) to seek divine intervention after she lost her sight the previous day. 

Narrating her ordeal to the district minister, Monica revealed that around 4 pm on Monday (November 8, 2021), she was in the room when an image flashed before her eyes. She then felt something like a slap on the face and instantly went blind, causing the baby she was carrying to fall on the ground. Those in the house who heard her screams and the baby crying rushed into her room only to discover that she (Monica) had gone blind.

Her relatives, however, abandoned the couple to their fate because they thought her predicament was their punishment for converting from Islam to Christianity. 

Upon hearing what had happened, the Presiding Deacon advised the couple to go the Mission House and solicit prayers from the district minister. After hours of intensive prayer, Monica had her eyes restored to the glory of Jesus.

Witnessing the mighty work of God, Joe Labida, who escorted the couple to the mission house, surrendered his life to Christ and was instantly baptised.

He is now a member of The Church of Pentecost. Together with the couple, Joe worships with the Biyandor Assembly of the Sibi District in the Nkwanta Area.

Report by P/Overseer David Boateng

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Aflao Area Launches Nation Possessors

by with No Comment Church NewsHUMTop Stories

The launch of the Aflao Area ‘Nation Possessors’ of The Church of Pentecost was successfully held on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at the Shekinah Temple in Aflao District.

The highly patronised event was organised under the auspices of the Area Home and Urban Missions (HUM). The determined and dexterous Nation Possessors from all the districts in the Area graced the special event.

Amongst those present at the event were Mrs. Faith Dzemekey (Area Head’s wife), Pastor Appiah Kubi-Annan (Aflao Area HUM Coordinator), District Ministers and their wives in the Area, officers and the members.

The Aflao Area Head, Apostle Kofi Dzemekey, seized the occasion to boost the morale of the participants and charged them to go out to possess the nations for our Lord Jesus Christ.

“The world is our field. We have been called out to go and possess the lost for our Master Jesus Christ,” he stated.

He added: “Possessing the nations demand aggressiveness and the Holy Spirit has given us the power subdue the devil and win the lost.”

Pastor Appiah Kubi-Annan, who preached on the topic, “Rekindling the strength in you as a warrior” Judges 6:11-12, admonished the participants “not to look down upon ourselves.

Like Gideon, he said that Christians have been given mighty power to possess the nations for Christ. He, therefore, urged those present to join the church’s vision and pursue it to the core.

The Area Nation Possessors Coordinating Team was inaugurated after which they were prayed for.

In all, 241 people participated in this special programme.

Report by Pastor Francis Lamptey (Aflao Area Reporter).

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Christians Urged To Influence Society With Righteousness

by with No Comment Church NewsMoving With GsTop Stories

The General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, says believers have the power to influence society with righteousness and help elicit God’s blessings for their respective nations.

He said that creating an impact of righteousness in society begins with believers learning and living out God’s word (Bible), then teaching their children to do the same, emphasising that, “Righteousness must be taught from one generation to the next.”

Apostle Kumi-Larbi said this yesterday during a duty visit to the Michel Camp District as part of the post-Heads’ meeting Apostolisation schedule.

Preaching on the topic: “The Role of Righteousness In Transforming Society,” the General Secretary said that the prosperity of every nation largely depends on the righteousness of its citizens. 

Quoting Proverbs 14:34 and Proverbs 11:11, among other scriptures to buttress this assertion, he stressed that it is, indeed, righteousness, and not politicians, that exalts (prospers) a nation.

“This means righteousness greatly affects how God honours a nation and how others regard it. Sadly, this is a truth that some Christians ignore or pay very little attention to this,’ he bemoaned.

The General Secretary further indicated that when majority of people in a nation purpose in their hearts to know God and walk in His will, the nation would begin to reflect righteousness and become morally strong. 

He attributed the alarming rise in people’s receptivity to hitherto ungodly acts to the apathy of Christians towards unrighteous acts perpetuated in society in recent times. He said that when Christians do not speak out against the sins around them, others easily misconstrue it as a sign of approval or acceptance, and the sin of one, once allowed and accepted, can corrupt many and affect and disgrace the whole nation.

Apostle Kumi-Larbi, therefore, called on Christians, who form about 70 per cent of the nation’s population, to make their presence felt by living above reproach in all their endeavours, bearing in mind that the lifestyles they portray have a significant effect on society.

He said: “As we become spiritually strong believers, it becomes our task to nurture spiritually strong families. And as we raise spiritually strong children, we have a better hope of producing spiritually strong leaders who can lead with righteous principles. But it all starts with the small ripple we begin as individuals.” 

Every nation has its unbelievers who continually produce sin, but only the believer has a spiritual nature (acquired at salvation) which enables him to walk with God in accordance with Scripture, he added.

He, however, cautioned that if Christians fail to influence society positively, the results could be far-reaching since it would elicit the curse of the Lord as was the case of the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 23:40 and Deuteronomy 28:15-68.

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God Is Marshalling End-Time Army To Possess Nations – Apostle Dr. Jimmy Markin

by with No Comment Church NewsEvangelism MinistryTop Stories

“In this period of the Christian Church’s history, the Almighty God is marshalling an end-time army – an army which is purposefully strong, mighty, and has a powerful global effect to possess the nations.”

These were the words of the Evangelism Ministry Director of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Dr. Amos Jimmy Markin, when presenting a paper on the topic: “The Power of the Gospel of Salvation” (Romans 1:1-6, 14-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8) during the 2021 Heads’ Meeting which took place from November 8th to 13th, 2021 at Pentecost Convention Centre at Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa.

According to him, God is marshalling an army that will clamp down the power of the enemy, pull down his stronghold, destroy his machinations and prepare the way for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Graciously, we have been privileged to be enlisted as part of this army.” He pointed out.

He added: “In a natural army, all trained personnel are equipped with the ability to handle weapons of war with knowledge, precision, and accuracy. These weapons are fashioned for both defensive and offensive purposes.

“Whereas the defensive weapons protect the army from the artilleries of the enemy, the offensive ones spew out assault and aid in taking captive or possession of the enemy. The same is the case in the Christian army. The Christian army also engages with both defensive and offensive weapons. This presentation seeks to address one of such offensive weapons at the disposal of the Christian militant.”  

Apostle Dr Jimmy Markin noted that the global Christian army, though strong and powerful, does not make war with physical weapons but is mighty through God to possess the nations for Christ.

In this great army, he said, the weapons for battle are not carnal or physical or flesh and blood but are spiritual and powerful to overthrow and destroy strongholds of any shape and form (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

“The weapons are not guns or bombs or warships or antiballistic missiles and drones, neither do they engage the opponent with physical force, compulsion, insults, arguments, reasonings, discrimination, threats, or any of such kind. The foremost weapon for our offensive attack on the enemy of the salvation of men, the devil, is the power of the gospel of salvation,” he stressed.

Reading from Romans 1:16, the Evangelism Director stated that the Apostle Paul declared that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

He asserted that the gospel of Jesus Christ “is the effective offensive weapon available for salvaging the lives and souls of perishing men from the throes and pangs of eternal doom and hell.” 

In his view, the average Christian militant must be able to answer and master all matters concerning what the gospel of Christ Jesus is, the power of the gospel of salvation, the source of its power, what its contents are, what effects the power brings on its adherents, and how to use it for possessing the nations. 

Apostle Dr Amos Jimmy Markin described the power of the gospel of salvation as the divine transformative power of God which comes through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ which alone can save sinners from the penalty and punishment of sin and bring them into the righteousness of God in Christ.

“It is this power which reconciles fallen humanity back to God and makes children of God. It is unto this power (the gospel of salvation) that the Christian is set apart to the service of God and commissioned to be a herald of the salvation message through a ministry of reconciliation, to reconcile all men back to God and to one another,” he stated.

PENTECOST NEWS.

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The Best Response To Evil Is Righteousness – Apostle Kumi-Larbi

by with No Comment Church NewsMoving With GsTop Stories

The General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, has said that the prosperity of a nation largely depends on the level of God’s righteous standards upheld by its inhabitants (citizens).

Speaking on the topic: “Righteousness; The Authority of the Kingdom” at the ongoing 2021 Heads’ Meeting at Pentecost Convention Centre at Gomoa Fetteh today, Apostle Kumi-Larbi noted that the progress of every nation is not determined by its political leaders; but rather, “it is righteousness that exalts a nation” (Proverbs 14:34).

He, therefore, stressed that the best response that believers could give to the moral decay in society is to live out the life of righteousness imputed on them through the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross.

“Unless righteousness permeates society, it will be difficult to lead people to Christ because there is a lack of the knowledge of sin,” he said.

He defined righteousness as a behaviour that is morally justifiable or right before God, adding that, such behaviour is characterised by accepted standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness. 

“The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behaviour, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, serve as the standard by which He measures human righteousness,” he stated.

Expounding Romans 1:18-32, Apostle Kumi-Larbi said due to the fall and subsequent depravity, humans have become godless and wicked. A consequence of this, he said, has been that now humanity has suppressed the truth by their wickedness and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for created images, among other things.   The General Secretary explained that Jesus came primarily to make it possible for humanity to be restored to the righteousness of God.

According to him, the righteousness of God makes provision for the redemption of the sinner from their sins, stressing that, every believer must not indulge in unrighteous acts because the righteousness of God frowns on the sinful life of the sinner.

He explained that true repentance is seen in a life that is patterned after the life of Christ (the bearing of fruit of the Holy Spirit). He urged Christians to demonstrate genuine repentance by upholding righteousness in their character, conscience, conduct and speech daily. This, he said, would validate their witness and testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Using Noah, Daniel, and Job as character examples, he noted that the three men were commended in Ezekiel 14:12-14 for upholding righteousness in their generation. The General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost said aside from being loved by the Lord, some traits shared by the aforementioned righteous men include faithfulness, obedience, humility and virtue.

“Although they were in the minority, they stood firm for the Lord. They also endured for the Lord,” he added.

Apostle Kumi-Larbi challenged Christians to emulate the above righteous men by putting on the breastplate of righteousness (moral character), which, according to him, serves as the believer’s defense since it protects their heart from evil.

“To be able to influence every sphere of society with values and principles of the kingdom of God such as Goodness, Mercy, Justice and Sincerity, we should model lives of righteousness as a breastplate, which is a defensive armour that cannot be hidden,” he noted.

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There Are More Territories To Be Possessed For Christ – IMD

by with No Comment Church NewsMoving With IMDTop Stories

The International Missions Director (IMD) of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Emmanuel Agyemang Bekoe, has called on heads of the church to make every effort to take the gospel of salvation to every part of the world.

He said although The Church of Pentecost has done creditably well in taking the gospel to the nations as it currently has its presence in 109 nations across the globe, there are still about 159 unreached nations yet to be possessed by the church for Christ.

“There are still more lands to be possessed. We should not rest on our laurels; we need to move as fast as possible to possess every land of the world for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” he stated.

Apostle Agyemang Bekoe revealed this when addressing National/Area Heads at the 2021 Heads’ Meeting of the church on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa.

Speaking to the topic, “Possessing the Nations Agenda – The Missions Perspective,” the IMD said that out of the 159 unpossessed nations, eight are in Africa, 30 in Asia, 56 in Europe, 23 in North and South America, 20 in the Caribbean, 21 in Australia/Oceania and disputed Antarctica.

Per the church’s five-year strategic vision of Possessing the Nations, it intends to capture at least 40 of these unpossessed nations for Christ by the end of the year 2023. The ambitious agenda, he stated, requires a more concerted effort by all stakeholders so that the overarching vision of the church would be realised at the end of the period.

Touching on some of the implementation strategies needed to drive the missions aspect of the Possessing the Nations agenda of the church, Apostle Agyemang Bekoe mentioned 22 thematic areas that his office has developed to help achieve the agenda.

These include planting churches in prime areas in the nations, increasing soul winning and creation of more districts, training ministers in the diaspora to be missions-minded aside providing ministry to people largely of Ghanaian descent, aggressive ministry to the homeless, drug/drunk/sex addicts, encouraging the establishment of more Pentecost International Worship Centres (PIWCs) in the nations and training of leaders at all levels.

Other strategies include establishing more French-speaking churches in the English-speaking West African countries and vice-versa, introducing French programmes on the church’s television station – Pent TV to reach out to the Francophones, establishing Pentecost Students and Associates (PENSA) in the nations, and strengthening the affiliation with PENSA International to recruit students and alumni as volunteers for social work and evangelism..

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13 COP Heads To Retire In 2022

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Thirteen heads, mainly Area and National Heads of The Church of Pentecost, are billed to retire from the full-time ministry of the church, come 2022.

The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost Worldwide, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, announced this on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, during the opening ceremony of the 2021 Heads’ Meetings of the church currently underway at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa in the Central Region.

Introducing the would-be retirees to their colleague heads at the meeting, the Chairman congratulated them for the good work done for God and the church.

“Beloved, some heads who have served God and His Church will retire next year. May I at this juncture, kindly request that we all rise to our feet and give them a resounding round of applause,” he said.

The thirteen are Prophet James Osei Amaniampong (Asokwa Area Head), Apostle Joseph Kwame Assabil (Takoradi Area Head), Apostle John Osei Amaniampong (La Area Head), Prophet Ebenezer Kofi Appiah (Dansoman Area Head), Apostle Samuel Antwi (New Tafo Area Head), Apostle Dr. Samuel Ofori (School of Theology, Missions and Leadership at the Pentecost University), Apostle James Nana Ofori (Mankessim Area Head), and Pastor Anthony Eghan Kwesi Ekuban (Suhum Area Head).

The rest are Apostle Osei Owusu Afriyie (United Kingdom National Head), Apostle Dr. James McKeown Quainoo (Western Canada Area Head, Canada), Apostle James Kofi Sam (Manchester Area Head, UK), Apostle Augustine S. Kamara (Sierra Leone National Head), and Pastor Charles Amoah (Belgium National Head).

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The Church Of Pentecost Unveils 2022 Theme

by with No Comment Church NewsMoving With ChairmanTop Stories

The Church of Pentecost, a leading global Pentecostal church, present in over 109 nations, has revealed its worldwide theme for the year 2022 in line with its overarching theme of ‘Possessing the Nations.’

The 2022 theme as unveiled by the Chairman of the church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, during the official opening of the November Heads Meetings, is “Equipping The Church As An Army To Possess The Nations” (Hebrews 13:20-21 & Ephesians 4:11-2; 6:10-11.

According to the Chairman, “Possessing or taking nations” is an ancient military phrase, which means replacing the rule or reign of a nation with that of another through conquest.

Relating this term to the Great Commission, he said, “inspires the church to raise an army of Christians who, being filled with the Holy Spirit and fully equipped with the knowledge of God’s word, will engage and transform their societies with godly values and principles, wherever they are and in whatever they do, in order to win many for Christ and transform them into salt and light of the world.”

Apostle Eric Nyamekye indicated that the 2022 theme calls for a vigorous and intentional equipping of the church to get every single member to assume the posture of an army of the Lord to take the nations.

In doing this, he stated, “We intend to use the metaphor of the armour of God to get our members to understand from the lenses  of scripture, the social, political and spiritual forces at work in the various spheres of society and to build their defences against their onslaught.”

He added: “As an army, Christians need to be equipped with the full armour of God so that they can withstand the tricks and schemes of the enemy. Wobbly Christians who have no firm foothold in Christ are easy prey for Satan. This armour is forged and furnished by God Himself, and He invites us to put them on. It must be worn night and day; we must walk, work and sleep in them.”

He asserted that an army of God must never relax their vigilance or else they are not true soldiers of Christ, saying, “They must fight till the kingdoms of the world become the Kingdom of our God.”

The Chairman called for a generational awareness of the power of God in correcting the wrongs of society, stressing that, every generation of Christians should be concerned with what values and standards are going to rule their world or determine their culture.

“And our generation should not disappoint God,” he pointed out. 

To help delve into the theme well, the following topics have been selected to guide the teachings and activities of the church in the year 2022:  “The Church as the equipping centre in carrying out the Great Commission; the possessing the nations agenda, Equipping the church with the Word of God, Mobilising the squads (the army) for effective impact in the world and Equipping the church to put on the belt of truth.”

Other thematic topics are: “The new creation and the possessing the nations agenda, Righteousness; the authority of the Kingdom, The power of Faith in Possessing the nations, The Power of the Gospel of salvation and The ministry of intercessory prayer.”

The overarching theme for the Vision 2023 agenda of the church which was launched in 2018 has been, “Possessing the Nations: Equipping the Church to Transform every Sphere of Society with the values and principles of the Kingdom of God.”

Each year, the leadership of the church sets goals to guide the church towards the results it intends to achieve. These anticipated results or goals are in turn translated into annual themes. The purpose of these annual themes is to provide a sense of direction to the church towards the realisation of the overall goal of the Vision 2023 agenda.

So far, three of such annual themes namely, “I Will Build my Church, A Glorious Church to Possess the Nations and A Glorious Church Revived to Possess the Nations,” have been dealt with.

From these themes, the church has been made to appreciate her dual responsibility and the call to build a glorious church; a church which is radiant and without stain or wrinkle; a church which is revived, holy and blameless; a church whose testimony will be credible before the watching world.

“These themes without doubt have drawn us many steps forward towards our overall goal,” said the Chairman.

PENTECOST NEWS.

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The Church of Pentecost Heads Exposed To Best Leadership Practices

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Efforts to enhance the capacities of National Heads and Area Heads of The Church of Pentecost have received a major boost as they have been exposed to best managerial practices at the ongoing 2021 November Heads’ Meeting.

Day One of the week-long meeting which started on Monday, November 8, 2021, at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa, saw university dons handling various topics such as Creating a positive Organisational Climate and employee discipline, Leadership Work Ethic and Productive Code of Conduct and Area Head as Manager.

Professor Justice Nyigmah Bawole, Dean of the University of Ghana Business School, who handled the topic: “Leadership Work Ethic and Productive Code of Conduct,” touched on ten leadership qualities that every leader must cultivate. This includes showing concern for others/subordinates, integrity, self-confidence, vision, vitality, and charisma.

Dr. Majoreen Osafroadu Amankwah, Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, spoke on the topic: “Creating a Positive Organisational Climate and Employee Discipline.”

She stressed the need for managers to discipline employees when they go wrong, saying, “If you don’t, it means that you are endorsing the wrong thing because we can’t run our organisations by ignoring the wrong things people do.”

Professor Ernest Yaw Tweneboah-Koduah, a Senior Lecturer of the University Ghana Business School, on his part, handled the topic: “Area Head as a Manager.” He noted that the customer is the most important asset of every institution, including the church.

According to him, the church as an organisation has two customers – internal and external customers. The internal customers, he said, are the office workers and the pastors that work under the National/Area Heads, while the external customers are the larger church membership within their jurisdictions.

Each of the two groups, he said, is very important to the existence of the church.

“The members are the source of the revenue that fund the continuing operations of the church. Without external members, The CoP will not set up the general headquarters and employ people to work,” he said.

Prof. Tweneboah-Koduah entreated the heads to appreciate the efforts of their subordinates and ensure that there is a mutual respect in the way they relate to them.

PENTECOST NEWS.