Posts in category: Top Stories

A nine-member Chieftaincy Ministry Committee has been inaugurated by the Sunyani Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle James Gabriel Quardson, to provide chaplaincy services to the Chieftaincy institutions in the Sunyani Area in line with Vision 2023 of the church.

The committee, led by Nana Osei Kyeretwie (Sunyani Adomakohene), was inaugurated on October 10, 2021, at the F. D. Walker auditorium in Sunyani. 

In attendance were His Royal Majesty (HRM) Odeneho Elder Dr. Afram Brempong III (Paramount Chief of the Suma Traditional Area and National Chieftaincy Ministry Committee Secretary), Nana Kyere Gyeabour (Nsoatre Mawerehene / Krotihene), Nana Adwoa Benewaa (Sunyani Gyaase Kontihemaa), Sunyani Area Pastorate and their wives and a host of chiefs, queen mothers in Sunyani.

Apostle J. G Quardson, in an exhortation titled “Searching To Know The Will Of God (2Kings 22:1-2)”, said that although King Josiah ascended the throne at the age of eight; he succeeded because he ruled according to the will of God. 

According to him, Josiah’s instruction to the priests of Israel to search into the scriptures and enlighten him on how God wanted the nation to be led, was a major contributory factor to his successful reign. He, therefore, appealed to chiefs and traditional leaders to emulate King Josiah’s example by relying on God for direction in their rulership. 

Throwing more light on the theme, the Sunyani Area Head quoted Hebrews 1:1-2 to reiterate that: “in the olden days, God spoke through prophets but in our time, He speaks through His son Jesus Christ.” He further explained that the only way that one could hear from the Lord is to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour. He then called on the participants to surrender their lives to Christ so as to enjoy a successful reign.

Commenting on the national discourse on LGBTQ+, Apostle Quardson expressed the dire need for the chiefs, traditional rulers, and political leaders to seek God’s knowledge and wisdom in governing the nation. He said that God is always ready to offer His wisdom to anyone who asks (Matthew 7:7).

Apostle James Gabriel Quardson also assured the chiefs and the traditional leaders that the Sunyani pastorate would always be at their beck and call and that they should never hesitate to invite them to their programmes.

On his part, HRM Odeneho Afram Brempong quoted Mark 16:15 to emphasise the need for the church to extend ministry to the various palaces. He lamented that although Jesus commanded His disciples to preach the gospel to all creations, most church leaders have neglected the chiefs and traditional leaders.

He, therefore, appealed to the pastorate and their wives to run Chaplaincy Services for chiefs and traditional leaders in their respective districts. This, he said, would bring about revival among the church members, particularly Christian royals, so that they can overcome the schemes of the devil in this age.

Elder Dr. Brempong was grateful to the leadership of The Church of Pentecost for initiating the Chieftaincy Ministry and to the Sunyani Area Head for inaugurating the ministry in his jurisdiction. He further appealed to participants to fully embrace this divine vision in order to make it a success. 

He revealed that a practical handbook for Chiefs entitled “Guidance for Christian Royals” is in the offing and would soon be made available to Christian royals.

Report by Pastor Daniel Oppong, Sunyani Area Reporter.

The Agormanya Area of The Church of Pentecost, under the leadership of Apostle Samuel Gakpetor, has inaugurated the Schools Outreach Ministry (SOM) in the Area. The event was held on September 8, 2021, at the Agormanya Central auditorium.

Giving an overview of the new ministry, Apostle Gakpetor said that although the church has made a significant impact at the tertiary and pre-tertiary levels, not much can be said of basic schools (Primary and JHS), which appears to have been neglected.

He described the basic schools as a “mission field” that needs to be reached out by the church. He added that students in the basic schools also need to hear the gospel and so SOM will ensure that “we catch them young and they will be ours forever.”

According to him, the focus of the Schools Outreach Ministry is to ensure that every student hears the gospel preached to them in clear terms, support the efforts of school administrations in instilling high moral and civic values in pupils and offer general leadership development training as well as help students to build a consistent devotional lifestyle.

He outlined four actions to be taken by each district in achieving the vision of the new ministry. These are:Identifying the schools and contacting the gatekeepers; mobilising and training members; developing content and designing a rooster and assigning the members.

“The Schools Outreach Ministry is a sure means to transform the educational sector,” he concluded.

The Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Director of Education, Mr. William Odoi, in an address, said that reaching out to the youth today is extremely paramount since that it would help shape their future.

Bemoaning the increasing immoral acts recorded in the schools within the municipality, he commended The Church of Pentecost for rolling out the Schools Outreach Ministry which, according to him, will contribute to the positive transformation of the worrying situation.

He advised the youth to be obedient and respectful to their parents and the elderly while quoting Ephesians 6:1-3 and 2 Timothy 2:22-24.

In attendance were the wife of the Area Head, Mrs. Grace Gakpetor, the pastorate and their wives, and representatives of SOM from the districts.

Report by Agormanya Area Media Team.

The new Area Head of Teshie-Nungua Area of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Wilberforce Nkrumah-Agyeman, has held a two-day meeting with officers in the Area.

The meetings were aimed at sharing his vision for the Area as well as giving an overview of the performance of the Area within the larger church community.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting which took place at the Fred Stephen Safo Temple at Nungua-Nshorna, Accra on September 27, 2021, on the topic: “Possessing the Nations: That There may be Glory In the Church,” Apostle Nkrumah-Agyeman said the Hebrew word ‘Kabowd’ which means “Glory” or “Weight” is a complete package with everything in it, including honour, reputation, dignity, and wealth among others. “That there may be glory in the Church encompasses the whole character of God,” he stressed.

Apostle Nkrumah-Agyeman read several Bible texts including Exodus 33:13-16; Lamentations 5:21 and Jeremiah 13:20 and urged officers of the church to endeavour to live in the Kabowd, which represents the power of God.

“It is important that the glory surrounding the Church remains, since God through the Church has done a lot for society,” he said.

He added: “Kabowd is the heaviest, biggest and grandest thing in the world. When you walk in the Kabowd, you have fire in you that the devil cannot withstand. The glory will bring you out of despair; Kabowd will bring you out of hopelessness and out of captivity and slavery.”

According to the Area Head, when the glory of God is present church meetings are easy to manage, saying, “Kabowd brings you out of powerlessness. If the Kabowd is present, you will not be afraid of where you are standing and what will happen.”

“Kabowd is the power and strength from above and our officers must be motivated spiritually with the Kabowd,” he stressed.

He said the Teshie-Nungua Area has become a key eye of the church and as such all effort must be put in place to propel the church in the Area to higher heights.

He noted that although the Area has been doing well in some of the 15 key performance indicators used by the Head Office to assess the performance of the various districts and areas of the church in Ghana, there is more room for improvement.

Some of the criteria used in the assessment include outreach programmes, adult souls won, Gospel Sunday souls as a percentage of souls won, converts baptised in water and in the Holy Spirit, assemblies opened, average attendance at Bible studies, percentage of places of worship completed, members attending home cells, performance in tithes, missions offering, among other indicators.

Apostle Nkrumah-Agyeman used graphs and pictorial evidence to explain and highlight areas that need massive improvements in the Area.

Activities to be carried out to improve the Area’s performance include Area Evangelism Day to be observed during Ministries Week Saturdays, Aggressive Evangelism in November, winning souls by a team of three, Monthly Holy Ghost sessions is all local assemblies, Bi-annual Women’s Clinic with the Area Head, Area VisitationWeek, where every officer will visit at least 20 families, Weekly Dawn prayers, and  Monthly Area Joint Prayers among other.

The Teshie-Nungua Area has a total of 26 districts with a membership of more than 42,000. The male population is 39 percent as against a female population of 61 percent. The officer population is 2,134, comprising 686 officers, 544 Deacons and 904 deaconesses.

Report by Isabella Gyau Orhin.

Pastor Clement Achim Gyimah, the Roman Ridge District Minister of The Church of Pentecost in Accra, has been appointed as African Renaissance and Diaspora Network (ARDN) Ghana Country Representative.

In this role, he will lead the development, implementation and promotion of ARDN programmes under the direction of Dr. Djibril Diallo, ARDN President and CEO. His appointment took effect from September 30, 2021.

“Rev. Achim Gyimah has more than 20 years of experience in youth leadership and the promotion of youth empowerment. He has successfully led projects and programmes on the promotion of youth leadership and voluntary service in Ghana and internationally. He has designed, led and monitored several public initiatives on capacity building for youth leaders and young people. Rev. Achim Gyimah also has a strong background in building strategic partnerships and coaching for youth capacity building,” a statement issued by ARDN Office in New York in the United States of America, has stated.

According to the statement, Pastor Achim Gyimah brings to ARDN his expertise in youth moblisation and strategic partnerships.

Rev. Achim Gyimah has MSc. in Organisational Development and an Alumni of London School of Economics and Political Science, Programme for Africa Leadership and holds several certificates on leadership. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Management. He is a founding member of ROJALNU (Pan-African Youth Leadership Network) and the first Country Coordinator for Global Youth Action Network in Ghana. He has been a Minister of The Church of Pentecost in Ghana for the past 17 years.

The ARDN is an internationally operating NGO headquartered in New York, with the status of a United States 501(c)(3) public charity. ARDN mission is to accelerate the attainment of the African renaissance by advocating for and supporting United Nations programmes and priorities. To this end, ARDN mobilizes the passion of government, educators, artists, intellectuals, the private sector, civil society and youth, using the power of art, sport and culture as vectors for creating a better world. ARDN serves as the Secretariat for the Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has waded into the controversy surrounding the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values (PPHSRGF) Bill stressing that it is an issue of morality and not of rights.

“If we have a society where there are no absolutes, soon there will be no law. Likewise, if every behaviour is shielded by Law, soon we would have no laws. So, we need to be careful when arguing about this because the matter on the floor [of parliament] is not about rights, it is about morality,” he said when the church presented six memos with more than 15,000 signatories in support of the Anti-LGBTQ+bill to parliament on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.

The Chairman said that The Church of Pentecost, with a membership of more than three million people, representing approximately 10 per cent of the nation’s population, is fully backing the bill and urged the lawmakers to pass it into law to safeguard the family values of the Ghanaian people.

Apostle Nyamekye cautioned that if the activities of LGBTQ+ are not criminalised, it would lead to acceptance of same-sex marriages in the future, which would have far-reaching consequences for the nation.

He advised the legislators not to base their arguments only on scientific facts but to understand that “the whole world is a sovereign state owned by a sovereign God,” and the Creator of the world reserves the right to determine how His creation should live. “It is not up to other creations to show us how we should live,” he added.

The Chairman also urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to exercise his constitutional [executive] powers in helping to bring finality to this long-standing issue.

“As a church, our concern is not about today, but the future. When we allow the activities of LGBTQ+ it would lead to same-sex marriages, which the President has said would never happen under his watch,” he said.

He added: “However if the President allows LGBTQ+ activities to continue, although same-sex marriage may not happen under his watch as president it will happen after he is no more president of the nation. Rather, what he should do is to stop it. He should close the door where it matters, and we are saying it should be now.”

Apostle Nyamekye said that the church’s support for the bill should not be seen as a promotion of hate towards LGBTQ+ persons, but against their immoral activities. This is why, according to him, the PPHSRGF bill would not only criminalise the act but also offer reformative measures for persons with such sexual disorders.

The Church of Pentecost, together with other Christian groups, presented to parliament separate memos in support of the passage of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill into law. The memos were received on behalf of the Committee of Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs by Mr. Owusu Mensah (Acting Deputy Clerk, Finance, Administration and Legal Affairs), who assured them that it would be submitted to the committee for consideration.

The ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values’ Bill is a private members’ legislation laid before parliament by the Member of Parliament of Ningo Prampram, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, and six other legislators.

The bill, among other things, seeks to criminalise LGBTQI+ activities in the country and proposes sanctions against groups and individuals who promote LGBTQI.

Since this presentation in August this year, the bill has received wide support from the Ghanaian population including Christian and Para-Christian bodies, the Muslim community, non-religious entities, traditional rulers, and opinion leaders in Ghana.

PENTECOST NEWS

The Church of Pentecost has made a strong statement of support towards the legislation of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill when it presented six memos along with 15,000 signatories to parliament today.

The presentation, which was made along with other Christian groups and church denominations, took place at the office of the committee of constitutional, legal, and parliamentary affairs.

During the presentation, the Chairman of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, did not mince words when he voiced out the Church’s strong stance against the activities of LGBTQ+.

He said the church has a membership of over three million members, which forms 10 per cent of the nation’s population, adding that, with these significant numbers, it is throwing its weight behind the passage of the bill.

“As a church, our concern is not about today, but the future. When we allow the activities of LGBTQ+ what would happen is that it would lead to same-sex marriages, which the President has said would never happen under his watch,” he said.

He added: “However, if he allows LGBTQ+ activities to continue, although same-sex marriage may not happen under his watch as president, it will happen after he is no more president of the nation. Rather, what he should do is to stop it. He should close the door where it matters; and we are saying it should be now”.

Apostle Nyamekye urged parliamentarians to critically consider the bill and not to regard it as an issue of right, but one of morality. He also revealed that among the 15,000 signatories were trustees of the church, workers, and the youth. The memos, on the other hand, he said, were received from the Youth, children, men, women, workers, and theologians of church.

Other churches represented at the presentation ceremony were the Methodist Church of Ghana (MCG), the Apostolic Church of Ghana (ACG) and the Christ Apostolic Church of Ghana.

Presenting a memo on behalf of the Methodist Church of Ghana (MCG), the Presiding Bishop of the MCG, Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, said the MCG has always held a strong stance against the activities of the LGBTQ+ and is therefore in full support of the bill laid before parliament for legislation. He said that attached to the memo of the mother-church are separate memos by the Accra Diocese and the Children’s Ministry of the Methodist church, who associate with the bill, describing “it as one for the future.”

Expressing the support of the Apostolic Church for the bill, the President of the ACG, Apostle Dr. Narh Ami, said that LGBTQ+has been a long-standing issue in the nation, and was glad that the bill has finally been brought to the fore to be addressed.

According to him, the activities of LGBTQ+has great consequences on the future, hence the need for the country to take a strong stance against it.

“As a church, we believe that when we make sexuality so fluid to the extent that anyone can just get up and say ‘I am this or I am that,’ it becomes difficult, and no nation has what it takes to deal with that kind of confusion. We also believe that God only made the male and female,” he said.

The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC), National Clergy Association, and Ghana Congress on Evangelisation (GHACOE) also formed part of the Christian delegation that presented the memos to the office of the committee of constitutional, legal, and parliamentary affairs. The memos were received on behalf of the committee by Mr. Owusu Mensah (Acting Deputy Clerk , Finance, Administration and Legal Affairs), who assured them that it would be submitted to the committee for consideration.

Meanwhile, other Christian groups such as the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ghana and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) have also submitted memos in support the new private members’ bill.

They also argue that the new bill stems from its long-standing and consistent biblical position on the preservation of God’s original plan for marriage, procreation and the preservation of the family value system and any attempt to pervert this system would be fiercely resisted through all spiritual, physical and legal means.

PENTECOST NEWS