The Aflao Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Michael Agyen Brefo, on Friday, April 12, 2024, dedicated the Salo Central Assembly church building in the Salo District.
He was ably assisted by the District Minister, Pastor Seth Asamani Wettey and other ministers in the Aflao Area.
The building was funded through grants from the Church’s General Headquarters, the Area, District and contributions from members of the Local Assembly.
Delivering a brief exhortation at the event on the topic: “The holy things of God” based on Isaiah 38-39, Daniel 1:1-2, Daniel 5:1-11, 2 Chronicles 7:1, the Anloga District Minister, Pastor Carlmax Obeng Boadu exhorted Christians not to treat the holy things of God with contempt.
He emphasised that anything that is connected to God is holy unto him. Relating his sermon to the church of God, Pastor Carlmax stressed that since the church s the gathering place of God’s people, it is holy unto him.
“God doesn’t want the value of his house to be diminished. Christians ought to exhibit the highest level of reverence and honour to God anytime they are in his presence,” he stated.
He therefore admonished the congregants to take good care of the building.
Dedicating the building, Apostle Michael Agyen Brefo expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Church for the financial assistance.
He commended the leadership of the Salo District, the current and past District Ministers, the district presbytery and the members for the successful completion of the project.
He admonished the church to exhibit sacrificial service to the Lord so that God will use them to build a strong church.
He encouraged the members to take good care of the church building since it is God’s holy place for the gathering of the saints.
The history of Salo Central Assembly could be traced back to 1976 through aggressive evangelism spearheaded by the late Pastor V.Y. Gogo (the then Anloga District Minister) through the instrumentality of the late Apostle K. K. C. Gadzeko (then an Elder and Witness Movement leader).
At the end of the outreach, souls were won, baptised and gathered for church service the following Sunday morning.
The Assembly started in a classroom as a place of worship. After 4 years of its existence, it was relocated to the late Efo Yador’s house, where a temporary structure was erected for church services. Few years later, the newly planted assembly faced diverse kinds of trials and persecutions from a cross section of the townsfolk who saw the church as a threat to their traditional religious worship. The church structure was burnt down on two occasions (in 1979 and 1993).
By the grace of God, the church bought a piece of land from the Gapkpetor family in 1990 with a temporary structure raised on it. In 1996, the local assembly through the hard work of Elder Gabriel Logah (the then presiding Elder) raised funds to commence her permanent building project.
The local assembly together with the members embarked on communal labour and raised the structure from foundation to the lintel level. Through the hard work of Pastors Enoch Nii Akrashie (the then Anloga District Minister) and Pastor Julius Semanyor (the first District Minister of Atorkor), the building project continued to the roofing level.
However, the project stalled for 10 years due to lack of funds. During the tenure of the late Apostle Blessed Bonney (Rtd.), the Area released Headquarters grant of GH¢14,000.00 for the roofing of the building. This therefore paved way for the laying of foundation stone which was held on March 12, 2011. Pastor Inusah Aturi (the then District Minister for Atorkor) also continued with the building project during his tenure.
In 2019, the Salo District was carved out of Atorkor with Pastor Seth Asamani Wettey stationed as the first District Minister. Through the gracious hand of God as well as the financial support from the Area and the diligence of the District and the local assembly, the project has been completed and dedicated.
Report by Pastor Francis Lamptey (Aflao Area Reporter)