Methodist Church Ghana
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The Methodist Church Ghana is one of the largest and oldest
mainline Protestant The mainline Protestants (sometimes also known as oldline Protestants) are a group of Protestantism in the United States, Protestant denominations in the United States and Protestantism in Canada, Canada largely of the Liberal Christianity, theolo ...
denominations in
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
. It traces its roots back to the landing of the Rev. Joseph Dunwell on 1 January 1835 in
Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...
, in the Gold Coast (now
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
). The Rev. T. B. Freeman, another
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
, took the
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message beyond Cape Coast to the
Ashanti Empire The Asante Empire ( Asante Twi: ), also known as the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted from 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana and also parts of Ivory Coast ...
, to Nigeria, and to other parts of the region to become the father of
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
in
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
.F.L.Bartels. The Roots of Ghana Methodism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965, pp. 28–72. For the most part, The Methodist Church Ghana follows the same Sunday worship practices as other Methodist Church branches. The Methodist Church Ghana separates itself from the mainline Methodist Church of Great Britain in approach through the addition of
Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...
elements to the worship services. This approach to worship displays a more vibrant and energetic form of
praise Praise as a form of social interaction expresses recognition, reassurance or admiration. Praise is expressed verbally as well as by body language (facial expression and gestures). Verbal praise consists of a positive evaluations of another's ...
. The Methodist Church Ghana is responsible for a large part of its community's outreach. Like many other mainline Protestant churches, the church provides formal education through schooling for Ghanaians. This educational role for Methodist Church Ghana in particular has helped the country provide a strong educational system that can accommodate the Ghanaian population, which is pivotal because the options for university in Ghana are scarce and competitive. The Methodist Church Ghana is a big medical care provider in its area, as well. The medical work done by The Methodist Church Ghana has served a vast part of the local community by offering important health services to Ghanaians. The Methodist Church Ghana also took initiative to remodel and reconstruct a local hospital to broaden its outreach and possibilities for medical care for its community.
Ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
divisions plagued the administration of The Methodist Church Ghana in the past but this has been addressed. These problems arose from differences in ethnicity regarding power positions and church format. For instance, during an election for the presidency of the denomination in the 1980s, people were vouching for their own ethnic president and a conflict of interest between some ethnic groups occurred.


History

In the mid-1800s many European
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
traveled to new countries to spread religious influences. Gold Coast (now
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
) was already known for its big reserves of gold and as a major port for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Asante people ruled large portions of Gold Coast, and in 1824 British forces invaded and defeated many Asante forces. This shifted the Gold Coast towards British control, subjecting the current citizens to British influence. By 1835, many other European nations had taken an interest in the resources of the land. This brought many missionaries, including Protestants from the Netherlands and
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from
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and France. As part of this wave of missions, the Missionary Committee of the British Methodist Conference sent Rev. Joseph Rhodes Dunwell to be the first Methodist missionary in Gold Coast. His mission began in 1835 in the prominent fishing city of
Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...
. After six months of mission work with local Christians, he succeeded in his evangelical missions and Methodist Church Gold Coast (Methodist Church Ghana after independence was gained in 1957) was founded. This influence spread throughout the country, and as a result the British claimed Gold Coast as a
colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
in 1867. By 1854, the church was organized into circuits, a collection of ambient Methodist churches that formed an administrative coalition, forming a district, or an area with Methodist control; T. B. Freeman served as chairman. Freeman was replaced in 1856 by William West. The district was divided and extended to include areas in Gold Coast and Nigeria, also a British colony at the time, by the
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
, an administrative church council, in 1878, a move confirmed at the British Conference. The districts were Gold Coast District, with T. R. Picot as chairman, and Yoruba and Popo District, with John Milum as chairman. Methodist evangelisation of Northern Gold Coast began in 1910. After serving as a district in the British Methodist Conference, The Methodist Church Ghana attained full independence from that British body on 28 July 1961. It adopted an episcopal structure at the
Koforidua Koforidua, also popularly known as K.dua or Koftown and now Kofcity, is a city and the capital of Eastern Region, Ghana, Eastern Region of Ghana. The city has a population of 183,727 people as of 2010. The city is a blend of colonial and moder ...
Conference in August 1999. Currently, The Methodist Church Ghana has 22
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
sValedictory Service in Honor of Most Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye-Mensah Booklet, 27 September 2009, Accra, Ghana. headed by
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
s. Between 2003 and March 2008, 406 new congregations were started and ministry was initiated in the neighboring country of
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
. The current presiding bishop is
the Most Reverend The Most Reverend (abbreviated as The Most Revd or The Most Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. It is a variant of the mor ...
Prof. J Asamoah Gyedu the sixth presiding bishop and the thirteen person to lead The Methodist Church Ghana. The administrative bishop is
the Right Reverend The Right Reverend (abbreviated as The Rt Revd or The Rt Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian ministers and members of clergy. It is a variant of the more common st ...
Dr Mpere Gyekye , and the lay president is Mr. Kwesi Atta Antwi. File:Emmanuel Asante and Araba Ata Sam.JPG, Emmanuel Asante and Araba Ata Sam shortly after their elections as presiding bishop and lay president at the Winneba Conference in 2008 File:Kow Egyir and MCG College of Bishops.JPG, Kow Egyir as the Administrative Bishop leads in liturgy as the College of Bishops looks on File:Abasua Prayer Camp.JPG, Abasua Methodist Prayer Camp File:Mission Conference II of Methodist Church Ghana.JPG, Missions Conference held in Kumasi, 2008 File:Wesley House Methodist Church Ghana HQ.jpg, Wesley House, The Headquarters of the Methodist Church Ghana, Accra File:Mount Olivet Methodist Church 2.jpg, Mount Olivet Methodist Church in Dansoman


Practices

The practices of The Methodist Church Ghana mostly mirror those common among other Methodist churches. Sunday mornings are typically
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...
services. These services are where the Bible is read, sermons are given, and offerings are donated to the church. There can also be a first and second service, where the difference is one service uses English and the other service uses the native language of the area.Edusa-Eyison, Joseph MY. "The History of the Methodist Church Ghana." (2011). The Methodist Church Ghana uses the same hymn book that is approved and used by the British Methodist church. Some time in the 1990s, the
Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (abbreviated as the KMA) is one of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana. It forms part of the forty-three districts in Ashanti Region, Ghana with Kumasi being its administrative ca ...
translated the English hymns into the now used and locally understood Twi-language version. Following this change, multiple Methodist churches in Ghana translated the main British hymns into their own native languages, including Ewe and Ga. The Methodist Church was the first to add native songs to praise and worship services in Ghana. The first
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
accepted was a 1936 version of the English liturgy. This liturgy was limited in ways of worship and expression. The liturgy was then revised in 2000. The changes were intended to match the Ghanaian character on display during services, and the new liturgy cover topics such as what the choir would wear and the general setup of buildings. This new and more charismatic liturgy was intended to allow the worshipers to add a more vibrant and jubilant interpretation of praise, intended to make a more spiritual presence for services.


Charismatic Movement

In the late 1960s,
Charismatic Christianity Charismatic Christianity is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in Christianity, Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts as an everyday part of a believer's life. It has a global presence in the Christian community. Practit ...
spread into Ghana. This new form of Christianity was a faster-paced, more vibrant, and more kinetic form of Christianity. Many West Africans found this form of Christianity more appealing than the more staid church services favored by older congregations. At this time, many religious churches were competing for African locals as congregation members, and the adoption of charismatic Christianity was a major distinction between churches. This charismatic spread allowed any church that used this method of practice to gain a boost in congregation members and this left any church not following suit at a loss or stagnancy in terms of turnout. The first charismatic praise group arose in Kumasi: the Methodist Prayer Fellowship, which began in 1984. A few years after its first national assembly, the Methodist Church Ghana wanted to replicate this charismatic worship service. This decision encouraged the church to spread the charismatic movement throughout the whole congregation instead of just one focused group. With this idea came the Methodist Prayer and Renewal Program (MPRP), a group dedicated to making certain that the charismatic methods touched every area of the church. This group not only spread the charismatic movement throughout the mainline Protestant Methodist church in Ghana's cities, but also to smaller churches in villages. Due to the influence of the movement, some non-ordained charismatic leaders were formally appointed as evangelists due to their commitment to their work.Omenyo, Cephas. "From the Fringes to the Centre: Pentecostalization of the Mainline churches in Ghana." Exchange 34.1 (2005): 39-60. As part of the charismatic movement, clergy and congregants have incorporated more in-church
prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...
. Churches regularly hold short
fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...
and prayer events every Friday, with certain monthly prayer meetings beginning early and proceeding through the night. These events have resulted in a boost in attendance, which has contributed to member participation. The numbers show over five-hundred people a day in attendance at some congregations. This new movement has added a homelike and curative aspect through these consistent meetings. Congregation members note that these events bring the gift of
healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells ...
and there are reports from the National Crusade organized by the Methodist Church Ghana. Most charismatic meetings were promoted through media advertisements, breaking news reports, the creation of artistic banners, guest shout outs and advertisements on radio stations, the handing out of flyers and pamphlets, and most effectively through word of mouth.


Role in health and education

In the 1970s in Ghana, being admitted into university was a difficult proposition due to the small number of schooling options and the extremely low admittance rate, since there were far more applicants than available slots. This led the Ghanaian government to look towards non-governmental associations to make higher education more accessible. In 1974, Dr. John Kofi Agbeti, the first Ghanaian Methodist minister to earn a Ph.D., wanted to create a higher educational establishment that would accept and support all variations of Christianity. In 1998 during their yearly conference, Methodist Church Ghana made Dr. Agbeti's suggestion for a university a reality and the decision resulted in Methodist University College Ghana, being constructed on a two-square-mile plot with classes beginning in 2000. The Methodist Church University, Ghana illustrated its core values and ideals with a seven piece plan: First, to avail a safe educational environment where students could utilize its programs and resources to learn a liberal and technical education to fit the needs of the country. Second, to sponsor research in order to harvest knowledge for application towards any problem. Third, to develop the student's ability to critically think and problem solve. Fourth, to be a home for all students regardless of gender, religion, or racial identity. Fifth, to give students the top professional and innovative training possible. Sixth, to promote hard work and strengthen the student's connection to their African background. Seventh, to spread Christianity and endorse the giving of the student's life to God. Another important school that the Methodist Church Ghana constructed was Cape Coast's Mfantsipim. This school was responsible for educating John Mensah Sarbah, the head of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society, Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, a leader in the founding of the West African Congress, and other prominent figures in African history. The Methodist Church Ghana has placed an importance on its medical work since its construction. With the help of the government, for multiple decades The Methodist Church Ghana has contributed health-care services. The division of Health and Sanitation is under the Methodist Church Ghana Board of Social Responsibility and Rural Development. Miriam Hornsby Odoi, a worker for the Diocese who directs The Methodist Church Ghana's health programs, states that the church's involvement in medical work comes from
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
when his disciples were local healers and spirit purifiers. Odoi also states that the importance of the medical work is to complete mental, social, and physical well-being. The church controls the Ankaase Methodist Faith Hospital. A congregational member, J. K. Manu, modeled, designed, and built the two-story medical center. A representative of the church then negotiated with the administration for the proper rights to operate and run the hospital. After expanding the property and adding medically trained professionals, on 24 September 1988 the hospital opened to the public. This church uses a combination of westernized medicine with
spiritual healing Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into patients and effect positive results. The field is defined by shared beliefs and practices relating to m ...
. Since then the church has convinced many investors to contribute monetary donations to the hospital and the church has implemented chaplains to run the medical center. This is now a prominent health center in Ghana. The Methodist Revival was a movement held by the Methodist Church Britain to reach citizens who felt neglected by the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. Because many Ghanaian churches also serve as a local school, The Methodist Church Ghana incorporated this movement for the locals and used this opportunity to educate students about its religion and taught any citizen, young or old to read and write. This also helped educate citizens who previously couldn't afford schooling.


Challenges

The Methodist Church Ghana has not always had success in its endeavors. The church has faced congregation-dividing problems. The Methodist church of Ghana originally regarded itself as an Akan-dominated church, but this idea was challenged. One issue arose due to differences in
ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
backgrounds among congregants. In the 1920s, Methodist Church Ghana had three congregations in
Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...
. Many of these congregation members were of the Ga ethnicity, followed in population by
Fante people The modern Mfantsefo or Fante ("Fanti" is an older spelling) confederacy is a combination of Akan people and aboriginal Guan people. The Fante people are mainly located in the Central and Western regions of Ghana, occupying the forest and coast ...
. Many Sunday schools used Fante-Akan as the primary language for service, so Ga people had to accommodate themselves to Fante preferences. In 1965 the Fante people made their own church building, called themselves the Cavalry Society, and placed their building in an area that would change their closest proximity circuit, Wesley Circuit, to the Adabraka Circuit. In an attempt to be impartial, The Methodist Church Ghana assigned neutral parties within its church council to decide on a sanction for the Calvary Society's infraction. In an attempt to act impartially, The Methodist Church Ghana assigned expatriate parties to give opinions on the matter. The proposal from the neutral parties suggested that the circuits be reorganized to accommodate language barriers within the circuits. This suggestion was declined and the Calvary Society petitioned to become its own separate circuit. After a long struggle with some bureaucratic policies, Calvary Society's request to become a circuit was approved and the name changed to the North-Accra circuit.Essamuah, Casely B. Genuinely Ghanaian: a History of the Methodist Church, Ghana, 1961-2000. Africa World, 2011. Another ethnic problem manifested by way of cultural leadership. In the 1980s there was a conflict between two ethnic groups, as a Fante native and a Ga native debated which of these two ethnic groups should control the conference's presidency. Another problem became the struggle for power between the people's democratic control and the hierarchical control of the church. Many conferences were called to sort out the power struggle and arguments about certain interpretations of the church's constitution arose. Many times the ethnic-bias issue was exposed, and other times the underlying thought served as a basis for other arguments. These debates about the constitution's clarifications came at a price, as the debates led to the suspension and resignation of church ministers.


Presidents and presiding bishops

*Francis C.F. Grant (1961–1966) *T. Wallace Koomson (1966–1973) *Charles K. Yamoah (1973–1977) * Charles Awotwi Pratt (1977–1979) *Samuel B. Essamuah (1979–1984) * Charles Awotwi Pratt (1984–1985) *Jacob S. A. Stephens (1985–1990) * Kwesi A. Dickson (1990–1997) *Samuel Asante Antwi (1997–2003) *Robert Aboagye-Mensah (2003–2009)The Methodist Church Ghana (1835–2005): 170th Anniversary Souvenir Brochure. Accra, 2005 * Emmanuel Kwaku Asante (2009–2014) * Titus Awotwi Pratt (2014–2018) * Paul Boafo (2018–2024) * J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu (2024 – present)


See also

* Wesley Methodist Cathedral (Accra) * Wesley Methodist Cathedral (Kumasi) * Christianity in Ghana *
Religion in Ghana Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the population belonging to various Christian denominations as of 2021 census. Islam is practised by 19.9% of the total population. According to a report by the Pew Research, 51% of Mu ...


External links


Official website


References

{{Authority control Members of the World Council of Churches Christian organizations established in 1961 Methodist denominations established in the 20th century 1961 establishments in Ghana