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The Methodist Church Ghana
ClassificationMethodist
OrientationMainline
PolityEpiscopal (Connexionalism)[1]
AssociationsWorld Council of Churches,[2]
RegionGhana
FounderJohn Wesley[3][4]
Origin1 January 1835
Cape Coast, Ghana
Separated fromMethodist Church of Great Britain
Official websitewww.methodistchurch.org.gh
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The Methodist Church Ghana is one of the largest and oldest mainline Protestant denominations in Ghana. It traces its roots back to the landing of the Rev. Joseph Dunwell on 1 January 1835 in Cape Coast, Ghana.[5] The Rev. T.B. Freeman, another missionary, emerged as the father of Methodism in West Africa, taking the Christian message beyond Cape Coast to the Ashanti Kingdom, Nigeria, and other parts of the region.[6] Many of the typical Sunday practices Methodist Church Ghana follows are the same practices one would get at any other Methodist Church branch. Methodist Church Ghana separates itself from the mainline Methodist Church of Great Britain in approach where Methodist Church Ghana adds Charismatic elements to their worship services. This approach to worship displays a more vibrant and energetic form of praise.

Methodist Church Ghana is responsible for a large part of its community's outreach. Methodist Church Ghana, like many other mainline protestant churches, provide formal education through schooling for the local people. 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 were scarce and competitive.

Methodist Church Ghana is a big medical care provider in its area. The medical work done by Methodist Church Ghana has served a vast part of the local community by offering important health services to its local people. 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.

History[edit]

In the mid 1800's many European missionaries traveled to new countries to spread religious influences. Gold Coast (now Ghana) was already known for its big reserves of gold and because the country was a major port for 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 country towards Britain control subjecting the current citizens to British influence. During the spread of British control in Gold Coast, in 1835 many other European nations were interested in the resources of the land. This brought many missionaries including Protestants from Holland and Catholics from Portugal and France. As part of this wave of missions, the Missionary Committee of the British Methodist Conference sent Rev. Joseph Rhodes Dunwell, who became the first Methodist missionary to travel to Gold Coast. His mission began in 1835 in the prominent fishing city Cape Coast. 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 then created. This influence spread throughout the country and as a result the British would colonize Gold Coast in 1867.[7]

By 1854, the church was organized into circuits, a collection of ambient Methodist churches who work to form an administrative coalition, forming a district, or an area with Methodist control, with T. B. Freeman as chairman. Freeman was replaced in 1856 by William West.[6] The district was divided and extended to include areas in Gold Coast and Nigeria, also a British colony at the time, by the synod, 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 evangelization of northern Gold Coast began in 1910.

After serving as a district in the British Methodist Conference, the Methodist Church Ghana attained full independence on 28 July 1961. It adopted an episcopal structure at the Koforidua Conference in August 1999.[8] Currently, the Methodist Church Ghana has 15 dioceses[9] headed by bishops. Between 2003 and March 2008, 406 new congregations were started and ministry was initiated in Burkina Faso.[10]

The current presiding bishop is the Most Reverend Titus Awotwi Pratt, the fourth presiding bishop and the eleventh person to lead the Methodist Church Ghana.[9] The administrative bishop is the Right Reverend Kweku Asamoah-Okyere, and the lay president is J. E. K. Pratt.[9]

  • Emmanuel Asante and Araba Ata Sam shortly after their elections as presiding bishop and lay president at the Winneba Conference in 2008
    Emmanuel Asante and Araba Ata Sam shortly after their elections as presiding bishop and lay president at the Winneba Conference in 2008
  • Kow Egyir as the Administrative Bishop leads in liturgy as the College of Bishops looks on
    Kow Egyir as the Administrative Bishop leads in liturgy as the College of Bishops looks on
  • Abasua Methodist Prayer Camp
    Abasua Methodist Prayer Camp
  • Missions Conference held in Kumasi, 2008
    Missions Conference held in Kumasi, 2008
  • Wesley House, The Headquarters of the Methodist Church Ghana, Accra
    Wesley House, The Headquarters of the Methodist Church Ghana, Accra

Practices[edit]

The practices of Methodist Church Ghana mostly mirror any other common Methodist church. Sunday evenings are typically worship 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.[11]

The Methodist Church of 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 translated the English hymns into the now used and locally understood Twi version. Following this change, multiple Methodist churches in Ghana translated the main British hymns into their own native languages, such as Ewe and Ga.[12] The Methodist Church was the first to add native songs to praise and worship services in Ghana.[13]

The first liturgy accepted was a 1936 version of 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 like 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.[14]

Charismatic Movement[edit]

In the late 1960's came the spread of Charismatic Christianity. This new form of Christianity was a faster paced, more vibrant, and kinetic form of Christianity. Many West Africans saw this form of Christianity more appealing contrary to the vanilla church service. 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 who 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.[15]The first charismatic praise group arose in Kumasi: the Methodist Prayer Fellowship, which began in 1984. A few years after its first national assembly, after the assembly the Methodist Church Ghana wanted to replicate this charismatic worship service. This encouraged the church to spread this 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 make certain 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.[16]

As part of the charismatic movement, clergy and congregants have incorporated more in-church prayer. Churches regularly hold short fasting and prayer events every Friday, with certain monthly prayer meetings beginning early and proceeding through the night. These events resulted in a boost in attendance, which also contributed to member participation. The numbers show over five-hundred people a day in attendance. This new movement added a homelike and curative aspect through these consistent meetings. The Ghanaian community. Congregation members note that these events bring the gift of healing 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.[17]


Role in health and education[edit]

In the 1970s in Ghana, being admitted into university was a difficult task due to the small number of schooling options and the extremely low admittance rate due to a surplus of applicants towards a shortage of available slots. This led the Ghanian 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 College University, Ghana being constructed on a two square mile plot with classes beginning as soon as the year 2000.[18]

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.[19]

Another important school that the Methodist Church Ghana constructed was Cape Coast's Mfantispim. 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.[20]

The Methodist Church Ghana has placed an importance on its medical work since its construction. With the help of the government, for multiple decades Methodist Church Ghana has contributed health-care services to its Ghanian people. 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 Methodist Church Ghana's health programs, states that the church's involvement in medical work comes from Jesus Christ 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.[21]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 September 24, 1988 the hospital opened to the public. This church uses a combination of westernized medicine with spiritual healing. 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.[22]

The Methodist Revival was a movement held by the Methodist Church Britain to reach citizens who felt neglected by the Church of England. [23]. Because many Ghanaian churches also serve as the local school, Methodist Church Ghana incorporated this movement for the locals 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.[24]

Presidents and presiding bishops[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sims, Kirk. “The Missional Relations with Methodist Church Ghana with Other Methodist Bodies.” Dec. 2012, pp. 1–7., www.methodistheritage.org.uk/missionary-history-sims-missional-relations-ghana-2012.pdf.
  2. ^ http://worldmethodistcouncil.org/about/member-churches/name/ghana-methodist-church/
  3. ^ "The United Methodist Church". University of Virginia. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  4. ^ "What We Believe – Founder of the United Methodist Church". United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay. Archived from the original on 25 March 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  5. ^ F.L.Bartels. The Roots of Ghana Methodism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965, pp. 12–18.
  6. ^ a b F.L.Bartels. The Roots of Ghana Methodism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965, pp. 28–72.
  7. ^ Bartels, Francis Lodowic. The Roots of Ghana Methodism. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1965.
  8. ^ The Methodist Church Ghana (1835–2005): 170th Anniversary Souvenir Brochure. Accra, 200
  9. ^ a b c Valedictory Service in Honor of Most Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye-Mensah Booklet, 27 September 2009, Accra, Ghana.
  10. ^ 5th/43rd Conference of the Methodist Church Ghana, Board of Ministries Report, Winneba, Ghana, 2008
  11. ^ Edusa-Eyison, Joseph MY. "The History of the Methodist Church Ghana." (2011).
  12. ^ Edusa-Eyison, Joseph MY. "The History of the Methodist Church Ghana." (2011).
  13. ^ Flolu, James. "Music teacher education in Ghana: Training for the churches or the schools?." Sounds of Change–Social and Political Features of Music in Africa. Stockholm: SIDA (2004): 164-179.
  14. ^ Edusa-Eyison, Joseph MY. "The History of the Methodist Church Ghana." (2011).
  15. ^ Ebenezer Obadare (2016) The Muslim response to the Pentecostal surge in Nigeria: Prayer and the rise of charismatic Islam, Journal of Religious and Political Practice, 2:1, 75-91
  16. ^ Omenyo, Cephas. "From the Fringes to the Centre: Pentecostalization of the Mainline churches in Ghana." Exchange 34.1 (2005): 39-60.
  17. ^ Omenyo, Cephas. "From the Fringes to the Centre: Pentecostalization of the Mainline churches in Ghana." Exchange 34.1 (2005): 39-60.
  18. ^ Essamuah, Casely B. Genuinely Ghanaian: a History of the Methodist Church, Ghana, 1961-2000. Africa World, 2011.
  19. ^ Essamuah, Casely B. Genuinely Ghanaian: a History of the Methodist Church, Ghana, 1961-2000. Africa World, 2011.
  20. ^ Essamuah, Casely B. Genuinely Ghanaian: a History of the Methodist Church, Ghana, 1961-2000. Africa World, 2011.
  21. ^ Essamuah, Casely B. Genuinely Ghanaian: a History of the Methodist Church, Ghana, 1961-2000. Africa World, 2011.
  22. ^ Essamuah, Casely B. Genuinely Ghanaian: a History of the Methodist Church, Ghana, 1961-2000. Africa World, 2011.
  23. ^ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Methodism#ref466642
  24. ^ Graham, Charles Kwesi. The History of Education in Ghana: From the Earliest Times to the Declaration of Independence. Routledge, 2013.
  25. ^ The Methodist Church Ghana (1835–2005): 170th Anniversary Souvenir Brochure. Accra, 2005

Category:Protestantism in Ghana Category:Members of the World Council of Churches Category:Religious organizations established in 1961 Category:Methodist denominations established in the 20th century Category:1961 establishments in Ghana

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