Methodist Church Ghana
| The Methodist Church Ghana | |
|---|---|
 Methodist Church Ghana logo | |
| Classification | Methodist |
| Orientation | Mainline |
| Polity | Episcopal (Connexionalism)[1] |
| Associations | World Council of Churches,[1] World Methodist Council, Christian Council of Ghana[2] |
| Region | Ghana |
| Origin |
1835/1961 Cape Coast, Ghana |
| Branched from | Methodist Church of Great Britain |
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The Methodist Church Ghana is one of the largest and oldest Protestant denominations in Ghana. It traces its roots back to the landing of Rev. Joseph Dunwell on 1 January 1835 in Cape Coast, Ghana.[3] Rev. Thomas Birch 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.[4]
By 1854, the church was organized into circuits constituting a district with T.B. Freeman as chairman. Freeman was replaced in 1856 by William West.[4] The district was divided and extended to include areas in the then Gold Coast and Nigeria by the synod in 1878, a move confirmed at the British Conference. The district were Gold Coast (Ghana) District, with T.R. Picot as chairman and Yoruba and Popo District, with John Milum as chairman. Methodist evangelization of northern Ghana 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.[5] Currently, the Methodist Church Ghana has 15 dioceses[6] headed by bishops. Between 2003 and March 2008, 406 new congregations were started and ministry was initiated in Burkina Faso.[7]
The current Presiding Bishop is the Most Reverend Titus Awotwe Pratt, the forth presiding bishop and the eleventh person to lead the Methodist Church Ghana.[6] The administrative bishop is the Right Reverend Dr. Kweku Asamoah-Okyere, and the lay president is Mr. J. E. K. Pratt.[6]
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
Abasua Methodist Prayer Camp
Missions Conference held in Kumasi, 2008
Wesley House, The Headquarters of the Methodist Church Ghana, Accra
Presidents and Presiding Bishops
- Francis C.F. Grant (1961–1966)
- T. Wallace Koomson (1966–1973)
- Charles K. Yamoah (1973–1977)
- C. Awotwi Pratt (1977–1979)
- Samuel B. Essamuah (1979–1984)
- C. Awotwi Pratt (2nd time) (1984–1985)
- Jacob S.A. Stephens (1985–1990)
- Kwesi A. Dickson (1990–1997)
- Samuel Asante Antwi (last president and 1st presiding bishop) (1997–2003)
- Robert Aboagye-Mensah (2003–2009)[8]
- Emmanuel Kwaku Asante (2009–2014)Immediate Past Presiding Bishop
- Titus Awotwe Pratt (Presiding Bishop)(2014 - present)
References
- 1 2 http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/africa/ghana/methodist-church-ghana.html
- ↑ http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/africa/ghana/ccg.html
- ↑ F.L.Bartels. The Roots of Ghana Methodism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965, pp. 12-18.
- 1 2 F.L.Bartels. The Roots of Ghana Methodism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965, pp. 28-72.
- ↑ The Methodist Church Ghana (1835-2005): 170th Anniversary Souvenir Brochure. Accra, 200
- 1 2 3 Valedictory Service in Honor of Most Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye-Mensah Booklet, 27 September 2009, Accra, Ghana.
- ↑ 5th/43rd Conference of the Methodist Church Ghana, Board of Ministries Report, Winneba, Ghana, 2008
- ↑ The Methodist Church Ghana (1835-2005): 170th Anniversary Souvenir Brochure. Accra, 2005