The Church of Pentecost
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| The Church of Pentecost | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Pentecostal |
| Theology | Evangelical |
| Governance | Presbytery |
| Founder | Rev. James McKeown |
| Origin | 1 August 1962 (renamed) Accra, Ghana |
| Separated from | Apostolic Church Gold Coast |
| Congregations | 20,000 |
| Members | 3 million |
| Official website | thecophq |
!The Church of Pentecost is a church originating from Ghana. This Pentecostal church claims worldwide about 20,000 congregations with more than 3 million members.
History
The Church’s beginnings are linked to the ministry of Pastor James McKeown (1900-1989), an Irish missionary sent by the Apostolic Church, Bradford, UK to the then Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1937 to help a group of believers of the Apostolic Faith in Asamankese.[1] In June 1937, Rev. James McKeown was seriously ill with malaria and was kept in his room at Asamankese for some days without medication in accordance with the rules, beliefs, and practices of the Apostolic Faith. The District Commissioner took McKeown to the European Hospital – currently, Ridge Hospital – in Accra where he fully recovered after ten days of hospitalized. On his return to Asamankese, he was confronted by the leaders for having violated the rules and principles of the church by seeking medical attention at a hospital instead of depending on faith healing. In June 1938, a general meeting was held by all members from the country to discuss the situation but the leaders at Asamankese refused and condemned McKeown for lack of faith in prayers for divine healing. Due to doctrinal differences based on divine healing, the group split in 1939 into the Christ Apostolic Church and the Apostolic Church, Gold Coast. The latter saw great expansion under McKeown. In 1953, a constitutional crisis led to the founding of the Gold Coast Apostolic Church led by McKeown.[2] After the independence of Ghana in 1957, the Gold Coast Apostolic Church has renamed the Ghana Apostolic Church. The split in 1953 did not end the crisis. New conflicts compelled the then President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to advise the leadership of the Ghana Apostolic Church, to adopt a new name. Therefore, on August 1, 1962, the new name, The Church of Pentecost which was suggested by Apostle Alphonso Wood legally replaced the Ghana Apostolic Church.
List of Leaders (Chairmen)
Pastor James McKeown (missionary) 1953-1982
Apostle Fred Stephen Safo 1982-1988 [3]
Prophet Martinson Kwadwo Yeboah 1988-1998
Apostle Dr. Michael K. Ntumy 1998-2008
Apostle Prof. Kwadwo Nimfour Opoku Onyinah 2008-2018
Apostle Eric Nyamekye 2018- Date
References
- ^ Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2013, page 117
- ^ Sandra Fancello, Les aventuriers du pentecôtisme ghanéen: nation, conversion et délivrance en Afrique de l'Ouest, KARTHALA Editions, France, 2006, page 58
- ^ https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2018/May-3rd/church-of-pentecost-apostle-eric-nyamekye-is-new-chairman.php
Bibliography
- An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity - Allen Anderson - ISBN 0521532809
- Religions of the World, Second Edition - J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann -ISBN 1598842048