The Church ⇒ Conference Address 2008

PRESIDING BISHOP’S ADDRESS TO CONFERENCE 2008

EBENEZER – HITHERTO HAS THE LORD BROUGHT US!!

Introduction

In the name of our Triune God I welcome you all to this year’s Conference. We congratulate Winneba Diocese, its Bishop, Lay Chairman, the Conference Planning Committee including the Lay President, Administrative Bishop and his team from Connexional Office for their hard work in preparing for the Conference. Special thanks goes to the entire members of the Winneba Diocese for the courage to accept to host Conference. Winneba has a special place in my ministry. Thirty- three years ago, that is, in August 1975, I was ordained here by the then President of Conference, Most Rev. Charles Yamoah, with eleven other ministers into full Connexion of the Methodist Church Ghana.

Many thanks also go to all our invited foreign and national delegates for joining us at this Conference.  Your presence here is a great encouragement to us, and it affirms our common partnership in the ministry of our triune God. I pray God’s blessings upon all of you.

Church and State Elections

An interesting thing worth noting is that Winneba seems to be establishing for itself the reputation as the location for the election of Presiding Bishop and Lay President. I took over from the Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Asante Antwi who was elected here in 1996 and by the end of this Conference we would have elected my successor and a new Lay President. I trust that you have all been praying and will continue to do so during our stay here so that we will not only have a fruitful Conference but clean, peaceful and successful elections. The way we conduct ourselves should be a model for the impending National Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in December this year, needless to add, the nation is watching us!

I believe that as a church we have a prophetic role to play in these critical moments. At this Conference there are two things we are going to do to demonstrate that the Church demands free, fair and transparent elections from the State. First we have requested the Electoral Commission to assist us to conduct our Presiding Bishop and Lay President elections. By that invitation we are saying to the State that we must have transparent elections where our doors are open to the scrutiny of both internal and external observers.  Secondly, we are pleased to inform Conference that the Board of Social Responsibility and Rural Development BSRRD) is teaming up with Initiative of Change/ Moral Re-Armament Ghana (MRA) to plan a Clean Election Campaign in the country, and we want to start that with the Conference.  The Clean Election Campaign will give teeth to the longing of the people of Ghana for clean and transparent elections that will sustain our maturing democracy and good governance.

The campaign will not support any particular individual or party but will be a public statement that our Church is calling for free and transparent elections from the State.
It will provide no personal benefit to anyone but for the good of the country
It will be wholly positive in its approach.
It is not seeking to blame any politician but to encourage all to take responsibility for the people of Ghana.

During the presentation of the report of BSRRD some of the essential details of the campaign will be given.

An educational brochure has been printed and copies will be given to members during the presentation of the BSRRD report.  You will find a pledge sheet in each copy of the brochure.  All conference members will be required to sign the pledge to indicate the support of conference for the Clean Election Campaign.

Materials for Posters and Fliers on the national elections and corruption have also been prepared, and funds are being sought to print them in large numbers. Members of conference are encouraged to support this also.  Indeed when the Posters are produced some will have to be posted on all our buildings: chapels, schools, training colleges, university campuses etc. We shall challenge Ghanaians to sign a pledge sheet to indicate their commitment to work for peaceful elections, before, during and after the voting.

Of course we invite all religious bodies to join us in this very important endeavour.

Let me kindly request that the communiqué that will be issued at the end of this Conference shall include the need for clean and transparent elections that will maintain the peace we are enjoying in our land. The committee can co-opt the chairman of the Initiatives of Change, our own Very Rev. Prof. Garbrah to join them.

I pray that we as a church will not relax in our prayers for the guidance of God so that the Clean Election Campaign will succeed and also that we have a clean, free, fair, credible and transparent elections.

Powers and Duties of the Presiding Bishop

The powers and duties of the Presiding Bishop of Methodist Church Ghana are clearly defined in The Constitution and the Standing Orders of The Methodist Church Ghana (SO 11). His first duty is to offer pastoral and spiritual oversight over the whole Church, and to this end he shall visit each Diocese, and as many Circuits and Societies as time and opportunity allow. During the period of my stewardship as Presiding Bishop I have seriously committed my self to providing pastoral care and healthy spirituality to people inside and outside the Church. When I took office one of the first things I did was to spend a whole year visiting all the 15 Dioceses, as many Circuits and Societies as time and opportunity would allow beginning from February 2004 to February 2005, preaching, teaching, evangelizing, counseling and listening to the flock under my pastoral care. Indeed I continue to offer pastoral care in all our Dioceses, not only in the urban areas but in the rural communities. All these visits have brought me very close to my members. In all these visits I have become all things to all men, women, youths and children that I may bring God’s salvation to all of them, as the Holy Spirit will allow.

The second duty of the Presiding Bishop is that he “shall be the Principal representative and spokesman of the Church in its relations with other Churches, and with the Government and people of Ghana.”. This is a duty that requires the use of the mind, the heart, the hands and feet.  The Lord Jesus Christ challenges us to serve the Lord with all our minds, hearts, soul and strength, and to love our neighbours as our selves. Anyone who takes up the leadership of our Church and takes this duty responsibly cannot avoid speaking on social, political, economic and spiritual matters that affect the lives of our people. During my tenure of office I have endeavoured to fulfill this duty responsibly to the best of my ability. I have used my academic knowledge, spiritual insights, and experience in the ecumenical community to serve the Lord, the Church and State.

In this Conference address I have given a report of the outcome of my pastoral and spiritual oversight of the whole Church and the spiritual and practical results of that commitment to duty. Of course I cannot cover all areas of my pastoral work in a single address, and so I have been selective, and even with that I have not gone into considerable details.  

Being a Missionary Church: doubling our membership

In my first address to Conference in Sekondi in 2004 I did indicate that a number of things were going to engage our attention as a Church during my tenure of office. Foremost among these was a missionary agenda that was going to enable us to double our membership in five years. Some gains have been made, as I will indicate in a moment, but on the whole we have not achieved our vision because we have not given the deserved attention to mission, evangelism and church growth as we should. According to our records from Evangelism, Mission and Renewal, as many as 406 churches have been planted by the Dioceses from 2003 to March 2008. Most of these churches have become full societies in the various circuits of the Dioceses. Reports from the Dioceses indicated that from January 2007 to March 2008 alone the following churches were planted in the Dioceses, and these include those planted under the Cecil Williamson programme for Obuasi and Wenchi and a special outreach to the Sene District by the Kumasi Diocese:

Cape Coast - 10   Tarkwa - 2
Accra - 7   Northern Ghana - 3
Kumasi - 17   Effiduase - 3
Sekondi - 4   Obuasi - 10
Winneba - 6   Wenchi - 12
Koforidua - 6   Somanya - 2
Sunyani - 3   Tema - 4
Oda - 2        

Missions Conferences

In 2004 the Methodist Church Ghana held its first ever Mission Conference in Kumasi. As a result of that mission conference 25 Local Missionaries completed their training at Freeman Centre for Missions and Leadership Development, in September 2007. The number included Ministers, Evangelists and Caretakers in the Mission areas and they have been sent to various mission areas of the Dioceses. Seven of these are serving as Connexional Missionaries in Po, Burkina Faso, Northern Ghana, Volta Region, the Afram Plains and Somanya Diocese. 

The second Missions Conference was also successfully held at Suame Emmanuel Methodist Church, Kumasi from 15-19 January, 2008 in partnership with the Mission Society of United Methodist Church, USA. Ninety five participants were present, including a few participants from the West African sub-region, notably Nigeria. The Lay President, six Bishops, seven Lay Chairmen, General Director, BSRRD and I also participated in the deliberations. The Connexional Missionaries shared their experiences during the conference. A communiqué was prepared at the end of conference. Many of the Dioceses have since organized mission consultations using materials provided by Evangelism, Mission and Renewal Division. I am pleased to announce to Conference that as an evidence for our Church’s commitment to continue sending missionaries we have established The Methodist Mission Fund at the Central Avenue of Barclays Bank, Accra. It is our strong desire that mission partners from Ghanaian churches and friends from abroad will generously donate to support the local missionaries and the mission work in the Dioceses and beyond Ghana.

Renewal Programmes

The Methodist Prayer and Renewal Programme (MPRP) continue with their special retreats and renewal activities. All Night/Day prayer meetings are held in many societies in the Connexion. The Connexional Prayer Retreat/Conference at Abasua Mountain is providing spiritual renewal for many of our members. The annual event now has an average of one thousand participants each year for 2007 and 2008. There has been great improvement since 2003 in the number of Methodists including Church leaders who periodically gather at Abasua for spiritual renewal. Some circuits also had been visiting Abasua during the year at different times. The Lay President and I have been able to participate twice in these events on the top of Abasua Mountain, and this is no mean achievement considering the fact that we are not so youthful in age. This is a journey where even young men and women fall exhausted!!! The prayer centre at Enyan Abaasa in the Cape Coast Diocese, Azani in Sekondi and Kusa in the Obuasi Dioceses continue to receive great patronage by people from all walks of life including non-Methodists. 

It is encouraging to observe that there are a few Societies that have been able to double their membership during the period under review. Gbawe, R. J. Owusu Memorial Methodist Society which is now under the pastoral care of the Very Rev. Paul Adu has been able to double its membership. About a year ago he took over a congregation of 350 members, and now has more than doubled its numerical growth to 850, and it continues to grow. Members are actively expanding their church building to accommodate the growth. Atomic Hills Methodist Church at Ashoneman, has grown from 55 members to 140. The membership of Ghamsu at the Cape Coast University has also doubled within a year after they had an outreach and an open air preaching last year, where I was the main speaker. The Lord graciously manifested his presence among us, and we witnessed the power of his Spirit at work as young people gave themselves to Christ and backsliders were restored to faith in Christ. I am sure there are other places in the Connexion where Societies have experienced numerical growth, and we praise the Lord for the growth. The examples given are challenges for all Societies and Circuits, and clearly indicate that our vision of doubling our membership is achievable if we take our evangelism and mission seriously.

Update on the Twinning Programme

In my 2004 address to Conference I shared with our Church the need to embark on a twinning programme whereby at least three congregations made up a needy church and a stronger church in a Diocese twin with an overseas church for a period of five years to assist the needy church become stronger and self supporting. This was to serve as an example of local congregations in mission. When in May 2004 I had the opportunity to visit some of the leadership of Mission Society in Atlanta, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding to that effect. I am pleased to say that the programme has yielded some benefits for the Methodist Church Ghana. The St. James United Methodist Church Alpharetta Atlanta helped in the completion of the Navorongo Mission House. The Orchard United Methodist Church in Mississippi has visited the Bole Circuit on two occasions. They were able to assist in their projects during their last visit.  The Smyrna UMC in Georgia visited Yendi last year and will send a team this year to assist them. Ayikai Doblo (Accra Diocese), Damango (Northern Ghana Diocese) and Abasua (Effiduase Diocese) have benefited from a grant of $14,025 from Christ United Church in Venice, Florida for their chapel buildings.

The Twinning Programme is a project that can be of immense mutual benefit to both overseas and Methodist Church Ghana churches if we embrace it with transparency and sincere commitment. Apart from financial benefits for our churches, the exchanges in terms of ideas and faith sharing have been immensely beneficial for all participants. It will certainly strengthen our partnership in mission. It is my wish that this project will be pursued vigorously in future.

At The Youth Front
 
In my 2004 and 2006 Conference addresses it was made clear that we cannot double our membership as a Church if we do not intensify the Church’s ministry among the young people in our church and also in our schools. We challenged our Church to find ways and means of motivating Methodist chaplains in our schools, hospitals and other institutions so that they will be able to reach out to our young people with the gospel and offer the needed pastoral care. As part of our efforts to realize this we have appointed Connexional Director for Youth Ministries and national Cordinator for GHAMSU, Very Rev. Abekah and Mr. Addison respectively. Their coming into office has enabled the Youth Ministries Division to secure an office space at the Head Office, and the Youths themselves have been able to furnish the office with brand new modern office desk, computer, a printer, photocopier and a refrigerator. Between 2006-2007 the young people managed to mobilize twenty thousand Ghana Cedis (GhC20,000) to start the renovation of the Methodist Youth Development and Training Centre at Aburi before a team from First United Methodist Church, Evanston Illinois USA came to help with the ceiling of the main hall and dinning hall, some plastering work, painting and constructing the walk way. The First UMC also provided a deep well pump, deep freezer, a big gas cum electric cooker, some kitchen ware, electric iron, washing sink and chip boards for the chicken cabinet. It is exciting to observe that the Methodist Youth Development Centre at Aburi has improved tremendously during my tenure of office and we look forward for further improvement in the near future.

Apart from the Students In Church Evangelism programme of church planting,  GHAMSU’s activities in the church have increased considerably. Together with the Director of Youth Ministries they have been teaching and offering guidance to the youth in our church. The church has also had an improved relationship with the young people.
It is exciting that our young people are now being giving a space in the main stream of our church’s life and work. At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Lay Movement held at Tema, the immediate past Connexional President of GHAMSU was elected as the Connexional Organizer of the Lay Movement. His election took place when he was still in office as a GHAMSU President. It is further observed that the number of GHAMSU students who actively participate in the work of the church now, especially by joining organizations in the church have gone up considerably. Some are Circuit Youth Organizers (CYOs) while others are even stewards in their Societies. The personal contacts of the National Co-ordinator has brought quick responses to issues raised by the Church or GHAMSU. Most of their needs are addressed quickly especially at the Methodist Headquarters and at the Diocesan levels. GHAMSU is now using the Methodist liturgy in most of the campuses during their worship services.

In the area of offering for the pastoral ministry the number of enquires from GHAMSU has also increased, and more of them have in fact candidated for the ordained ministry. Another area of improvement is that in the past GHAMSU used to invite mainly Charismatic and Pentecostal pastors to speak at their functions. The situation is changing fast. Now invitations are being extended to Methodist Ministers; the Director and Co-ordinator and the Presiding Bishop to speak at their meetings, conferences and other functions.

I had the singular honour of being invited by Cape Coast University Local GHAMSU in 2007 as their main speaker at what they termed MANIFESTATION 2007. It was two nights open-air preaching followed by altar calls and healing services. The presence of the Lord was greatly manifested among us. Two weeks later some of the executives of the Local GHAMSU came to my office and informed me that as a result of the open-air services their numerical strength had more than doubled, and they presented me with a “Citation of Honour” for which I am most grateful.

I have personally enjoyed my time with the young people in our church, especially GHAMSU. Members of Conference may recall that I declared 2006 as a year of giving more space and time for my interactions with the youth in our church. The interactions in 2006 were so fruitful and exciting that I have subsequently extended that to the years 2007, 2008, and 2009. I have already begun a teaching ministry on the Holy Spirit with the youth in all the Dioceses. I have already been to Winneba, Kumasi, Effiduase, Oda and Somanya Dioceses. I will be with the remaining Dioceses the rest of 2008 and before I joyfully exit on 30th September 2009. At all these teaching and prayer meetings I have already had with the youth, we have witnessed the working of the Holy Spirit among our young people. Some committing their lives to Christ for the first time, others renewing their faith, and others challenged to offer their lives for the full time ordained ministry and other leadership roles in the church.  One thing that has touched me deeply in my meetings with the young people is when they express their appreciation for the fact that the Presiding Bishop has given them space and time in his heavy schedules to be with them and to share fellowship and the Word with them. Let me share with you one of such letters of ‘Special Appreciation’ that I received from the Methodist young people in the Somanya Diocese after my pastoral visit to them.

“Dear Brother,

…the Planning Committee of Youth Ministries join me to express our heart-felt appreciation for your (2) days affectionate gesture teaching service in our Diocese.
Your demonstration of love in practical terms was beyond description and we shall forever remember this kind gesture.
Your act of sharing resources with us is a pleasing sacrifice to God. May God bless you.
Please be assured of our daily prayers. “ (signed by Brother Benjamin N. Osanyongmor, Secretary)

I would like to take this opportunity to humbly request that our Bishops, Superintendents and Circuit ministers intentionally create space and time for our young people in our pastoral work. They need us as much as we need them in the life and work of the church.

Episcopal System of Government

In my two Conference addresses I called for a public re-evaluation and possible modification of the Episcopal system and its related issues. To that effect a report of the Committee on Episcopacy set up to examine the system was presented to the 2004 Conference. Conference recommended that the report be sent back to the Synods for their study. Unfortunately the Synods have not been forthright with their discussions and suggestions. We are all aware that the episcopacy we have adopted has generated a lot of popular discussions and raised many more questions than we have been able or prepared to answer. Some of the difficulties it has generated for us are evident to all of us. One of them being the large number of ex-bishops we are producing. Because the system allows them to use the title as bishops even when they are out of office and are not in charge of any Diocese and some of them still desire to be recognised as bishops, it makes it difficult to tell the difference between sitting bishops and bishops that are out of office. In fact there some past Bishops who are deeply offended if they are addressed as past Bishops, because they hold the Monarchical Episcopacy belief that once a Bishop for ever a Bishop. Such Bishops have forgotten that the Methodist Church Ghana accepted Non-monarchical episcopacy at the 1999 Koforidua Conference. We have come to a point where some sitting Bishops are even unwilling to receive their own former colleagues when it comes to stationing of ministers, and some congregations are also not willing to receive past bishops when it comes to the stationing of ministers. We need also to rethink the un-wieldy regalia accompanying the office. Much of it has the tendency to distract us from our core business of preaching and teaching the gospel and living out its essential values. We cannot wish these problems and challenges away. We must engage them. We are capable of doing so, provided we engage the issues with frank objectivity, a sense of maturity that does not personalize issues; and approach the challenges with well informed historical understanding of our Methodist roots and with passionate and sensitive theological insight of the various types of episcopacy systems and institutions.

Ten Year Strategic Plan

At the 2006 Conference we accepted for implementation the Ten Year Strategic Plan of the Methodist Church Ghana after it had gone to our Synods and your comments and suggestions had been sent to Conference for discussions. On Sunday, December 16, 2007 the Strategic Plan was launched at Wesley Cathedral, Accra. As you are aware from your Synods discussion of the Plan, pre-implementation arrangements have been made.
Let me at this juncture reiterate the strategic and operational objectives of the Ten Year Strategic Plan that were derived from the nine thematic areas that will facilitate church growth and development. The objectives are also intended to address the threats and weaknesses of our Church.

Ministry
To rekindle the Wesleyan zeal for holiness, evangelism, and mission towards                                        
significant Church growth
Organizational Structure
To review the Board system of administration to make it more manageable and responsive to the administrative needs of the Church
Finance
To expand the financial resource base, improve mobilization and management of resources in the Church
ICT for Development
To promote ICT culture in all aspects of the Church’s ministry including evangelism, administration, finance, training and outreach
Human Resource Development
To develop the human resource base for quality service-provision in all departments of the Church
Youth and Gender Mainstreaming
To promote effective youth development and gender mainstreaming in the Church
Infrastructure Development
To expand and modernize the physical infrastructure
Social Responsibility
To initiate policies and programmes that will lead to significant reduction of poverty in the Church
Strategic Alliances and Missions
To strengthen existing linkages and initiate new collaborative partnerships both internally and externally

Let me once again take this opportunity to thank Prof Samuel Afrane the team leader for the Strategic Plan, the Chairman and members of the Steering Committee and all members of our Synods and the entire Methodist Church for your contributions that have made it possible to have the Plan. May I encourage all of you to fully participate in the implementation process of the Ten Year Strategic Plan so that with God’s help the objectives will be fully realized to the glory of God and the enrichment of his Church.

Methodist-Rafiki Satellite Village

On Monday August 2005 there was a Sod-cutting ceremony that began the construction of Methodist-Rafiki Satellite  Village at Gyaahadze near Winneba. The President of the Rafiki Foundation Inc. USA, Mrs. Rosemary Jensen, the Chief of Gyaahadze, Nana Heity IV, the General Director of BSRRD, Sister Gladys A. Odoi’  myself and many others were present on the occasion. On Tuesday 24 October 2006 there was a Cornerstone Laying ceremony for the Orphanage buildings and the Unveiling of Plaque between our Church and Rafiki Foundation. On Thursday July 26, 2007 the Orphanage was dedicated to the Glory of God. The Village was officially opened on Friday December 14, 2007. We appreciate the support that Winneba Diocese including its Immediate past and incumbent Bishops have given to the Village.

The day to day running of the Village comes under the directorship of Very Rev. Ekow Sey, assisted by the Child Care Director, Mrs. Rejoice Dei Forson, a teacher by profession and a Former Head of Home Economic Department of the Odoben Secondary School and a Housemistress. We now have 8 children in the Village. The full capacity of the Village is 100 children.

We want to encourage you and your societies to support the Methodist-Rafiki Satellite Village. The cost of maintaining one child is about Ghc 200 per month. Your donations in money and in kind will be very much accepted and appreciated. We urgently need electric generator for the children as a temporary measure. We need about GHc 25,000 to extend electricity to the Village as a permanent solution to the problem. I hope some members of Conference will consider assisting us in the instance. At least try and visit the place whilst you are here in Winneba.

Methodist Development Fund

On December 9, 2005 all the top leadership of the Methodist Church Ghana including Bishops, Lay Chairmen, General Directors of Boards, and Directors of various Divisions met at the Church of Pentecost Guest House at Gbawe in Accra to discuss how to finance the Methodist Church Ghana. More specifically the meeting was to find solution to the problem of high assessments and the dissolution of the 30% harvest contribution to the Connexional Office, and still continue to meet its recurrent and development programmes, such as funding the Methodist University College, Ghana. The consensus reached was that we endorsed the establishment of the Methodist Development Fund (MDF).

After about two years of operating the scheme, the 2007 March GPC held in Kumasi directed that we take a stock of the scheme. So on Tuesday April 10, 2007 a seminar was held at Asbury-Dunwell Chapel, Methodist Church Ghana Head Office on the theme: “The Methodist Development Fund: Challenges and the Way Forward”. Let me remind Conference about three of the major decisions taken then:

“That the MDF has come to stay and all members of the Methodist Church Ghana must ensure that the scheme works because of the enormous benefits it has for the Methodist Church Ghana, especially for the weaker and the needy Societies and Circuits.”
“That the Church hierarchy must commit itself to ensuring that the scheme operates at all levels of the Church’s administration – Dioceses, Circuits and Societies.”
“That the education of the members of the Church about the MDF and its benefits must go on until the Church achieves the objectives for setting up the scheme.”

In my Presiding Bishop’s message to the April 2008 Synods I congratulated all our Dioceses for working hard for us to achieve our goal of ending the deduction of an amount of 30% from your Annual Harvest proceeds as a result of the MDF contributions that we had received up to 2007. Another important gain we had as a result of the MDF contributions we made in 2007 was the 11% decrease we had on the 2008 budget assessments from Headquarters to the Dioceses in 2008 as compared to the previous year’s budget. The 2007 Connexional Budget went up to 29%, but the 2008 budget went down to 18.11%, giving us a decrease of 11%.  I have given these two gains we made with the 2007 MDF contributions received to demonstrate that the MDF has the potential to help us achieve our objective of raising enough money for our development Programmes if the whole Connexion annually participates fully in the MDF contributions.

Unfortunately the payment of the MDF has slowed down this year. The cancellation of the 30% deduction from the annual harvests should be an incentive for us to contribute generously towards the MDF.  I would therefore like to urge all of you to pay your MDF contributions regularly so that we can sustain and even go beyond the gains we made in the year 2007.

Methodist Development & Relief Services (MDRS)

 On March 19, 2006 the Methodist Development & Relief Services (MDRS) was launched at the Good Shepherd Methodist Church, North Kaneshie Circuit. On that same day Very Rev. Kofi Asare Bediako was inducted into office as the Director of the MDRS an NGO of our Church.

As I said in my 2004 and 2006 addresses to Conference the church’s witness in the world is not only about evangelism and numerical growth, but to engage in a holistic ministry that involves poverty alleviation. It was for this reason that the MDRS was formed and placed under Board of Social Responsibility and Rural Development (BSRRD). We are pleased to inform Conference that within the short time that MDRS has been in existence it has made tremendous impact in the lives of many people and communities. It has been engaging in the promotion of Moringa and Soya Beans projects, Rural Enterprises Project, such as soap manufacturing, Micro-finance, Transports hiring and rental, Ga Rural Community Enhancement Project (- GRACE), as well as Water Project in general.

In view of the fast growing activities of MDRS and to ensure efficiency and maximum impact on the communities the work of the NGO has been divided into six areas: (1) Relief Services, (2)Transport Services, (3) Skill acquisition and Micro-financing, (4) Nutrition, Gender and HIV/AIDS, (5) Water Resources and (6) Orphanages.

The MDRS began on a zero assets when it was established. At the launching we were able to raise an amount of GhC 2,300 (23 million cedis). By God’s grace, now its assets has been growing, including vehicles, water rig machine and other equipments, We are grateful to some of our foreign partners, such as the Methodist-Valensia Church in Italy for the vehicles, and some of the Dioceses, Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi (especially Bethel Society in Takoradi), Effiduase, Obuasi and Sunyani for inviting us to their Dioceses to raise fund for the work of the NGO. We encourage other Dioceses to do the same.
It is appropriate to use this forum to express my deepest appreciation to the General Director, BSRRD Sister Gladys Afarchoe Odoi, Director of MDRS, Very Rev. Kofi Asare Bediako and his team and our Water Consultant Sister Mary Jackson, for their hard work and commitment to the work of the Methodist Development & Relief Services.

Methodist University College Ghana

During the tenure of my predecessor the Most Rev. Hon. Dr. Samuel Asante Antwi the Methodist University College Ghana was established. We are most grateful to him and the entire church for the birth of the Methodist University College.

I am pleased to report to Conference what we have been able to add on to the growth of the University from the period 2004 to 2008.

1.0    PHYSICAL FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
The major physical infrastructure and facilities completed within the period include
the following:

         Administration Block (Dansoman Campus)
The Administration Block at the Dansoman campus was completed in two phases in
the 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 academic years. It houses the main administrative
offices on the ground floor; faculty, academic and staff offices on the first floor and
a multipurpose hall with a capacity of 400 on the second floor.

         Acquisitions

         The University has acquired the following properties:

  • A three-storey building which is being used as a Guest House at Latebiokorshie.
  • A building to house staff of MUCG and a large warehouse to serve as stores for the University has also been acquired at Dansoman very close to the University.

       Ongoing projects  

The construction of a five-storey South Wing Faculty block has reached the first floor. This phase is expected to be completed by the end of August 2008. When completed, the South Wing Faculty Block would add more floor space to accommodate about 1600 students. The basement of the block is under preparation to contain about twenty-nine offices for staff.

The Landscaping of the Dansoman Campus has reached an advanced stage. The Sports field is being grassed. Plans are being made to put the main campus road in shape.

The Lay Movement has agreed in principle to build a Library Complex on the campus in exchange for the current one which would be converted into a residential hostel.

2.0        Academic Programmes

In November 2000 MUCG started academic work with three teaching Faculties offering the following programmes: Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting, Banking & Finance, Human Resource Management, Marketing and B.Sc. Economics.

Today 2008 MUCG has four Faculties which offer the following programmes:

Faculty of Agriculture (Wenchi Campus)

  • B.Sc. General Agriculture
  • Diploma in General Agriculture
  • Diploma in Horticulture
  • Certificate in Agro Processing
  • Certificate in Agri-Business
  • Certificate in Horticulture

Faculty of Arts and General Studies

  • B.A. English Studies
  • B.A. French
  • B.A. Religious Studies and Ethics
  • B.A. Music
  • Diploma in Music
  • Certificate in Music

             The Faculty of Arts and General Studies also provides service coursed
(University required) for all students in the following areas.

  • African Studies
  • Behavioral Studies
  • Christian Ethics
  • Contemporary Issues
  • Functional French and German
  • Introduction to Religious Studies
  • Logic and Critical Thinking
  • Use of English

Faculty of Business Administration

Bachelor of Business Administration

  • BBA Accounting
  • BBA Banking and Finance
  • BBA  Human Resource Management
  • BBA  Marketing

 Master of Business Administration

  • MBA Accounting
  • MBA Banking and Finance
  • MBA  Human Resource Management
  • MBA  Marketing

  Professional Programmes

  • CIM UK (Chartered Institute of Marketing UK) Weekend Programme
  • ICAG (Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana) Weekend Programme
  • CIB (Chartered Institute of Banking) Weekend Programme

  Faculty of Social Studies

  • B.Sc. Economics
  • B.Sc. Economics and Mathematics-Statistics
  • B.Sc. Information Technology
  • B.A. Psychology
  • M.A. Guidance and Counseling

Programmes awaiting accreditation from the national Accreditation Board are the following:

  • B.Sc. Economics and Statistics
  • MPhil. Guidance and Counseling
  • MPhil. Statistics

SATELLITE CAMPUSES

Tema Campus
The Tema Campus opened for academic work in the 2005/2006 academic year at the premises of the Tema Methodist Day Secondary School offering Bachelor of Business Administration Courses (evening only). Today lectures are being held at our different locations.
A parcel of land measuring 8.46 acres located off the Tema-Accra Motorway has been acquired from the Tema Development Corporation for the construction of a permanent site for the University in Tema. External funding is being sought to fund the development of the project.

Wenchi Campus
The Wenchi Campus was also opened for academic work during the 2006/2007 academic year offering Agriculture related programmes.

Two Agribusiness Development Centres are being developed in Akyem Swedru and yeji as extensions of the Faculty of Agriculture located in Wenchi. These centres have been developed to provide practical hands-on experience for students as well as extension services to farmers within the catchment’s area.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Kumasi Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana and MUCG for the former to mobilize funds to reconstruct an abandoned hostel on the Wenchi Campus on a build-operate-transfer basis. So far GHc 100 million has been granted by the bank and work is in progress.

Kumasi Campus
Plans are advanced to start Music and Information Technology Programmes in Kumasi.

The Freeman Centre for Missions and Leadership Development in Kumasi is expected to host lectures for the Music Department. Additionally a studio at the Diocesan Office Complex is to be used for practical activities.

The second floor of the Diocesan Office Complex is also expected to accommodate the Information Technology Programmes. MUCG is grateful to the Kumasi Bishop and the Diocese.

  • MUCG CONNEXIONAL SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME

In the 2007/2008 academic year twenty-five students benefited from the MUCG Connexional Scholarship scheme. Seven new vacancies for scholarships would be available next academic year commencing September 2008. The number of beneficiaries could be increased if additional sources of funding could be identified. Some Societies and Circuits have begun giving scholarship to students at MUCG. This year Kpeehe Resurrection Society with the support of the foundation money from Immediate Past Lay President, Mr. Ato Essuman has offered scholarship to 8 students to be increased to 10 students annually.

  • STUDENT ENROLMENT

 Student enrolment is expected to hit the 4000 mark next semester beginning the      2008/2009 academic year.

Grant House and the new Presiding Bishop’s House

During the tenure of the Most Rev. Professor Kwesi A. Dickson as President of the Methodist Church Ghana our Church decided to turn the former President or Presiding Bishop’s manse into a commercial venture. When I took office as the Presiding Bishop, we as a Church decided to implement that decision. Consequently there was a mutual agreement between me and the Church that I live in my own house so that that property could be developed. I was happy to do so because when I was General Secretary of Christian Council of Ghana I lived in my own house.

I am excited to report to Conference that by God’s grace our dream has come true. The old presiding bishop’s manse is now developed into an office space and rented out; and is called Grant House, named after the first President of our Church, the Most Rev. Dr. Francis Chapman Furgeson Grant. This property is now an important investment for our Church earning us good money.

We are most grateful to the Almighty God who has enabled us to complete the new Presiding Bishop’s House a year ahead of schedule. It was funded mainly from three sources: partly from internally generated funds, contribution from the 170th Anniversary Celebration and the Methodist Development Fund. During the 170th Anniversary Celebration of the Methodist Church Ghana in the Netherlands in May 2006, to which I was invited, I appealed to the Holland Mission Circuit to support the new Presiding Bishop’s manse project and they responded generously by raising ten thousand Euros as their contribution to the project. On behalf of our Church I thank them very much. I must also publicly express my deep appreciation to the following persons who stood by me during the critical period in the construction of the manse. The Immediate Past Lay President, Mr. Ato Essuman, the Lay President, Mr. James A. A. Abadoo-Brew, General Director Board of Finance and Development Major (Rtd) Ablor Quarcoo, Mr. Albert Essamua, Mr. J. N. Okyere, Human Resource Development, Methodist Church Ghana and my dear wife Mrs. Grace Aboagye-Mensah. These people stood with me encouraging, praying and accompanying me at critical moments when I really needed support. God richly bless them.

In giving thanks to God for the completion of the Presiding Bishop’s house in record time we should not forget to thank God for the Sanballat and Tobiahs. In the construction of the broken walls of Jerusalem, Sanballat and Tobiah helped Nehemiah in at least two ways. Their negative attitudes and actions pushed Nehemiah to pray harder and that drew him closer to God. Secondly they forced him to work harder, and thus got the work done in a record time. As Nehemiah expressed it,
“So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God”. (Nehemiah 6:15)

Establishing and Investing in a Company

Members of Conference, I believe strongly that a time has come for our Church to establish and invest in a company or companies to raise funds for  developmental, social and evangelization activities of the Church. The establishment of these companies will add to our traditional forms of financing the Church, namely
Tithes, which now forms about 31%
Dues of Church members, about 37%
Assessment Fees paid by organizations and Dioceses
Collections/Offerings at church services
Monies realized at special fund raising activities
Voluntary donations from church members and other individuals
Thanksgiving offerings
Methodist Development Fund (MDF)
Support from business established by the Church
Donations from some of our overseas partners in mission, e.g. the Methodist Church in Britain.

So my proposal is that a Company or Companies are to be formed as a public limited liability company or companies. Shares are to be subscribed and placed with the various Dioceses, Circuits and Societies, Registered Members of the Church who are interested in the orderly and sustained development of the Methodist Church Ghana. Nothing stops the Church from teaming up with other investors who may not even be Methodists. An example is what we are doing with the development of the Suame Round About landed property. Plans are well ahead for that property to be developed into a shopping mall.

I have no intention in this address to go into details about the organization and management of such Company or Companies. It will suffice to say that establishment of such company or companies will help our Church to development many landed properties that well-meaning church members and chiefs have donated to our church.

The establishment of a company or companies for commercial purposes will help the church, its members and the nation as a whole, for instance:

Reduce by sharing in the burden of job creation from and with central government;
Create employment for the unemployed within our Church, thus reducing poverty;
Improve the standards of living of the average member of the Church;
Provide funds for needy students to attend schools, and increase the development of  human capital availability within the Church;
Develop and support the Church’s evangelism and mission.

Ghanaian Methodist Churches Overseas

During my term in office as Presiding Bishop I have had several pastoral visits to almost all the Ghanaian Churches in USA, Canada, Italy, Great Britain and Germany. In most of these visits I went with the Immediate Past and incumbent Lay Presidents, Messrs. Ato Essuman and James Abadoo-Brew.

It is a joy to report that most them are growing numerically and are making positive impact on the Christian communities in the host countries. In Germany, Italy and Canada the home churches requested us to send them more ministers (pastors). In response to this request, last year we sent Very Rev. Jane Odoom to Germany, and this year we are going to send a Minister each to Canada and Italy.

We are happy to report that the problems we came to meet in Toronto, Canada are now  behind us. The cordial relationship between our two Ministers in Toronto, Very Rev’ds Jacob French and Peter Y. Acheampong and their families together with mature lay leadership and responsible congregations have brought warmth and growth in the two Ghanaian Methodist Churches in Toronto. The two Ministers are exchanging pulpits and celebrating some of the Christian feasts and festivals together.

World Methodist Family and Ecumenical Relations

We continue to have good relationship with our Methodist family worldwide. The Lay President, the Administrative Bishop and I attended the World Methodist gathering in Seoul, South Korea. Our partnership as a Church with the Methodist Church in Britain, which is over 170 years old is still strong and growing, to which we are grateful to God.

I have paid several pastoral visits and honoured invitations to the Conferences of our Methodist families in Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia and Togo with a group from our Church. In February 2006 Rt. Rev. Joseph Impraim and I attended the Conference of the United Methodist Church in Liberia. Some of our Bishops and our youths have participated in the Conferences and other meetings of Methodist Churches in the West Africa sub-region. In July this year, I had the privilege to participate in inducting into office the new President of the Methodist Church in Togo. I was accompanied by the Bishops of Tarkwa and Sunyani, Rt. Rev’ds John Adubah and James Baffour-Awuah. We were joined by our wives and Sister Janet Thompson. It was an inspiring induction service.

Our Church’s relationship with the Methodist families received another dimension when in 2007 I honoured an invitation from the Methodist Church in Southern Africa to attend their Conference. I was accompanied by the Bishops of Sekondi, Rt. Rev. John Harvey-Ewusi and Obuasi. Rt. Rev. Benjamin K. Asare. Again our wives went with us. Towards the end of the year at the GPC held in the Sunyani the Southern African Bishops and some of their Superintendents joined us to explore further and strengthen our partnership as Methodist family on the African continent. After the GPC we went with them to Wenchi to dedicate the new Bishop’s manse that has been erected after the old one had been completely destroyed by fire. The completion of the Wenchi Bishop’s manse in a record time is a clear demonstration of what we can do when we think and act together as a connexion. We w ill be able to achieve more if we work together as a united church.
On the ecumenical front our Church has participated actively in the life and work of the Christian Council of Ghana, All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC). Our Church participated in the 9th General Assembly of the WCC held in Porto Alegre, Brazil. At that General Assembly your humble servant was appointed to serve on the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches for seven years. The Central Committee is like our GPC which acts in-between General Assemblies, and a General Assembly is held every seven years. It is made of 150 members appointed from the global Christian ecumenical community.

Conclusion: A Word of thanks and appreciation

If we have made any achievements in the Church it is because the living God through the empowering of his Holy Spirit has made it possible. Therefore, let me take this opportunity to thank the Lord who called me into the ordained ministry, and in his own right time led the Conference of 2002 held in Kumasi, where I was commissioned in 1973, to elect me as the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana. Throughout my journey as Presiding Bishop he has guided, protected and spoken to me by his Word, mercy and steadfast love. To God be the glory and praise!
I thank the Methodist Church Ghana for electing me to serve the Lord and his Church for these past five year. It has been a great experience for me to get to know a lot of you better than before.
I thank my family, especially my dear wife, Mrs. Grace Aboagye-Mensah for standing with me under all circumstance, and praying for me and the church in all things.
I also thank all those who have been praying for me throughout my time as Presiding Bishop, especially a prayer group led by one man who addresses himself always as Richard. I thank my secretary, Joana and all the Head office staff for their friendship.

I am also most grateful to all those who acted like Sanballat and Tobiahs, who forced us to be on our knees, rediscovering the faithfulness of our God who used such occasions to draw us closer to himself. I sincerely pray that God will bless them too.

I want you to join me to sing one of my favourite songs:

Aseda nyinaa yee wo de, Jesus
Mebotantim Nyame,
Ayeyi nyinaa yee wo de, Jesus
Makokyem ne m’abankese ne wo

Onyame dza w’aye dooso
W’adom nti na ye te ase
Aseda nyinaa ye wo de, Jesus

Yebeka dee waye akyere aman
Jesus ye bebo wo din da da
Makokyem ne abankese ne wo

Most Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye-Mensah
Presiding Bishop
The Methodist Church Ghana
August 11, 2008

 

 
© Methodist Church Ghana 2010