Presbyterian Church of Ghana
| The Presbyterian Church of Ghana | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Presbyterian |
| Orientation | Mainline |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Associations | World Council of Churches[1] |
| Origin | 1828/1955[1] Cape Coast, Ghana |
| Official website | [1] |
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is protestant church in Ghana. The church was started by the Basel missionaries in 1828. The missionaries had been trained in Germany and arrived on the Gold Coast to spread Christianity.[1] The work of the mission became stronger when missionaries from the West Indies arrived in the country. The church setup a seminary for the training of church workers to help in the missionary work. The Twi language was added as part of the text used in the training of the seminarians. At the beginning of the twenty first century the church had founded churches among the Asante people, where lived in the middle belt of Ghana. The Basel missionaries left the Gold Coast during the First World War in 1917. The work of the Presbyterian church was continued by missionaries from the Church of Scotland. The church expanded to the northern part of Ghana in the 1940s.[1]
Church structure
The church is a founding member of the Christian Council of Ghana.[2] The association is an umbrella group that unites several churches in Ghana and monitors the activities of members to ensure that they are united in their Christian mission.[2][3]
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has six church departments that have specific tasks of building up the church in their respective activities. The are:[1][4]
- Department of Church life and nature
- Department of Missions and evangelism
- Department of development and social services
- Department of ecumenical relations
- Department of finance
- Department of administration and human resource
Membership
The church has about 527,000 members.[4]
The church and education
Education is an integral part of the church's responsibility to the communities it operates in and Ghana. There are 487 kindergarten and nursery schools, 984 primary schools and 399 junior high schools. The church has 27 senior high schools, 40 private schools, 6 vocational institutions, 5 teacher training colleges, a research centre.[1] . In 2003, the church started a university known as the Presbyterian University College. It is located at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern region of Ghana.[5]
The church and health
The church is a member of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG).[6] CHAG is an umbrella group that unites all the health facilities in Ghana that are owned and run by Christian churches in Ghana. The church is the third largest in terms of number of health facilities. It operates four hospitals, 11 primary health care programmes, eight health centres, 13 clinics, two nurses' training colleges and a technical unit.[1]
The church and agriculture
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has nine agricultural stations that grows and sells various food produce.[1]
Asserts
The church owns two printing and publishing houses, three newspapers and eight bookshops. It has three retreat centres and operates four guest houses and three conference halls.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Presbyterian Church of Ghana". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Welcome to the Christian Council of Ghana ". www.christiancouncilofghana.org/. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "Organization profile". www.ecuspace.net. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ a b "About Us". www.pcgonline.org. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ "PUC". www.presbyuniversity.edu.gh. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ "Welcome to the CHAG website". www.chagghana.org. Retrieved 15 June 2011.