History of the church of Pentecost
The Church of the Pentecost is an internationally recognized Pentecostal church.Having began way back in the nineteenth century , this church has grown widely.Many people today are faithfuls of the Church of Pentecost.
Church of Pentecost history.
The Church of Pentecost headquarters are in Accra, Ghana. Over the years, the Church of Pentecost in Ghana has gained a worldwide fellowship of over 3 million members. The birth of the church was when Pastor James McKeown, an Irish missionary, was sent by the Apostolic church based in Bradford, U.K. in 1937. His main mission was to help a group of believers in Asamankese who were followers of the Apostolic Faith. Asamankese was a town situated in the Eastern region of Ghana. The group of believers were led by Peter Newman Anim.
The existing regime of believers were deeply rooted to their beliefs and they had rules that affected different aspects of their lives. In case one of their members fell ill, they were expected to rely on their faith for healing. Pastor James McKeown coincidentally felt sick with malaria. According to the principles of the church he was kept in his room as the people depended on his faith to heal him.
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After some time, the situation got worse and he had to be rushed to the European hospital in Accra for medication. After a week of being hospitalized, he made a successful recovery. Upon his return to Asamankese, he was met by opposition by the leaders .The leaders thought he had broken the principles of the Church of Pentecost after seeking medical attention.According to the church of Pentecost then ,all members were to rely solely on his faith to heal him.
In 1939, an impromptu meeting was called to all members across the country to further analyze the situation. The leaders at Asamankese opted out of the meeting sighting lack of confidence in McKneown for undermining their principles. They saw it as a sign of lack of faith in divine healing.
Later, the group split over doctrinal differences into the Apostolic Church and the Christ Apostolic Church of Ghana. Under the guidance of Pastor James McKneown, the church expanded immensely. In 1953, the Gold Coast Apostolic Church was founded under Pastor James McKneown due to a constitutional crisis.
Even after Ghana attaining independence and the split in 1953, there were still conflicts. This led to the intervention of the then President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The leaders were advised to change the name in order to end the conflicts. In 1962, the Church of the Pentecost came into existence.
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The mission of the church is to establish responsible and self-sustaining churches that are filled with committed and whole-hearted Christians who are ready to impact their communities. They offer services for both children and services. They have many ministries and events designed to meet the wide needs of the community.
Source: YEN.com.gh
