We cannot tie the knot of Mission and Evangelism without collective effort.

Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Kwabla Sarbah

M & E Director’s Annual Address

Purpose of Evangelism and Church Growth Consultation

The National Evangelism and Church Growth Consultation is a platform intentionally created by the PCG and coordinated by the Mission and Evangelism department through the three committees; committees on evangelism, Global mission and specialized ministry, where Church leaders – Presbytery Chairpersons with their respective Clerks and Mission and Evangelism Directors and other stakeholders to share common evangelistic task, communicate evangelistic visions, explore new initiatives and methodologies, reflect on our mission mandate from different experiences and perspectives and to forge a common strategy to reach every part of the world with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ as commanded in Matt. 28:18-20 to enhance Church Growth.

2023 Consultation Theme: “Church Growth, Our Collective Responsibility” (Eph. 4:12)

It has been observed that the Christian faith comes with a reshaping of our hearts and minds in order to reflect the character of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is significant to note that Ephesians 4:11–12 enumerates the five-fold ministry of purposely giving to believers to equip others.

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is not oblivious to the fact that there are more lay persons in the Church than agents (as of 2022, out of the total membership of one million two hundred and sixty-one thousand, four hundred and thirteen (1,261,413), only one thousand three hundred and eighty-six (1,386) are agents), hence the clarion call that, for PCG to grow functionally, qualitatively, and quantitatively, it is our agents and laity’s collective responsibility.

It is obvious in most of our Congregations that members want to willingly serve the Lord, but their gifts are either not identified, developed, or sharpened enough to be instruments in the hands of the Lord. Thus, only a few members are seen ministering. Thus, Agents and Presbyters are encouraged to equip members through intentional training and discipleship, sharing their faith, ministering to each other, encouraging one another, and also being examples to members, coupled with prayer and sharing the unadulterated word of God (Heb. 13:20–21; 2 Tim. 2:16–17; 1Cor. 1:10; Lk. 6:40; 1Pet. 3:15; Mat. 28:19; 1Thess. 5:11).

It is important to note that members must be consciously equipped to be spiritually independent and anchored on Jesus the Christ, where they can equally relate to God and hear his voice. Subsequently, they can embark on evangelism, community services, counseling, visitation, church planting, nurturing, and specialized ministries, among others. Therefore, PCG, and for that matter, all Presbyteries, Districts, and Congregations are encouraged to create opportunities and avenues for members to serve without any restrictions, while maintaining our identity as a reformed denomination. I trust that if members are effectively equipped and encouraged for ministry, we shall exceed the Vision 1.5 agenda of the Church.

As a department, we cannot tie the “knot” of mission and evangelism without the collective effort and input from the Presbyteries. In this regard, we look forward to your support at all levels in order to achieve the goals and targets we have set for ourselves. Kindly remind members to avail themselves at the level of implementation of policies and guidelines (Vision 1.5 and others) in their respective Districts and Congregations. The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is surely counting on you.

Update on the mandate of the department as enumerated in the PCG Constitution (29,6f) and Manual of Order (24,6)

1. Vision 1.5 (PCG’s agenda for growth policy):

In line with the mandate of the department as enshrined in the PCG constitution and support from the Principal Officers, new and innovative ways have been approved and are being adopted and implemented to promote evangelism policies. The provision of completed pavilions for Congregations and Preaching Points which sponsored by the GA office, Presbyteries, Districts, Congregations, Groups, and individuals is about two hundred and seventy (270) pavilions. A few more are under construction.

1. International Mission Policy:

The General Assembly has approved a Policy Document on International Mission as part of the ten-year (10) strategic plan that is currently being implemented by the department. PCG currently has two Congregations in South Africa with a home cell at Port Elizabeth, one in Togo, two in Burkina Faso, and fourteen (14) in Cote’ D’viore.

1. PCG Online Service:

PCG’s medical students studying in India have commenced an online service every Sunday at 3 pm GMT. The Director of Mission and Evangelism, Rev. Dr. E.K Sarbah fellowships with the students monthly. It is envisaged that very soon, a Congregation shall be established in India.

1. Asempatrew/Church Extension:

A brief guideline for Asempatrew/ Church Extension has been developed as part of the vision 1.5 agenda for use. The document was piloted by Presbyteries, Districts, Congregations, and Preaching Points. The department has observed from the Presbytery statistics that more souls are won and new Preaching Points are established during the annual Church extension.

5. Distribution of Motorcycles:

The GA Office has so far distributed two hundred (200) motorcycles to agents to enhance evangelism in their respective congregations and districts.

6. Donation of Evangelism Vans.

By the grace of God, seven (7) evangelism Vans have been donated to the following Presbyteries to support evangelism activities; Ga, Central, Kwahu, Asante Akyem, Akwapem, Northern and West Brong. These vans have been very useful in soul winning in the Presbyteries. The department envisages that in the near future, each Presbytery shall be allocated a van to facilitate mission and evangelism.

7. Shepherding Model and Guidelines.

In collaboration with the Department of Church Life and Nurture, a shepherding model and guidelines in PCG has been prepared and approved by GAC, thus, Ga, Asante and Sekyere Presbyteries have been tasked to pilot this initiative and report same to GAC before it is rolled out in all Presbyteries.

8. Presbyterian Hour.

The Weekly Television ministry dubbed “Presbyterian Hour” is aired every Sunday on GTV from 10:00 am to 10:45am. The department receives feedback from viewers on how this ministry has helped in their Christian nurturing and their encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.

9. Midweek Service.

The department has also commenced a weekly mid-week service via the PCG Facebook page on Wednesdays from 12:30pm to 1:00pm. Number of viewers continue to increase weekly. Many viewers share testimonies about how the programme has been of immense help in their Christian journey.

10. National Evangelism Launch.

It has become a norm for the Department to launch the Evangelism Week in a selected Congregation in March every year. The Moderator preaches during the launch while the National Director unveils the mission agenda for the Department and the logistics required at the launch. Presbyteries and districts are also encouraged to launch same and raise resources for mission. The 2023 national launch was held at Covenant Congregation, Dzorwulu in the Ga Presbytery where twenty (20) motorcycles, Suits and Clerical shirts were donated to the GA office to support evangelism work.

11. Intercessors.

The Department raises a team of intercessors to pray for the Church. The two Intercessors from the Head Office and at most five people from the host Presbytery form the team. The National Director works with the host Presbytery Director and the host Presbytery BSPG leaders to select the team.

12. Retreat for Principal Officers and Directors:

The M&E department in collaboration with the Department of Church Life and Nurture coordinate an annual retreat for the Principal Officers and Directors as well as the staff at the GA Office. The 2023 annual retreats were held at Akropong Presbytery Hospitality Centre and Shalom Congregation, at Osu North respectively.

13. Abasua and Chirapatre Prayer Retreats

The two retreats which are part of the department’s programmes are the Abasua and “Encounter” at Chirepatre. There are two sessions of the Abasua retreat in February and August each year. The theme for the 2023 retreat was “Lord, bless me” with Rev. Christian Baah Nartey, district minister of Zimmermann Congregation, Odumase Krobo as the main speaker. Several people encountered the Lord and received varied spiritual gifts to work in the vineyard of the Lord, while others renewed their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ at both retreats.

14. Annual Presbytery M&E Directors’ Retreat

The department organizes a three-day annual retreat for Presbytery Directors. The retreat is usually on a rotation among the presbyteries. The essence of the retreat is to afford the National Director and Presbytery Directors the opportunity to reflect, share and discuss their respective action plan for the year. The 2023 retreat was held at Akyem Abuakwa. The Clerk of the General Assembly was the guest speaker. At the end of the retreat all the directors preached in congregations within the Presbytery and also raised funds to support the purchase of three motorcycles for the Presbytery.

15. National Chaplains Conference.

The Department, through the leadership of the Chaplains coordinates the annual Conference for the Chaplains. These Chaplains are in the educational institutions, Health and Security Services. The 2023 chaplains’ conference was held from 29th August, to 1st September. About fifty chaplains attended the conference, under the theme; “Christ in you the Hope of Glory: The chaplain, Inspiring Hope in the Community.” The moderator of the General Assembly of PCG, Rt. Rev. Prof. J.O.Y Mante chaired the conference. The keynote address was delivered by Rev. Prof. B.Y Kwashie. At the end of the conference, it was affirmed among other things to put together a study manual for all PCG institutions and also review the chaplains’ handbook.

16. Ministry to students of the Manse.

The department coordinates the activities of Children of Ministers who are in the Universities. These children of the Manse, have a fellowship where most of them meet to interact and pray together. Currently, the fellowship is very active in two universities – the University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

17. PSICE:

The National Union of Presbyterian Students, is under the department of Church Life and Nurture. However, the department of Mission and Evangelism supports its outreach programmes dubbed “Presbyterian Students in Church Evangelism,” P-SICE in the five coordinating branches, namely, Legon, KNUST, Cape Coast, Winneba and UDS. The M&E Department collaborates with the leadership of the students and Presbyteries to organize this annual outreach. During the 2022 PSICE Nine hundred and forty-eight (948) souls were won for Christ.

18. Land acquisition and construction of chapels.

The GA office has acquired land for PCG, Togo and support for the construction of a chapel in Lome and Assufery in Cote’ D’voire. I am happy to inform you that the Lome chapel has been completed to the glory of God.

19. Presbyterian Worldwide Prayer Marathon.

 The department in collaboration with the department of Church Life and Nurture organized Presbyterian Worldwide Prayer Marathon on Sunday 8th in January, 2023 at PCG Fafraha Congregation. The objective of the prayer session is to mobilize all Presbyterians across the globe to pray together on one common platform for the Lord to reveal his mind to the leadership and members, enable members to boldly share Jesus Christ as the only hope for salvation among others. The prayer sessions were held in all the twenty-one Presbyteries via all PCG social media handles.

20. PCGTV:

By the grace of God, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana currently owns a Television station (PCGTV). Test transmission commenced on 24th January, 2023. PCGTV has duly been registered as a company. The station is currently at the fourth floor at the Church House, Osu. The Television station is currently operating on a free to air terrestrial platform. Plans are far advanced to migrate to a digital platform to enhance wider coverage.

21. PCGTV Board of Directors:

GAC has approved an eleven-member Board of Directors for PCGTV which is chaired by Mr. Franklin Sowah.

22. PCGTV General Manager.

A General Manager for PCGTV has been appointed by GAC.

23. PCGTV Fundraising.

The General Assembly Council inaugurated a PCGTV Fundraising committee chaired by Mr. Benjamin Botwe in November, 2022 to raise funds to support the television station. A short code and mobile money accounts have been designated in this regard (short code; *365*1828#; MTN; 0598609526, Vodafone: 0200278000). The committee is implementing four key strategies to support the fundraising activity, namely; direct contacting of individuals and other organizations to donate generously, fundraising luncheon or dinner, moderator’s club 100 to target 50,000 Presbyterians to contribute electronically one hundred Ghana cedis (GHC100) a month for six months. So far, over one million Ghana cedis has been raised.

24. Blue Cross.

A new Board of Directors for Blue Cross Ghana, has been approved by GAC to give this special ministry a new outlook in its activities in all the Presbyteries and educational institutions. Blue Cross, Ghana has been established in the following Presbyteries and institutions; West Brong, Akyem Abuakwa, Asante, Akwapem, Ga West and Upper, and; Prempeh College, Odorgono SHS, Osu Presby SHS (being piloted), while Presec. St. Stephens and Aburi Girls have been earmarked to commence soon. The Secretariat, which is headed by Rev. Acheampong is constructing a Rehabilitation Centre in the Akyem Abuakwa Presbytery.

25. Northern Outreach Programme.

PCG currently has seventy-four (74) NOP Congregations in the following Presbyteries; Ga, Ga West, Akwapem, Sekyere, Asante, West Brong, Central, Asante South and Western. This calls for a serious attention to be given to the training of more indigenous ministers to pastor these mono-ethnic congregations.

26. Policy Guideline for Prayer Centers.

PCG Policy guidelines on the operation of Prayer and retreat centers has been approved by GA for implementation. The PCG currently operates over forty (40) prayer centres. We trust that this will enhance PCG’s evangelistic outlook, hence people will resort to our prayer and retreat centres as places of refuge and restoration. This, the department believes will support the spiritual emphasis of the vision 1.5 Agenda.

27. Ecumenical bodies/affiliation:

The PCG through the Department plays a major role in ecumenical bodies in the country. Notable among these bodies include Ghana Evangelism Committee (GEC), Awake Ministry, Ghana Evangelical Missions Association (GEMA), GHAFES, US, and others. The Church pays her annual dues/assessment to GEC but supports the others as and when the need arises.

28. Mission Blueprint materials:

The Department has produced the following materials: Steps to Salvation; Share the Life; Operation Philips; Rooted in Christ; Church Planting leaflet; Church Growth leaflet. These materials are the working tools for Vision 1.5. 30. Bible Study and Prayer Group: The BSPG, being the evangelistic wing of PCG is an integral part of the department. The Group organizes Conventions from the first Thursday of every New Year. The Conventions are either held at the Presbyteries, Sectors, or National levels. The Group also organizes the National Leaders’ Conference and the annual Prayer Retreat at Chirepatre. The 2023 convention was well attended in all the Presbyteries. New national executives were elected in 2023.

29. Consultation on Global Missions.

The annual consultation is a collaboration between M&E and ESR. This momentous gathering provides a platform for participants to engage in thought-provoking discussions, share insights, and collaborate on addressing the significant challenges and opportunities in the field of global missions. The participants are mainly from Europe and North America Australia Presbyteries. Since 2019, the following themes have been discussed; 2019-History of Gbolal Ministry and our Partnership: 2021-Implementing decision 9’11; 2022- The journey to secularity and Diversity in our Modern World; 2023- Restoring Hope: Diaspora Mission in an era of Diversity and Global Challenges.

The annual global consultation has led to some far-reaching decisions taken by the General Assembly, including, amnesty for ministers, review of decision 9’11 (PCG’s decision to sever relationship with partner churches who accept homosexuality) as well as how to name PCG congregations in the diaspora.

30. School of Evangelism:

The annual School of Evangelism is one of the major programmes of the Department. It is an empowerment programme which runs for three years. Currently, there are two Schools; Abetifi for the southern and Tamale for northern sectors. The school is organized by the department and RTC. The Abetifi School is in June. The Tamale School is in July or any other suitable time. The school currently have fifty-three (53) participants.

31. Jesus Christmas Street Party:

The department collaborates with the Department of Development and Social Services (DSS) in December every year to undertake this noble initiative. During the program. Evangelism tracts are specially designed and shared, salvation messages are preached and the souls won are given to the host district for follow-up and nurturing. Presbyteries will report on the number of souls won during the 2022 edition at this consultation.

  Ongoing programmes

32. PCG Model Congregations:

This is part of the Vision 1.5 agenda. The General Assembly Council decided to embark on this programme on a pilot basis. The Committee chaired by the Clerk of General Assembly is working on the document.

33. Presbyterian Young Missionaries Movement:

A Committee chaired by Rev. Dr. Nana Opare Kwakye was inaugurated to present a proposal on training and sending of Missionaries into Ghana and beyond. The project is yet to be fully rolled out at the national level, however, most Presbyteries have initiated some training in this regard, thus, the Department hopes to have a comprehensive document very soon.

34. National biennial Church Growth and Empowerment Conference shall be held next year, 2024.

The goal of this historic conference is to empower Church members for Vision 1.5 Agenda and mission and, among others, to encourage members to support soul-winning programmes in the Church

An Overview of Membership Statistics

• The quantitative growth of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has been a major concern for all past and current leadership of the Church.
• Thus, in 2005, PCG took the bold decision that “all Presbyteries should work towards increasing their membership by at least 10% every year in the short term.”
• Over the years, the Mission and Evangelism Department has developed and used the following materials for evangelism and discipleship training at Presbytery, Districts and Congregational levels, namely: Share the Life, Operation Philip, Steps to Salvation, Rooted in Christ and Catechism.
• These Mission blue print materials are used to equip and mobilize members for evangelism and outreach, church planting, church growth and discipleship
• In order to develop a consistent and intentional growth in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana a 10-year Strategic Plan was launched at the 19th General Assembly under the theme ‘Agenda for Church Growth’ to meet the set target and to increase the membership of the Church to 1.5 million by 2023.

• Let us now have a general outlook of PCG from 2005 to 2022.

CUMULATIVE NUMERICAL GROWTH OF PRESBYTERIES FROM 2020 TO 2022

CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE GROWTH OF PRESBYTERIES FROM 2020 TO 2022

CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE AND QUANTUM GROWTH OF DISTRICTS FROM

2020 TO 2022