Presbyterian Church of Ghana
Encyclopedia
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is a 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. The work of the mission became stronger when missionaries from the West Indies arrived in the country. The church set up 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 21st 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.
. 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.
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has six church departments that have specific tasks of building up the church in their respective activities. The are:
. It is located at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern region
of Ghana.
(CHAG). 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.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. The church was started by the Basel missionaries
Basel Mission
The Basel Mission is a Christian missionary society active from 1815 to 2001, when it was merged into Mission 21, the successor organization of Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione founded in 2001....
in 1828. The missionaries had been trained in Germany and arrived on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (region)
The Gold Coast was the region of West Africa which is now the nation of Ghana. Early uses of the term refer literally to the coast and not the interior. It was not until the 19th century that the term came to refer to areas that are far from the coast...
to spread Christianity. The work of the mission became stronger when missionaries from the West Indies arrived in the country. The church set up a seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
for the training of church workers to help in the missionary work. The Twi
Akan language
Akan, also known as Twi and Fante, is an Akan language that is the principal native language of Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of that country, by about 52% of the population, and to a lesser extent across the border in eastern Côte d'Ivoire...
language was added as part of the text used in the training of the seminarians. At the beginning of the 21st 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
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
. The church expanded to the northern part of Ghana in the 1940s.
Church structure
The church is a founding member of the Christian Council of GhanaChristian Council of Ghana
The Christian Council of Ghana is an umbrella group that unites 15 churches in Ghana. The council has its members from Charismatic, Pentecostal, Orthodox and other churches.-History of the council:The CCG was formed on 30 October 1929...
. 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.
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has six church departments that have specific tasks of building up the church in their respective activities. The are:
- 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 resources
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. . In 2003, the church started a university known as the Presbyterian University CollegePresbyterian University College
The Presbyterian University College is a private university located at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It is one of the new universities in Ghana granted accreditation by the National Accreditation Board...
. It is located at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern region
Eastern Region (Ghana)
The Eastern Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It covers an area of 19,323 square kilometres, which is about 8.1% of Ghana's total land area. The region is divided into administrative districts. The total number of districts were increased from 17 districts to 21...
of Ghana.
The church and health
The church is a member of the Christian Health Association of GhanaChristian Health Association of Ghana
Ghana's health care services are supervised by the Ministry of Health. The main agency that carries out the ministry's policy is the Ghana Health Service....
(CHAG). 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.