Presbyterian Church of Ghana

{{Infobox Christian denomination

| name = The Presbyterian Church of Ghana

| image = File:Presbyterian Church of Ghana Crest.png

| alt = Presbyterian Church of Ghana logo

| imagewidth = 200px

| caption = Presbyterian Church of Ghana Logo

| main_classification = Protestant

| theology = Reformed

| orientation = Calvinist

| polity = Presbyterian

| scripture = Holy Bible

| spiritual founder =

|founder=Basel Mission
Moravian Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
Church of Scotland| founded_date = {{unbulleted list|28 December 1828|{{Time ago|18 December 1828}}}}

| founded_place = Accra, Gold Coast

| separated_from =

| merger =

| separations =

| associations = {{ubl|Christian Council of Ghana|All Africa Conference of Churches|World Communion of Reformed Churches|World Council of Churches{{cite web|url=http://www.wcrc.ch/node/164 |access-date=August 18, 2013|title=WCRC churches |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808192417/http://www.wcrc.ch/node/164 |archive-date=August 8, 2012 }}}}

| area =

| congregations = 4,889 (2019)

| members = 1,015,174 (2019)

|publications=Christian Messenger| website = {{URL|https://pcgonline.org/}}

| website2 =

| footnotes =

}}

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is a mainstream Protestant and ecumenically-minded church denomination in Ghana. The oldest, continuously existing, established Christian Church in Ghana, it was started by the Basel missionaries on 18 December 1828.{{Cite web |date=22 September 2015 |title=Origins, Heritage, Birth of Presbyterian Church of Ghana |url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Origins-Heritage-Birth-of-Presbyterian-Church-of-Ghana-383219 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719045836/http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Origins-Heritage-Birth-of-Presbyterian-Church-of-Ghana-383219 |archive-date=2017-07-19 |access-date=2018-08-11 |website=GhanaWeb |language=en}} The missionaries had been trained in Germany and Switzerland and arrived on the Gold Coast to spread Christianity.{{cite web |date=1 January 2006 |title=World Council of Reformed Churches |url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/presbyterian-church-of-ghana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623205409/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/presbyterian-church-of-ghana |archive-date=23 June 2013 |access-date=15 June 2011 |work=World Council of Churches website |publisher=}} The work of the mission became stronger when Moravian missionaries from the West Indies arrived in the country in 1843. In 1848, the Basel Mission Church set up a seminary, now named the Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong, for the training of church workers to help in the missionary work. The Ga and Twi languages were added as part of the doctrinal text used in the training of the seminarians. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Presbyterian church had its missions concentrated in the southeastern parts of the Gold Coast and the peri-urban Akan hinterland. By the mid-20th century, the church had expanded and founded churches among the Asante people who lived in the middle belt of Ghana as well as the northern territories by the 1940s. 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 mother church of the worldwide orthodox or mainline (oldline) Presbyterian denomination. The official newspaper of the church is the Christian Messenger, established by the Basel Mission in 1883.{{Cite web|url=http://christianmessengerpcg.com/site/about.asp|title=Christian Messenger, Ghana|date=2017-05-22|access-date=2017-11-28|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522095347/http://christianmessengerpcg.com/site/about.asp|archive-date=2017-05-22}}{{Cite web |date=30 November 2001 |title=Christian Messenger takes new look |url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/religion/Christian-Messenger-takes-new-look-163076 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512024044/http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/religion/Christian-Messenger-takes-new-look-163076 |archive-date=2017-05-12 |access-date=2017-11-28 |website=GhanaWeb |language=en}} The denomination's Presbyterian sister church is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana.

Church structure

The church is a founding member of the Christian Council of Ghana.{{cite web |title=Welcome to the Christian Council of Ghana . |url=http://www.christiancouncilofghana.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627005050/http://www.christiancouncilofghana.org/ |archive-date=2011-06-27 |access-date=22 May 2011 |publisher=Christian Council of Ghana}} 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.{{cite web |title=Organization profile |url=http://www.ecuspace.net/eisp.nsf/c976d90432fb1c57c1256aea0059c9e9/04a574cb44135167c1256c77003f668e?OpenDocument |publisher=Ecuspace.net |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309161231/http://www.ecuspace.net/eisp.nsf/c976d90432fb1c57c1256aea0059c9e9/04a574cb44135167c1256c77003f668e?OpenDocument |archive-date=9 March 2012 }} Ordained ministers wear the Geneva gown and a clerical collar. Historically considered a "high church" denomination, the institution’s form of worship is marked by formality – liturgical readings, recitation of the Apostles' Creed, traditional hymn singing, church announcements and periodic administering of the Holy Communion. The denomination also administers infant baptism and the rite of confirmation. Yearly religious observances, such as Advent and Lent are noted in the church’s almanac. In contemporary times, however, a 'praise and worship' segment, more commonly associated with evangelicalism, Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement, is sometimes incorporated into church services to meet the preferences of younger congregants. The Presbyterian Hymn Book is used during services and is available in primarily English, Ga, Twi, Ewe and other Ghanaian languages and dialects.

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has seven church departments that have specific tasks of building up the church in their respective activities. These are:

Department of Administration & Human Resource
Department of Church Life & Nurture
Department of Mission & Evangelism
Department of Ecumenical & Social Relations
Department of Development & Social Services
Department of Education
Department of Finance

Membership

By 2015, the church had 876,257 members and 2573 congregations. By the end of 2019, the PCG had about a total membership of 1,015,174.{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://pcgonline.org/index.php?nid=152083&s=au|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228110823/http://pcgonline.org/index.php?nid=152083&s=au|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 28, 2011|publisher=Pcgonline.org|access-date=15 June 2011}}{{cite web |title=History of The PCG |url=http://www.pcgonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029211232/http://www.pcgonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=10 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |access-date=2013-10-27 |publisher=Pcgonline}} According to the 2019 report of the Committee on Information Management, Statistics & Planning (IMSP) of the Department of Administration & Human Resource Management (AHRM) of the church, it had 4889 congregations. As of 2021, there were more than 1.7 million Presbyterians in Ghana, representing approximately 8% of Ghanaian Christians and comprising members of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Global Evangelical Church and other smaller Reformed denominations in the Presbyterian tradition.{{Cite web|title=About-us|url=https://www.gecgh.org/about-us/|access-date=2022-01-28|website=Global Evangelical Church}}{{Cite web|title=Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana – Bringing Light to where there is Darkness |url=https://www.epcgh.org/|access-date=2022-01-28|language=en-US}}

PCG Statistics – 2001 to 2013

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

|Total

|Increase

|%Increase

2001

|500,190

2002

|535,130

|34,940

|7.0

2003

|565,637

|30,507

|5.7

2004

|578,727

|13,090

|2.3

2005

|612,337

|33,610

|5.8

2006

|615,391

|3,054

|0.5

2007

|622,609

|7,218

|1.2

2008

|624,890

|2,281

|0.4

2009

|652,083

|27,193

|4.4

2010

|691,949

|39,866

|6.1

2011

|721,599

|29,650

|4.3

2012

|739,548

|17,949

|2.5

2013

|773,504

|33,956

|4.6

The Church and education

Education is an integral part of the church's responsibility to the communities it operates in. In general, Ghanaian Presbyterians have a high educational attainment.{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=Jon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QV-hAwAAQBAJ|title=Missionary Zeal and Institutional Control: Organizational Contradictions in the Basel Mission on the Gold Coast 1828–1917|year=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-87625-7|location=|page=29|language=en}}{{Cite journal|last=Tim Heaton, Spencer James and Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi|title=Religion and Socioeconomic Attainment in Ghana|url=http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/bitstream/handle/123456789/2040/Religion%20and%20socioeconomic%20attainment%20in%20Ghana.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=3|journal=Review of Religious Research|date=September 2009|volume=51|issue=1|pages=71–86}} Together with Ghanaian Anglicans, Methodists and Roman Catholics - Christian denominations that also prioritize higher education, Presbyterians in Ghana were historically disproportionately represented in the upper ranks of government, industry, academia and the professional occupations. The church is the proprietor of more than 2400 basic schools including 487 kindergarten and nursery schools, 984 primary schools and 399 junior high schools. The church has 30 senior high schools, 40 private schools, 6 vocational institutions, 5 teacher training colleges, 2 research centres, 4 nursing training colleges and 5 training centres for pastors and laity.{{Cite web |last=Online |first=Peace FM |title=Presbyterian Church of Ghana is 190 Years Today |url=http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/local/religion/201812/370534.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219132019/http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/local/religion/201812/370534.php |archive-date=2018-12-19 |access-date=2019-05-17 |website=Peace FM online.}} 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.{{cite web |title=PUC |url=http://www.presbyuniversity.edu.gh/new/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612005803/http://www.presbyuniversity.edu.gh/new/ |archive-date=12 June 2011 |access-date=15 June 2011 |publisher=Presby university ghana}}

The Church and health

The original health mission of the church started at the Basel Mission. Rudolf Fisch opened the first hospital at the Basel Mission in 1885.{{cite web |last1=Herzog |first1=Fabian |title=A Brief History of Missionary Medicine in Aburi |date=3 September 2024 |url=https://baselfo.ch/a-brief-history-of-missionary-medicine-in-aburi/ |access-date=1 January 2025}}{{Cite web |last=Paul |first=Jenkins |date=1856–1946 |title=Fisch, Rudolf |url=https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/fisch-rudolf/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Dictionary of African Christian Biography |language=en}} The church is a member of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG).{{cite web |title=Welcome to the CHAG website |url=http://www.chagghana.org/chag/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626152344/http://www.chagghana.org/chag/ |archive-date=2011-06-26 |access-date=15 June 2011 |publisher=Chagghana}} 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 provider of healthcare in Ghana, in terms of number of health facilities across the country in cities and towns such as Agogo, Bawku, Dormaa-Ahenkro, Donkorkrom, Bolgatanga, Salaga, Tease, Konongo, Duayaw-Nkwanta, Garu, Sandema, etc. Among its 55 health institutions, the church operates four major hospitals, 11 primary health care programmes, eight health centres, 13 clinics, 4 nurses' training colleges and a technical unit. These institutions provide a substantial portion of health services in the rural areas with a workforce of 1,977 and total hospital beds of 745. Curative, preventive and promotive services are provided to clients by the facilities in their respective catchment areas. The PHC interventions cover areas such as antenatal care, postnatal care, family planning, nutrition, growth monitoring of children between 0–5 years, immunization, health education, environmental sanitation, HIV&AIDS control, prevention, home-based care and counselling and clinical care at the health centres. The Church is currently the third largest single provider of health

services in the country. The hospitals provide medical specialist services with resident specialists as follows:

Agogo Hospital – Ophthalmology, internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics / gynaecology and paediatrics
Bawku Hospital – Ophthalmology, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery and obstetrics / gynaecology
Dormaa Hospital – Paediatrics.

The Church and agriculture

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana was established in 1828 and formalised partnership (Reg No. ACB 146/88) with the then government of Gold Coast now the Republic of Ghana in 1932 to contribute to the Spiritual and socio-economic development of the citizenry of Ghana. To this end, the Church established six (6) Agricultural Service stations in the late sixties in the Northern, Upper East, Eastern and Greater Accra regions of Ghana to complement the efforts of Government at poverty eradication in rural communities of the country.

Assets

The church owns two printing and publishing houses including Waterville Publishing House, three newspapers, including Christian Messenger and eight bookshops. It has three retreat centres and operates four guest houses and three conference halls.

Church leadership

= Moderator of the General Assembly =

The Moderator of the General Assembly position is the chairperson of the general assembly (previously synod), equivalent to the chief executive officer or managing director or president of the governing body of the national church organisation.{{Cite book|title=The Presbyterian Church of Ghana: History and Impact.|last=Nkansa-Kyeremateng|first=K.|publisher=Sebewie Publishers|year=2003|location=Accra|pages=97–99}} Serving moderators use the honorific style, The Right Reverend. Retired moderators use the style, The Very Reverend after leaving office.

class="wikitable collapsible sortable"

!No

! Moderator !! Tenure of Office

| Peter Hall

1918–22

| Nathaniel Asare

1923–24

| W. A. Quartey

1925–29

| L. L. Richter

1930–31

| E. C. Martinson

1932–38

| S. S. Odonkor

1939–50

| E. V. Asihene

1951–54

| E. Max Dodu

1955–58

| E. M. L. Odjidja

1959–66

| J. K. Sintim-Misa

1967–78

| I. H. Frempong

1979–86

| D. A. Koranteng

1987–95

| A. A. Beeko

1995–98

| Sam Prempeh

1999–2003

| Yaw Frimpong-Manso

2004–10

| Emmanuel Martey

2010–16

| Cephas Narh Omenyo

2016–18

| J. O. Y. Mante

2018–23

|Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye

2023– [https://pcgonline.org/2024/08/30/elementor-7182/ PCG website, I invite the entire Church to remain united and pray for the Lord to continue to lead us and guide us… Moderator Opare Kwakye, article dated August 30, 2024]

= Synod Clerk / Clerk of the General Assembly =

The Clerk of the General Assembly position (previously Synod Clerk) is the chief ecclesial (ecclesiastical) officer of the general assembly, equivalent to as the chief administrative officer or secretary-general or executive secretary of the national church organisation, responsible for daily operations or performance. The Clerk uses the title style The Reverend. The following ministers were elected and served as the Synod Clerk or Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana:

class="wikitable collapsible sortable"

!No.

! Synod Clerk / Clerk of the General Assembly !! Tenure of Office

| Nicholas Timothy Clerk

1918–32

| D. E. Akwa

1933–40

| M. A. Obeng

1941–49

| Carl Henry Clerk

1950–54

| A. L. N. Kwansa

1955–69

| T. A. Osei

1970–74

| R. K. Sah

1978–85

| E. S. Mate-Kodjo

1985–95

| Ofosu Adutwum

1995–97

| Nii Teiko Dagadu (Ag.)

1997–99

| Charles Gyang-Duah

1999–2003

| Herbert Oppong

2004–12

| Samuel Ayete-Nyampong

2012–19

| Godwin Nii Noi Odonkor

2019– [https://pcgonline.org/2024/06/28/the-presbyterian-church-of-ghana-is-very-grateful-for-your-dedication-amidst-this-heavy-storm-rev-dr-nii-noi-odonkor/ PCG website, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is very grateful for your dedication amidst this heavy storm… Rev. Dr. Nii Noi Odonkor, article dated June 28, 2024]

Notable people

{{columns-list|colwidth=21em|

Gottlieb Ababio Adom
Clement Anderson Akrofi[https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/akrofi-clement2/ Dictionary of African Christian Biography website, Akrofi, Clement]
Rose Akua Ampofo[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1758-6631.1998.tb00082.x?msockid=38f173fb6e26676738cf66fe6f5566a1 Wiley Online Library website, The Contribution of Women to Church Growth and Development in Africa, by Rose Ampofo dated March 25, 2009]
David Asante[https://pcgonline.org/2020/08/20/moderator-calls-on-ministers-to-emulate-the-example-of-our-pioneers/ PCG website, Moderator calls on ministers to emulate the example of our pioneers]
John Azumah[https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/people/john-azumah Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs website, John Azumah]
Emilie Christaller[https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/123590469.html?language=en Deutsche Biographie website, Emilie Christaller]
Johann Gottlieb Christaller[https://ghanaremembers.com/stories/people/johann-gottlieb-christaller-the-german-missionary-who-translated-the-bible-into-twi.html Ghana Remembers website, Johann Gottlieb Christaller, the German missionary who translated the Bible into Twi],
Alexander Worthy Clerk
Carl Henry Clerk
Nicholas T. Clerk (1930–2012)
Nicholas Timothy Clerk (1862–1961) [https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/clerk-nt/ Dictionary of African Christian Biography, Clerk, Nicholas Timothy (A)]
Peter Hall
Regina Hesse[https://www.infoclio.ch/en/encounters-quest-christian-womanhood-basel-mission-pre-and-early-colonial-ghana InfoClio website, Encounters in Quest of Christian Womanhood. The Basel Mission in Pre- and Early Colonial Ghana, article by Ulrike Sill, 2008]
Rose Ann Miller[https://ghanamissionshandbook.gemagh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Success-24-The-first-missionaries.pdf Ghana Evangelical Missions Association website, Ghana Mission Handbook, p. 32]
Catherine Mulgrave
Theophilus Opoku[https://zasb.unibas.ch/en/research/publications/new-publications/publication-opoku/ University of Basel website, The Reports of Theophilus Opoku: A 19th-Century Gold Coast Pastor, Michelle Gilbert and Paul Jenkins, dated February 19, 2024]
Rosa and Fritz Ramseyer[https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/ramseyer-fritz/ Dictionary of African Christian Biography website, Ramseyer, Fritz]
Carl Christian Reindorf[https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/reindorf3-carl/ Dictionary of African Christian Biography website, Reindorf, Carl]
Andreas Riis[https://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20031007/mind/mind1.html Jamaica Gleaner website, A Ghanaian church built by Jamaicans, article by Dr. Daniel J. Antwi dated October 7, 2003]
George Peter Thompson
Rosina Widmann
Johannes Zimmermann[https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/zimmermann/ Dictionary of African Christian Biography website, Zimmermann, Johannes ]

}}

Outside Ghana

The church has a congregation in New York City, US[https://pcg-manhattan.org PCG Manhattan website] and in Milton Keynes, England.[https://www.pcgsalemmk.org PCG Salem website] There is also a congregation in Toronto, Canada.[https://www.ghpresby.com/pages/our-mission/ Ghanaian Presbyterian Church Toronto website] There is also a church in Riverside, California.