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Missions History of Ghana
May 2011
Ghana is a country in the western part of Africa that was originally called Gold Coast due to
its abundance in gold. In 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial
Africa to gain independence under the leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. However, due to
political instability, the country went through difficult economic turmoil until 1992, when
democracy was restored in the country with the sitting president acting as the head of
state. From this time onwards, the country has been both politically and economically stable
making the country one of the most developing countries in Africa. However, in all this
political and economic turmoil, Christianity has survived well and showed lots of gains.
When Jesus died and rose from the grave, he gave his disciples a command which came to
be known as the Great Commission. Thus, in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells his disciples to
go and make disciples of all nations beginning in Jerusalem to the end of the earth. With
this command and unbending faith in God, many Christians sacrificed their lives in an
attempt to reach out the gospel to the unreached of which Ghana became a beneficiary.
The major Christian denominations that have dominated the religious atmosphere of the
country are: Roman Catholics, Protestants, spiritual movements, Seventh Day Adventist,
and later to be known, Church of Christ.
General Religious Background
The presence of Christian missionaries in the country is dated back to the period of
colonization in the 15th century when the Portuguese settled on the coast. According to John
Mbiti (Bible and Theology in African Christianity, 74), it was the Basel/Presbyterian and
Wesleyan/Methodist missionaries who in the nineteenth century laid a firm foundation for
the Christian Church in Ghana. These were later followed by the Church of England Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel. These missionaries like William Carey built schools and
clinics with the aim of making their presence felt in the country. However, these religious
groups were concerned with helping those who were affiliated with their respective
Churches, hence making people see them as hypocrite religious groups. Due to high
religious tolerance in the country, there are so many religious denominations, often leading
to religious confusion and conflict.
Various denominations are distributed across the ten regions in the country with the
northern part predominantly Muslims. According to the CIA, Ghana has a total population of
24,791,073 according to the 2000 estimate. Out of this population, 68.8% are Christians
(Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1% ), Muslim 15.9%,
traditional 8.5%, and none 6.1%. These religious groups are identified with a unifying
association, Ghana Christian Council.
Catholicism/Protestant Churches in Ghana
A study by Cehas N. Omeny, (Swedish Missionlogical Themes, 7) indicates that it was the
Basel missions who started Protestant Churches in Ghana in the early fifteenth century. The
following Churches are those which fall under the umbrella of Protestant Churches: The
Presbyterian Churches, The Methodist Churches, The Baptist Churches, The Evangelical
Presbyterian Churches, The Episcopal Zion Churches, and the Anglican Churches. All these
Protestant Churches belong to the Christian Council of Ghana. Due to the nature of
colonialism in most parts of the world and the hardship which the natives were often time
subjected to, majority of the natives were not willing to be converted into the Christian
faith.
The Roman Catholic Church at this time was fast spreading to some parts of Africa by the
Society of Africa Missions with Father Eugene Morat and Augustus Morean pioneering the
mission work. The syncretic nature of the Roman Catholic doctrine was very compatible at
the time with most traditional beliefs, hence many people accepted the Catholic faith. The
Catholic Church from this time on has played a pivotal role, in the country particularly in
areas of education and health care. Most of the current denominations had their roots in the
Roman Catholic Church. According to Ghana Statistical Service 2001, Catholics faithfuls in
Ghana were about 3,5000,000.
Churches of Christ
According to Robert A. Diles, a Professor of Bible at Harding University, “God works with us,
in spite of us, and without us.” While some missionaries from United States were thinking of
how best to reach the unreached group in some parts of the world, God was also causing
some of the unreached group to reach out to the missionaries. It was in the light of this that
the Lord caused one John Baidoo, from a town in the central region of Ghana and a member
of a denominational Church, to seek the truth. Jesus tells his disciples in John 8:32 that:
“You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” For this cause, John Baidoo
began a correspondence course with the Churches of Christ in the United States. He finally
decided to be baptized. An interview with Stephen Somfo, a local preacher at Ash Town
Church of Christ, shows that Jerry Reynolds and DeWayne Davenport, who were sponsored
by Cedars Church of Christ in Wilmington, Delaware, had come to Nigeria. This country had
fairly strong number of congregations at the time. As a result, in 1961, these missionaries
came to Ghana with their families and baptized John Baidoo. From then on they convened
gospel meetings in many places which took them to Kumasi, the second capital of Ghana,
and neighboring towns. In one of these gospel meetings, Samuel Obeng, a pastor of a New
Testament Church, saw that the interpretation of the message was not good enough, so he
volunteered to do the interpretation. When the meeting was over Samuel Obeng was
converted, and there was a subsequent conversion of his entire New Testament Church. Dr.
Obeng was subsequently sent to Nigeria for theological studies. Hence, Dr. Samuel Obeng
became the first preacher of the Church of Christ in Ghana. An interview with Gyan Kesse,
one of the early converts and an elder of Bomso Church of Christ, reveals that the response
to the message was very impressive; hence with the support of Cedars Church of Christ a
large plot of land was purchased for a Bible College School. The training of preachers in this
college has been instrumental in the accelerated growth of the Church in Ghana and
beyond.
A survey conducted by Ghana institute of statistical studies in 1984 shows that Church of
Christ was the fastest growing religious group in Ghana. To further the growth of the
Church, in 1989, Village of Hope project was started to care for orphaned, abandoned, and
needy children. An interview with Fred Asare, Managing Director of Village of Hope, shows
that the campus is now home to 235 children. Over the years some of these kids have
become medical doctors, lawyers and other professionals and most have become faithful
members of the church. The Church of Christ in Ghana has since grown numerically and it
is estimated that there are over 1,500 congregations with a membership of over 100,000.
Out of this number there are thirty congregations which have elders and deacons and over
three hundred preachers. Some of the local preachers have learned different languages and
have established Churches of Christ in neighboring countries, notably Togo and Burkina
Faso, French speaking countries. As of 2000, there was no stationed missionary in Ghana;
however, there are missionaries who occasionally visit certain congregations in the country.
Ed Mosby, an elder at Cloverdale Church of Christ and a missionary to Africa, Michael
Ingram, and a host of others occasionally go to Ghana to see how the work is going.
The most peculiar problems synonymous with most Churches of Christ in Ghana are
financial constrains. Some of brethren were members in certain denominations depending
on tithes, others were in politics but quit after knowing Christ, and while others were in the
public service but quit after conversion. Besides, there are many who sacrifice their lives
just to preach the gospel. Although these people help the Churches grow both numerically
and spiritually, they become a financial burden. On top of all this, most Churches of Christ
in Ghana meets in classrooms, a situation which retards the progress of work in some
villages. Even though most of the Churches are doing their best to get their own building,
land acquisition is often a major problem, especially those who are in the cities.
Conclusion
According to Hebrews 1:1, God, who spoke to our forefathers through the prophets in many
ways and at various times, now speaks to us through His Son. How can those who have
never had the chance to hear the gospel hear it? Many missionaries and philanthropists
have done their part by spreading the gospel to Africa. Roman Catholic Churches and
Protestant Churches have all gained solid roots and become recognized in Ghana. However,
the Churches of Christ have still been struggling to even find places to meet. Most of the
churches need help both financially and a prayer so that the work can go on until the time
that God has set, when the majority of population will become converted.
Spiritual Needs/Challenges
General Editor
Dr. Bob Waldron, Director for Research and Global Planning, Missions Resource Network
Contributors

Eric Awuah, Ghanaian student in a research paper for professor R. Allen Diles,
Harding University, Searcy, Arkansas.

Resource People

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
Eric Awuah, Ghanaian student at Harding University, Searcy, Arkansas.
Sources Cited and Suggested Reading
John D. Mbiti. 1969. African Religions and Philosophy. London: Heinen-mann, pp.108-109.
John D. Mbiti. 1992. Bible and Theology in African Christianity. Nairobi: Oxford University
Press, p. 74.
Omenyo N. Cephas. 2006. “A Comparative Analysis of the Development Intervention of
Protestant and Charismatic/Pentecostal Organisations in Ghana” in Swedish Missiological
Themes, 94.1, pp. 1-9.
Gill, Carman S., et al. 2010. “Spirituality and Religiosity” in Journal of Counseling &
Development 88:3, pp. 293-302.
Schieman, Scott, et al. 2010. ‘‘Religious Involvement, Beliefs About God, and the Sense of
Mattering Among Older Adults’’ in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49.3, pp.
517-535.
Smith, LaGard F. 1992. The Cultural Church. Nashville: 20th Century Christian.
Amanor D. Jones. 2005. “Pentecostalism in Ghana: An African Reformation” in
Cyberjournal for Penticostal-Charsimatic Research, 49.3, pp. 17-20.
Asamoah-Gyedu. 1998. “The Church in the African State—The Pentecostal/ Charismatic
Experince in Ghana.” Journal of African Christian Thought, 1.2, pp. 51-57.
Wikipedia. “Ghana,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Ghana. Accessed April 28,
2011.
World Fact Book. “Ghana.” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook.
Accessed April 25, 2011.