Casely B. Essamuah © 2004. Not to be modified, reproduced, transmitted, published or otherwise made available in whole or in part without the prior written consent of the author. For further details see file: copyright notes. Methodist Missionary Society History Project November 25-26, 2003 Sarum College, Salisbury. United Kingdom Ghanaian Appropriation of Wesleyan Theology in Mission 1961-2000 Casely B. Essamuah,
[email protected]. Abstract: The historiography on African Christianity has tended to emphasize two facets: the role of western missionaries and the continuing growth of African Independent Churches. In more recent times, the explosive revival of Pentecostalism has attracted attention. What is lacking is an in-depth study of mainline, missions-founded churches, which have integrated the strengths of western missions, African Independency and Pentecostalism. This study uses the post-missionary era of the Methodist Church, Ghana, 1961-2000, to examine how Ghanaian Methodists have appropriated Wesleyan theology in their mission endeavors. Special attention is given to liturgical renewal, especially the use of ebibindwom (sacred lyrics) and the dynamics of ethnicity in missions in Ghana during this period. The Methodist Church, Ghana, began as an indigenous initiative in 1831 with a Fante Bible Class in Cape Coast before Wesleyan missionaries joined them in 1835. Tracing its growth through the ministries of Thomas Birch Freeman, the Nananom Mpow incident, the effect of the William Wade Harris and the Sampson Oppong revivals, this study asserts that the Methodist Church, Ghana had a decisive indigenous beginning. Is the Methodist Church, Ghana, therefore an indigenous church? Would it have been so if the MMS missionaries had not been part of it? What is the role of Ghanaian Methodism in the political evolution of Ghana? What do Ghanaians think of present-day Methodism? These and other questions would be addressed in this paper and thus offer a more comprehensive understanding of African Christianity.