PRESBYTERIANISM IN GHANA FROM 1978 TO 2013: RESPONDING TO
THE EXISTENTIAL NEEDS IN THE KWAHU PRESBYTERY
BY
NYARKO ISAAC ATUOBI
A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology, Kumasi
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award
of
MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
NOVEMBER, 2016 DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the MPHIL and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the
University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.
Nyarko Isaac Atuobi
(20365225/PG1956514) …………………………......
Student Name & ID Signature Date
Certified by:
…………………………….. …………………………. ……………………...
Supervisor’s Name Signature Date
Certified by:
…………………………….. …………………………. ……………………
HOD Signature Date
ii DEDICATIONS
This work is dedicated to all the people of Kwahu whom the church has in one way or the other helped to meet their everyday needs. The work is again dedicated to my late mother, Madam Lydia Abena Antwiwaa and my father, Opanyin Djane Adu Nyarko.
iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincere appreciation first of all goes to God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth. Obviously without his abundant grace and love this work would not have seen the light. To my supervisors, Very Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo and Rev. J. E. T.
Kuwornu-Adjaottor, I am much grateful for all your immense support and generous contribution through the guidance and directions you gave concerning this work. I say
God richly bless and shield you in all your endeavors. To all my lecturers in the
Department I say a big thank you for all you taught me. I also acknowledge the support of all the respondents to the questionnaire and all those who granted me audience for the interviews.
iv ABSTRACT
This thesis examines the various strategies adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery of the
Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) to contextualize the gospel message to meet the spiritual and social needs of people. The study was conducted in four Church Districts using a sample size of 140 respondents, personal interviews with the clergy, church leaders and administrators as well as chiefs and community leaders. Secondary sources in the form of written text were also employed. The simple random and the purposive sampling techniques were employed to select respondents and interviewees respectively.
Since the research was a qualitative one the descriptive survey design was used.
The thesis revealed that Presbyterians in the Kwahu Presbytery perceived the provision of their spiritual and social needs as the main task of the Church. This is because the gospel message entails an enhancement of both the spiritual and physical wellness of people. The presentation of the gospel message was therefore closely connected with the people’s anxiety of familiar oppression, witchcraft and hope for a better future encountered in their way of life. The lively and vital nature of the church’s worship style and prayer pattern empowered them to fulfil their spiritual emptiness rooted in their cultural settings identified during the period 1978-2013. Provisions were made to cater for their health, education, and socio-economic activities. The study showed that there is a direct linkage between the strategies adopted by the church and its numerical growth in addition to human and community development. These were made possible because of the mutual co-operation that exist between the communities and the Kwahu Presbytery.
Emphasizing its liturgy to be Christ-centred but African in nature, participatory and modern was recommended to enable the PCG fulfil its mandate in the study area.
v LIST OF ACCRONYMS
AICs: African Initiated Churches
BEMS: Basel Evangelical Missionary Society
DCE: District Chief Executive
DSS: Development and Social Services
GDP: Gross Domestic Product
GES: Ghana Education Service
ICT: Information Communication Technology
MCE: Municipal Chief Executive
MCG: Methodist Church, Ghana
NGOs: Non-Governmental Organizations
PCG: The Presbyterian Church of Ghana
PREMOS: Presbyterian Model School
PUC: Presbyterian University College
PUCG: Presbyterian University College, Ghana
SHS: Senior High School
USA: United States of America
OSIWA: Open Society for West Africa Initiative
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ...... ii DEDICATIONS ...... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iv ABSTRACT...... v LIST OF ACCRONYMS ...... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... vii LIST OF TABLES ...... x LIST OF FIGURES ...... xi
CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION...... 1 1.0 Background to the Study ...... 1 1.1 Problem Statement ...... 5 1.2 Research Questions ...... 6 1.3 Objectives of the Study ...... 6 1.4 Methodology ...... 7 1.5 Significance of the Study ...... 7 1.6 Limitation of the Study ...... 8 1.7 Literature Review ...... 8 1.8 Organization of the Study ...... 13
CHAPTER TWO THE TRADITIONAL AND CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF MAN AND HIS NEEDS FOR EXISTENCE ...... 15 2.0 Introduction ...... 15 2.1 The Concept of Human Needs ...... 15 2.2 Maslow’s Theory of Human Needs ...... 17 2.2.1 Physiological Needs ...... 18 2.2.2 Social Needs ...... 18 2.2.3 Esteem Needs ...... 19 2.2.4 Self-Actualization ...... 20 2.3 Existential Needs ...... 20
vii 2.4 The Concept of Man ...... 22 2.4.1 The Akan Concept of Man ...... 24 2.4.2 The Akan Man and Existential Needs ...... 27 2.5 The Concept of Man in the Teachings of the Church ...... 28 2.6 Early Basel Mission and Provision of Needs ...... 29 2.7 Conclusion ...... 30
CHAPTER THREE AN OVERVIEW OF THE KWAHU PRESBYTERY ...... 31 3.0 Introduction ...... 31 3.1 Origin of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana ...... 31 3.2 The Kwahu Presbytery ...... 38 3.3 General activities of the Kwahu Presbytery From 1978 – 2013 ...... 40 3.3.1 Social Provisions ...... 41 3.3.2 Spiritual Provisions that Seeks to Contextualize the Gospel Message ...... 50 3.4 Conclusion ...... 54
CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ...... 56 4.0 Introduction ...... 56 4.1 Findings ...... 56 4.1.1 Gender of Respondents ...... 56 4.1.2 Age Distribution of Respondents is presented below ...... 57 4.1.3 Educational Background of Respondents ...... 58 4.1.4 Profession of Respondents ...... 59 4.1.5 Religious Background of Respondents ...... 60 4.1.6 Length of time in the Study Area ...... 61 4.2 Human Needs ...... 62 4.2.1 Needs Respondents consider as Basic for Humans ...... 63 4.3 How Respondents see the Church as a provider of human needs ...... 64 4.3.1 Respondents’ knowledge about the various provisions by the church ...... 65 4.3.2 Contextualization of the Gospel Message by the Church ...... 66 4.3.3 Respondents’ rating of the various provisions by the church ...... 67 4.3.4 Respondents benefiting from the various provisions by the church ...... 69
viii 4.3.5 Respondents knowledge of outstanding human needs in their community ...... 69 4.3.6 Respondents knowledge about the various provisions by the church and development ...... 71 4.4 The Church and Human needs in the study area ...... 72 4.4.1 Identifying the Provisions by the Church ...... 75 4.4.2 The Role of Department of Church Life and Nurture ...... 82 4.4.3 Partnerships ...... 83 4.4.4 Meeting human needs and growth ...... 83 4.4.5 Assessment of the Provisions ...... 84 4.4.6 What the church can do differently? ...... 85 4.5 Conclusion ...... 85
CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 87 5.0 Introduction ...... 87 5.1 Summary of Findings ...... 87 5.2 Recommendations ...... 90 5.3 Conclusion ...... 93
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 97 APPENDIX 1 ...... 102 APPENDIX 2 ...... 108 APPENDIX 3………………………………………………………………………….108
ix LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Gender of Respondents ...... 57
Table 2: Age Distribution of Respondents ...... 58
Table 3: Educational Background of Respondents ...... 59
Table 4: Profession of Respondents ...... 60
Table 5: Religious Background of Respondents ...... 61
Table 6: Length of time in the Study Area ...... 62
Table 7: Rating Human needs...... 63
Table 8: Church in a position to help meet human needs ...... 65
Table 9: Contextualization of the Gospel message by the church ...... 668
Table 10: Respondents rating of the contribution of the Church towards meeting the Spiritual needs of the people in the community ...... 68
Table 11: Respondents rating of the contribution of the Church towards meeting the Social amenities of the people in the community ...... 68
Table 12: Identify one outstanding need in your area yet to be met by the church ...... 70
Table 13: Respondents knowledge about the various provisions by the church and development……………………………………………………………………………..70
x LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Which of the following are the beneficiaries of the Church’s provision of human needs? ...... 69
xi CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background to the Study
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) is the product of efforts made by the Basel
Evangelical Missionary Society (BEMS) who arrived in the Danish trading settlement of
Christiansborg (Gold Coast) in December, 1828.1 In the face of all the challenges, the missionaries were able to propagate the gospel message. Together with some immigrant converts from the West Indies and some indigenous coverts, they spread the message from the coast of Ghana to the lands of the Akuapems, Akyems, Anums, Asantes,
Krobos, Kwahus and as far as the Northern part of the country. The PCG since its establishment by the BEMS and later gaining its autonomy by 1950 has contributed immensely to the social, religious, economic and political development of the country2. In spite of all this, the PCG lacked in presenting the gospel message in a culturally relevant way to the people. This idea is captured by Michael Albert Kwamena-Poh, a Presbyterian
Church historian when he observes as follows:
Indeed, the Presbyterian Church has a rich history. The contribution of the Church to the ongoing social, economic and political development of Ghana has been tremendous. Looking into the future with the vision of its founders, we are fully convinced that an urgent need is to contextualize the church not only in terms of personnel, which had long been achieved, but also in terms of responding to the existential needs of Ghanaians with the Gospel message.3
Kwamena-Poh in this submission acknowledges the immense contribution of the PCG to the development of Ghana. There is no doubt that the PCG as a partner in the development of society has made the provision of health facilities, educational institution and education on national issues a priority. However, he believes that the area of
1 F. L. Bartels, The Roots of Ghana Methodism (Cambridge and Accra: Cambridge University Press and Methodist Book Depot Ltd, 1965), 5. 2 Michael Albert Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement: A Hundred and Fifty Years of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (1828 – 1978) (Accra-Ghana: Waterville Publishing House 2011), 261-273. 3 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 385.
1 integrating the gospel message with the worldview of its members and Ghanaians as a whole was to be re-examined. The demonstration of the gospel message should connect with the cultural context of the people. This he believes will make the Church relevant and significant to society by making available a structure for communication. He further suggested that with the new trends of worship and spirituality, ushered in by the advent of the classical and neo-Pentecostal denominations in Ghana, the PCG has to re-consider the spiritual nurture in the structures of the Church.
Again, one can make a deduction from Kwamena-Poh’s submission that, the PCG has placed itself suitably within the context of the Ghanaian people with the passage of time.
The church has been able to transform itself from being European to Ghanaian. The
Church like the State believed it can govern itself without any interference from outside.
The period 1957 did not only witness the liberation of the State from colonial powers but the Church also. In 1926, the church became autonomous, Ghanaian and adopted its present name.4 The Ghanaian factor became a major player in the development of the church over the years. On the other hand, the church is yet to place itself within the context of the Ghanaian people with the gospel message so as to respond to the existential needs of the people. The PCG like most Ghanaian Churches carry a message “which is at the heart of the Christian faith and practice”.5 This message which has a spiritual, social and cultural dimension should be employed in all aspects by the church so as to contextualize her faith and make it her own. The PCG has been able to accomplish this in terms of human resources. However, by making it her own, the contextualization of the faith should be presented as a divine revelation in response to the needs of the people emanating from their worldview.
4 Hans W. Drunner, A History of Christianity in Ghana (Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 1967), 294. 5 Emmanuel Asante, Theology and Society in Context: A Theologist’s Reflections on Selected Topics (Accra: SonLife Press, 2014), 1.
2 Kwamena-Poh’s observation, among other things, underscores the spiritual hunger of the people that is yet to be satisfied. The encounter between the people, Basel missionaries and the PCG left some desires yet to be fulfilled. These desires have continued to influence the people’s behavior towards the PCG. The primary focus of this research is therefore to find out how the PCG has responded to these desires.
Critically analyzing the remarks put forward by Kwamena-Poh, the researcher realized there is a need for a sequel to his work and therefore the need for this research. Anytime the issue of contextualization – Africanizing the gospel message for it to be appealing and relevant – comes up for discussion, many seem to cast their minds on the “newer
Churches”, relegating the “historic Churches” to the background. Events in recent
Christian history – the unprecedented rise of contemporary Pentecostals and their associates, the African Initiated Churches (AICs) – point to the fact that, these churches have played an important role in this area of contextualizing the gospel.6 However, looking at the growth of the PCG in the Kwahu Presbytery, the PCG like all the mainline churches can also be credited for her role in this matter leading to her survival.
The phrase “existential needs”, as used here, include both physical and spiritual needs.
Physical needs take the form of provision of health care, education, mechanized agriculture and social welfare. However, the focus of the researcher is on the spiritual needs of the people. A notable feature of the existential needs at the spiritual level will be the individual’s longing to be free from the power of darkness – witches and wizards – the quest for spirituality and spiritual renewal and the delight in power. Previous studies
6 J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity: Interpretations from an African Context (Accra-Ghana: Regnum Africa, 2013).
3 of how both the “historic Churches”7and the “new Churches”8 have responded to the existential needs of the ordinary Ghanaian often stressed the latter’s role in this regards.
This has been one of the reasons accounting for the mass exodus of members of the
“historic churches” to these newer ones.9 Not seeking to justify this enterprise, one must note that, it made the “historic Churches” realize their short comings. They, therefore, revisited their mode of operation and develop ways and strategies so as to meet the existential needs of their members.
The PCG has been operating in the Kwahu Presbytery since the nineteenth century and remained the only Church in most communities in the area for a very long time before other Churches began to spread their activities there during the 1950s10. With the introduction of other Christian denominations, especially the AICs and some Neo –
Pentecostals in the 1970s and 1980s, the PCG did not enjoy the monopoly it used to have over Christian religious activities in the Kwahu area. Hence, the issues of survival and relevance were invariably going to be critical in the selection of strategies of contextualizing her message. This served as a response to the existential needs of her people she adopted during the period under consideration. Under the circumstance, the strategies of contextualization adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery had to be selected with the view to remaining viable to its core mandate of converting people to the kingdom of
Christ and also to enable it continue to be relevant to the communities.
7 The historic Churches in Ghana are the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Methodist Church – Ghana, the Evangelical Presbyterian, the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church. 8 The new Churches include the Classical Pentecostals, Neo Pentecostals and the various forms of African Indigenous Churches. 9 Asamoah-Gyadu, Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity 10 Nkansa-Kyeremateng, Kwahu Handbook, (Bepong: Sebewie Publishers, 2000), 84-88.
4 1.1 Statement of Problem
Human beings have needs and the church as a developing partner is supposed to provide some of these needs wherever it is established. These needs vary from place to place and from individual to individual. Down through the ages, humans, society as well as the
Church have indeed made many efforts to provide the various needs. Many answers to puzzling questions about human needs have been found. Yet, humans still yearn for more with each passing day. Some needs are yet to be met.
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana, as a major stakeholder in the provision of human needs has helped and continues to help in this regard. The PCG through the Kwahu
Presbytery continues to serve as a partner in the development of the people in the presbytery. This ranges from health to education, and other social amenities. It has provided potable water, established schools, built clinics and hospitals and helped in the training of human resource. Yet, its contributions towards the existential needs of people in terms of a personal encounter with their God, emancipation from mystic realities and a ground to believe that something good may happen in the future have not been well articulated and fully valued. This became much evident with the entrance of the indigenous Pentecostals to the area. Their coming aroused the realization that certain needs in the lives of the people that needed to be satisfied. The focus of this thesis is to identify the various responses and strategies adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery to tackle this issue.
Kwamena-Poh observed that, the PCG by placing itself within a context has been able to transform and Africanized itself in terms of structure and human resource. However, the
Gospel message has not been placed within a context to meet the existential needs of
5 Ghanaians. The message has not been fully integrated into the daily lives of the people11.
This aroused our curiosity. This work is to analyze the various responses and policies adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery to place the gospel message within the context of providing the needs of the people and also to find the link between these responses and its growth. Less knowledge about the various responses and strategies adopted by the Kwahu
Presbytery in this regard is another problem that this work seeks to reveal. Is there any link between the various responses adopted by the PCG and its growth in the period under review?
1.2 Research Questions
To help the researcher find answers to issues relevant to the study, the following research questions were asked:
1. How has the PCG contextualize the gospel message in response to the existential
needs of the people in the Kwahu Presbytery from 1978 to 2013?
2. Is there any link between the various policies adopted by the PCG and its growth?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
From a theoretical perspetive, this research intended to do the following:
1. Find out the various responses adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery to meet the
existential needs of the people in the light of Kwamena-Poh’s closing remarks in
his work.
2. To evaluate the effects of these responses on human and community development.
11 Casely B. Essamuah, Genuinely Ghanaian: A History of the Methodist Church Ghana, 1961-2000 (Eritea: Africa World Press, Inc., 2010).
6 3. To find out if the various responses adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery to meet the
existential needs of the people have any effect on their spiritual and numerical
growth.
1.4 Methodology
In the course of the research, both the qualitative and quantitative methods of research were used in the process of data collection and analysis. Primary and secondary data were consulted for the work. With primary sources, the researcher employed the interview model which was organized to relevant individuals in the Kwahu Presbytery. In addition to the primary sources, the researcher engaged secondary sources in the form of published materials such as books, articles, church manuals, brochures and journals. The study also employed the descriptive research design in a social survey. The Abetifi,
Nkwatia, Tease and Donkorkrom districts churches from the Kwahu Presbytery was used as a case study. Questionnaires were also administered to certain key people in the
Church and in places selected for the research so as to gain first-hand information.
1.5 Significance of the Study
As a historical study, this thesis is of relevance academically because it would serve as a guide to students of religions and African studies. It will also contribute to knowledge in the area of Church history and Church and development – human and society – from the perspectives of contextualization and spiritual renewal and identity. The functions of the
Presbyterian Church of Ghana can be identified with these two perspectives. Again, the study would help society to appreciate the contribution of the Kwahu Presbytery towards responding to the existential needs of the people of Kwahu. Another issue is that the
7 study would assist religious organizations, particularly Christian Churches, to understand the roles they are expected to play towards responding to the needs of communities.
1.6 Limitation of the Study
The study was limited to Abetifi, Nkwatia, Tease and Donkorkrom districts and congregations from the total number of districts and congregations in the Kwahu
Presbytery. The distance from Kumasi to the towns in the Kwahu Presbytery affected quick completion of this study. The some appointments were not honoured on time due to constraints of distance and the nature of the topography of the towns on the Kwahu
Ridge. Moreover, reaching the right people to interview served as a limitation because most of the information was orally handed down by the older generation and was not documented.
1.7 Literature Review
Many scholars have written extensively on Christianity in Ghana. However, no one has done an in-depth work on PCG in the Kwahu area. Although some scholars may have written on the PCG since it became an autonomous Church and on the Kwahu Presbytery since its creation in 197312, none of such work has looked at the subject matter to be reviewed in this work. The origin, expansion and socio – economic impact of the Church since its establishment seems to be the focal point of most literature on the PCG. Yet, the subject matter to be looked at in this work has some made major contributions in the development of individuals and the nation as a whole.
12Nkansa-kyeremateng, Kwahu Handbook , 88. The Kwahu Presbytery which was then part of the Akyem-Kwawu Presbytery was recognized as a mature presbytery and given its autonomy on May 8, 1973 at Nkwatia. Before then, Nkwatia was concerned the seat of a powerful priest on the Kwahu mountains called Atia Yaw.
8 Noel Smith has written exclusively and exhaustively on the PCG13. He traces the history of the Church to the early beginnings of the Basel missionary ventures in the then Gold
Coast. Giving ample credit to such pioneer missionaries like the first batch in the persons of K. F. Salbach, J. G. Schmidt, G. Holzwarth and J. P Henke.14 The second batch was in the persons of Revs. P. P. Jager, Andreas Riis and C. F Heinze15 and Rev. Fritz Ramseyer together with their indigenous colleagues: William Oforiba, Paul Mohenu, and
Theophilus Opoku to mention just a few. Smith explores how these gallant men worked for the course of the gospel message in the various areas they found themselves. Writing on Rev. Fritz Ramseyer, he traces his capture by the Asante army at Anum and recounts the journey from Anum to Asante. At Abetifi, Rev. Fritz Ramseyer according to Smith was given some freedom. It is from here that he started his missionary work in the Kwahu region and established the first congregation in the now Kwahu Presbytery. Smith’s work will be of much help to the scholar in tracing the early days of the PCG and also the work of Rev. Fritz Ramseyer in the Kwahu Presbytery.
The work of Albert Kwamena-Poh built on the work of Smith, bringing the history of the
Church up to the time the Presbyterian Church of Ghana was developing as a self- governing Church.16 Kwamena-Poh’s approach is somehow different from that of Smith.
Kwamena-Poh himself wrote in his preface, “This account therefore differs in its approach from a similar work on the subject, Noel Smith’s The Presbyterian Church of
13 C. B. Essamuah, Genuinely Ghanaian: A History of the Methodist Church Ghana, 1961-2000, (Eritea: Africa World Press, Inc., 2010). 14 J. K. Agbeti, West African Church History, (Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1986), 63. 15 Ibid. 16 C. B. Essamuah, Genuinely Ghanaian.
9 Ghana 1835 to 1960. A Younger Church in a Changing Society which was largely from the point of view of a social anthropologist.”17
Kwamena-Poh traces the history of the Church during the pre-independence, independence and the post-independence eras of Ghana. In the post-independence era of the Church, he examines the role of the PCG and the African culture. He brings to bear the various methods adopted by the Church. For him, the PCG “has become fully aware of the fact that she should concern herself not only with the theological basis of her existence but also with understanding the traditional systems in the society in which she works.”18 Writing as a Ghanaian and as a Church historian, he gives a full account of the history of the PCG as a mainline Church. The various activities of the PCG are also captured in his work. Kwamena-Poh’s work highlights the growth and expansion of the
PCG into various areas in Ghana of which the research area forms part. He also touches on many activities which helped in the development in the PCG. Again, Kwamena-Poh seemed to have done a great work on Rev Firtz Ramseyer from which the researcher would make several references in the discussion.
Kwamena-Poh’s approach is advantageous, especially since it gives an account of the operations and developments of the PCG in independent Ghana. Concluding his research,
Kwamena-Poh highlights the operation of the PCG in an African culture. Nonetheless he was silent on the contextualization of the gospel message by the missionaries and PCG.
He was therefore right when he pointed out the need for the PCG to become accustomed to the cultures and communities with the gospel message. It is by giving the gospel
17 M. A. Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement: A Hundred and Fifty Years of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (1828 – 1978), (Accra-Ghana: Waterville Publishing House, 2011). 18 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 376.
10 message an identity and adaptability within the expression of the people that the PCG can grow. This work will attempt to examine this aspect of PCG.
Whereas Smith and Kwamena-Poh tried to give us the history of PCG in a broader manner, Agbeti traces it in a narrowed manner. Agbeti in his work gives a narration of how the Basel Missionary Society started their mission work in the then Gold Coast, presently Ghana, under the Danes. He traces their coming to the report made by the then
Governor of the Gold Coast, Major de Richelieu to Mr. Ronne, the representative of the
Basel Mission in Denmark, for a priest to fill the Chaplain’s post which had been vacant for 15 years. The Basel mission’s evangelism work into the Akwapim range, Akyem,
Kwahu, Anum, Ga-Adangbe, and the Krobo lands after their initial failures is also made clear by him. Agbeti states that in the face of all the difficulties, by 1914 in the Kwahu district there were twenty one congregations with a total of 2, 582 members.19 On
Ramseyer however, Agbeti only made mention of his arrest by the Asante warriors who captured him at Anum in 1869 and was taken to Kumasi. Though Agbeti made mention of the growth in membership in Kwahu district, he did not give much details about the
Kwahu district nor did he state what accounted for this growth. This work will therefore examine this aspect of his work.
In writing on the culture and religion of the people of Kwahu, Nkansa-Kyeremateng shares the view of Kwamena-Poh on the need to make Christianity and the gospel message our own so as to meet the existential needs of our people. For him, the permeation of the gospel, in many African situations, therefore, was shallow which has created a lot of problems like that of norminalism and denominationalism for the Church
19 J. Kofi Agbeti, West African Church History, 63.
11 in Africa and Ghana for that matter20. Therefore, the “Sankofa approach”21, does going back to the culture of the people, was adopted by the many Orthodox churches. The PCG like its sister Churches – Methodist Church, Ghana, Roman Catholic Church, Ghana, and the Anglican Church, Ghana – adopted this approach so as to survive the many challenges they were witnessing especially from the AICs. Nkansa-Kyeremateng however, fails to show what the role of this approach will have on contextualizing the gospel message as a means of responding to the existential needs of the people. It is this that, this work will seek to find out.
Mbiti writing on the Bible and theology in African Christianity, shares the views of
Nkansa-Kyeremateng. Unlike these two whose arguments may be on crutches, he gives his a broader perspective. For him, Christianity with the gospel message as its potent tool is “searching for ways to become truly indigenous Christianity, to integrate itself into the total life of African peoples, to speak their languages, to sing their tunes, to share their tears, to cling to their hopes….”22 This point by Mbiti makes known to a larger extent the importance of Christianity in the everyday lives of the people. It makes clear its contributions to their lives and community. Like African religion, Christianity is seen to permeate all aspects of the Christian life including their physical and spiritual needs.
Mbiti’s work can therefore be seen as very important especially in understanding the role of the church in helping people meet their needs.
20 Nkansa-kyeremateng, Kwahu Handbook, (Bepong: Sebewie Publishers, 2000), 78. 21 Nkansa-kyeremateng, Kwahu Handbook, 78 22 John S. Mbiti, Bible and Theology in African Christianity, (Nairobi: Oxford University Press, 1986), 15.
12 Boafo writing on the renewal of Ghanaian Methodism emphasizes the need for the church to reposition itself for its mission.23 He points out that we cannot separate the Missio Dei from social welfare. Understanding the true Gospel ministry requires setting it within a wider structure of development of the spiritual and physical well-being of people. Boafo’s work identifies a link between Christian camp meetings and economic as well as spiritual benefits for people. He explains that aside the preaching of the Gospel message, the church should consider the social needs of the people in areas like education, potable water, health and others. This he argues can help the church contribute its quota in helping achieve Ghana’s Millennium Development Goals. Like Boafo’s work, the study at hand will investigate the linkage between the Missio Dei and social welfare and how it has helped the church come out with ways to meet the spiritual and social needs of the people in the study area.
1.8 Organization of the Study
The study will be organized into five chapters. Chapter one will be the introductory part and will consist of elements such as the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objective (s) of the study, significance of the study, research questions, methodology, limitation to the study, and literature review. Chapter two will look at the needs of people and development. In Chapter three, the historical background of the PCG and that of the Kwahu Presbytery will be considered. Chapter four will focus on data presentation, interpretation, analysis and discussion. Chapter five will form the concluding part of the study where the research findings will be
23 Paul Kwabena Boafo, “Wesleyan Camp Meeting History and the Revitalization of Ghanaian Methodism,” in Communities of Faith in Africa and the African Diaspora, ed. Essamuah, Casely B. and Ngaruiya D. K. (Eugene Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2013), 16-18.
13 summarized, issues emerging from the study will be looked into and recommendations offered for implementation.
14 CHAPTER TWO
THE TRADITIONAL AND CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF MAN AND HIS NEEDS
FOR EXISTENCE
2.0 Introduction
In the first chapter we discussed the general introduction to the topic. We discussed the statement of problem, the aims and objectives, the methodology, literature review, significance and the organization of the study. The focus of this chapter is to discuss human needs as a concept.
2.1 The Concept of Human Needs
As noted by the Collins Dictionary of Sociology, a need is the basic requirement necessary to sustain human life24. The Collins Dictionary of Social Work defines it as the necessary requirements for maintaining life at a certain standard25. It means that a need, as a human reality is elementary to the continued existence of every living being. Man cannot survive without satisfying the basic needs essential to their life. This basic requirement can therefore be seen or unseen, concrete or abstract and physical or spiritual. In their work, R. A. Coate and J. A. Rosati, observe as:
Any requirement for a person’s survival, health, or basic liberties; basically … to the extent that if they are inadequately met, mental or physical health is impaired. Thus, ‘need’ refers to necessities for not only biological survival but also for the health and development (physical and mental growth) of persons as human beings.26
24 D. Jary and J. Jary, Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. (Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991), 407. 25 J. Pierson and T. Martin, Collins Dictionary Social Work (Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995), 304. 26 R. A. Coate and J. A. Rosati, The Power of Human Needs in World Society (London: Lynne Rienner, 1988), 3.
15 Due to the basic nature of needs to the survival of man as homo sapiens, it has acquired an insatiable or unstable nature. The writer sees Abraham Maslow’s comment on need to be succinct:
Man is a wanting animal and rarely reaches a state of complete satisfaction except for a short time. As one desire is satisfied, another pops up to take its place. When this is satisfied, still another comes into the foreground etc. It is a characteristic of the human being throughout his whole life that he is practically always desiring something.27
The viewpoints of the above scholars, although explained in different ways, talk about the same themes. A careful analysis of the various definitions of need will bring out the following:
(1) Needs are fully integrated to the basic survival of humans;
(2) Needs are in some form of order (hierarchies); and
(3) Needs are adjusted and accepted thereby making it unstable and insatiable.
Together, these viewpoints suggest that needs have many different components – biological, mental, religious and others and when fully satisfied leads to the development of the human being. The various views also imply what needs do. Thus, it motivates man to come up with various strategies to meet them. Implicitly or explicitly, the purpose of need is to more effectively utilize human resources vis-a-vis the wholistic survival of man. That is to say, man has always tried to find ways to satisfy their needs.
In summary, human needs are the various requirements essential to sustain life. These are the things that define the very life of man. Man ceases to live as in the absence of these needs. It includes food, water, health care, shelter, sense of belonging, and much more.
Human needs have a complex and insatiable nature that concerns all the various structures of the society.
27 Abraham H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 2nd Ed. (New York: Harper and Rowe, 1970), 20.
16 2.2 Maslow’s Theory of Human Needs
Abraham H. Maslow, a psychologist and humanistic theorist in his work, Motivation and
Personality, proposed a theory of human motivation which emphasized a concept of human needs.28 He came out with a hierarchy of needs as a theory to make clear the active nature of humans. Maslow’s theory is still valid today because, it helps us to understand the link between human needs and their personal growth. Thus, from his theory we realize the importance of satisfying human needs. The satisfaction of these needs, especially the basic ones, is crucial for the continued survival of human beings.
For him these needs must be satisfied in a given order. For instance, a person can’t think of protection when such a person is hungry. In the same vein it will be unthinkable for a person to think of safety when they have no shelter.
Abraham Maslow in his hierarchy of needs, divided human needs into lower needs which includes physiological, safety, love and belonging and higher needs comprising self - esteem and self - actualization. He was of the view that, human beings have certain basic needs that must be satisfied before they can go on to fulfill other needs. For Maslow the fulfillment of lower needs like safety, physiological needs and some higher needs like self-esteem helps some individuals to advance to self-actualization needs.29 Maslow in this study concluded that, for one to progress and attain one’s true potential, one must satisfy one’s basic need. Mark Oleson inspired by Maslow’s study, was of the view that,
“Once physiological needs are met, the safety, or security needs (freedom from physical and psychological harm) become predominant. The need to be free of danger can have the same pervasive quality as the physiological needs.”30 Using children as a survey study,
28 Abraham. H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 2nd Ed. (New York: Harper and Rowe, 1970). 29 Emmanuel Asante, A Brief Introduction to Psychology of Religion (Accra: Pinpiont Media, 2012) 22. 30 M. Oleson, Exploring the Relationship between Money attitudes and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, International Journal of Consumer Studies 28, 1: 2004, 83-92.
17 he concluded that the feeling of fear moves one to find comfort in a source greater than one and the object of fear. We wish to consider in details Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in what follows.
2.2.1 Physiological Needs
According to Maslow, physiological needs are those necessary to sustain human life, such as: air, water, food, sleep and shelter. He sees them as basic to the survival of every individual. They are the most influential and effective human need for survival. Due to this, they tend to dominate human life when they are neglected and not met.31 To help us understand, Maslow noted in one of his unpublished work that, “To urinate or defecate at the right time can be a great satisfaction, in the sense of culmination, total discharge, and finishing”.32 Here we see that, excretion is a physiological need that needs to be satisfied.
He was therefore of the view that, when such a need is not satisfied, one will be motivated to search for a means to satisfy it. What we need to understand here is that, it is not a part of an individual that seeks to satisfy a need but rather the whole person.33 This points to the fact that human needs cannot be separated from their personhood. A satisfaction of a human need is therefore a satisfaction of their personhood.
2.2.2 Social Needs
Maslow believes that, once humans have been able to meet the lower needs – physiological and safety needs – they start thinking about the higher needs. The first of the higher needs is the social needs. These needs are described in terms of human relationship with others, the need to belong to a group or family and the need to be
31 A. R. Reid-Cunningham, Maslow’s Theory of Motivation and Hierarchy of Human Needs: A critical Analysis (PhD Thesis, University of California-Berkeley, USA, 2008) 16. 32 E. Hoffman, ed., Future visions: The unpublished papers of Abraham Maslow (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996). 41. 33 Reid-Cunningham, Maslow’s Theory of Motivation and Hierarchy of Human Needs, 16.
18 connected to people. Interaction with the “other” becomes the driving force behind this need. These needs include the need for family, friends, love, intimacy and belonging.
Social needs also play a part in the survival of man. The search for meaning and to connect to another outside an individual is key if man is to survive. This is captured rightly by Mbiti when he noted that “I am because We are and, since we are I am”.34 K.
A. Opoku expresses his view on this issue when he wrote that, “true humanity is a relationship with others, and that this relationship exists not only among the living but also among the dead.”35 Mbiti’s and Opoku’s points buttress Maslow’s idea that, the other cannot be ignored if man wants to survive. This is evidently clear in modern man’s life. Today, most of us want to be affiliated to something bigger than ourselves – a church, a family, a club, a school, an association and other human groups. We, therefore, strive to place ourselves within a group so as to be loved and to love and also have a sense of belonging. A person can be affected greatly when such has no love or belonging.
2.2.3 Esteem Needs
These needs arise as primary causes to human motivation and the survival of human life when the physiological, safety and social needs have all been met. These needs relate to the individual self. The individual person begins to think of themselves highly than the other once they have been able to achieve their “lower” needs and social needs. Esteem needs are either internal or external. Self-respect and individual success are some examples of internal self- esteem needs. Examples of external self-esteem needs are those relating to social status and recognition. Some self-esteem needs are as follows: self- respect, recognition, attention, achievement and status.
34John S. Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy (Heinemann, 1969) 2. 35 Kofi Asare Opoku, West African Traditional Religion (Nigeria: Kuccena Damian, 1978) 91.
19 An individual who has been able to satisfy their esteem needs becomes self-confident, strong and contribute largely to the productivity of human society. On the other hand, those who struggle to attain this need falls into frustration and discouragement. Later in his life, Maslow refined his theory to capture the need for knowledge and aesthetics as something between self-esteem and self-actualization.
2.2.4 Self-Actualization
When a person has fulfilled their physiological needs, safety needs, social needs and esteem needs, they aspire to satisfy their self-actualization needs. The self-actualization needs therefore become the primary cause of human motivation. This need in the view of
Maslow is at the peak of his “hierarchy of needs”. Self-actualization is the mission of reaching a person’s full potential as a person. When one strives for this need one is striving for their self-actualization. According to Maslow, only a few people achieve their self-actualization needs. However, later in his studies, Maslow explained that the self- actualization needs are never satisfied. This is because there are always new areas to be satisfied by humans as they grow. The following are some of the needs of Self-actualized people: problem-centered, wisdom, creativity, justice, taking responsibility, strong moral/ethical standards, truth and meaning.
2.3 Existential Needs
Existential needs falls under the broad phenomenon of human needs. They are needs that give life to man. Food, water, shelter, clothes, security, love and a sense of belonging are some examples of existential needs. Human life as stated above are define by these needs.
To exist as being in their world, man must meet these needs. There are two types of existential needs – physical and spiritual. This is because man is not only a physical being
20 who lives in a society but spiritual as well. Physical needs are simply the basic needs that man as a physiological being needs for his survival – food, water, shelter and others.
Spiritual needs on the other hand are concerned with the needs of man as a spiritual being to be able to survive as well. This may include security against hostile forces, spiritual renewal and the joy in having spiritual power. Spiritual needs are a complex and delicate issue for human existence. It is part of the problem of religiosity and especially so in
Africa, where religion permeates every aspect of an individual’s life36.
Existential needs in this sense can therefore be understood as a system – they are interrelated and shared. As compared to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs37, there is no hierarchy of needs in this system. For instance, the religious man recognizes the connection between security and having power. The religious person is a member of
“wanting creatures; always possessing some type of unfulfilled need”38, but they do not arrange their existential needs into lower or higher levels. The fulfillment of one does not mean advancement to the other but rather a fulfillment of all. They therefore view them as the final purpose of their needs as a spirit being – religious person. This explains why most religious people are delighted to have power over the root causes of their insecurities. These insecurities range from physical happenings to spiritual happenings.
Diseases and illness, poverty, loss of job, troubled marriages and other forms of destruction by their enemies are all examples of some of the insecurity faced by the religious person. Man is a composition of both physical and spiritual elements. These elements interact and affect each other. So the insecurity faced by man affects both composites of man.
36 Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy, p. 1 37 Abraham H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc, 1954), 35-38. 38 Oleson, Exploring the Relationship between Money attitudes and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, 83-92.
21 2.4 The Concept of Man
What is man? In the generic sense man is both male and female. In other words man is a person regardless of sex. The view of Ghanaians as well as most Africans of man is that, man is made up of material and immaterial matter39. This means that man is a dual being.
The material aspect of man refers to the physical make-up of man. Man, therefore, as a physical being has a body that can be felt or seen. On the other hand, the immaterial aspect of man refers to the spiritual make up. This aspect of man cannot be seen because of its abstractness. The spiritual or immaterial aspect of man is believed to live on even when the physical body perishes. The material and immaterial make up of man is understood in different ways by different Ghanaian ethnic groups. However, the personality attributed to man is everywhere almost identical.
Most Ghanaians acknowledge the fact that there is no sharp dichotomy between the physical and spiritual aspect of man. This knowledge is primary to all Ghanaians. Due to the interactions that go on between the two components of man, a negative impact on one affects the other and vice versa. This, in the view of Opoku, explains why when a person becomes sick, the Ghanaian considers both the physical and spiritual causes40. Solution to the sickness will therefore consider these two causes. The survival of such a person depends on meeting such a need which may be physical or spiritual. It is of prime importance for us to note that, the Ghanaian’s basic understanding of man shapes his understanding of the needs of man. The needs can be both physical and spiritual. By this understanding, Ghanaians are able to adopt strategies and responses in meeting the various needs of man.
39 Opoku, West African Traditional Religion, 91. 40 Opoku, West African Traditional Religion, 91.
22 Man is a created being and therefore has a creator. For Ghanaians, man is not self-existent but came into existence through the will of the creator. This view of the creation of man is different from the evolutionary theory propounded by Darwin. Whereas for evolutionary theorist, man evolve through a process of animal to man, the Ghanaian traditional view is that, man was created separately from other animals. Man in this sense is seen as depending on the creator for their survival. This is because man is not self- sufficient and must therefore seek their needs as humans from the creator.
The concept of interaction is also basic to the Ghanaian understanding of man. Man lives in an environment which plays a significant role in their survival. Man’s environment is made up of other humans, spirit beings, water bodies, vegetation, air and the various structures of human society like the church, school, health care facilities and many others.
Man must, therefore, identify and connect well with their environment if they are to survive. For Opoku, man’s connection with their environment should consider that of the dead also because of their perceived influence.41 Opoku’s view like that of Mbiti emphasizes the idea that, man cannot survive alone. Man cannot meet his needs necessary for their survival alone. To survive therefore means the identification and connection with the environment of which the church is part. The church must therefore assist man in their survival by meeting some of the needs necessary for the survival of man.
For us to get an enhanced understanding of the concept of man, we shall seek to study the
Akan idea of man. The Akan ethnic is chosen because the study area is predominantly
Akan speaking people – Kwahu People.
41 Opoku, West African Traditional Religion, 91.
23 2.4.1 The Akan Concept of Man
The Akan concept of man is the understanding of an Akan type of man. The true man is not made up of two kinds, but three or four kinds. They can be known under three components. Each component has a name which must be understood. An understanding of these names will help in meeting his needs necessary for his survival. By discovering and understanding various the names of each component, we tend to discover the Akan concept of man.
There are two schools of thought concerning the Akan concept of man. The first school of thought represented by the work of K. A. Opoku describes man as having four components. For him, “The traditional Akan thought on man is that he is made up of
Ↄkra, sunsum, ntoro and mogya.”42 The other school of thought represented by the work of J.A Awolalu and P. A. Dopamu describes man as a triad being. For them the Akan describes man as having “the esu, the okara or kra, and the Sunsun.”43 Though both schools of thought are varied in their understanding of the concept of man, they both noted that, man is more than a dual being. They do not only have a physical body (Esu or ntoro and mogya) and a spirit (sunsum) but also possess a soul (okara, kra or Ↄkra). This means that, in Akan philosophy man is consider either a triad being or a being with four components. According to Awolalu and Dopamu, the esu is the part of man that represents its physical body. It is the part of man that carries the other two components.
Man is not a being without the esu. It is through the body that man reacts with their environment.
42 Opoku, West African Traditional Religion, 94. 43 J. O. Awolalu and P. A. Dopamu, West African Traditional Religion (Nigeria: Onibonoje Press & Book Industries Ltd., 1979) 168.
24 Okara, Kra, Ↄkra or soul in the view of the authors mentioned above first of all comes from the Creator. The creator is the one who provides the soul – undying part – of man.
Therefore, when a person dies, their soul goes back to the creator. The physical body described by Awolalu and Dopamu as the “temple”44 is the carrier of the soul. And this perishes upon the death of a person. Again, they underscore the fact that, the soul is the custodian of the destiny of man. The soul brings about protection, guidance, good things and bad things depending on one’s relationship with it. There also exist an interaction between the soul of a person and the physical body. So a person who has a good relationship with his/her soul will receive good tidings and vice versa. However, Opoku notes that, the soul of man is different from that of an animal. In his view, this is evident in the way we refer to the number of humans or animals. Two animals like fowls will be referred to as nkokↄ abien (two fowls) but two people will be referred to as nnipa baanu
(two human beings) instead of nnipa abien45. Again still, Opoku notes that, the soul of every man has a kradin46. This signifies the day on which a person is born.
The other component of man they talked about is the sunsum or sunsun – spirit of man.
The Akan believe that the sunsum is the part of man that develops as a result of their interaction with the environment. The sunsum is attributed with the personhood or personality of man. It has also has an immaterial nature like the soul. The writers mentioned above were of the view that, man’s personality in terms of their nature, morality and intellect is found in this aspect of man. They state categorically that God is the source of the sunsum of man like the Ↄkra. Man’s sunsum is also considered to be unstable and defenseless. Its unstableness is as a result of its movement especially at
44 Awolalu and Dopamu, West African Traditional Religion, 169. 45 Opoku, West African Traditional Religion, 95. 46 Opoku, West African Traditional Religion, 95.
25 night. As a result of this, the sunsum which is weak is always open to attacks by some malevolent spirits especially witchcraft. The sunsum like the Ↄkra also interacts with the esu. If something bad happens to the sunsum, it is reflected in the esu of the individual.
Opoku noted that, “The Akan recognizes the sunsum as the spiritual cause of ill-health, quite apart from the physiological causes which they also recognize; hence the closeness between religion and the practice of medicine.”47 If this is true then, religion through the church has a role to play when it comes to meeting the therapeutic needs of its members.
The church cannot lose sight of the fact that, man has a need in terms of their physical and spiritual make up. The need of a sick person for instance, should therefore be responded to both physically and spiritually. Again, Opoku observes that, the family also has a sunsum. The family is expected to guard the sunsum because of its importance.
The next part of man Opoku talks about is the ntoro. This is what an Akan man gets from his father. It is something passed on genetically from one person to another. This is in contrast to the Ↄkra and sunsum, which come from God and is not inherited. However, one does not belong to an ntoro but one belongs to one’s Abusua – Familiy.
Lastly, the Akans according to Opoku believe mogya – blood is the fourth aspect of man.
The blood represents the family of an individual person. Like the ntoro, it is inherited biologically but from the mother. “The mogya received from the mother gives a child his status and membership within the family and clan. At the same time, it spells out his obligations as a citizen in a matrilineal society such as the Akan.”48 All of this means that man is part of a whole and plays a role in the society. Therefore, their wellbeing is of prime importance to family as well as the society of which the church is part.
47 Opoku, West African Traditional Religion, 95. 48 Opoku, West African Traditional Religion, 95.
26 The Akan concept of man whether as a triad being or a being with four components underscore the basic idea that man has one personality. The wellbeing of man is as a result of the good relationship that exists among various compositions of their personality. Here, we see that in the Akan concept of man, a lack of a need in one affects the other parts and vice versa. So for man to be considered as a total wellbeing, the various parts should be taken into consideration. Their various needs must be met to promote his wellbeing.
2.4.2 The Akan Man and Existential Needs
The interplay of human needs and survival of man influences the ways by which man has responded to their existential needs. To survive as a physiological as well as a spiritual being with a soul, man must satisfy their material and immaterial needs. Therefore, the need to feel protected from evil influences and enjoy abundant life is their foremost priority and not their self-esteem or self-actualization. A balance between the two, where man realizes their material aspect is shaped by their immaterial aspect and vice versa is necessary for survival. Thus, the material aspect of man cannot survive outside the framework of the immaterial and the immaterial too cannot also survive without the material aspect of man. The Akan man’s understanding of this, stems from the fact, there is no clear cut distinction between the physical component and spiritual component.
The importance of existential needs stems from the belief that the uncertainty of the future, lack of power to deal with mystical casualty and no personal connection with the supernatural impedes their survival. Both physiological and spiritual needs are important in the wellbeing of an individual. Man will therefore always find ways to respond to the
27 needs necessary for their survival. Therefore, in Akan concept of man, it is obligatory for man to cater for the basic needs of their make-up if they are to survive.
In Mbiti’s view religion plays a central part in the life of man. This is because religion is seen as something that infuses human life.49 Religion in this sense is seen as necessary for the survival of man. If one agrees with this view then, religion through the church meets the needs of man necessary for their survival. The Church therefore has a perspective on the existential needs of man.
2.5 The Concept of Man in the Teachings of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana teaches that, man has a body, a soul and a spirit.50 The body refers to the material element of man. The soul and spirit refers to their immaterial element. The PCG from the teachings of Calvin believes that, the soul is situated in the immaterial inner man which is the carrier of the image of God.51 Traces of this image of
God can also be found in other aspects of man as well – the body and spirit. This points to the fact that man in the teachings of the Church is not self-sufficient. Again, the Church teaches that there exists a relationship between the material and immaterial elements of man. The wellbeing of one is the wellbeing of the other and vice versa. This explains why for the Church, a wholistic being is one who is well in body, soul and spirit. The needs necessary for the existence of these elements of man should therefore be taken seriously.
Man needs to have his physical and spiritual necessities met to promote his existence.
49 Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy, 2. 50 The Church is somehow silent on the ntoro and mogya as elements that form part of man. Their existence is not disputed by the Church. 51 A. A. Hoekema, Created in God’s Image (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 42-48.
28 2.6 Early Basel Mission and Provision of Needs
The Church since its inception saw the need to meet the existential needs of people.
Meeting the needs of the ordinary man was part of the driving force in the propagation of the gospel. The message of hope can only be received well when the basic needs necessary for the survival of man has been met. The Basel missionaries who brought the gospel to Ghana took cognizance of this fact. To make great impact in the land they saw the need to meet their own physical and spiritual needs. Therefore, in the early part of their missionary adventures, health care became a priority if they were to make any progress in their missionary work. Provision of health care was, therefore, of necessity to the survival of the missionaries. This explains why the second group when sent had a medical doctor in the person of C. F. Heinze. Though he died within four months upon his arrival, his main aim was to meet the health needs of the missionaries and their converts.52 Again, the agreement between the Basel Mission and those from the Jamaican
Presbytery also underscored the Church’s willingness to meet the needs of personnel.
Agbeti was therefore apt when he captures the thoughts of C. P. Groves on this matter. He notes:
The Mission would be responsible for the emigrants’ support on the Gold Coast for the first two years. Land and houses would be assigned to them on arrival, and free time allowed for cultivation. After two years their time would be their own save that the Mission would expect their services to be available when required at reasonable recompense. At the end of five years the society would defray their return passage to Jamaica provided their moral record had been satisfactory.53
The provision of land, houses and free time to cultivate means that, the Church took measures to meet the basic needs – food and shelter - necessary for their survival. Man must work to provide food on the table of the missionaries. The missionaries can only be
52 John K. Agbeti, West African Church History (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1986), 63. 53 C. P. Groves, “The Planting of Christianity in Africa,” (London.) Vol. I: 123, quoted in John K. Agbeti, West African Church History, p. 64.
29 effective in their mission fields when they have food to eat and a place to rest. This idea runs through all the various sectors tackled by the missionaries – legitimate trading, agriculture, education, health and missions.
The Church understands that, man has a heart, a hand and a mind. Together, they give man a wholistic nature. The basic needs necessary for the survival of man must therefore be met if the Church wants to save a wholistic person. This alone teaches us about the
Church’s concept of man and responding to his existential needs.
2.7 Conclusion
We started this chapter on the concept of man and their need for existence by establishing the fact that humans have needs. Maslow in his theory of human needs proposed that, these are in a hierarchy of “lower” and “higher” needs. In the “lower” needs which must be fulfilled before one can attain their “higher” needs is the idea of the existential needs.
These needs are in the form of physiological as well as safety from man’s precarious environment. Again, these needs fall within the material and immaterial composition of man. Man traditionally, is made of composition which forms the one personality of man.
The Church’s teaching on man is not quite different from that of the Akan conception of man. Together, the two are of the view that, man’s needs must be met at both the physical and spiritual level. This is what defines the life of man. Man becomes a wholistic being when both physical and spiritual needs are met.
30 CHAPTER THREE
AN OVERVIEW OF THE KWAHU PRESBYTERY
3.0 Introduction
The previous chapter discussed the needs of humans for development. In this chapter, we will highlight the origin of the missionary enterprise into the Kwahu Area. This is to help us reflect on the historical development and significance of the PCG in the area and period under review.
3.1 Origin of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana
In 1824, when Major J. C. de Richlieu, the new Danish Governor, arrived on the shores of the then Gold Coast, he made two observations about the Danish territory. The chaplain’s position was without an occupant for fifteen years. Secondly, he witnessed the immoral acts and decline in the religious life of the people living in the colony.54 As
Governor in 1825, Major de Richlieu reorganized and led revival in public services. He set up a school to give secular education as a way of training the pupils. This act resulted in the baptism of about 150 pupils in the school after some exhibition of good morality.55
The outcome of this enterprise was that the people became overwhelmed and they yearned for more. When Major de Richlieu was proceeding on leave in 1826 to Denmark,
‘the Christiansborg people said to him: “Father, bring us back a teacher”’.56 This request for a minister to take charge of their spiritual welfare led to the introduction of the Basel
Missionary Society to Ghana in 1828.
54 John K. Agbeti, West African Church History: Christian Missions and Church Foundations:1482-1919 (Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1986), 62. 55 Agbeti, West African Church History, 62. 56 Hans W. Debrunner, A History of Christianity in Ghana (Accra, Waterville Publishing House, 1967), 93.
31 The request made Major de Richlieu to approach one Mr. Ronne upon his return to
Denmark. Mr. Ronne, the representative of the Basel Mission and a court chaplain, presented the request and story of the people in the Gold Coast to the Basel Committee through the Prince and Frederick VI, King of Denmark.57 A number of reasons have been given for the quick acceptance of this request. Firstly, Mr. Ronne was of the view that the
Basel Mission will support the venture if it had the official permission of the king.
Secondly, the King of Denmark believed the opening of a new mission field coincided with the honoring of Herald, the first Danish Christian King. The following, Revds. Karl
Ferdinard Salbach, Johann Gottlieb Schmidt, Gottlieb Holzwarth and Johann Philip
Henke were therefore appointed. After some studying of the Danish language in
Copenhagen, the four were sent to the Gold Coast as an answer to the request.
They arrived safely on the shores of Christiansborg in December, 1828. This period is seen as the beginning of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana by Noel Smith.58 Though enthused, their trip was full of doubts, anxieties and seasickness. On arrival they were well received by the Danish Governor, Henrik Gerhard Lind who offered them his assistance.59 Immediately they arrived they plunged into full work. Hencke preached the first sermon to the small number of Christians “on December 25, 1828 in the chapel.60
The congregation comprised of the Governor, mulattoes and Africans. Kwamena-Poh narrates their momentous work as follows:
Though Hencke and Holzwarth took charge of the mulatto school and were assisted by the mulatto teachers; they planned a school of their own where they would teach in Ga. To this end Salbach engaged himself in learning the Ga language and tried to translate some verses of the New Testament into Ga.61
57 Debrunner, A History of Christianity in Ghana, 93. 58 Noel Smith, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 1835-1960: A Younger church in a Changing Society (Accra: Ghana University Press, 1966), 19. 59 Michael Albert Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement: A Hundred and Fifty Years of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 1828 – 1978 (Accra-Ghana: Waterville Publishing House 2011), 36. 60 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 37. 61 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 37.
32 Thus, Christiansborg became the first mission field of the BMS in the coastal part of the
Gold Coast. The anxiety of the missionaries as well as the home committee was confirmed shortly after they had started work. They experienced a high rate of mortality.
By August 1829 three of the missionaries, K. F. Salbach, J. G. Schmidt, G. Holzwarth had died leaving J. P. Hencke. Left alone he was engulfed by the worsening case of the religious and immoral lifestyle of some of the local people along the coast. That of the
Europeans was no different. In spite of all this Hencke was not discouraged and continued the work of a chaplain and schoolmaster. Unfortunately, on 22 November 1831, Hencke also died as a lonely man.62 There was not much to show for the work done. Thus, “what waste, though, this preparation must have seemed when all the four missionaries died within three years”63 without converting a single soul. The issue of continuity in the mission work was of prominent importance to Hencke that before he died he had written to the Home committee about the latest developments on the mission field.64
The Home Committee was not daunted by the death of the missionaries. Staying positive about the venture, they sent another batch of three missionaries. They were Revds.
Christian Frederick Heinze, who was a medical doctor from Saxony, Andres Riis and
Peter Pedersen Jager, both Danish from Sleswig. After three months journey, they arrived safely at Osu through Cape Coast on March 13, 1832. Upon their arrival they were deeply affected and demoralized by Heinke’s death.65 The fate of these was no different from their predecessors. Heinze and Jager suffered extremely from a severe fever and appeared not to have recovered in time to attune to their new environment. Unfortunately, Heinze the medical doctor died on April 26 after he and Jager had been attacked by a fever while
62 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 33-38. 63 F. L. Bartels, The Roots of Ghana Methodism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965). 64 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 38. 65 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 38.
33 Jager died on 18th July, 1832 of malaria and dysentery.66 Thus after four months the
Basel committee had lost another two missionaries. Jagger, before his death, together with Riis made some visits to some parts of Akuapem. Riis on one of such visits nearly joined his colleagues when he fell seriously ill on the plantation of George Lutterodt.67
The timely mediation of a local herbalist saved him.68 Reporting on the high deaths of pioneer missionaries in Ghana, Paul Kwabena Boafo succinctly captures the thoughts of the First President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, as follows:
Ghana is glad and proud to pay its tribute to the great work of missionaries in West Africa. If you have time to visit more widely in this country, you will often find as you travel along roads, little cemeteries lost in the bush where lie buried the brave men and women who, in bringing the Christian faith to this country, gave “the last full measure of their devotion.” They knew that they faced the certainty of loneliness and imminent risk of death. Yellow fever decimated them and their families. But still they came. They belong to the martyrs of Christianity.69
The period from 1832 to 1835 was a challenging one for Riis. He, narrates Kwamena-
Poh, “struggled not only with death but also with the Danish authorities at Osu”.70
Failing to have Riis withdrawn from the Coast, the Danish government confined him to the castle and Osu environments as a schoolmaster and chaplain. Riis was to help improve the decadence in the lives of the people along the Coast. Notwithstanding all these challenges, the issue of continuity in missionary work was vital to Riis. He planned moving the missionary work from Osu to a different location, thus Ningo. The immorality of the local folks who had had contacts with the Europeans coupled with the harsh weather conditions were the main reasons for this decision. Having written to the
Home Committee about the painful news of the death of all his colleagues, he was made to decide on whether to stay and continue with the work or abandon the work and return
66 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 39. 67 George Lutterodt was a Danish Merchant and also a friend of the missionaries. 68 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 38-39. 69 R. K. Orchard, “The Ghana Assembly of I. M. C.,” (1958): 148, quoted in Paul Kwabena Boafo, John Wesley’s Theology and Public Life: His Socio-Political Thought in The Ghanaian Context (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 2014), p. 118 Citing R. K. Orchard, The Ghana Assembly of I. M. C., (1958), 148. 70 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 39.
34 home. Nevertheless, in 1836 Riis in the company of George Lutterodt entered Akropong
Akwapim, some twenty miles or one and half hours’ drive from the coast of
Christiansborg. They established a mission there. This was possible because the new chaplain who replaced him was lenient enough to allow him his free movement.
The movement into the interior was very significant for the course of the BMS. This assertion underscores the fact that the industry and commitment of Riis ensured that the mission survived. In the face of much frustration and possible death, Riis took a bold decision to move the mission from Osu to Akropong making a new in-road. From here he initiated exploratory passages to the Akyem lands and other areas before his return to
Basel in 1840.
A number of reasons have been given for the quick choice of Akropong in the hinterland.
Firstly, Kwamena-Poh is of the view that, he was “influenced by the information obtained from P.E. Isert’s letter on his visit to Akuapem.”71 Secondly, Akropong was found on a hill with a good and favorable weather condition very conducive for the Europeans. Riis enjoyed better health up there than along the coast. Coupled with this was the issue of the local language which was very pleasing to his ears which he wish to study as well.72
Again, the rural folks on the Akwapim Ridge were more decent and moral than their more worldly and disheartened brethren along the coastal areas. Hope was offered here.
Again still, Akropong, according to Agbeti, was strategically positioned. Situated on the way to Kumasi from the eastern part of Ghana it served as linkage between Kumasi and the areas below the ridge and the lower Volta basin. Politically, the change in location
71 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 39-40. 72 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 40.
35 was a departure from the idea that the kind of religion championed by the missionaries was an extension of European political interest.73
The movement into the Akwapim ridge served as the turning point in the life of the Basel
Missions in Ghana. The warm welcome and treatment from the Omanhene, Nana Addo
Dankwa I and his people coupled with the ability to move freely made Riis decide to stay there permanently. He therefore established the first inland missionary station of the BMS in Akuapim.74 In 1837 Andreas Riis was joined by two missionaries and Anna Wolters his fiancée. Regrettably the two missionaries died by 1838. Riis was left alone with his wife. He travelled to the Volta region in 1839 with Murdter. By 1840 he was in Kumasi seeking unsuccessfully to be granted audience with the then Asantehene. During his furlough he reported to the Basel Committee that the time was not ripe to open a station in Ashanti. After a decade of work in Ghana the BMS had been inflicted with a high toll of missionary deaths. By 1839, the mission could boast of only one missionary out of nine they sent out and only one person was baptized at Christiansborg.
The arrival of a large group of African descendants from Jamaica on 17th April, 1843 began another phase of Basel Mission (BM) evangelization work in the country.75
Significantly, missionary work extended to nearby towns such as Aburi after which positive signs of growth began to appear. From the 1850s onwards, substantial progress was achieved in the spread of the Christian faith as far as to inland Kwahu, Akim and
Asante (which was then considered a hard place to go) and even as far as the North to the extent that in 1869, the total membership of the Basel Mission was about 1,851 from eight district missions and 24 congregations.
73 Agbeti, West African Church History, 62. 74 Agbeti, West African Church History, 62. 75 Agbeti, West African Church History, 65.
36 The humble beginnings of the PCG are now so well known that one does not need to go far for it. By the end of the nineteenth century in question, the mission achieved its long cherished goal of working among the Asante people. The bold decision of the Mission to undertake mission work in the Gold Coast and the sacrifices that they had to make to continue with the work is happily acknowledged by most Presbyterians of Ghanaian origin. In 1917, they had to leave because of the war situation in Europe. Agbeti describes the moment as “a bitter pill for the Basel Mission to swallow after about 90 years’ devoted service in this mission field.”76 The call for help was readily responded to by the
Church of Scotland. This explains why the Reformed Church in Ghana adopted the
Presbyterian organizational model and in 2000, the Church adopted the General
Assembly System for its governance. The year 1828 will forever remain significant in the life of the PCG because this was the year of arrival of the very first missionaries from
Basel. Agbeti in his succinct but carefully thought-out summary, aptly shares the thought of Smith in relation to the significance of the Basel Mission that:
In education and in agriculture, in artisan training and in the development of commerce, in medical services and in concern for the social welfare of the people, the name ‘Basel’, by the time of the expulsion of the Mission from the country, had become a treasured word in the minds of the people.77
The work of the missionaries was to spread the good news about Christ. They were sent by the Basel Mission to make a totally different impact on Africa that their slave trading compatriots had done. They were interested in a practical demonstration of Christian love to fellow human beings, and therefore attracted people from varying backgrounds and expertise. Their driving force was to wean the people from their “dark ways” into the light of God. To achieve this, they adopted various strategies which not only helped in the weaning process but also in meeting the spiritual, physical and social needs of the people.
76 Agbeti, West African Church History, 72. 77 Agbeti, West African Church History, 72.
37 3.2 The Kwahu Presbytery
The Christian faith came to the Kwahu region in the nineteenth century through the ambition of the Basel missionaries to spread the Gospel message to other areas. The man behind the movement into Kwahu was Rev. Fritz August Ramseyer (1840 – 1914). Two particular reasons in support of the Basel missionaries coming into the Kwahu land are most interesting for our purposes. The first is the Krepe War (1866-1869), an interesting story which explains how Rev. Firtz Ramseyer came to Kwahu. It is argued that the war served as the first point of contact between Rev. Firtz Ramseyer and the people of
Kwahu. Rev. Firtz Ramseyer, the man to bring the Gospel to the people of Kwahu, was hosted by the people of Kwahu Abitifi.78 Ramseyer together with his family and S. J.
Kuhne79 were captured in Anum by the Ashantis. Returning to Ashanti the army and captives went through the Kwahu Mountains. In Kwahu, Rev. Firtz Ramseyer lost his child as a result of the tedious nature of the journey and lack of good nutrition.80
However, the people of Kwahu Abetifi were very kind to him and the rest of the captives.
To show his appreciation for the hospitality of the Kwahu people especially the people of
Abetifi to him and his family when they were prisoners of war, Akuamoah further noted:
Before Ramseyer left Abetifi for Kumasi, he promised the Adontenhene that if he were set free, he would come back and preach the gospel at Abetifi81
The second is the exploratory worked done by David Asante, Eugene Werner and
Wilhelm Handel in 1875 and later to be joined by Ramseyer at Osino.82 They had come
78 O. Akuamoah, The History of the Presbyterian Church in Abetifi (Accra: Quick Service Books Limited, 2007) 19-20. 79 S. J. Kuhne was a missionary trader in cotton. The trade in cotton was a part and means of financing missionary activities in the Gold Coast. 80 Kwame Arhin, The Missionary Role on the Gold Coast and in Ashanti. Reverend F. A. Ramseyer and the British take-over of Ashanti, 1869-1894, Research Review (Institute of African Studies, Legon, 1968) iv, 2, 1-15. 81 Kwame Arhin, The Missionary Role on the Gold Coast and in Ashanti, 20. 82 Kwame Arhin, The Missionary Role on the Gold Coast and in Ashanti, 20.
38 from Kyebi which was then the center of the Basel missionary activities. From Kyebi the expansion was schemed and carried out. It was during this exploration that Abetifi was chosen as the radiating center from where the Gospel message was to travel to the other remaining towns in the region. Among other reasons, Abetifi was chosen because it had a good water supply as compared to the other towns. Also the Abetifihene was friendlier than the rest.83 Their arrival on 28th January, 1876 which was a Friday marked the beginning of several years of Basel missionary work in the Kwahu area.
The Kwahu Presbytery was formed in 1973. But before this, it was part of the then
Akyem-Kwahu Presbytery until its dissolution on 27th October 1972 at Anyinam.84 This led to the creation of the Kwahu Presbytery and the Akyem Presbytery respectively as separate entities. At her first Presbytery meeting at Nkwatia, preceeded by acceptance and approval by the then Synod85, on Tuesday, 8th May 1973, the Kwahu Presbytery was elevated to a full Presbytery status. The officiating minister at the ceremony was the late
Rev. G. K. Sintim Misa, then Moderator of the Synod of the PCG. He was assisted by the late Reverends S. E. Kwaa and E. A. Misa, the first Chairperson and Clerk respectively.
The Presbytery started with four districts namely: Abetifi, Nkwatia, Mpraeso and
Nkawkaw. In 1975 the number of districts increased to seven with Obo, Kwahu Tafo and
Donkorkrom as the additional ones with total membership of 31,542.86 Others followed later to enhance the propagation of the Gospel, consolidation of the congregations and initiation of social services in the area.
83 Kwahu Presbytery, 40th Anniversary Celebration, 2013, 5. 84 40th Anniversary Celebration, 2013, 8. 85 Ibid., The decision was taken at the 1972 Synod held at Tamale. 86 Kwahu Presbytery Handbook, 2012, p. 6
39 The Presbytery is headed by a Chairperson who is elected into office for a term of four years and assisted by a Clerk. Others in assistance are members who serve on various committees and councils of the Presbytery. During the period under consideration, the
Presbytery has had about ten Chairpersons and ten Clerks. Its headquarters is located at
Abefiti on the Kwahu ridge in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It is believed to be the highest point in Ghana. Currently, the Presbytery has fourteen (14) Pastoral Districts, one hundred and sixty-two (162) congregations with a total membership of twenty four thousand one hundred and sixty two (24, 162). There are forty (40) Ministers, sixty-three
(63) Catechists and ninety-seven (97) Caretakers. Administratively, the Presbytery covers five geo-political Districts and one Municipality, Birim North, Kwahu North, Kwahu
South, Kwahu East and Kwahu West Municipality.87
The Basel missionaries who brought the gospel message did not only in words but in deeds also. Likewise, the mandate of the Kwahu Presbytery is to propagate the gospel message in the same vein. Preaching of the gospel message was to be accompanied with deeds. This is because as stated above man is made up of both physical and spiritual components. A fulfillment of the needs of one component at the expense of the other will not be beneficial to the individual person. Thus, through the preaching of the Word and observance of the Sacraments, the church also seeks to provide a wholistic ministry to the people.
3.3 General activities of the Kwahu Presbytery From 1978 – 2013
The Presbyterian Church anywhere cannot write its history without mentioning its role in the lives of the people. This is because that is part of its heritage. The Kwahu Presbytery
87Kwahu Presbytery Handbook, 2012, p. 6.
40 before and after gaining its autonomy has continued to play a very significant role in addressing social issues in the area. Its involvement has impacted the societies in the area as well as individuals and governments.
3.3.1 Social Provisions
Formal Education
From its earliest beginnings in 1828, the PCG incorporated education into the general ethos of its social witness. The efforts by the first Basel missionaries to start a school at
Osu immediately upon their arrival lays emphasis on the above claim. The missionaries wanted to make formal education available to the coastal children. The Basel missionaries therefore became part of the forerunners to introduce and establish formal education in the country. Many have therefore argued that the PCG, like all the mainline churches, have played significant role in contributing to the introduction, development and provision of quality education in Ghana. For these people “the churches had been the major educational agency”88 in the country since its inception.89 Education through the establishment of schools for the missionaries was to go hand in hand with the Bible in the holistic conversion of the people. It was considered as one of the ways of transforming the lives of the people and weaning them from their “backward” ways. Assimeng in his view writes:
Christianity gave rise to a new form of education, the alphabetic culture which transcended the locality and the tribe…90
88 John S. Pobee, Religion and politics in Ghana (Accra: Asempa Publisher, 1991), 51. 89 However this changed when before and after independence (from 1951 onwards) the state started taking control of education in the country. 90 Max Assimeng, Religion and social change in West Africa: An introduction to the Sociology of Religion, (Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 1989), 88.
41 The above remark by Assimeng points to the fact that the coming of the missionaries brought a new form of education.
Formal education as introduced by the missionaries was something that the local people needed. Having witnessed this form of education from the castle schools, the local people felt the need of this form of education in their lives. It was a social need that had to be satisfied. As social beings they needed to find meaning to certain aspect of their lives and also connect well with their neighbors. They, therefore, envisaged that by accepting them, the missionaries, in their midst, this need of theirs will be met. Taking cognizance of this, the missionaries used this as an advantage to plant Christianity in the midst of the people.
The Kwahu area like most towns and villages which finds itself further away from the capital city lacked schools. The government as a service provider has not been able to make education accessible to all Ghanaians.91 The non-availability and non-affordability of education has therefore resulted in creating a vacuum in the lives of people which needs to be fulfilled. The church, thus PCG, knowing the value of education, and been a partner in helping the state, has employed ways to meet such a need. Reiterating its stands on education, the July 2005 Policy Document on General Education of the PCG states:
It has conceded that the state over the years has made tremendous fiscal contribution in the field of education. All the same universal education for all, propagated as a gospel message conviction for years, is still far from realization. Access to education at all levels is becoming hard to come by, and not easily affordable to the average worker…The Presbyterian Church of Ghana recognizes the positive role that education plays in the realization of the spiritual, physical and economic potential of the individual in the society.92
91 Taking over the realms of education in 1951, as the main provider of schools, the state has not been able to provide each town with a basic and junior school. In areas where it is not easily affordable by the average worker. 92 PCG, July 2005
42 With this in mind the Kwahu Presbytery since its establishment in 1973 has made formal education one of its main priorities in meeting the educational lapse of the people.
Education as stated above is a social need which must to be met. Due to this the Kwahu
Presbytery has placed high premium on education at all levels. She has also been actively involved in the provision of education in the area over the period under consideration.
The church has been able to establish schools from the basic to the tertiary level. There are a number of schools established by the PCG in the Presbytery but for the sake of this thesis we will comment on the few below.
Salem Preparatory School
During the period under consideration, the Kwahu Presbytery in partnership with the
Salem Presbytery of North Carolina has been able to establish a school in Tease named
Salem Preparatory School.
Model School at Nkwatia and Asakraka
Notwithstanding the presence of state basic schools in Nkwatia and Asakraka, the people have expressed worry about the inadequacy of these amenities to satisfy their need. The
Kwahu Presbytery was positive that it could make an important contribution towards this venture. Under the leadership of the Rev. E. Osafo-Boateng, the Presbytery decided to provide a model school at Nkwatia and a Kindergarten at Asakraka. The one at Asakraka built jointly with funding from the Evangelishe Abeitskreis fUr Weltmission of
Austriaand (sic) saw the Kwahu Presbytery providing education to children at the early stage. The school has met the social need of providing education to children of school going age right from their infancy. Again it has also helped to reduce the burden on parents who hitherto had to travel a mile or two to send their children to school. The
43 school is up to the Kindergarten level. The population of the pupils is currently around thirty-five (35).
The model school in Nkwatia, Nkwatia Presbyterian Model School (PREMOS), was established on Tuesday, 8th September, 2009. It started with thirty (30) pupils of which eighteen (18) were boys and twelve (12) were females. It also had three (3) teaching staff and three (3) non-teaching staff. The first headmaster was Mr. Isaac Asante Sampong and Emmanuel Osafo Boateng, District Minister at Nkwatia, as the local Manager.
Today, the population has increased to one hundred and seventy-seven (177) pupils.
Eighty two (82) are boys and ninety five (95) are girls. The teaching and non-teaching staff has also increased to twelve (12) and four (4) respectively.
Presbyterian University College (PUC) At Abetifi
The establishment of the PUC was in response to the growing concern expressed about the insufficiency of the state tertiary institutions to cater for qualified candidates to make use of the opportunity for university education. Taking a clue from its significant contribution towards formal education from the basic level to the secondary and teacher training levels, the Church was convinced it could do same in this regard.
Under the leadership of the Rt. Rev. Athony A. Beeko, the Synod in 1996 decided to establish a University College. The University Implementation Committee, established in
1998, was therefore given the responsibility of making this idea a reality. After much effort and due preparations and processes, the Presbyterian University College Ghana
(PUCG) was granted accreditation by the National Accreditation Board in August 2000, and affiliated to the University of Ghana. PUCG started academic work in October, 2004
44 with a satellite campus at Abetifi. The other campuses are Akropong-Akuapem in the
Akuapem Presbytery and Agogo in the Asante Akyem Presbytery. Kwahu traditionally is not known to be a town of learning like that of Cape Coast or Accra. By establishing a campus at Abetifi, the PCG brought tertiary education closer to the people. The strategic position of one of the campuses at Abetifi is to help the church meet the need of students who are not able to gain admission into any of the public universities. Again, the church seeks to bring the modern trends in education to the people. Courses such as Information
Communication Technology (ICT), Community Development and Business Management are offered. This is to equip the students to use the knowledge acquired to help meet and solve societal issues. The Kwahu Presbytery, in its quest of developing formal education, has not failed to contribute to the development and promotion of agriculture as a means of equipping the people.
Agriculture
Agriculture is considered as the most dominant occupation in the Ghanaian economy. It remains the largest and greatest contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the economy. Yet it has continued to remain at the subsistence level. Some of the crops cultivated in the country were first introduced by the church. Examples include cocoa, mango, coffee, tobacco, cocoyam, and avocado pear.93 Over the years, the Kwahu
Presbytery has encouraged the local people to cultivate these crops on a large scale as a means of alleviating poverty. With the earnings from the scale of these crops in large quantities the local people who venture into it have changed their living standards or conditions for the better.
93 J. K. Agbeti, West African Church history: Christian missions and Church foundations – 1482-1919 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1986).
45 The church believes that the Gospel message should be considered in whole. The church seeks to promote mission through the provision of agricultural services as a means of addressing social needs. As a result, the church was also concerned with how to help the people make ends meet. The interest of the church in agriculture is enduring. The aim of the church is that through agriculture, some basic needs necessary for the existence of its members as well as the people in the area will be met. The church believes that wherever it finds itself, it should not only be concerned with feeding the people with the word of
God but also provide the people with the basic necessities that give meaning to human life. In pursuance of this philosophy, the Kwahu Presbytery has engaged itself in agricultural activities. This is evident in the establishment of the Tease Agriculture
Project, Cattle farm at Ekye Amanfrom and a Mango farm at Abene. The church has also promoted bee-keeping in the area. These establishments were all considered as social services.
The church was not happy with the kind of farming, being practiced in the area. In her opinion, agriculture is an important aspect of development.94 The Kwahu Presbytery was therefore deeply committed to establish an agricultural project where the people in the community will be trained in the mechanized form of farming. The church wanted an agricultural project where the people will be able to use the skills they have acquired to enhance their livelihood and be independent. Within such a model agricultural project, where the mechanized form of farming is used, the people will not only acquire skills to enhance their way of farming but they will hopefully find a way to move away from the subsistent way of farming. In the same spirit of mechanized agricultural farming
94 Agbeti, West African Church history, 70.
46 practices, it is instructive to note that the Kwahu Presbytery introduced a less rigorous way of farming into the area where the project is sited.
The Tease Agricultural Project is into large scale maize, vegetable and ruminants production. The project was established in 1989 by the Rev. Dr. R. Crumpton from the
United States of America (USA).95 Its aim was to primarily introduce the host community, and especially the members of the church, to the new and advance techniques of farming and food production. By so doing the church has been able to improve the living conditions of the people. This has in the long run enabled the people contribute meaningfully to societal development. The church through the establishment of the various agricultural projects has been able to meet the existential needs of the people.
Salem Water Project
Water they say is life and therefore crucial to the existence of man. Without water it will be difficult for man to survive. The provision of water as a basic necessity of life is therefore of a paramount concern to all and sundry. Ghana as a country is greatly impacted by poor and unsafe water supply. The issue of unsafe water is considered to be the 6th leading cause of death in children in the country.96 Leaders of the country have tried over the years to provide good and safe drinking water to the people of Ghana especially those living in the rural areas. In addition traditional leaders sought assistance from the various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to help provide the communities with boreholes. However, due to the low income nature of the country and
95 K. Nkansa-Kyeremateng, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (P.C.G.), history and impact (Accra: Sebewie Publisher, 2003), 135. 96 D. Lardner et al, Regional Water Use Practices in The Kwahu East District of Ghana and The Potential Influence on Diarrheal Disease, European Scientific Journal, (Nov. 2015).
47 scarce resources of the various NGO’s this dream of getting good water to all people living in any part of the country is yet to be realized.
Kwahu is on a range of mountains which starts from the Ashanti to the Volta region. Its position makes it difficult for her people to get access to good and safe drinking water.
The main source of water has been the traditional water bodies like the streams and rivers. A mechanized source of water in the form of borehole was introduced into the region by the presence of missionaries in the country.
Health
On the issue of health, the contribution of the Kwahu Presbytery has been comprehensive and enormous. Provision of healthcare as a strategy in the evangelization of people has been of considerable interest to the PCG. It is therefore not surprising that the Kwahu
Presbytery has adopted it as one of its policies to meet the health needs of the people.
This interest in the health needs of the people has not waned and continues to be one of the strategies of the Kwahu Presbytery. As indicated above, the Kwahu Presbytery views the provision of health care and other services as a critical aspect of the strategies of evangelization and continues to pursue that in contemporary times.
The provision of health care to both members and non-members of the Kwahu Presbytery is that the church accepts the principle that man is not only made up of a the spiritual component. As stated above man is both a physical and spiritual being. These two components work hand in hand for the wholeness of man. The church with its message of holistic being is therefore of the view that the proclamation of the gospel should go beyond the spiritual appeal and consider that of the physical. All the historic churches that
48 operates in the country generally acknowledges the fact that evangelization should be complemented by a strong demonstration of active sympathy for the physical needs of people. By inference such compassion should be manifested in the various socio- economic strategies to be undertaken by these denominations to improve the living conditions of their members as well as the general public. Since the aim of the medical work falls within the general strategies of missions, the treatment of the non-Christians was considered important with the church’s broad objectives of evangelization. Nkansa-
Kyeremateng confirms this assertion when he states that:
The purpose of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana’s (PCG) Health Services is to reach all manner of persons with the Good News of Christ Jesus through comprehensive Health Care Delivery services97
Similarly, the Health Services Committee of the PCG has written that:
It is our wish or desire not only to care for the individual patients, but also for the community98
Nkansa-Kyeremanteng’s comment like the statement of the PCG Health Services
Committee helps us to understand the scope of the Kwahu Presbytery’s health strategy.
The reference to all manners of persons and also for the community is widely inclusive.
What is clear about these statements is that the scope of the Kwahu Presbytery strategy to meet the existential need of the people is catholic and embracing. It stretches to all in the community.
It is clear then that the Kwahu Presbytery as an institution sees the provision of health care to all as an imperative to the existence of man. The church therefore sought to promote Mission through the provision of health services as a way to meet the existential
97 K. Nkansa-Kyeremateng, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (P.C.G.), history and impact (Accra: Sebewie Publisher, 2003), p. 143 98 PCG, 1985, p. 100
49 needs of the people. In 1985 the Donkorkrom Hospital was established to this effect.
Today the Kwahu Presbytery can boast of one (1) hospital, three (3) clinics at Abetifi,
Tease and Kwahu Praso and health care centre at Ekye. The establishment of the
Donkorkrom hospital has not only met the health needs of the people and its environments but it has also reduce the burden on the only Government Hospital in the
Kwahu region at Atibie. Those living in places like Donkorkrom, Ekye Amanfrom,
Maame Krobo, Tease, Amankwakrom, Kwaekese, Adiembra, Forifori, Brumben, Dedeso and many other small towns no longer have to cross the Afram River to receive primary health care. With the establishment of the hospital at Donkorkrom and primary health care centres at Abetifi, Kwahu Praso, Tease and Ekye, health care has been brought to the doorsteps of the people.
3.3.2 Spiritual Provisions that Seeks to Contextualize the Gospel Message
Liturgy of the Church
Liturgy has always played a significant role in the church. In seeking to adapt to the culture and lives of the people, the church re-structured the form of liturgy it inherited from the missionaries. These were in the areas of worship style and the use of the local choruses. According to Asamoah-Gyadu, the dullness and lack of vitality in the PCG worship style was one of the reasons, identified by the committee appointed by the Synod of the PCG in 1965, as to why members were leaving the church.99 Worship in the PCG today is more expressive, dynamic and exuberant. The forms and content of worship is now something that the people can identify themselves with. The liturgical modification through the introduction of “praise and worship” has made styles and practices in worship
99 J., Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity: Interpretations from an African Context, (Ghana: Regnum Africa, 2013), 32.
50 traditionally meaningful to the people. Local choruses accompanied by drums and other musical instruments were also employed. Through these styles of worship, members have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in another way. People are able to make use of the gifts giving to them by the Holy Spirit. All of these were made possible with the use of the local language which provided a framework for an effective worship. The integration of Christian worship with the worldview of the people made worship an expression of faith. The people began to encounter a God who is living and transforming.
The end result is the empowerment to withstand influences from known evil forces.
Exuberant prayer and healing became part of the new form of worship. To help maintain and nurture the devoutness of its members, periodic revivals, healing, deliverance and anointing services, all-nights vigils, prayer meetings and the Kwahu for Christ Easter
Convention has become part of the new liturgy.100 Through these innovations, an avenue has been created for the people to grow in their experiential spirituality. The Christian spiritual living has now become something real to them. The corporate nature of these meetings has made it possible for the members to meet their spiritual needs. These needs which hitherto made them move to the AICs, Pentecostal and Charismatic churches are now being fulfilled in the PCG. The message of hope, abundant life, prosperity, protection, power over the enemy, good health and marriage is now been emphasized in the presentation of the gospel message to the local people. There is an interaction between their spiritual redemption and physical wellness.
100 During Easter period the church comes up with both social and religious programmes to helped nurture its members. Programmes like clean-up exercises, physical exercises and health walk, musical interlude, visitation to the Chiefs palaces with the message, mass evangelism, all-night vigils, healing, deliverance and anointing services and thanksgiving services as the climax are put in place.
51 The Atibie Prayer and Healing Centre
The Atibie Prayer and Healing Centre of the Kwahu Presbytery is based at Atibie-Kwahu.
Its current Director is Rev. Francis Ofori Nyarko. The centre started its operations in
2000 with Rev. Ntim Gyakari as the first centre Director.101 According to Rev. Nyarko, the main reason for the establishment of the centre as a ministry was to partner the church in its role of helping to meet the spiritual needs of members. The centre does not operate as a separate entity of the PCG, but rather plays a corresponding role of helping the church fulfill its core mandate of evangelization. The religious features of the centre include Friday All-Day prayer meetings, All-Night vigils and a Series of Prayers during all public holidays.102 Averagely, about twenty to thirty people come there for counselling and prayers.
Besides the above, the Director and his team also set aside time for pastoral counselling.
People who come to the centre with their issues are taken through counselling in all spiritual matters. They are taught and encourage with gospel message to trust in the Lord in all matters. The message of hope and the belief that God through the Holy Spirit is with them gives them the strength to face their problems and hostile environment.
The centre also included sessions for deliverance and faith healing – many church members attended and they also invited unchurched family members and friends facing spiritual challenges. As Boafo asserts, the role of the healing ministry is a tool for
101 He spent seven years there. He was replaced by Rev. Anim Akrasu became the second camp Director of the centre, who spent three years there. 102 The timeframe for the Friday All-Day is between the hours of 8:30-1:00. The All-Night Vigil is held on every last Friday of the months. These prayer meetings are accompanied by healing and deliverance services. The end result is the spiritual breakthrough that the people enjoy thereby going home with satisfaction. According to Rev. Nyarko in an interview, the PCG has being able to maintain its members and gain because of these prayer meetings. The members and people from the Historic Churches no longer go to the AICs and Charismatic churches for this form of Christian Spirituality. The clientele of the centre come from all over the Kwahu Ridge and cut across denominations.
52 encouragement for the church today: “Thus the quest for healing became a motivation for attendance”103 for church services. The church is therefore a place where people come to receive prayer and power to deal with their everyday problems. The people are empowered to overcome all forms of spiritual attacks from the malevolent spirits and set themselves free. Freedom from oppression and the delight in power as an experiential reality becomes traditionally acceptable with their worldview. Although this is a new area being considered by the PCG and the various historic churches, it has been encouraged in recent times. It is considered as a renewal movement within the church. It also explains why most Presbyteries seem to have a prayer and healing centre.
The Bible Study and Prayer Group
The Bible Study and Prayer Group (BSPG) of the Kwahu Presbytery is one of the ways by which the church has sought to relate with the people. As one of the intergenerational groups of the PCG, it is recognized by the Constitution of the Church.104 It was founded in the Kwahu Area in the early 1960’s through the tiresome works of Rev. Thomas
Amoah Kumi at Abetifi.105 The activities of the BSPG according to the Evangelism
Coordinator, includes a deep study of the Bible and prayer for divine insights. Through these, member will have the manifestation of the Holy Spirit such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, divine healing and the experience of other gifts. The Pentecostal and
Charismatic activities are now being exhibited in the PCG. In 1986, the Synod
103 Boafo, Paul Kwabena, “Wesleyan Camp Meeting History and the Revitalization of Ghanaian Methodism,” in Communities of Faith in Africa and the African Diaspora, ed. Essamuah, C. B. and Ngaruiya D. K. (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2013), 23. 104 PCG, 1998 105 BSPG National Convention Hand Book, 2016, p. 67, Rev. Kumi was assisted by Rev’ds G. Ankrah Badu, J. F. Wiredu and Bro. Baah Acheamfour. Between 1962 and 1965, the group had spread to places like Nkawkaw, Akwasiho, Nkwatia, Obo, Twenedurase, Mpraeso.
53 Committee of the PCG therefore made the BSPG the main evangelistic wing of the
Church.106
According to Omenyo from the onset its purpose was spiritual renewal, which should result in the solution of practical, personal and social problems.107 The group has grown, as a renewal and Charismatic group, to help in the teaching and healing ministries of the church. Its activities have resulted in the spiritual growth of members in the Word of God.
The response of the group to help members deal with their spiritual challenges has also resulted in the maintenance of the large exodus of PCG members into the AICs and other
Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches. The group has also helped in the planting and nurturing of churches in places which before had no church. This was through their in- reach and outreach programs like open-air crusades, dawn broadcast, house-to-house visitations and sowers programs.108
3.4 Conclusion
In this study we have highlighted the trajectory of the PCG in Ghana as well as that of the
Kwahu Presbytery in the study area. As observed, the advent and spread of the PCG was characterized by the various strategies the church adopted in the propagation of the gospel. The wholistic nature which characterized the spread of the gospel set the tone for the various strategies to be adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery in meeting the physical, social and spiritual needs of the people. These strategies were dictated by the extent to which they were imperative in meeting such needs. The various strategies embarked upon
106C. N. Omenyo Pentecost outside Pentecostalism: A study of the development of charismatic renewal in the mainline Churches in Ghana (Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum Publishing House, 2002), 142. 107 C. N. Omenyo Pentecost outside Pentecostalism, 142. 108 BSPG National Convention Hand Book, 2016, 94.
54 by the church were largely part of the means through which the existential needs of the people was to be met.
55 CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
4.0 Introduction
This chapter focuses on the findings and analysis of data obtained from respondents sampled. The questionnaire was designed and administered to church and non church members whilst we had personal interviews with the clergy, church leaders and administrators as well as chiefs and community leaders. The Random sampling method was used in selecting respondents for the questionnaire. However in interviews, purposive sampling was used to allow the researcher select cases that best suit the research questions in order to achieve the set objectives of the study.
4.1 Findings
To obtain a public assessment of the general activities of the Kwahu Presbytery in responding to the needs of the people in the community, a total quota sample of 140 respondents, 35 each from Abetifi, Nkwatia, Tease/Ekye and Donkorkrom areas were given questionnaire.
4.1.1 Gender of Respondents
Out of the total number of 140 respondents, 93 representing 66.4% of the sampled respondents were males. The remaining 47 representing 33.6% were females. This is shown in Table 1 overleaf:
56 Table 1: Gender of Respondents
Gender Frequency Percent
Male 93 66.4
Female 47 33.6
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
4.1.2 Age Distribution of Respondents is presented below
There were 22 respondents below the age of 25 years representing 15.7%. 60 respondents were between the ages of 25-34 years representing 42.9%. 14 respondents representing
10.0% were between the ages of 35-44 years. Respondents between the ages of 45-54 were 16 representing 11.4% while 17 respondents representing 12.1% were between the ages of 55-64. The last category of age group was those above 65 years who were 11 representing 7.9%. From this analysis there was a youthful picture in the age distribution of the total respondents. This is also shown in the Table 2 overleaf:
57 Table 2: Age Distribution of Respondents
Age Distribution of Respondents Frequency Percent
Below 25 22 15.7
25-34 60 42.9
35-44 14 10.0
45-54 16 11.4
55-64 17 12.1
65 and above 11 7.9
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
4.1.3 Educational Background of Respondents
There were 23 respondents with Post-Secondary education while 28 had attained
Secondary education representing 16.4% and 20.0% respectively. 20 respondents representing 14.3% were in the Basic level category of education and only 6 respondents had no formal education. This figure represented 4.3% of the total figure. These are shown in Table 3 overleaf:
58 Table 3: Educational Background of Respondents
Educational Background Frequency Percent
Basic 20 14.3
Secondary 28 20.0
Post-Secondary 23 16.4
Tertiary 63 45.0
No Formal Education 6 4.3
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
4.1.4 Profession of Respondents
Of the 140 respondents, 7 respondents were Clergy representing 5.0%. 61 respondents were Civil and Public Servants representing 43.6%. 12 respondents representing 8.6% were students. There were 20 respondents who were farmers while 24 respondents were traders representing 14.3% and 17.1% respectively. 7 respondents representing 5.0% were unemployed and the last group was those who had retired who were 9 representing
6.4%. These are shown in Table 4 overleaf:
59 Table 4: Profession of Respondents
Profession of Respondents Frequency Percent
Clergy 7 5.0
Civil/Public servants 61 43.6
Students 12 8.6
Farmers 20 14.3
Traders 24 17.1
Unemployed 7 5.0
Retired 9 6.4
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
4.1.5 Religious Background of Respondents
One hundred and twenty-eight (128) respondents representing 91.4% claimed to be
Christians. Of this number 5 were Catholics, 3 (Methodists), 106 (Presbyterians), 6
(Pentecost) and 8 were with other denominations. Four (4) respondents were Moslems representing 2.9%. Seven (7) respondents representing 5.0% were in the Traditional Faith and only 1 respondent claimed to be of other Faith representing 0.7%. The dominance of
Christians could be a reflection of the above average level of Christianity in the region as well as the country and that of the PCG in the study area. These are shown in Table 5 overleaf:
60 Table 5: Religious Background of Respondents
Religion of Respondents Frequency Percent Christianity 128 91.4
Islam 4 2.9
Traditional Religion 7 5.0
Other 1 .7
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
4.1.6 Length of time in the Study Area
From our findings we realized that forty-one (41) respondents representing (29.3%) have stayed in the community less than 10 years. Fifty (50) respondents representing 35.7% have been in the community between 11-20 years. Thirty-four (34) respondents representing 24.3% have been in the community for between 21-30 years. Those who have been in the community for over 31-40 years were eight (8) representing 5.7%.The remaining two (2) representing 1.4% are those who have stayed over 51 years and above in the community. This means that more than two thirds of the sampled population had lived long enough in the area to contribute significantly towards the authenticity of the study. These figures are shown in Table 6 overleaf:
61 Table 6: Length of time in the Study Area
How long have you being living in this community? Frequency Percent
Below 10 41 29.3
11- 20 50 35.7
21-30 34 24.3
31-40 8 5.7
41-50 5 3.6
51 and above 2 1.4
Total 140 100.0
Source: Field study (2016)
4.2 Human Needs
Of the 140 respondents, 123 (87.9%) rated the spiritual needs as highest, 14 (10.0%) rated it as higher and 3 (2.1%) as high. No one rated it as less, lesser or least. Rating the economical needs, 87 (62.1%) respondents rated it as highest, 33 (23.6%) as higher and
14 (10.0%) as high. Here too there was no rating as less, lesser or least. On the social needs, 89 (63.6%) of the total respondents rated it as highest, 32 (22.9%) as high, 14
(10.0%) as high, 3 (2.1%) as less, 2 (1.4%) as lesser and nobody as least. 45 (32.1%) of the respondents rated the psychological needs as highest, 54 (38.6%) as high, 27 (19.3) as high, 11 (7.9%) as less, 1 (.7%) as lesser and 2 (1.4%) as least. Of the 140 respondents,
125 (89.3%) rated physical needs as highest, 10 (7.1%) as higher, 4 (2.9%) as high, 1
(.7%) as less. There were no respondents who rated it as lesser or least among the various human needs. Available data, as indicated from the previous chapters of this work, shows that human needs have a physical and a spiritual nature. It is also concrete and abstract.
62 These needs can again be placed in “higher” or “lower” form depending on one’s environment. From the outcome of our fieldwork, most respondents acknowledged that the various needs which Maslow considered as “lower” were of much importance to them than that of the “higher” needs. The reason may be that these respondents live in an environment where these needs which they rated as the highest have not been fully satisfied. We show in Table 7 below responses from respondents on the issue:
Table 7: Rating Human needs
Kindly rate Spiritual Economical Social Psychological Physical human needs F P F P F P F P F P Highest 123 87.9 87 62.1 89 63.6 45 32.1 125 89.3 Higher 14 10.0 33 23.6 32 22.9 54 38.6 10 7.1 High 3 2.1 14 10.0 14 10.0 27 19.3 4 2.9 Less 5 3.6 3 2.1 11 7.9 1 .7 Lesser 1 .7 2 1.4 1 .7 Least 2 1.4 Total 140 100.0 140 100.0 140 100.0 140 100.0 140 100.0 F= Frequency and P= Percent Source: Field study (2016)
4.2.1 Needs Respondents consider as Basic for Humans
To the question “which of the following do you consider as basic needs?” all respondents identified and acknowledged food, and potable water. On education, one hundred and seventeen (117) representing (83.6%) said yes with the remaining twenty-three (23) representing (16.4%) saying no. One hundred and thirty-five (135) representing (96.4%) considered shelter as a basic need and the five (5) remaining representing (3.6%) did not.
On clothing as a basic need, one hundred and thirty-six (136) representing (97.1%) said yes and four (4) representing (2.9) said no. For healthcare, one hundred and thirty-nine
63 (139) representing (99.3%) said yes and the remaining one (1) representing (.7%) said no.
In addition, one hundred and twenty-five (125) representing (89.3%) respondents stated that they consider teaching services and bible studies as a basic need. In contrast, respondents who chose the ‘no’ option were fifteen (15) representing (10.7%). As to whether respondents consider prayer related programs as a basic need, one hundred and twenty-seven (127) representing (90.97%) of the respondents said yes and the thirteen
(13) remaining representing (9.3%) said no. For these respondents, they agree to the fact that these are basic things necessary to sustain human life. Every human being cannot survive when their basic needs are neglected. These needs are what give them sustainability in this world. The quest for humans to define themselves and their environment is a quest to meet their everyday needs. Due to the basic nature of needs, it has acquired an insatiable or unstable nature.
4.3 How Respondents see the Church as a provider of human needs
Asked whether respondents see the church in their area as a provider of human needs, 131
(93.6%) of the respondents answered in the affirmative. 7 (5.0%) respondents did not see the church as being in a position to provide human needs in their area. Two (2) respondents representing (1.4%) were not sure whether the church can help in the provision of human needs or not. These are shown in Table 8 overleaf:
64 Table 8: Church in a position to help meet human needs
Frequency Percent
Yes 131 93.6
No 7 5.0
Not sure 2 1.4
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
Most people are of the view that the church is well positioned to help meet some of their basic needs of humans. This is evident in the majority of the respondents, one hundred and thirty-one (131), who identified the church as being in a position to support them.
They acknowledged that, in the area of their spiritual needs the church is doing very well.
For instance, rating the spiritual provisions by the church, 128 (91.4%) believe the church is doing very well. 11 representing 7.9% of the total respondents believe the church is doing well and the remaining 1 (.7%) respondent think the church is not doing well.
However, on the issue of meeting their social needs some believe the church is only fairly doing well.
4.3.1 Respondents’ knowledge about the various provisions by the church
In answering the question “which of the following has the PCG provided in this community?” thirty-two (32) representing (22.9%) of the total respondents believed or acknowledged that the church has created some avenues to help in food production. The rest of the respondents, one hundred and eight (108) representing (77.1%) said no. On the provision of potable water, thirty-seen (37) representing (26.4%) of the respondents said yes and the remaining one hundred and three (103) representing 73.6% said no. Twenty-
65 three (23) of the one hundred and forty (140) respondents representing 16.4% said yes to the provision of shelter and the one hundred and seventeen (117) remaining respondents representing (83.6%) said no. For clothing, twenty-eight (28) representing (20.0%) of the total respondents believe that the church has done so and the rest of the respondents, one hundred and twelve 112 representing (80%) believe otherwise. On education, seventy- nine (79) representing (56.4%) respondents identified the provision of basic form of education in the area with the rest sixty-one (61) representing (43.6) saying no. All of the respondents said no to secondary form of education in the area. On tertiary form of education, one hundred and five (105) representing (75.0%) said yes and the rest of the respondents thirty-five (35) representing (25.0%) said no. Of the one hundred and forty
(140) respondents, fifty-three (53) representing (37.9%) said yes to the provision of a healthcare centre, the rest eighty-seven (87) representing (62.1%) said no. Thirty-five
(35) representing (25.0%) said yes to that of a clinic and the remaining one hundred and five (105) representing (75.0%) said no. On the provision of hospital, thirty-nine (39) representing (27.9%) said yes and the rest one hundred and one (101) representing
(72.1%) said no. On the provision of an avenue for teaching services programs, studying the bible and evangelism, one hundred and eight (108) respondents representing (77.1%) said yes. In contrast, thirty-two (32) respondents representing (22.9%) said no. On the provision of a prayer centre and its related programs, thirty-six (36) respondents representing 25.7% said yes and the rest one hundred and four (104) representing 74.3% said no.
4.3.2 Contextualization of the Gospel Message by the Church
With regards to making the gospel message adaptive to the cultural context of the people, a majority of one hundred and twelve (112) respondents representing (80%) were of the
66 view that the PCG has put in place some policies. Nonetheless, twelve (12) respondents representing 8.6% were of the view that the church has not put in place any policy to present the gospel message in their cultural context. The remaining 16 respondents representing 11.4% had no idea as to whether or not the PCG has strived in this area. In view of the above, most respondents identified that, changes in the church’s liturgy and worship styles, the use of the local choruses accompanied by traditional drums and other musical instruments, healing, deliverance and anointing services, all-night vigils and prayer meetings and freedom to express one’s gift in the church with coaching as some of the ways the Church as done so. Members through these various approaches have been able to relate to the gospel thereby satisfying their spiritual needs. These are shown in
Table 9 below:
Table 9: Contextualization of the Gospel Message by the Church
Frequency Percent
Yes 112 80.0 No 12 8.6 No idea 16 11.4 Total 140 100.0 Source: Field Study (2016)
4.3.3 Respondents’ rating of the various provisions by the church
Of the 140 respondents, 128 (91.4%) rated the church as doing very well in its provision of spiritual needs for the people. 11 respondents representing 7.9% rated the church as doing well and the remaining 1 (.7%) rated the church as not doing well. On the provision of social amenities, 42 (30.0%) of the total respondents rated the church as doing very well. 50 respondents representing 35.7% rated the church as doing well and 37
67 respondents representing 26.4% rated the church as not doing well. The remaining respondents, 11 representing 7.9% rated the church as not doing very well in her provision of social amenities. These are shown in Tables 10 and 11 below:
Table 10: Respondents rating of the contribution of the Church towards meeting the
Spiritual needs of the people in the community.
Frequency Percent
Doing very well 128 91.4
Doing well 11 7.9
Not doing well 1 .7
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
Table 11: Respondents rating of the contribution of the Church towards meeting the
Social amenities of the people in the community.
Frequency Percent Doing very well 42 30.0
Doing well 50 35.7
Not doing well 37 26.4
Not doing very well 11 7.9
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
68 4.3.4 Respondents benefiting from the various provisions by the church
One hundred and twenty-four (124) respondents representing (88.6%) of the total respondents said that the various provisions by the church is for the benefit of the general population. The remaining sixteen (16) respondents representing (11.4%) said that the various provisions by the church in their community is for only the church members.
These are shown in Figure 1 below:
Figure 1: Which of the following are the beneficiaries of the Church’s provision of human needs?
Source: Field study (2016)
4.3.5 Respondents knowledge of outstanding human needs in their community
When asked to identify some of the outstanding human needs in their community, of the one hundred and forty (140) respondents, eight (8) respondents representing (5.7%)
69 acknowledged that of food. Forty-four (44) respondents representing (31.4%) believed potable water is what is yet to be provided by the church in their community with eleven
(11) respondents representing (7.9%) going for basic education. Nineteen (19) representing (13.6%) respondents identified the lack of a hospital in their community.
Two (2) respondents representing (1.4%) and three (3) respondents representing (2.1%) believed what is yet to be provided by the church is shelter and clothing respectively. On secondary education, thirty (30) respondents representing (21.4%) were of the view that it is yet to be provided by the church. Twenty-one (21) respondents representing (15.0%) and two (2) representing (1.4%) respondents chose the provision of a prayer centre and a clinic respectively. None of the 140 respondents chose tertiary education or a health centre. These are shown in Table 12 below:
Table 12: Identify one outstanding need in your area yet to be met by the church
Frequency Percent
Shelter 2 1.4
Clinic 2 1.4
Clothes 3 2.1
Food 8 5.7
Basic Education 11 7.9
Hospital 19 13.6
Prayer centre and related 21 15.0 programs
Secondary Education 30 21.4
Potable Water 44 31.4
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field Study (2016)
70 4.3.6 Respondents knowledge about the various provisions by the church and development
In answering the question “have the various provisions by the church brought about human and societal development’? five (5) representing (3.6%) respondents said no improvement, thirty-two (32) respondents representing (22.9%) said a little, fifty-three
(53) respondents representing (37.9) said some, thirty-four (34) representing (24.3%) respondents said much, with the remaining sixteen (16) respondents representing (11.4%) saying very much. The result bring to mind that the level of one’s stay in the study area may be a factor in determining one’s knowledge about how the various provisions by the church has brought about human as well as societal development. Majority of the respondents who believed the activities of the church have brought about some form of development in the community were those who had lived in the study area for more than ten years representing (70.7%). These are shown in Table 12 below:
Table 13: Respondents knowledge about the various provisions by the church and development
Frequency Percent
No improvement 5 3.6
A little 32 22.9
Some 53 37.9
Much 34 24.3
Very much 16 11.4
Total 140 100.0 Source: Field study (2016)
71 4.4 The Church and Human needs in the study area
From the study the researcher found out that the church has implemented various forms of policies. These have sought to attend to the needs of members and non members such quality education, access to proper healthcare as well as potable water, provision for homeless children, creating avenues to educate farmers on mechanized form of farming, procurement of farming implements and tools and awareness creation. On spiritual matters, revivals, prayers, deliverance, anointing and teaching services and changes in the liturgy were put in place to deal with such needs. Most respondents were therefore of the opinion that the church is in a position to help them meet their needs. Obour-Wiredu, the
Director of Mission and Evangelism at the Presbytery, explained that the spiritual and social responsibilities of the church have largely played a part in the various activities of the church since its establishment. He noted further that the story of the missionaries who established the PCG was not only that of providing spiritual human needs. This explains why the missionaries combined the preaching of the gospel with the provisions of the basic needs of the people. Preaching the gospel message is indeed the primary aim for their coming. On the other hand attached to the gospel message is the need to support the needy. The missionaries and now PCG therefore considered the provision of human needs as part of the calling. People were not only trained in the heart but the head and hands also.
In an interview with G. W. Nugba, the District Minister at Abetifi, the view of Obour-
Wiredu was confirmed. He argued that the PCG believes that man has both physical and spiritual needs. Therefore the church has not been interested in preaching the gospel to people but in deeds also. The approach of the church has therefore been wholistic. He further indicated that the PCG has over the years demonstrated a clear connection
72 between the gospel message and the worldview of the people. Through the various prayer related programs, modified liturgy and the use of local choruses the gospel message has been placed within the context of the people. The everyday issues of the people like problems of malevolent spirits and the relationship between physical health and salvation has been met. He indicated that at the local and District levels the church has established a welfare scheme with a committee in place to see to its day to day activities. This is to help members meet their social and economic needs. For instance he made mention of the scholarship scheme which forms part of the welfare package where brilliant but needy children in the church are sponsored to further their education. This scheme can be accessed by all the various generational and other groups in the church.
Nugba draws the attention of the researcher to the church’s role in advocacy. Sharing the view of Odehe, he explained that the people of Dwebrase and its environments are moving out of their towns and villages because of the activities of the Fulani herdsmen.
Aside the havoc caused to their farms, their wives and daughters are being raped. The
Fulani herdsmen are more armed than the local people. The people are therefore not well protected to fight back or protect themselves. The children have also stopped going to school because of the Fulani terror in the area. He noted that the church through the
Presbytery Chairperson has been working tirelessly to help alleviate the issue. Aside this, intercessory prayers which seek to help the affected people wrestle from the power of darkness are offered for them. However, he argued the church can do more. Nana Kena chief of Asikasu and adontenhene of Nkani and also a retired director of the Ghana
Education Service (GES), expect the church to play a significant role in advocacy especially on the issue of security in the area concerning the activities of the Fulani
73 people. The church should help pray and speak for the voiceless and marginalized in the society.
M. A. Nyantakyi, Minister in charge of the Tease District, on his part in an interview stressed the fact that the church has a key role to play in relating the gospel message with the needs of people. This is because helping those in need is something the church has been tasked to do by their Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospel of Luke.109 He believes the message of hope and freedom has been demonstrated by the church. A connection has been created between the gospel message and the uncertain life of the people in an environment full of hardships, poverty, insecurity, sickness and unstable government. The church does not discriminate when it comes to providing for the needs of people. Citing the church’s visit to the Forifori prisons, Nyantakyi explained that the prison officers contacted the church at Tease for assistance. Arrangements were therefore made to provide the prisoners with toiletries, food items and an amount of money. The church also organized a church service and prayers were offered for the prisoners and the wardens to deal with their spiritual issues. Putting the gospel in the context of the people has resulted in giving them hope. They have been empowered spiritually to handle their current situation. This, coupled with other spiritual renewal programs, has resulted in the numerical strength of the church and spiritual growth of members. For instance, the Tease
District since 2013 has increased in number from one thousand two hundred and fifty
(1,250) to two thousand one hundred and twenty (2,120). Nyantakyi’s argument supports
Boafo’s assertion that, renewal of members brings about their growth which also serves as a motivation for attending church services leading to numerical growth.
109 Luke 4:18, see also Isaiah 61:1
74 Stephen Ahey, the unit committee chairman in Ekye and who also happens to be the
Senior Presbyter of the church, was of the view that the PCG has come up with new ways to help the people in the community. The change in the style of worship with the use of traditional musical instruments has made the people identify themselves with the gospel message. The emphasis on these changes as well as the activities of the BSPG has resulted in the growth of members spiritually. The religious desires of members are being fulfilled with the various teaching, prayer, deliverance and anointing services. At the end of these programs members are empowered to deal with their hostile environment and set themselves free from the oppression of the wicked one. The church does not only cater for its members but the entire population in its provision of needs.
Akubour Selassie, Assemblyman for Mepe-Ada-Twi Electoral Area in Ekye, sharing the view of Ahey believes that the government owes a lot of gratitude to the PCG as well as all the mainline churches for their immense contributions towards meeting the needs of people. Using the health centre at Ekye as an example, they explained that if the church had not considered it as part of its social role to establish the centre, the people will have continued in their suffering. They will still have to go through the difficulty of having to either cross the Afram River to Atibie or journey all the way to Donkorkrom.
4.4.1 Identifying the Provisions by the Church
Respondents were asked to identify some of the various provisions by the church in their community. The responses to this question indicated that the church is a major stakeholder in providing man with their needs. Our personal observation from the field at
Abetifi shows that the church has provided the people with a clinic. According to Ignatius
Ayonna, chief Physician Assistant at the clinic (for nineteen years), the clinic, since its
75 establishment has been of tremendous help to the people. Not only has it met the health needs of the people, it has also reduced the stress of having to transport the sick all the way to Atibie to seek health care. On a daily basis, thirty nine people seek health care from the clinic. The number can increased to about seventy during its peak period. He further noted that upon visitation to the place by the church, the sick and staff are prayed for. The people are therefore satisfied with these provisions.
Again, at Abetifi we realized that the town has been provided with a potable drinking water system. Nubga posited that this was the doing of the church in partnership with the community leaders through the Abetifi Men’s League. This provision has not only reduced the burden of the people who hitherto had to carry water over a long distance to their various homes but also the provision of a good and healthy source of potable water.
The provision of a clean and healthy source of water supply has also brought about a reduction in water borne diseases.
Still on the health front, the church has also established other health centres at Ekye and
Tease. Like the one in Abetifi, these centres have also helped in reducing the various difficulties the people had to go through just to seek health care. David Bawa, Chief
Physician Assistant at the Presbyterian Health Centre at Ekye, in an interview, alludes to this by saying that the establishment of the centre in 1994 has brought great relief to the people of Ekye. In his words:
…since the joint effort between the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the British High commissioner to established a health centre at Ekye, it has abundantly brought relief to the people in the town. The burden of having to cross the Afram River either by the platoon or boat to seek health care at Atibie or to make the one and half car journey to Donkorkrom to visit the Presbyterian Hospital has been reduced drastically. The church also visits the sick and staff to share with them the gospel message, pray for them and give them some food items. The people of Ekye and its surrounding villages have really embraced the presence of the health centre closer to them and the spiritual activities provided by the church. The fear of losing a love one in the face an emergency has also been reduced to a great amount. The acceptance of the health centre explains the
76 satisfaction the people exhibit any time they visit the place. This is evident in the number of people who come to seek primary health care. The centre also serves the various travelers who are in transit at Ekye due to its position as the town at the bank of Afram River. On a daily basis, thirty (30) to forty (40) are attended to and up to seventy (70) seek health care at the centre during market days.
Obed Nii Okai Okantey, Resident Minister in charge at Ekye, agrees with the view of
Bawa. He added that the church’s visitation programme seeks to place the gospel message within the setting of the people. During this period, which normally happens either during Easter or Christmas, leaders and members of the church visit the sick with food items and the gospel message. The sick as well as the staff are prayed for. Prayers that are offered are to “clothe” the sick with the power of the Holy Spirit so that they can overcome their sickness wholly. During the month of Evangelism, revival, healing and deliverance services are also organized to help deal with spiritual problems of people.
In addition to the provision of a health centre, the PCG has established an Agricultural extension project at Tease. The project which just added piggery to its activities seeks not only to meet the needs of the people in terms of food but also that of employment. In an interview with Tetteh, the project manager, he explained that since March-April 2015 the project has been into women empowerment in agricultural programs. Currently, there are about twenty five groups with eighteen members each giving a total number of four hundred and fifty women (450). Out of this figure half are church members. The women, who are mostly into maize, groundnut, tiger nut and pepper production, are supported financially with monies ranging from five hundred (500) to one thousand five hundred
Ghana cedis (Gh ₵1,500) depending on their strengths. It comes with a 5% service charge. The source of funding comes from Open Society for West Africa Initiative
(OSIWA), an international organization. The women are given six months and extra two
77 months to pay. Aside the support they are also given simple agronomics or farm management training as well as that of nutrition and HIV/AIDS.
The project also trains and assists others with skills in the mechanized ways of farming and new trends in the farming business. They are taught new irrigation practices to improve on yearlong farming. Again some are taught how to apply some of the new fertilizers on the market. By this, the people have moved from their subsistence form of farming to medium and large scale farming. They do not depend solely on the natural means to fertilize and water their farm products. The support and enhancement has made the farmers to enlarge their farming activities and grow more. Also, it has given employment to eleven people. Thus in the long run, the standard of living of the people has been improved. They can also contribute their quota to societal development.
At Donkorkrom the researcher found out that the church has established a hospital. Since its status changed from a health centre to a hospital in 1975, it has partnered the government hospital at Atibie and other private hospitals in providing good health care to the people. Those who are close to Donkorkrom do not have to travel the long distance of about two and a half hours to seek health care at Atibie. With the hospital at Donkorkrom they can now have easy access to health care. The hospital has also helped to reduce the high rate of maternal deaths which were mostly as a result of a lack of a health facility and bad roads in the area. With this establishment some members and non-members have also gained employment. The change in the provision of health care has also brought about a change in the economic life of people. To help deal and counsel those with spiritual problem, a chaplain has being provided for by the church.
78 The church has also established an orphanage at Donkorkrom. According to Anane-
Boadaa, the establishment became necessary when the abandoned children at the hospital increased to about eight which was too much for the chaplain to handle. The church with the help of the Foothills Presbytery in the United States of America (U.S.A) and an
American philanthropist named Sinclair established the orphanage so as to house the children and care for them. This arrangement relieved the chaplain of the stress of caring for all these children in her house. The orphanage has a social worker who assists the administrator and mothers in running the place. The spiritual as well as the physical needs of the children are catered for. Upon a visit to the place, the researcher realized that the number has increased to sixteen (16) children.
Again, the church in addition to its provision of a hospital and an orphanage has also establish a welfare scheme in form of a Credit Union in Donkorkrom. However, this is limited to church members who are contributors. This is to grant them loans with a little interest of ten percent (10%) on the principal amount. At such a lower rate, the church seeks to help people who want to go into their own business or expand existing ones to do so. According to Ofosu Addo, the activities of the church’s credit union are less stressful and vigorous than those of the conventional banks, microfinances and savings and loans companies. This has helped the church to address the challenge of financially supporting its members with their inadequate resources. Sustainably, this has created an opportunity for the church to meet the financial demand of members. Aside this, employment has also been created for members who manage this facility.
79 In terms of education, a model school has been established at Nkwatia. Answering the question ‘why establish another basic school when there are about five schools in the area’, Isaac Asante Sampong, the headmaster of the school, explained that the idea was to establish a private school that will provide quality education for children of the Reverend
Ministers and government workers who will be posted to surroundings areas of Obo,
Obomeng, Atibie, Mpreaso, Nkwatia and Abetifi. This is because the other schools were not providing the quality education the church wanted. The school was to follow the trend of the boarding school system introduced by the Basel missionaries. The church felt these children needed a school that will meet their standard. Also it sought to deal with the challenge of Ministers and workers having to send their children all the way to Mpreaso or Nkawkaw. According to him, apart from the education being offered, it has also created employment for both members and non-members of the church. This has improved their means to meet their socio-economic needs.
The researcher found out that the church has also established a University college at
Abetifi. This development according to G. K. Acheampong, the Presbytery Chairperson, is a response by the Church to the growing demand to assist the government to provide quality tertiary education for qualified applicants. Apart from that, it has also made room for members and non-members to get employment. Most workers, teaching and non- teaching, the researcher spoke to were Presbyterians. The testimony about the respondents’ satisfaction is clearly perceived in the following words of the Okwahuhene
Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng II:
The fact remains that the entire Okwahu Citizenry appreciate your efforts of … going beyond the missionary work of propagating the message of the Kingdom of God to establish education and institution such as basic schools and even the Presbyterian
80 University College, Abetifi (Okwahu Campus). The Presbyterian Hospital at Donkorkrom can be counted amongst the lot that the Presbytery and the church has achieved.110
This is an excerpt of his goodwill message captured in the 40th anniversary celebration of the Kwahu Presbytery in 2013. Acheampong added that care should be taken so that the church does not become so engrossed in its social responsibility that may lead to a deviation from its core mandate of winning souls for Christ through the preaching of the gospel message.
To help supplement its provisions of human needs in the area of spirituality, the church has established a prayer centre at Donkorkrom and Atibie. These centres were to supplement the church provisions such as dawn prayers, house to house, crusades, “all- night” and “half-night”. The Bethel Prayer Centre at Donkorkrom doubles as a local congregation. “Since setting it up in 2009” according to Samuel Ofosu Addo, a
Presbyter at Bethel Presbyterian Church, it has been of tremendous help to the people. He explained that, both members and non-members come to the centre. When asked why the church established a prayer centre at Donkorkrom when there is one at Atibie, Addo responded that, the demand called for it. He was of the view that the distance from
Donkorkrom to Atibie is a hindrance in seeking such help. The establishment of prayer centres at Donkorkrom and Atibie means spiritual help has been made more accessible.
By so doing the PCG has provided an antidote to the various forms of spiritual attacks and sicknesses. This has resulted in detainment of members and giving the church a numerical strength. This buttresses Asamoah-Gyadu’s point that, the ability of the AICs to adapt to and fulfill people’s religious aspirations continues to be its strength. The PCG
110 This is excerpt of the goodwill message from Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng II, Okwahuhene and President of Kwahu Traditional council as captured in the 40th Anniversary celebration of the Kwahu Presbytery, p. 16.
81 ability to put the gospel message in the context of the people resulting in a fulfillment of their spiritual orientation has resulted in its survival and eventual growth.
4.4.2 The Role of Department of Church Life and Nurture
The church has employed many policies and strategies to help the people meet their everyday needs of growing spiritually. We found that a department has been established to that effect. The department, Department of Church Life and Nurture deals with issues relating to the spiritual welfare of its members as well as the community. Speaking to the researcher Odehe Jonathan, director of the Department of Mission and Evangelism, explained that the department of Church Life and Nature has worked in collaboration hand in hand with his outfit to adopt different approaches to deal with issues relating to the spiritual needs of members and non-members. In practical terms he believes the department communicates the gospel message in relevant ways that conforms to the way of life of the people and give them freedom in their spirituality. For instance, the church through the department has organized programs that have revived the spirituality of members giving rise to growth. He enlightened the researcher on the role the department is playing through its revival, prayer and teaching services to assist members grow and meet their needs spiritually. Spiritual renewal and having a personal relationship with their maker, empowerment and total freedom from evils machinations, improvement and shepherding members into total spiritual growth and functionality is the focus of the church. The spiritual emptiness that Asamoah-Gyadu identified as a cause for members leaving the PCG to the AICs are encountered and dealt with. In view of this, membership in the church has been on the rise.
82 4.4.3 Partnerships
In answering the question, “do you consider the church as a stakeholder in providing the basic needs of humans?” most respondents acknowledged the fact that the church is a key partner and s useful tool in the achievement of societal development. The chief of
Donkorkrom No. 1, Nana Boateng Tano II, pointed out that the church is a significant player in helping the traditional leaders and government to meet the needs of his people.
This is due to its expansive access to various links. Collaborating our earlier findings above he identified the hospital and orphanage as some of the church’s contribution as partners. He cited an example whereby the church partnered him in assisting a brilliant but needy student to have access to secondary education. This view is shared by Jonathan
Odehe. He revealed that likewise the church has enjoyed enormous help and partnership from some groups. Like most respondents he identified these as traditional leaders,
NGOs, philanthropists, sister churches and the government. Examples of such partnership are that of the British High Commissioner and the PCG to establish the Ekye health centre, and that of OSIWA and the church at the Tease Agricultural project. Most respondents described the partnership between the Church and the community as positive during the period under consideration. This is so because the community always cooperates and supports the church for its range of activities it embarked on with regard to the period.
4.4.4 Meeting human needs and growth
From the question “have the various provisions by the church brought about growth and development?” We found out that there exist a strong belief among respondents and the community as well as the church leaders that the various support policies and strategies employed by the PCG had a general effect on growth and development. For this reason,
83 most respondents shared the view that they are growing physical and spiritually. This is so because the church has been supporting them in whole. The various strategies which where target specific or general has brought about improvements in their lives as well as the community. The construction of schools, hospital or clinics, agricultural and other health programs, crusades, prayer, deliverance and anointing sessions, vitality in worship, empowerment to deal with mystical causes as well as donations in monetary form, clothing and food, growth has occurred. Comparatively, this has also led to the growth of the church. According to Nugba, the various policies employed by the church has brought about an increment in the membership of the church leading to its growth. Citing Abetifi
District as an example, he explained that due to this the church has established two additional church branches in Abetifi with a third one in progress. This is captured in the
2015 Presbytery report. Today, people want to associate themselves with a church that cares for their wellbeing both physically and spiritually.
4.4.5 Assessment of the Provisions
When asked, “how would you rate the contribution of the church towards meeting the needs of the people in the community?” most respondents held the opinion that the church is doing well in its provisions of both the spiritual and physical needs of the people. Therefore in their assessment they are mostly satisfied but not very satisfied. This acknowledgement is enough reason to indicate the good work being done by the church.
It also points to the fact that there is still work to be done regarding the way forward in improving the spiritual and physical needs of the people in the Presbytery. It is clear from the above that the various policies implemented by the church to help meet the everyday needs of the people had effected and influenced the level of growth in their lives and that of the church.
84 4.4.6 What the church can do differently?
Views sampled from the respondents acknowledged the need for the church to do more to meet human needs. Respondents opined that, the church should expand its provision of social amenities. Some identified provisions of more food through the expansion of its agricultural projects – commercial farming – more potable water like the one at Abetifi for those in Ekye, Tease and Donkorkrom, upgrading of the health centres into polyclinics or hospitals and provision of shelter. Besides these, some interviewees expect the church to create employments for people. Again the church should create awareness about some of the social issues, avenues for counselling, provide a library and do more advocacies. Spiritually, most interviewees expect the church to intensify its prayer related programs so as to increase the spiritual renewal in people. The presentation of the gospel message should lead to an integration of the phenomena of charismatic renewal in the worship and prayer life of the people with their maker. More evangelism work and discipleship in the area should also be considered. This they believe can help counter the issues of mystical causes of hardship, poverty and diseases. Again it will bring a total growth in their spiritual life and functionality in the church. Immorality and corruption as a cancer in society can also be dealt with. There is the need therefore for the church to embark on more evangelism to draw the attention of the people to what God expects from us as human beings.
4.5 Conclusion
To sum up this section of the work, we have presented the analyses and discussion of the data collected from the fieldwork. It has become quite obvious that the church shares in the view that human needs are both physical and spiritual. This supported the various policies they employed for that purpose. To succeed the church realized that its role
85 should include both the mundane and spiritual needs of its members and non-members.
Assisting the needy and the afflicted with food, potable water, proper healthcare, education, clothing and shelter in all situations is what God expects of the church. In pursuance of this, the church believes it could make meaningful head way if it partners the government, community leaders and all interested parties in this.
On the other hand it is the role of the church in placing the gospel message within the cultural context and language of the people described by Nkansa-Kyeremateng as going back to the culture of the people. Through the restructuring of its liturgy, use of local choruses, prayer and teaching services that aims at spiritual renewal, experiencing the
Holy and growth, the church has sought to do so. Members no longer move out in search of renewal, experiential spirituality and empowerment. The church, members and non- members all recognized the effect of these policies and strategies employed by the church on their growth likewise the church. The above acknowledgement by the people buttresses Agbeti’s point that, the missionaries who brought the gospel message to Ghana will always be remembered with regards to provision of human needs. Likewise the people in the study area will always hold in high esteem the church when the concern for spiritual renewal, empowerment to face the unknown and social welfare comes up.
86 CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction
This chapter forms the concluding part of the study. We would discuss the summary of the findings from the field. Finally we make some recommendations of the study and conclude.
5.1 Summary of Findings
From the study, we observed that the Kwahu Presbytery since it’s autonomy like the PCG has not lost sight of the faith and vision instituted by the Basel missionaries. Its scope of work was therefore wholistic, embracing both the spiritual and physical needs of the people. It is therefore not surprising that the PCG, due to the entrance and gains of the indigenous churches, came out with many policies to meet the interior needs of the people. These policies conformed to the worldview of people in the study area. From all indications the Presbytery has not rejected the culture of the people but embraced it. The amount of work that has been done by the church during the period under review has therefore been interconnected and redemptive and has served people. The church acknowledges that the offering of salvation through the preaching of Christ Jesus should be put within a context. Thus, the gospel message in word and deed has been used as a tool to bring hope to those who are poor spiritually as well physical welfare.
Focusing on the Kwahu Presbytery’s responses to the needs of the people, we established that the church is fully aware of its role. The church has always regarded its social role as part of its mandate from their Lord. The social and the spiritual responsibility of the
87 church is a characteristic of Jesus’ teaching and have a biblical mandate as recorded in the scriptures.
Our research led us to discover that, the Kwahu Presbytery being fully aware of its responsibility, considered meeting both the spiritual and social needs as a core mandate.
Preaching the gospel message to the people as the core mandate of the church should align itself with the hope and fears of the people emerging from their societal orientation.
In line with this the church believes strongly that feeding the poor and healing the sick is also a core responsibility. So in word and in deed the gospel message was shared.
Consequently, provisions were made in this regard. Thus, internally and externally the church sought financial and logistic assistance to support the people both spiritually and physically.
To simplify the process of the church in achieving its goal, a number of strategies were put in place. The church’s contributions towards meeting the spiritual needs of both members and non members were through house to house evangelism, dawn prayers, prayer sessions at the prayer centres, revivals, healing, deliverance and crusades, “all night” and “half night” meetings. It was also observed that the church had provided basic social amenities such as potable water, health centres, orphanage, basic schools, welfare schemes and an agricultural project. Some of these projects were generalized and others were specifically oriented. For instance the provision of portable water at Abetifi was to meet the water need of the people in the cmmunity. Likewise the Agricultural extension project at Tease was to help the farmers in the community improve upon their farming activities. It was also to empower the women who were into farming in the area.
88 Due to the role of the church in meeting the various needs of the people, a partnership was created with the larger community. This partnership framework sought to help the church work in peace and harmony. We also found out that no individual body can single handedly satisfy the various needs of the people. It is a shared responsibility. There is therefore the need for this kind of joint venture.
Both members and non members shared the view that the church has done well in its provisions of human needs. The general view was that the church has been successful in the various initiatives employed. The success story of the church has resulted in the development of the people in the church as well as the larger community. This growth was measured in terms of empowerment to deal with witchcraft, familiar oppression and ancestral influence, religious articulation and personal encounter with the supernatural.
Change in the socio-economic standing of the people involved and reduction in the various hindrances to the accessibility of basic social amenities in the area were also used.
Again it resulted in the numerical growth of the church’s membership. Some people have become church members as a result of the support from the church. However, we were made to understand that, the church can do more. Members and non members expects the church to do more especially in being concurrent with its liturgy. By so doing the church will be able to provide answers to the modern questions raised from the cultural context of the people. Again, the church should play a more active role in helping to put a stop to the activities of the Fulani herdsmen in the area.
89 5.2 Recommendations
The church has in its own way helped in meeting the needs of the people. However, there is still more to be done. We, therefore, recommend the following based on the findings and objectives of the study to be considered by the church at all levels.
i. The church at its ministerial training as well as that of the Catechist and Lay
leaders should contextualize its ministerial formation. The ministerial education
should be in tune with the worldview of the people so that the clergy and lay
leaders will become aware of which area of the people’s lives the gospel message
must be adaptive to. Refresher courses should be organized for the clergy and lay
leaders to deal with the current situation of members. By this the church will be
able to meet both needs of the people.
ii. We recommended that the church should depeen its liturgy to cater for the current
spiritual needs of the people. The liturgy should be more people-centred,
practicalized, participatory and modern. It should perform better than the
traditional religion in meeting the aspirations of the people. The church should
therefore emphasize its liturgy to be Christ-centred but African in nature. The
new liturgy should be expressed in an authentic cultural term while at the same
time maintaining the purity of its Christ-centredness.
iii. We would like to praise the church in its methodology in the presentation of the
gospel message. The use of the local language and choruses as medium of
expression should not be compromised. As a missionary tool, the use of the local
language as well as the local choruses should be consolidated so as to put the
90 gospel message within the context of the people. The church should utilize these
cultural elements in its missiology and present the gospel message in patterns that
the people can identify themselves with. This will make the people function in a
body which is structurally indigenous to them.
iv. People with spiritual gifts should be coached to exercise them for the benefit of
all. This should be devolved to the local level so as to attract as many youth as
possible and those who have left or are not affiliated to any church. In the long
run not only will those in the youthful age range be maintained but others will
rejoin or join the church. This will in turn offer credence to Presbyterian’s claim
to its Reforming status and ideas.
v. In the face of today’s spiritual challenges facing the church and members, we
recommend that the PCG must intensify its prayer related activities in order to
remain practicable and vibrant. This should be done from the Presbytery level to
the local level. The establishment of the prayer related programs should therefore
be taken very serious and consolidated at all the local levels.
vi. We recommend that the PCG should move quickly to improve the Atibie prayer
and healing centre. Looking at the increasing rate at which people come there for
help, the place must be enhanced. The church should therefore improve the
infrastructure and accessiblility to the centre. To cater for those beyond the
Afram River, the church should upgrade the one at Donkorkrom. Like the one in
Atibie it should have a place of its own with the necessary infrastructure to make
91 it accessible to the people around. This will help reduce the burden on the Atibie
centre and the risk involve in travelling.
vii. It is recommended for the consideration of the church to upgrade its various
welfare systems into a Cooperative or Credit Union. Cooperative or Credit
Unions is now a common phenomenon in Ghana. The inadequate resources of the
church are a challenge facing the church in its attempt to support its members
financially. The formation of a Cooperative or Credit Union will provide the
church with an avenue to meet these demands of the people. This will help the
church to meet the socio-economic needs of its members and the society.
viii. From the study we realized that the areas on the side of the Afram River to
Donkorkrom have only one Senior High School (SHS) at Donkorkrom. We
therefore recommend that the PCG should negotiate with the government to
establish one of the community SHS in the area.
ix. We recommend for the consideration of the church to upgrade the status of the
health centres at Ekye and Tease into a clinic or hospital with a doctor at the
station. Of immediate attention is the health cantre at Ekye. Consideration the
position of the town as an entering and exist point, there is the need for an
upgrade of the health centre.
92 5.3 Conclusion
The main concern of this study has been to identify the extent to which the Kwahu
Presbytery has responded to the spiritual and social needs of the people and to ascertain its effects on growth with the presentation of the gospel message. The study of the Kwahu
Presbytery responding to the existential needs of the people in the area indicates that the church sees its role as both spiritual and social. From its understanding of the make up of man and their way of life, the church’s provision of human needs was set within a wholistic context – body, mind and soul in addition to meeting their hopes and fears coming from their cultural milieu. Human needs were seen as both spiritual and physical with interconnectedness. The PCG in the Kwahu area understood its endeavors like the provision of spiritual renewal and empowerment, and provision of social amenities as a duty. It must be stressed that such programs had been undertaken with the intention of filling a spiritual and social vacuum. The church’s concern was also developed in their strong liking for evangelism and the provision of a prayer and retreat centre.
To meet the spiritual and social needs of the people in the Presbytery, the church designed and implemented various forms of policies. Strategies were implemented to bring about a transformation in the lives of people in all the three components of their lives, that is, from spiritual to physical and social. The church believed that, preaching the gospel message for people to gain salvation is certainly their calling. But within this understanding of their calling she maintains that attached to the gospel message is the need to transform the social and physical life of society. The preaching of the gospel should not only result in salvation but the total transformation of the individual’s life and society. There should be an interaction between spiritual redemption and physical wellness. Every policy was therefore to attend to the various needs of the members and
93 non members. The church believed that every course of action should be of benefit to the general population.
The study revealed that the church in her quest to respond to the spiritual emptiness of the people – religious expression and power encounter, dealing with hardship, witchcraft and enslavement under ancestral authority – adopted certain strategies. These were seen in the vibrant worship style ushered in by the use of the local choruses in the company of the local musical instruments and dancing, prayer, revivals, healing, deliverance, anointing and teaching services and crusades and outreach programs organized to spread the Gospel message to that effect. Accompanying these strategies was the establishment of a prayer centre. This has created an avenue for people in the area to seek for help in spiritual matters.
Following from the above discussion, it was observed that the church was concerned with how the people feed themselves. The church’s interest in agriculture has been lifelong and evident in the various establishments of agricultural projects and farms in the country since its inception. In pursuance of this, the PCG has established an Agricultural extension project at Tease. The project has trained and assisted farmers with skills in the mechanized and new ways of farming, irrigation practices and the application of fertilizers. Aside this, it has also empowered the women in farming, simple agronomics or farm management training, nutrition and HIV/AIDS awareness. Coupled with the above have been the employment opportunities for the unemployed. All these have helped the people to improve upon their livelihood.
94 Again, it was observed that in the church’s bid to meet the social needs of the people, the
PCG in partnership with Abetifi Men’s league has provided the people of Abetifi with a potable water system. By this the people can enjoin clean water year long. Thus, the problems of water shortages and water related diseases associated with water from the borehole have been dealt with. Potable water is now easily accessible in the area.
The church’s provision of health care in some areas is possibly one of its most important responses to the needs of the people. Significantly, the establishments of the Donkorkrom hospital, clinic at Abetifi and a health centre at both Ekye and Tease have all helped the people in meeting their health needs. Associated with these provisions is the establishment of an orphanage at Donkorkrom. This became necessary, as the study revealed, when the hospital chaplain could no longer house and care for the increasing number of children abandoned at the hospital in her house.
From the perspective of the work, the church, as well as preaching, providing medical care and assisting the needy, was also concerned with helping to give the people formal education. The church’s interest in education and higher learning was evident in the establishment of basic schools and a university college. Within such a model school, freed from corrupting influences, the students the church hope to educate could find not only personal salvation in Christ but a mind full of courage, strength and purpose to join in the church’s aim of transforming the society.
As observed, some provisions by the church were necessitated by other people. Given the position of the church in the country, its interest to help meet the various needs of the people necessitated its relations with some bodies like the government, community
95 leaders, sister churches and foreign partners. The significance of this is that the church is regarded as a partner in the development of the country.
The PCG has clearly established itself as a strong force in the spiritual and social provisions of the people in the Kwahu area. The use of the gospel message to assist people with fear of spiritual manipulations and hope for a better future is in the right direction. With lively preaching strategies, the PCG has re-structured her liturgy and evangelistic methods. The change is seen as the church going back to the ideals and philosophy of the people. The spiritual awakening was a response to the low interaction between the members and their God, persistent fear of familiar influences and the relatively high dropout rates in the church’s membership. The application of the policies in the cultural setting of the people indicated the emergence of a personal experience of the Holy Spirit, empowerment to overcome one’s spiritual enemies and an interaction between spiritual redemption and physical wholeness. This is indeed a true reflection of the foundations laid down by the Basel missionaries. The achievements of the church today lie in her reforming responses to the challenges rooted in the cultural needs of the people. However, as the study has indicated, the PCG must continue to be modern, practical and involving with her liturgy in the way of life of the people. There is still the need for the church to engage in a purposeful and practical evangelism to win men and women in their cultural setting for Christ by empowering them spiritually.
96 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary sources (Interviews)
Rev. G. K. Acheampong, Kwahu Presbytery Chairperson, 5th February, 2016.
Rev. Jonathan Obour-Wiredu, Director Development and Social Services, 11th March,
2016.
Rev. Jonathan Odehe, Director of Missions and Evangelism, 2nd March, 2016.
Rev. Francis Ofori Nyarko, Minister in charge of the Prayer Centre at Atibie, 15th March,
2016.
Rev. G. W. Nugba, Abetifi District Miniter, 23rd February, 2016.
Rev. Enoch Obuobi, Nkwatia District Minister, 19th February, 2016.
Rev. M. A. Nyantakyi, Tease District Minister, 20th February, 2016.
Rev. Anane Boadaa, Donkorkrom District Minister, 20th February, 2016.
Rev. Obed Nii Okai Okantey, Resident Minister of the Presbyterian Church at Ekye, 23rd
February, 2016.
Nana Kwaku Anim, GyantuafoↃhene at Ekye, 20th February, 2016.
Nana Akuamoah Boateng Tano II, Chief of Donkorkrom No. I (Attakora), 21st February,
2016.
Nana Kena, Chief of Asikasu (Adontehene of Nkani), aslo a Retired Director of
Education, Amansie West in the Ashanti Region, 21st February, 2016.
Mr. Ignatius Ayonna, chief Physician Assistant at Presbyterian Clinic at Abetifi, 23rd
February, 2016.
Mr. Stephen Ahey, Unit Committee chairperson and also Senior Presbyter at Ekye, 20th
February, 2016.
Mr. Theophilus Avor, Assemblyman for Ekye Zongo Electoral Area, 23rd February, 2016.
97 Mr. Akubour Selassie, Assemblyman of Mepe-Ada-Twi Electoral Area at Ekye, 23rd
February, 2016.
Mr. David Bawa, Chief Physician Assistant at Presbyterian Health Centre at Ekye, 23rd
February, 2016.
Mr. Nicholas Tetteh, Project Manager of the Agricultural Project at Tease, 20th February,
2016.
Mr. Ofosu Addo Samuel, a Presbyter at Bethel Presbyterian Church, Donkorkrom, 21st
February, 2016.
Mr. Isaac Asante Sampong, Headmaster of Presbyterian Model School at Nkwatia, 23rd
February, 2016.
Secondary Sources
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98 Awolalu J. O. and Dopamu, P. A. West African Traditional Religion. Nigeria: Onibonoje
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Pickwick Publications, 2013.
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2000, Eritea: Africa World Press, Inc., 2010.
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100 Journals, Articles, Reports
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Ghana, 1980-2005” PhD thesis, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, 2011
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101 APPENDIX 1
RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CHURCH AND NON-CHURCH MEMBERS
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a final year post graduate student at KNUST conducting research on the topic:
PRESBYTERIANISM IN GHANA FROM 1978 TO 2013: RESPONDING TO THE
EXISTENTIAL NEEDS IN THE KWAHU PRESBYTERY. I would be grateful if you take a few minutes of your time to answer the following questions. All information you provide will be treated in the strictest confidence and will be used purposely for the research.
Thank you for your help.
Nyarko Isaac Atuobi
(Mphil Religious Studies)
0240563433
102 QUESTIONNAIRE
This questionnaire that you are about to complete forms part of a research being conducted by a student from the Department of Religious Studies, to measure the strategies employed by the Kwahu Presbytery to meet the needs of the people from 1978-
2013. You are kindly requested to read through the items and respond to them as frankly and objectively as possible. Your responses will be treated as confidential and will be used solely for academic purposes.
Please, indicate your responses by ticking (√) the appropriate box or filling in the spaces provided (where applicable).
SECTION A: PERSONAL / DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
1. Gender: Male [ ] Female [ ]
2. Age in years: Below 25 [ ] 25 – 34 [ ] 35 – 44 [ ]
45 – 54 [ ] 55 – 64 [ ] 65 and above [ ]
3. Educational background: Basic [ ] Secondary [ ]
Post-Secondary [ ] Tertiary [ ]
4. Religion: Christianity [ ] Islam [ ] Traditional Religion [ ]
Other [ ]
5. Religious denomination: Catholic [ ] Methodists [ ]
Presbyterian [ ] Pentecost [ ] Other [ ]
6. Marital Status: Single [ ] Married [ ] Divorced [ ] Widowed [ ]
7. Profession: Clergy [ ] Civil/Public servant [ ] Student [ ]
Farmer [ ] Trader [ ] Unemployed [ ]
Retired [ ]
103 8. Are you a native of this community? Yes [ ] No [ ]
9. How long have you being living in this community?
Below 10 [ ] 11 – 20 [ ] 21 – 40 [ ] 41 – 60 [ ] 61 and above [ ]
SECTION B: THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN NEEDS
Kindly rate the division of human needs as 1-6 where 1= highest, 2= higher, 3= high, 4= less, 5= lesser, 6= least (Question 10 only).
10. Human needs can be put under the following.
Human Needs 1 2 3 4 5 6 a. Spiritual b. Economical c. Social d. Psychological e. Physical
11. Which of the following do you consider as basic needs that give human beings
existence?
a. Food [ ] d. Shelter [ ] g. Healthcare [ ]
b. Water [ ] e. Education [ ] h. Clothes [ ]
c. Potable [ ] f. Prayer related programs [ ]
12. Which of the following are supposed to provide human beings with their basic
needs? a. Government [ ] d. Parents [ ]
b. Non – Governmental Organization [ ] e. Church [ ]
c. Community leaders [ ] f. Philanthropists [ ]
104 SECTION C: THE CHURCH AND HUMAN NEEDS
13. Do you consider the Church as a provider of human needs?
a. Yes [ ] b. No [ ] c. No idea [ ]
14. Which of the following does the church consider as basic for the existence of
human beings?
a. Food [ ] d. Shelter [ ] f. Healthcare [ ]
b. Potable Water [ ] e. Clothes [ ] g. Prayer [ ]
c. Education [ ]
15. Which of the following has the PCG provided in this community?
a. Food [ ] g. Teaching services [ ] l. Clinic [ ]
b. Portable Water [ ] h. Clothes [ ] m. Hospital [ ]
c. Tertiary Education [ ] i. Basic Education [ ] n. Shelter [ ]
d. Secondary Education [ ] j. Health centre [ ]
e. i. Prayer retreat centre [ ] k. Use of local choruses in worship [ ]
f. Prayer related programs [ ]
16. Identify some of the ways by which the church has put the gospel message within
your language and thought forms.
a. Local choruses in worship [ ]
b. Empowerment to deal with mystical causes [ ]
c. Vitality in worship [ ]
d. Experiences with the Supernatural [ ]
e. Ability to use one’s gift [ ]
f. Teaching Services [ ]
105 17. Since you live in the community, how would you rate the contribution of the church
towards meeting the needs of the people in the community? (1: Doing very well, 2:
Doing well, 3: Not doing well, 3: Not doing very well)
The Church and human needs 1 2 3 4 a. Spiritual needs by the church b. Social amenities by the church
18. Which of the following are the beneficiaries of the church’s provision of human
needs? a. Church members only [ ] b. General Population [ ]
19. What are the sources of funding for the church in the provision of these social
amenities? a. Offertory [ ] d. Government [ ] b. Investment [ ] e. Sister Churches [ ] c. Loans [ ] f. Non – Governmental Organizations [ ]
20. Which of the following bodies does the church partner with in its provision of human
needs? a. Traditional leaders [ ] d. Non – Governmental Organizations [ ] b. Other churches [ ] e. Philanthropists [ ] c. Government [ ] f. Other religious faith [ ]
21. Identify those who implement the Church’s policies on the provision of human needs. a. Pastors [ ] c. Special committee [ ] b. Ordinary church members [ ] d. Qualified person [ ]
106 22. Which of the following are outstanding human needs in your area yet to be met by the
church? a. Food [ ] f. Teaching services [ ] k. Clinic [ ] b. Portable Water [ ] g. Clothes [ ] l. Tertiary Education [ ] c. Basic Education [ ] h. Secondary Education [ ] m. Health centre [ ] d. Hospital [ ] i. Prayer retreat centre [ ] e. Shelter [ ] j. Use of local choruses in worship [ ] n. Prayer related programs [ ]
23. Have the various provisions by the Church brought about human/societal
development? a. No improvement [ ] c. Some [ ] e. Very much [ ] b. A little [ ] d. Much [ ]
107 APPENDIX 2
(A) INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR CHURCH LEADERS IN THE KWAHU PRESBYTERY
1. Please what is your name?
2. Please what is your position in the PCG?
3. Can you please tell me about the church’s view on human needs?
4. What were various strategies adopted by this Presbytery from 1978-2013 to meet the
needs of members and non-members?
5. What departments or agencies have been created by the Church to supervise the
various strategies adopted by the Church?
6. What role did these departments play towards meeting the needs of the people in the
community from 1978-2013?
7. Is there any linkage between meeting human needs and human growth?
8. Is there any linkage between meeting human needs and the Church’s growth?
9. Does the Presbytery always get the support of community leaders in its activities
towards meeting the needs of the people?
108 (B) INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THE KWAHU
PRESBYTERY
Interview schedule for community members in the Kwahu Presbytery
1. Please what is your name?
2. Please what is your position in the community?
3. Can you please tell me about your understanding of human needs?
4. Does the church have any strategy in this area towards meeting the needs of the
people?
5. How does the community members assess the various strategies adopted by the
Kwahu Presbytery towards this goal?
6. Has the Kwahu Presbytery met these expectations of community members towards
meeting the existential needs of the people in the community?
7. Is there any linkage between meeting human needs and human growth?
8. What does the community members expect the Kwahu Presbytery to do towards
meeting the needs of the people in the community during the period under review?
109 APPENDIX 3
MAP
110