The Resident Minister of Shalom Worship Centre in the Kaneshie Area of The Church of Pentecost, Pastor Dr Joseph I.T. Buertey, has called on Christians to pray earnestly for missionaries as they contribute generously in support of Missions.

Pastor Dr Buertey made this call during a one-day retreat organised by the Shalom Worship Centre Friends of Missions, on Tuesday, March 7, 2018, at the Aburi Botanical Gardens as part of the 2018 Missions Week Celebrations.

The Friends of Missions is a group of believers in the Worship Centre who make monthly contributions to support the work of the Missions Directorate of The Church of Pentecost. The amount they contribute is used to complement the Missions Offering received from members during Sunday Communion Services.

Speaking at the retreat, Ps Dr Joseph Buertey, who doubles as the Projects, Development and Estate Manager at Church’s Headquarters in Accra, painstakingly narrated the history of The Church of Pentecost to the members which special emphasis on the Church’s involvement in Missions Work since the 1930s. He noted that the Missions Week has been set aside to commemorate the missionary work of Pastor James and Sophia McKeown in Ghana, which gave birth to The Church of Pentecost.

He began by taking participants through the call of the McKeowns to Missions, their acceptance to the call and the impact of their work in the then Gold Coast.

In his presentation, Pastor Dr Buertey brought to light some of the major challenges the McKeowns faced and the sacrifices they had to make to ensure that The Church of Pentecost was established.

“Pastor James McKeown lived in a compound house with their Landlord and his family. They ate local food, drank local water and mingled with the people he came to minister the gospel to,” he said.

According to the Resident Minister, these acts of Pastor McKeown and his wife, Sophia, endeared them to the people. This, he said, went a long way to make the gospel very practicable to the people.

He also revealed that although Pastor James McKeown stayed in the country for about four decades, he left the shores of Ghana with only his bag.

“Pastor McKeown made great sacrifices to ensure that the gospel reached as many people as possible. He put in place structures that have made the church a Christ-centred and self-sustaining one. With all these great strides, he left the shores of Ghana with only his bag,” he noted.

In his concluding remarks, Pastor Dr Joseph Buertey shared stories of how some missionaries of the Church are working at the peril of their lives to ensure that the gospel is heard in the remote parts of the country and in other countries.

The group engaged in a time of intercessory prayers on behalf of all missionaries both within and outside Ghana. They also engaged in other activities such playing games and breaking of bread, among others.

Report By: Gideon Osei Ansong and Gideon Kobena Fosu