Presbyterian Church of Ghana

Protestant denomination

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana

Presbyterian Church of Ghana Logo

Classification| Protestant
Orientation| Calvinist
Scripture| Holy Bible
Theology| Reformed
Polity| Presbyterian
Associations|

* Christian Council of Ghana
* All Africa Conference of Churches
* World Communion of Reformed Churches
* World Council of Churches[1]

Founder| Basel Mission
Moravian Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
Church of Scotland
Origin|

* 28 December 1828[2]
* 196 years ago

Accra, Gold Coast
Congregations| 4,889 (2019)
Members| 1,261,284 (2022)[3]
Publications| Christian Messenger
Official website| pcgonline.org

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is a Protestant denomination in Ghana. The denomination is considered mainstream Reformed Protestant, missions-focused and ecumenically-minded in theology, practices and traditions.The oldest, continuously existing, established Christian Church in Ghana, it was started by the Basel missionaries on 18 December 1828.[4] The missionaries had been trained in Germany and Switzerland and arrived on the Gold Coast to spread Christianity.[2] The work of the mission became stronger when Moravian missionaries from the West Indies arrived in the country in 1843.[5] In 1848, the Basel Mission Church set up a seminary, now named the Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong, for the training of church workers to help in the missionary work. The Ga and Twi languages were added as part of the doctrinal text used in the training of the seminarians. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Presbyterian church had its missions concentrated in the southeastern parts of the Gold Coast and the peri-urban Akan hinterland. By the mid-20th century, the church had expanded and founded churches among the Asante people who lived in the middle belt of Ghana as well as the northern territories by the 1940s. The Basel missionaries left the Gold Coast during the First World War in 1917. The work of the Presbyterian church was continued by missionaries from the Church of Scotland, the mother church of the worldwide orthodox or mainline (oldline) Presbyterian denomination. The official newspaper of the church is the Christian Messenger, established by the Basel Mission in 1883.[6][7] The denomination's Presbyterian sister church is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana.[8]

## Church structure

[edit]

The church is a founding member of the Christian Council of Ghana.[9] The association is an umbrella group that unites several churches in Ghana and monitors the activities of members to ensure that they are united in their Christian mission.[9][10] Ordained ministers wear the Geneva gown and a clerical collar. Historically considered a "high church" denomination, the institution’s form of worship is marked by formality – liturgical readings, recitation of the Apostles' Creed, traditional hymn singing, church announcements and periodic administering of the Holy Communion. The denomination also administers infant baptism and the rite of confirmation. Yearly religious observances, such as Advent and Lent are noted in the church’s almanac. In contemporary times, however, a 'praise and worship' segment, more commonly associated with evangelicalism, Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement, is sometimes incorporated into church services to meet the preferences of younger congregants.[11] The Presbyterian Hymn Book is used during services and is available in primarily English, Ga, Twi, Ewe and other Ghanaian languages and dialects.

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has seven church departments that have specific tasks of building up the church in their respective activities. These are:[2][12]

1. Department of Administration & Human Resource
2. Department of Church Life & Nurture
3. Department of Mission & Evangelism
4. Department of Ecumenical & Social Relations
5. Department of Development & Social Services
6. Department of Education
7. Department of Finance

## Membership

[edit]

By 2015, the church had 876,257 members and 2573 congregations. By the end of 2019, the PCG had about a total membership of 1,015,174.[12][5] According to the 2019 report of the Committee on Information Management, Statistics & Planning (IMSP) of the Department of Administration & Human Resource Management (AHRM) of the church, it had 4889 congregations. As of 2021, there were more than 1.7 million Presbyterians in Ghana, representing approximately 8% of Ghanaian Christians and comprising members of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Global Evangelical Church and other smaller Reformed denominations in the Presbyterian tradition.[13][5][8]

PCG Statistics – 2001 to 2022

Year  | Total  | Increase  | %Increase

|
|
|

2001  | 500,190  |  |
2002  | 535,130  | 34,940  | 7.0
2003  | 565,637  | 30,507  | 5.7
2004  | 578,727  | 13,090  | 2.3
2005[14] | 612,337  | 33,610  | 5.8
2006[14] | 615,391  | 3,054  | 0.5
2007[14] | 622,609  | 7,218  | 1.2
2008[14] | 624,890  | 2,281  | 0.4
2009[14] | 652,083  | 27,193  | 4.4
2010[14] | 691,949  | 39,866  | 6.1
2011[14] | 721,599  | 29,650  | 4.3
2012[14] | 739,548  | 17,949  | 2.5
2013[14] | 773,504  | 33,956  | 4.6
2014[14] | 811,807  | 38,303  | 5.4
2015[14] | 846,222  | 34,415  | 4.2
2016[14] | 876,010  | 29,788  | 3.5
2017[14] | 910,732  | 34,722  | 4.0
2018[14] | 947,015  | 36,283  | 4.0
2019[14] | 1,015,174  | 68,159  | 7.2
2020[14] | 1,063,649  | 48,475  | 4.8
2021[14] | 1,149,796  | 86,147  | 8.1
2022[14] | 1,261,413  | 111,617  | 9.7

## The Church and education

[edit]

Education is an integral part of the church's responsibility to the communities it operates in. In general, Ghanaian Presbyterians have a high educational attainment.[15][11] Together with Ghanaian Anglicans, Methodists and Roman Catholics \- Christian denominations that also prioritize higher education, Presbyterians in Ghana were historically disproportionately represented in the upper ranks of government, industry, academia and the professional occupations.[15] The church is the proprietor of more than 2400 basic schools including 487 kindergarten and nursery schools, 984 primary schools and 399 junior high schools. The church has 30 senior high schools, 40 private schools, 6 vocational institutions, 5 teacher training colleges, 2 research centres, 4 nursing training colleges and 5 training centres for pastors and laity.[2][16] In 2003, the church started a university known as the Presbyterian University College. It is located at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern region of Ghana.[17]

## The Church and health

[edit]

The original health mission of the church started at the Basel Mission. Rudolf Fisch opened the first hospital at the Basel Mission in 1885.[18][19] The church is a member of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG).[20] CHAG is an umbrella group that unites all the health facilities in Ghana that are owned and run by Christian churches in Ghana. The church is the third largest provider of healthcare in Ghana, in terms of number of health facilities across the country in cities and towns such as Agogo, Bawku, Dormaa-Ahenkro, Donkorkrom, Bolgatanga, Salaga, Tease, Konongo, Duayaw-Nkwanta, Garu, Sandema, etc. Among its 55 health institutions, the church operates four major hospitals, 11 primary health care programmes, eight health centres, 13 clinics, 4 nurses' training colleges and a technical unit. These institutions provide a substantial portion of health services in the rural areas with a workforce of 1,977 and total hospital beds of 745. Curative, preventive and promotive services are provided to clients by the facilities in their respective catchment areas. The PHC interventions cover areas such as antenatal care, postnatal care, family planning, nutrition, growth monitoring of children between 0–5 years, immunization, health education, environmental sanitation, HIV&AIDS control, prevention, home-based care and counselling and clinical care at the health centres. The Church is currently the third largest single provider of health services in the country. The hospitals provide medical specialist services with resident specialists as follows:

* Agogo Hospital – Ophthalmology, internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics / gynaecology and paediatrics
* Bawku Hospital – Ophthalmology, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery and obstetrics / gynaecology
* Dormaa Hospital – Paediatrics.[2]

## The Church and agriculture

[edit]

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana was established in 1828 and formalised partnership (Reg No. ACB 146/88) with the then government of Gold Coast now the Republic of Ghana in 1932 to contribute to the Spiritual and socio-economic development of the citizenry of Ghana. To this end, the Church established six (6) Agricultural Service stations in the late sixties in the Northern, Upper East, Eastern and Greater Accra regions of Ghana to complement the efforts of Government at poverty eradication in rural communities of the country.[2]

## Assets

[edit]

The church owns two printing and publishing houses including Waterville Publishing House, three newspapers, including Christian Messenger and eight bookshops. It has three retreat centres and operates four guest houses and three conference halls.[2]

## Church leadership

[edit]

### Moderator of the General Assembly

[edit]

The Moderator of the General Assembly position is the chairperson of the general assembly (previously synod), equivalent to the chief executive officer or managing director or president of the governing body of the national church organisation.[21] Serving moderators use the honorific style, The Right Reverend. Retired moderators use the style, The Very Reverend after leaving office.

No  | Moderator | Tenure of Office

|
|

1  | Peter Hall | 1918–22
2  | Nathaniel Asare | 1923–24
3  | W. A. Quartey | 1925–29
4  | L. L. Richter | 1930–31
5  | E. C. Martinson | 1932–38
6  | S. S. Odonkor | 1939–50
7  | E. V. Asihene | 1951–54
8  | E. Max Dodu | 1955–58
9  | E. M. L. Odjidja | 1959–66
10  | J. K. Sintim-Misa | 1967–78
11  | I. H. Frempong | 1979–86
12  | D. A. Koranteng | 1987–95
13  | A. A. Beeko | 1995–98
14  | Sam Prempeh | 1999–2003
15  | Yaw Frimpong-Manso | 2004–10
16  | Emmanuel Martey | 2010–16
17  | Cephas Narh Omenyo | 2016–18
18  | J. O. Y. Mante | 2018–23
19  | Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye | 2023– [22]

### Synod Clerk / Clerk of the General Assembly

[edit]

The Clerk of the General Assembly position (previously Synod Clerk) is the chief ecclesial (ecclesiastical) officer of the general assembly, equivalent to as the chief administrative officer or secretary-general or executive secretary of the national church organisation, responsible for daily operations or performance.[21] The Clerk uses the title style The Reverend. The following ministers were elected and served as the Synod Clerk or Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana:[21]

No.  | Synod Clerk / Clerk of the General Assembly | Tenure of Office

|
|

1  | Nicholas Timothy Clerk | 1918–32
2  | D. E. Akwa | 1933–40
3  | M. A. Obeng | 1941–49
4  | Carl Henry Clerk | 1950–54
5  | A. L. N. Kwansa | 1955–69
6  | T. A. Osei | 1970–74
7  | R. K. Sah | 1978–85
8  | E. S. Mate-Kodjo | 1985–95
9  | Ofosu Adutwum | 1995–97
10  | Nii Teiko Dagadu (Ag.) | 1997–99
11  | Charles Gyang-Duah | 1999–2003
12  | Herbert Oppong | 2004–12
13  | Samuel Ayete-Nyampong | 2012–19
14  | Godwin Nii Noi Odonkor | 2019– [23]

## Notable people

[edit]

* Gottlieb Ababio Adom
* Clement Anderson Akrofi[24]
* Rose Akua Ampofo[25]
* David Asante[26]
* John Azumah[27]
* Emilie Christaller[28]
* Johann Gottlieb Christaller[29]
* Alexander Worthy Clerk[30]
* Carl Henry Clerk
* Nicholas T. Clerk (1930–2012)
* Nicholas Timothy Clerk (1862–1961) [31]
* Peter Hall[26]
* Regina Hesse[32]
* Rose Ann Miller[30]
* Catherine Mulgrave[32]
* Theophilus Opoku[33]
* Rosa and Fritz Ramseyer[34]
* Carl Christian Reindorf[35]
* Andreas Riis[36]
* George Peter Thompson
* Rosina Widmann[32]
* Johannes Zimmermann[37]

## Outside Ghana

[edit]

The church has a congregation in New York City, US[38] and in Milton Keynes, England.[39] There is also a congregation in Toronto, Canada.[40] There is also a church in Riverside, California. Overall, the church has congregational overseas branches in the following presbyteries:

* North America and Australia
* Europe
* Africa
* Cuba
* India

## Gallery

[edit]

* Christ Presbyterian Church, Akropong

* Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu

* Ramseyer Memorial Presbyterian Church

## See also

[edit]

* Christianity portal

* Basel Mission
* Christianity in Ghana
* Christian Messenger
* Christ Presbyterian Church, Akropong
* Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu
* Ramseyer Memorial Presbyterian Church
* Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana
* Methodist Church Ghana

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "WCRC churches". Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
2. ^ a b c d e f g "World Council of Reformed Churches". World Council of Churches website. 1 January 2006. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
3. ^ "Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana" (PDF). August 17, 2023. p. 6\. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
4. ^ "Origins, Heritage, Birth of Presbyterian Church of Ghana". GhanaWeb. 22 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
5. ^ a b c "History of The PCG". Pcgonline. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
6. ^ "Christian Messenger, Ghana". 2017-05-22. Archived from the original on 2017-05-22. Retrieved 2017-11-28.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
7. ^ "Christian Messenger takes new look". GhanaWeb. 30 November 2001. Archived from the original on 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
8. ^ a b "Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana – Bringing Light to where there is Darkness". Retrieved 2022-01-28.
9. ^ a b "Welcome to the Christian Council of Ghana ". Christian Council of Ghana. Archived from the original on 2011-06-27. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
10. ^ "Organization profile". Ecuspace.net. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
11. ^ a b Tim Heaton, Spencer James and Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi (September 2009). "Religion and Socioeconomic Attainment in Ghana" (PDF). Review of Religious Research. 51 (1): 71–86.
12. ^ a b "About Us". Pcgonline.org. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
13. ^ "About-us". Global Evangelical Church. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Statistics of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (2005-2020)". Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
15. ^ a b Miller, Jon (2014). Missionary Zeal and Institutional Control: Organizational Contradictions in the Basel Mission on the Gold Coast 1828–1917. Routledge. p. 29\. ISBN 978-1-136-87625-7.
16. ^ Online, Peace FM. "Presbyterian Church of Ghana is 190 Years Today". Peace FM online. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
17. ^ "PUC". Presby university ghana. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
18. ^ Herzog, Fabian (3 September 2024). "A Brief History of Missionary Medicine in Aburi". Retrieved 1 January 2025.
19. ^ Paul, Jenkins (1856–1946). "Fisch, Rudolf". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
20. ^ "Welcome to the CHAG website". Chagghana. Archived from the original on 2011-06-26. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
21. ^ a b c Nkansa-Kyeremateng, K. (2003). The Presbyterian Church of Ghana: History and Impact. Accra: Sebewie Publishers. pp. 97–99.
22. ^ PCG website, I invite the entire Church to remain united and pray for the Lord to continue to lead us and guide us… Moderator Opare Kwakye, article dated August 30, 2024
23. ^ PCG website, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is very grateful for your dedication amidst this heavy storm… Rev. Dr. Nii Noi Odonkor, article dated June 28, 2024
24. ^ Dictionary of African Christian Biography website, Akrofi, Clement
25. ^ Wiley Online Library website, The Contribution of Women to Church Growth and Development in Africa, by Rose Ampofo dated March 25, 2009
26. ^ a b PCG website, Moderator calls on ministers to emulate the example of our pioneers
27. ^ Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs website, John Azumah
28. ^ Deutsche Biographie website, Emilie Christaller
29. ^ Ghana Remembers website, Johann Gottlieb Christaller, the German missionary who translated the Bible into Twi,
30. ^ a b Ghana Evangelical Missions Association website, Ghana Mission Handbook, p. 32
31. ^ Dictionary of African Christian Biography, Clerk, Nicholas Timothy (A)
32. ^ a b c InfoClio website, Encounters in Quest of Christian Womanhood. The Basel Mission in Pre- and Early Colonial Ghana, article by Ulrike Sill, 2008
33. ^ University of Basel website, The Reports of Theophilus Opoku: A 19th-Century Gold Coast Pastor, Michelle Gilbert and Paul Jenkins, dated February 19, 2024
34. ^ Dictionary of African Christian Biography website, Ramseyer, Fritz
35. ^ Dictionary of African Christian Biography website, Reindorf, Carl
36. ^ Jamaica Gleaner website, A Ghanaian church built by Jamaicans, article by Dr. Daniel J. Antwi dated October 7, 2003
37. ^ Dictionary of African Christian Biography website, Zimmermann, Johannes
38. ^ PCG Manhattan website
39. ^ PCG Salem website
40. ^ Ghanaian Presbyterian Church Toronto website

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