THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST

VISION 2013

FIVE-YEAR VISION FOR THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST

COVERING THE PERIOD 2008 - 2013

THEME: THE REDEEMED PEOPLE OF GOD

(EXODUS 6:6-8).

Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will free you from your slavery in Egypt.     I will redeem you with mighty power and great acts of judgment. I will make you my own special people, and I will be your God. And you will know that I am the Lord your God who has rescued you from your slavery in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It will be your very own property. I am the Lord! (Exodus 6:6-8; NLT, emphasis mine).

INTRODUCTION

I thank the Lord, who is the Head of the Church, for calling me this time to serve Him in the highest office of The Church of Pentecost.  Similarly, I am grateful that He has called you to serve as leaders of the Church. 

I consider this calling a privilege that demands a very great responsibility.  That is, the responsibility to serve the “Redeemed People of God”. Of course, we serve God, but how can we serve the God we cannot physically see and neglect service to our neighbours?  Serving the “Redeemed People of God” is serving God. We can succeed in this divine service only if we come together as a team.

Against this background, after the election, I found it appropriate to write letters to all Executive Council Members, Area Heads in Ghana, and Movement Directors to present to me papers on issues which need to engage our attention for the next five years. The quality of the responses I received was wonderful.

For more information and views, I interacted with many groups and individuals. The question I often asked was, “What do you expect from your Chairman?” The results of these interactions were insightful and interesting. 

The people I interacted with include the PUC staff, members of committees I met at the Transit Quarters, church members who paid visits to the Pentecost University College for recreation, members of local assemblies I visited, church officers and friends who visited me at home, and the Pensioners Fraternity in Kumasi and Accra. I hereby thank all those people who were able to respond to my request. While some of the responses were very similar, others were very divergent and contradictory. This shows that people differ in their expectations, which makes the task ahead of us complex and difficult.

I want to acknowledge the work of the past Chairmen, General Secretaries, International Missions Directors, past Executive Councils and other founding leaders, who have laid the good foundation upon which has been built such a great church, with Pentecostal distinctiveness. 

I particularly want to acknowledge the efforts of Chairman M. K. Yeboah, who established the giving of annual themes and Chairman M.K Ntumy who did not only formalise the giving of the annual themes but also introduced vision statements. May the Lord bless both of them and may their legacies live on forever.

In the preparation of this document, I read through minutes of past General Council meetings and dug for some decisions that had been taken.  I read through the Church Constitution, Church Practices, Administrative Manual, Missions Board’s Vision for 2006-2011, Vision 2003 and Vision 2008. I waited upon the Lord in fasting and prayer and heard from Him.  I also reviewed the responses I received from the Heads and the people I interacted with. 

After these, I shared the vision with the Executive council who have read and fine-tuned it. What follows is the outcome of the vision as tuned and polished by the Executive council.

I appeal to all Christian leaders, in the mercies of God, to cooperate with us to “bring God” close to His redeemed people. Usually, our people perceive God as being far from His creation, including human beings.  This wrong perception influences their worship —prayer, church attendance, attitude towards church activities, offering, and life styles. Through our teaching, prayer and exemplary lives, we shall be able to accomplish our goal of bringing people close to God.

I plead that you read this document more than two times, to acquaint yourself with its content.  Again, consult it as often as necessary, as you reflect on God’s Vision for The Church of Pentecost in this generation.

I want to remind you that this document is not an end in itself.  The apostle Paul was right to say, “for we know in part and we prophesy in part…” (1 Cor. 13:9; NIV); thus, this Vision Statement may only be a fragment of what God has for his people in our time.  Consequently, the Executive Council and the other organs of the church may need to review the document whenever necessary and consider new issues and ideas as they unfold.

May the Lord bless you for your commitment and service.

COP  MISSION STATEMENT

 Vision Statement

Planting and nurturing healthy churches globally.

Mission Statement

We exist to establish responsible and self-sustaining churches filled with committed, Spirit-filled Christians of character, who will impact their communities for Christ.

Vision 2013 Goal

The Church’s  five-year goal shall be ‘Bringing the people closer to God.’ This would help them know God as a loving and caring Father who is interested in and concerned about their lives.

Summary of Vision Strategy

Through the teaching of the Word of God, Christians, who see God as a being distant from them will be encouraged to acknowledge Him as a loving Father who is very close to them. God will be portrayed as a Father who is concerned and interested in every aspect of their lives, including the social, economic, political and religious spheres. 

Efforts will be made to consolidate the beliefs and practices of the founding leaders, by reviewing church practices and making them more relevant to contemporary situations.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.           We are committed to nurturing a sustainable spiritual development of church members by strengthening the local assemblies through teaching and prayers.

2.          We are committed to strengthening and committing every Area, District, Local Assembly, Movement, and individual to evangelism, discipleship and church planting to achieve 35% growth of overall church membership over the five-year plan period.

3.          We are committed to increasing trust at all levels and everywhere between Heads and their subordinates, and between clergy and the laity, for effective implementation of General Council decisions and church policies.

4.           We are committed to providing relevant resources and training opportunities to help ministers upgrade themselves to meet contemporary challenges. 

5.          We are committed to assisting every Area to equip, empower and encourage all lay leaders, especially elders, to serve as ministry partners.

6.          We are committed to giving special attention to Ministerial training for the external branches especially in the Francophone, European, North American, Central, Eastern and Southern African countries.

7.          We are committed to giving assistance for a mega church auditorium to be put up for use during some official functions.

8.         We are committed to considering the establishment of Regional Executive Committees to help lighten the work load of the Executive Council and to facilitate an effective administration of the Areas.

9.          We are committed to making the roles of the re-organised Movements more functional; each member will be encouraged to belong to, at least, one Movement.

10.       We are committed to improving our finances by stressing biblical principles of tithing and sacrificial giving of offerings. We shall administer all funds with prudence.

A programme called “Operation Local Development” which seeks to help local assemblies to build suitable places of worship will be launched. This applies especially to those assemblies that worship under trees and in classrooms.

11.       We are committed to continuing The Review of Missions policies by the Missions Board to reflect the current growth of Missions.

12.       We are committed to giving assistance to the Northern Outreach programme for continual growth.

13.      We are committed to giving special attention to the Pentecost University College, social services and other forms of welfare schemes for members. These will be used as avenues for evangelism.

14.  We are committed to helping Pentecost Press to improve its services. The Press shall be sensitised to meet deadlines and produce better quality work, in order to attract and retain more jobs.

15.  We are committed to motivating PENTEMEDIA to continue to extend its services beyond providing materials for “Pentecost Hour” radio and television programmes, to producing ministrations of church personalities through modern media formats including audio and video tapes, CDs, DVDs, ipods, e-books, satellite transmissions and websites.

16.  We are committed to strengthening our fraternal relationship with other churches and para-church organisations through various interactive meetings.

17.   We are committed to ensuring that the Church continues to contribute its quota and also plays a prophetic role for national development.

18.   We are committed to raising ministerial performance and standards.

19.   We are committed to revisiting the original idea of establishing the PIWCs.

20.   We are committed to ensuring that the Headquarters continues to sharpen its effectiveness by offering training and development opportunities for staff.

21.  We are committed to scheduling the Executive Council meetings four times a year.

1.0   NURTURING SUSTAINABLE SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

1.1.  Overview (1 Cor. 16:19; Rom. 16:5; Col. 4:15; Phm. 2)      

The spiritual life of people is mirrored in their worship (that is, the way they pray, the things they pray for and the exercise of spiritual authority).  Secondly, it is exhibited in their behaviour and lifestyles (that is, the way they dress, speak and act). Thirdly, it is portrayed by their expectations (for example, their genuine belief in the second coming of Jesus Christ or satisfaction with earthly blessing).  

The local assembly is the church’s epicentre for most spiritual life and development activities. God must be brought to where the people are.  Ministers and all church officers will be encouraged to allow more spiritual activities to take place at the local level. 

1.2   Action Plan

·           Fasting and prayer will be encouraged at all levels.                                   

·           Systematic study of specific topics will be encouraged.

·           Church leaders and members will be encouraged to adopt “Operation bring God to the home” as a devotional life development for individuals and families.

·           Ministers, officers and all individuals will be encouraged to practise and stress the importance of biblical principles of stewardship and the centrality of God’s word as elements of worship.

·           Efforts will be made to designate a day within the week as a Family Day for family members to spend time together. On such days no meeting will be fixed at the local level except in special teaching and prayer sessions. 

·           Every local assembly will be encouraged to ensure the success of the Bible Study and home cells system. The effective use of the study outline will be promoted.

·           Every local assembly will be encouraged to become a House of Prayer.

There shall be effectual fervent prayers for the Holy Spirit baptism, the sick, the needy, the oppressed and the demon-possessed. At the end of term we should be able to have over 90% of the members baptised in the Holy Spirit.

·           Prayer meetings will be directed not to be considered as fund raising meetings, but purely for spiritual deepening.

·           Officers and members will be encouraged to exercise their gifts at the local level.

·           Five (5) days teaching and prayer sessions, at least once a month, will be encouraged to be organised by all ministers and officers.  The communion week shall be used for this exercise. Ministers will be encouraged to conduct such meetings in various local assemblies.

·          Christ-centred Pentecostal type of worship, where knowing and loving Jesus Christ is paramount, will be stressed at our worship. This will be publicised as the type of worship that exalts God.

·           Presiding elders will be admonished to give a place to spiritual gifts, such as prophecies, visions and Holy Spirit inspired songs, at church services.  Yet, they will be requested to judge all the manifestations of the Spirit, for example, by asking some officers to examine visions before allowing them to come to the church public for consumption.

2.     EVANGELISM, DISCIPLESHIP, CHURCH PLANTING AND GROWTH

2.1  Overview (Matt 28: 18-20; Acts 2:47; 1 Cor 9:16-23)

The great commission is central to the church’s work. We have been commanded by the Lord to go and make disciples in every nation. 

Efforts will be made at all levels and through all possible avenues, to preach the gospel in our communities as well as unreached areas. All special meetings such as funerals, weddings, farewells, and naming ceremonies will have soul-winning activities ingrained.  Social services, such as the operations of the University College, Senior High Schools and Junior High Schools, will be evangelism-oriented.  

Discipleship of all members and officers unto maturity through sound teachings and fervent prayers will be pursued at all levels.

We expect a 35% growth in the overall membership of the church by 2013. This implies an increment from 1,700,000 to 2,300,000. Consequently we intend to win and retain 600,000 new converts within the five-year period. That is, 120,000 converts every year. Over the past five years, there was a growth from 1,300,000 to 1,700,000 (an increase of 400,000); which implies that the membership grew by 32.5%. That is,   80,000 new converts per year over the past five years.

The combined converts baptised and retained and children dedicated and retained, for the past five years (2003 - 2007), came up to 98, 591 as against an expected 120,000.  The former target will be increased by 25% to 150,000 for the next five years.

We plan to plant 3,000 new Assemblies over the five-year period. That is, 600 new Assemblies every year.  The total number of Assemblies opened in the past five years (2003-2007) was 3022.  This worked out to an average of about 604 new Assemblies every year.      

We plan to create 200 new Pastoral Districts in the five-year period. This will give an average of 40 new districts every year. The total number of newly created Districts for the last five years was 412, an average of 82.4 a year. (See appendix 1).            

2.2           Action Plan

·        All Assemblies and Districts will be encouraged to embark on all forms of evangelism such as open-air rallies, house to house and crusades.

·        Every member will be motivated to adopt evangelism as a lifestyle.

·        Presiding elders and District Pastors will be encouraged to make conscious efforts to reach the unconverted and the unreached people.

·        Every District will be motivated to plant at least one assembly every year.  Where geographical space is not possible, the District should support another District to open an additional assembly.  Reports must be made on this.

·        Every Assembly and District will be encouraged to take advantage of the radio and television stations available in their localities for the propagation of the gospel.

·        Encourage shift systems for places where new assemblies cannot be established.

·        Annual “souls” targets will be given to Areas and passed on to the Local Assemblies.

·        All Movements will be encouraged to seriously work on the new evangelistic roles. Besides the reports that the movements send to their respective authorities, District pastors must also report on the Movements’ new evangelistic roles to their AreaHeads.  The report must include the Pastor’s involvement in the activities of the Movements.

·        Individuals, Assemblies, Districts, Areas and Nations that win the most souls will be recognised and awarded prizes at various levels.

3.0 INCREASING TRUST AMONG MEMBERS AT ALL LEVELS

3.1  Overview (Gen.39:4-9; Dan.6:4-5; Matt. 25:14-30; Php. 2:19-30)

3.2      Action Plan

·         Special teaching at retreats will be done on “Trust, Character and Competence” at various levels.

·         Efforts will be made through follow-ups to make existing church policies and procedures work at all levels. Church policies will be explained at District/Area Officers’ retreats.

·         The holding of open fora will be encouraged at various levels of the church, including locals, districts, areas and national. Special meetings will be held at various levels to interact with stakeholders, such as deacons, deaconesses and elders. Interactions will be encouraged to take place among the Movements to address issues of concern to them.

·         Theological discourses or seminars will be held on issues that appear controversial, and “agreeable” conclusions drawn.  A National theological seminar may be held in 2010.

·         Leaders will be helped to properly check statistics of church members before presenting them at various levels.

·         Responsible officers will be asked to be more vigilant in the fair demarcation of newly-created Districts and Areas, as currently directed by the Executive Council.

·         Ministers will be admonished not to criticise their predecessors, fellow ministers and church officers openly.

·         Ministers will be encouraged to make time to visit the members at their residences, work places or wherever they may be contacted, such as schools, market places, lorry parks, shops, garages (fitting shops) and farms.

4.0 MINISTERIAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Overview (2 Tim. 2:15; Acts 17:11; Acts 18: 24-28; Ezra 7:9-11)

The ministry is challenged by the dynamics and trends of the contemporary environment. This calls for a constant upgrading and increasing of knowledge and skills in modern trends for all ministers.  To be more effective in today’s ministry is to engage in life-long learning processes, which are sharpened through prayer.  Provision needs therefore to be made for relevant resources and training opportunities for the ministers. 

4.2      Action Plan

·         Possibility of upgrading the “New Entrants” ministerial training to two years. One year full-time at PUC and the second year to be taken through the School of Theological Education by Extension (STEE).

·         Avenues will be created for those who want to pursue the M.Th. or M.A. degrees to enhance their education and ministry.

·         Identify and sponsor at least five ministers who can pursue M.Phil. and/or Ph.D. degrees in Theology and other disciplines.

·         Senior ministers’ refresher courses will be revisited and tailored to meet our current needs.  Church leaders are to be included in the lecturing.

·         Heads will be encouraged to attend conferences and short courses.

·         Systematic programmes will be implemented to get all ministers who have, at least, more than five years before retiring from the ministry to have the basic knowledge in the use of computers.

·         Specialised training in areas, such as children’s work and chaplaincy ministries for educational institutions, hospitals, the military, prisons, and police will receive special attention.

·         Apostolisation of ministers at National, Regional and Area levels, where two or more Apostles and Prophets team-up in ministry with the aim to impart ministry gifts will be carried out.

·         National conferences to be held.  

o   One COP all-ministers conference will be held in 2009.

o   One national all-ministers and wives conference will be held in 2011.

·         Area Retreats will be streamlined to have an apostolisation purpose.

o   The Chairman will draw speakers’ plans from time to time.

o    The timing of the Area retreats will be adjusted to the early part of the year so that the theme could be well handled during the year.

·         Apostles, Prophets and Evangelists prayer meetings will continue. The focus sometimes will be, “What have you received from the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:23).

·         Monday as a day of rest for ministers will be strongly encouraged.

·         Ministers will be encouraged to take their annual leave.

5.0 LAY LEADERSHIP TRAINING

 5.1 Overview (Rom.16:1-16; 1 Cor.16:15-18; Eph. 4:11-15; 1 Tim. 3:1-15;  2Tim. 2:2)

The beauty and strength of The Church of Pentecost are its application of the principle of the priesthood of all believers.  Every Area needs be motivated to equip, empower and release lay leaders to serve as ministry partners. Again every Area needs to be encouraged to make provision for the sole purpose of giving regular training to the lay leaders.

5. 2     Action Plan

·         All elders will be made to attend the Lay Leadership Course.

·         PUC shall, in consultation with the respective Heads, draw up the programme for the annual Lay Leadership Course and present it to the Heads by November of the preceding year.

·         A committee will to be set up to synchronise the PUC lay leaders’ school and Area leaders’ school materials.

·         New officers may go through the Lay Leadership training before ordination. Prospective officers are to go through special training to enable them know and understand the Church’s beliefs, practices, policies and procedures before they are ordained. 

·         Arrangements will be made for serving officers who have not gone through the Lay Leadership course to do so. Certificates of participation will be given to all church officers, after the training programme.

·         Church officers will be encouraged to attend one year STEE programme.

·         Area retreats will be well planned and taken seriously.

6.0 MINISTERIAL TRAINING FOR EXTERNAL BRANCHES

 6.1 Overview (2 Tim. 2:15; Acts 17:11; Acts 18: 24-28; Ezra 7:9-11)

6.2      Action Plan

 6.2.1. Francophone Areas

·         Meeting with some Heads of the Francophone nations to strategise and speed up the construction of the proposed college at Bonua, La Côte D’Ivoire, which is to be completed by 2010.

·         Identify and train four more people to lecture in the college.

·         Identify and sponsor the Principal for further theological studies.

6.2.2.  Europe

·         A nation will be identified in Europe to serve as a centre for ministerial training.

6.2.3.  North America (USA & Canada)

·         A facility has already been bought in USA for this purpose. Those in North America will be expected to train there.

·         Plans will be put in place to identify and train future lecturers.

6.2.4.  Central, Eastern & Southern Africa

·    6.2.5 Asia & Australia

7. 0        A MEGA CHURCH AUDITORIUM FOR SOME FUNCTIONS

 7.1.     Overview

The church needs an international cathedral, a very spacious place of worship, or giant auditorium which can accommodate national and international functions.  Presently, the Sophia McKeown Memorial Temple at La, which was used for these purposes, though upgraded, is still too small for such occasions.

7.2.          Action Plan

·         The church will assist PIWC to complete the auditorium at Kwabenya Junction

·         A team will be commissioned to study the structures of some churches in Ghana and adapt same to suit our purpose.

·         A team will be sent to Nigeria to explore the possibility of adopting the Deeper Life/Redeemed Church structures that are able to seat thousands of people.

8.0 REGIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES

 8.1  Overview (1 Cor. 14:33, 40; Titus 1:5)

The church’s statistical and historical records indicate that in 1963 when the adult church membership was 43,000, the Executive Council membership was seven (7). The Council was enlarged to nine (9) in 1988 when two members, one representing the Anglophone and one the Francophone countries, were added. The church’s membership then was around 128,000.  The membership increased to just below 1,700,000 by 2007.  Today, it should be above 1,700,000. 

The church’s ongoing decentralisation programme, which is aimed at meeting the challenges of a growing church, by devolving some of the responsibilities of the Executive Council to reduce its burden to an extent compatible with enhancement of its efficiency and effectiveness, will be continued.

8.2 Action Plan

·         The Executive Council will discuss the report. 

·         The Report will be presented at the Heads meeting for further discussions.

·         The Executive Council will put to test some of the decisions on a pilot  basis in 2009

9.0 RE-ORGANISED MOVEMENTS’ ROLES TO BE MORE FUNCTIONAL

 9.1 Overview (Num. 1:52-53; Num. 2:1-34; Jer. 4:21-22; 2 Tim. 2:1-3)

The Movements are very important to the growth and development of the church.  A committed member of a movement has a sense of belonging.  Attempts will be made to make each church member associate with, at least, one of the Movements. All Movement Directorates will be charged with developing study and training manuals that seek to train its members in allocated areas of speciality. This will help equip each member in practical evangelistic ministry.

9.2      Action Plan: Witness Movement

·         Leadership will be helped to attend conferences with the aim to abreast themselves with contemporary challenges and developments.

·         Leadership will be motivated to develop and provide resource materials and incentives for aggressive (corporate and personal) evangelism.

 9.3 Action Plan: Women Movement

·         Leadership will be helped to attend conferences with the aim to abreast themselves with contemporary challenges and developments.

·         Attempts will be made to mobilise and maximise the resources of women.

·         Periodic training will be organised for them.

9.4 Action Plan: Pentecost Men’s Fellowship

·         Attempts will be made to tap the resources of the majority of the professionals within the Areas for the benefit of the entire church.

9.5            Action Plan: Youth Ministry

·         Full-time Regional and Area Youth pastors will be experimented.  

·         A memo from the Youth Ministry on the appointment of Youth Pastors, which was approved in 2006 by the Executive Council, will be reviewed.

·         Executive policy of catching the youth while they are young will continue.

·         Encourage some Areas to establish Youth Centres where counselling, recreation and reading facilities will be provided for the youth.

9. 6     Action Plan: Children Movement

·         Identify and sponsor some pastors for further training in children’s work, in 2009. 

·         Periodic training will be given to the leaders.

·         Full-time Regional Pastors will be experimented

 9. 7     General Action Plan

·         Meeting days      

o   The Youth will continue to meet on Mondays.

o   The Women Movement and PEMEF may meet on Tuesdays. (Where no space is available within the place of worship, PEMEF can meet outside or alternative arrangements may be made).

o   Bible Studies/Home Cells meetings will remain on Wednesday evenings.

o   Witness Movement may continue to meet on Thursday evenings.

o   Fridays will continue to be given to Prayer Meetings.

o   Sunday evenings will be set aside for Family Fellowship

·         Every member, including officers, will be expected to belong to, at least, one Movement.

·         Area Heads and District Pastors will be required to ensure the successful implementation of this policy and for the smooth running of the Movements.

·         Persons to be called into leadership positions will have to demonstrate commitment to at least one Movement.

·         Movements’ study materials for the impending year will be ready by the end of November of each year.

·         Directors to present their Calendar of Activities to the Chairman by the end of October each year.

10.0 IMPROVE OUR FINANCES BY STRESSING ON BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES ON GIVING AND TO ADMINISTER ALL FUNDS WITH PRUDENCE

   10.1 Overview (Mal. 3:10; 1 Cor. 9:7-14; 2 Cor. 8:1-21; 2 Cor. 9:6-15; 1 Tim. 6:17-21)

Tithing and offering will remain the main sources of income for the church.  Members will be helped through teaching to excel in their various businesses and professions.  It is believed that when the incomes of members increase, their giving of tithes and other offerings will also improve accordingly. 

The use of church funds will be prioritised.  The order of top priority expenditure items will be operational costs, evangelism, training, building places of worship and mission houses. These will be given special attention. Attention will also be given to the development of the deprived Areas and Districts.  Social obligations such as meeting the needs of society and providing special assistance to some para-church organisations will not be neglected.

10.2    Action Plan

·         The church’s financial policies on issues, such as fund-raising, targets for Movements, and free will offerings, will be made to work through sound teachings and motivation.

·         The current Internal Audit systems will be strengthened.

·         Biblical teaching on tithes and offering will be done at local and district levels.

·         Policies on the church’s building projects will be reviewed and strengthened. 

·         Attention will be given to the assemblies that worship in classrooms, temporary structures and under trees, to enable them put up suitable places of worship. This is to be done under a programme to be called “Operation Local Development” which will be launched soon.  

o  The AIDF will be used for local chapels and district mission houses in line with the “Operation Local Development” programme.

o  Ministers will be encouraged to ensure that all assemblies under their jurisdiction are properly housed.  This, however, must not discourage them from opening of new assemblies.                                                                                 

o   In view of the above, the construction of apparently expensive offices and mission houses in some areas and districts will be discouraged.

o   The expansion and renovation of existing Area/District mission houses will need approval by the appropriate authorities. 

o   Assemblies that have their own building will be requested to help assemblies which were created from them to put up their own.

o    Instead of having two or more church buildings within a small community, the assemblies may be encouraged to build one bigger central church to accommodate such assemblies, and adopt a good shift system.

·         Area deacons and the Area finance committees will be encouraged to exercise financial oversight of the districts and assemblies in their areas, in accordance with the recommendations of the Tithes Review committee.

·         All pastors and officers will be requested to study the report of the Tithes Review committee and put the recommendations into practice.

o  Reviewed copies of this including new directives on offering will be given to all ministers.

o  Ministers will be required to share this with all officers at both District and Area levels.

·         The FAM system which was on pilot basis will be phased out with the introduction of qualified accounts officers.

11.0 THE REVIEW OF MISSION POLICIES BY THE MISSION BOARD TO REFLECT THE CURRENT GROWTH OF MISSIONS WILL BE CONTINUED

 11.1    Overview (Mat. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8;Acts 15:19-21; Rom. 15:1-13; 1 Cor. 9:15-23)

The reason for the church’s existence is Missions. It is the heart of the Christian experience. The Church of Pentecost has the responsibility and potential of making significant contributions to worldwide Christianity. At the moment, the church is at the threshold of making this global impact. Our excellent success in this direction depends on our ability to rise up and meet the challenges of the contemporary world. 

One person who was able to meet the challenges of his time, by applying biblical missions principles, without the use of missions text books, was the founder of The Church of Pentecost–Rev. James McKeown. He was a true apostle of his generation.  Pastor McKeown’s success was due to the fact that he was able to question and change existing structures and policies which were not consistent with biblical teachings, or did not fit into the cultural milieu of the people.  He also sought to develop leadership by example through the principles of discipleship. He showed confidence in indigenous people as the Holy Spirit took over the work by grace.

At the moment, the church’s missions activities have done very well in some parts of Africa.  When it comes to the West, what the church’s Mission appears to offer is what some people term as “chaplaincy services”.  This is the tendency where the churches tend to provide spiritual and moral support to the Ghanaians in the Diaspora, rather than making inroads into the white, Asian and other African communities. 

To be able to make inroads into cultures other than our own, we need to intensify our training for the newly-called missionaries, old missionaries, and indigenous leaders. We must also revisit our policies on Missions.

11.2    Action Plan

·         Attempts will be made to clearly explain what is meant by missions work.

·         Indigenous leadership training, which was started by the IMD, will be revamped and continued.

·         The training of newly-called missionaries will be done with the support of PUC, for about four weeks.

·         Periodic seminars or conferences will be planned for old missionaries.

·         Missionaries will be expected to read relevant literature on Missions work.

·         Missionaries will be encouraged to include attending of conferences in their visions for the ensuing years.

·         Missionaries will be encouraged to make a conscious effort to identify, train and call younger people to the ministry.

·         The International Missions office will continue to implement measurable steps to evangelise and disciple unreached nations and people groups.

·         Missions stations will be encouraged to continue to do neighbourhood church-planting in the neighbouring countries.

·         The Missions Board will make conscious efforts to implement missions policies.

·         The on-going granting of autonomy to nations will be planned ahead and continued.

·         European and North American conferences will be strengthened.

·         The Missions policies will be reviewed to include:

o    Regional Missions Coordinators (RACs) who will be assisting the International Mission Director in the administration of the region. This is not to be a permanent constitutional provision.

The Regional Missions Coordinator and the National Heads in the region may meet to discuss matters of international concern and advise the International Missions Board.  They may suggest possible items related to ministry in the international community for inclusion on the agenda of the General Council. They may also provide a forum to discuss challenges and issues of concern to ministry in the international community. They will also facilitate the raising of issues of international concern, for balanced decisions at Missions Board, Executive and General Council levels.

o    It is recommended that the RMCs will not to be permanent constitutional structures, but rather ad-hoc, because permanent structures do not hold in this contemporary super dynamic technotronic age. Permanent structures often become impediments to rapid progress. Change may be necessary once a policy is found out to be ineffective in practice.

o    The possibility of calling Tent-Making Ministers (TMMs), among highly- skilled academia in the West (such as USA, Australia and Europe) where the TMMs can stand in well for Full-Time Ministers, will be considered.

12.0      NORTHERN OUTREACH

12.1          Action Plan

• The current guideline for their operations will be adhered to.
• Periodic Seminars will be conducted for the ministers at post.
• Interactions will be made with Heads who have such churches under their jurisdiction.

13. 0     PENTECOST UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, SOCIAL SERVICES AND WELFARE

 The primary concern of the church is to represent Christ, who meets the spiritual, material and social needs of the people.  Consequently, the church’s services to society in the areas of education and health will be given special attention.  These demonstrations of God’s love to society will also be used as a platform for evangelism (Matt. 25:34-35; Acts 4:34-35; Acts 6:1-2; Acts 11: 28-30; 1 Tim. 5:3-5; Gal. 2:10; Isa. 10:1-3).

13.1    PENTECOST UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (PUC)

PUC will be assisted to become a University of choice in Ghana, where high-level graduates will be produced to meet the needs and challenges of the fast-changing world.

13.2    PENTECOST SOCIAL SERVICE (PENTSOS)

PENTSOS will be empowered to continue to support community-initiated development programmes. Their activities will include schools, health services, economic empowerment, disaster prevention and management, relief services, educational support schemes and equitable distribution of resources and opportunities for development.

Among projects that will be given special attention are:

·         Alpha Medical Centre will be assisted to equip and expand in terms of facilities and human resources, so as to accommodate the increasing patronage of its services. A counselling centre for HIV/AIDS will be established.

·         Some of the health centres will be up-graded to become clinics.

·         Koforidua and Kumasi Senior High Schools will be assisted to become senior high schools of choice.

·         Regional Youth Centres may be established. Areas Heads in the regional capitals will be encouraged to consider these projects.  This should be done with the Youth Ministry.

·         A Nursing School will be established through PENTSOS and PUC collaborations.

·         The Annual PENTSOS Awareness Day will be taken more seriously. Area Heads will be sensitised in this direction.

·         The Local, District and Area will be encouraged to support needy students.

·         Chaplains will be professionally trained.

13.3    Welfare of Church Members and other Social Obligations

·         Every local assembly/district will be required to devise special welfare programmes for the less privileged that are among them.

          ·         The District/Local will be tasked to identify the  economic situation of each member of the church such as   unemployment and assist where possible.

·         Locals Assemblies will be encouraged to create a conducive atmosphere that will enable members of the church to share their economic, educational and other social needs with the church.

·       The offerings raised on PENTSOS Day will be used by Areas, Districts and Locals to fulfil their social obligations, such as support for the needy as well as educational and health institutions in their areas of operation.

·      Ministers may raise funds to help people who are in need.

13.4    Other Social Contributions and Support for para-church organisations: The Philanthropic Front

 The church will continue to donate on humanitarian grounds to assist agencies such as:

·         Ghana Red Cross Society

·         National Disaster and Mobilisation Organisation (NADMO)

·         Ghana Heart Foundation

·         Ghana National Trust Fund

·         Bible Society of Ghana

·         Scripture Union

14.0      PENTECOST PRESS LIMITED

The contribution of Pentecost Press Limited towards the printing of church materials will be strengthened. 

Current pre-finance arrangements to release LDF/DDF to the Press from April tithes, in order for the dairies and church calendars to be printed early, will be pursued.

The Press will be encouraged to meet job deadlines and produce quality work.  This will facilitate the attraction of more jobs from old and new clients. Many are the potential clients who may be won and profitably assisted to use the publicity services of the Press for disseminating the gospel message.

Efforts will be made to expand the operations of the Press to include publishing. 

15.0      PENTMEDIA

 PENTMEDIA will be required to continue to produce materials for “Pentecost Hour” television and radio programmes.

16.0 STRENGTHENING OUR FRATERNAL RELATIONSHIPS

16.1    Overview (I Jn. 17:20-21; 1 Thes. 3:11-13; Eph. 3:14-21; 1 Cor. 12:12-13)

 The rate at which ungodliness is increasing while God is being pushed out of the modern world systems calls for more unity among Christian churches.   This will help us to prayerfully consider divine ways of effectively and efficiently presenting the gospel in this post-modern era.

Consequent to the above, The Church of Pentecost needs to continue to play a leading role in Ghanaian Christianity. The church will attempt to share fraternity with other Christian churches in Africa. 

16.2 Action Plan

 ·         Continue to play a leading role in supporting the Ghana Pentecostal Council.

·         Pay occasional visits to the leadership of the Christian Council, to share ideas.

·         Assist para-church Movements in meaningful ways which will help them accomplish their goals.

·         Visit and interact with leaders of some outstanding Christian churches in Africa and other parts of the world.

·         Invite and share ministry with some outstanding Christian leaders in Africa and other parts of the world.

·         Strengthen our relationship with Elim Pentecostal Churches and Links International.

17.0      OUR CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 17.1  Overview (Dan. 2:48-49; Eze. 22:30; Rom. 8:1-13; 1 Tim. 2:1-4)

The church exists within a nation. Without good governance and a harmonious political atmosphere in a nation, the church will not have peace to worship and serve God’s purpose.

The church needs to play its prophetic role effectively in order for peace and tranquillity to reign in the nation. This responsibility is heightened by the fact that one of every twenty Ghanaians is a member of The Church of Pentecost. This means that the church has a very significant influence over the Ghanaian populace.

 17.2   Action Plan

·         Release occasional statements of national interest through our Public Affairs Desk for national consumption.

·         Organise periodic press conferences through our Public Affairs Desk.

·         Plan occasional visits and courtesy calls to political leaders for interaction and prayers.

·         Organise periodic prayer sessions for the nation.

18.0      MINISTERIAL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS WILL BE RAISED

 18. 1. Overview (1 Tim. 4:12; Tit. 1:7-9; 2 Cor. 8:20-21)

It is said that “people often do what you inspect and not what you expect.”

Occasionally interactions, inspections, and appraisals need to be done at all levels to find out how the work is progressing and how policies of the church are being carried out.

This will improve the checks and balances in the system and to keep us (the ministers) on our toes. Meanwhile, very high level of trust is expected to be maintained in ministers of all levels.

18.2 Action Plan

·         Executive Council members will be encouraged to share insights to the work of the Council at ministers’ gatherings.

·         Ways of calling and appointing people into ministry and other offices will be reviewed.

·         The Ministers’ Appraisal form will be modified to capture the minister’s involvement in the Bible Studies and Home Cell and Implementation of General/Executive Council Decisions.

·         Area Heads will have to formally interact with every pastor under their jurisdiction and discuss their appraisal with them.

·         Orientation from the leadership will continue to be organised for newly appointed Heads before they take office.

·         The Chairman will formally interact with each Area Head at least once every year.

·         The pastors will assist the Chairman to confidentially assess their respective Area Heads. This confidential assessment will be discussed with the Area Head during his annual interaction with the Chairman.

·         Area Heads are to submit their calendars of activities, the minutes of their Area Executive meetings and their Presbytery half-year and end of year meetings to the Chairman, with copies to the General Secretary and the International Missions Director.

·         All ministers and officers will  be encouraged to respect Authority limits.

·         The Chairman, GS, and IMD will be assessed by the Executive Council.

·         Officiating ministers for farewell services will be expected to report on the meeting.

·         Officiating ministers at welcome services will be expected to report on the situation at the station.

·         An officiating minister at a farewell service must find out from the outgoing minister whether he has prepared and signed his handover report.  He should send a report of the meeting and the situation on the ground to the Area Head in case of a District Pastor, or the General Secretary, with a copy to the Chairman, in case of an Area Head.

·         At the district level, an officiating minister of a welcome service will have to meet with the in-coming minister and his Executive Committee, go through the handover notes and report back to the Area Head. At the Area level, the officiating minister will have to meet with the in-coming minister and his Area Executive Committee to go through the handover notes and report back to the General Secretary with a copy to the Chairman.

(The rationale behind this proposal is to try to avoid the situation where pastors complain after taking over from fellow

19.0 THE ORIGINAL IDEA OF ESTABLISHING THE PIWCs        WILL BE REVISITED

 19.1    Overview (1 Cor. 9:19-23; Acts 13:36; Php. 1:12-18)

The rationale behind the establishment of the Pentecost International Worship Centres (PIWCs) was to provide a well-organised, cross-cultural church, primarily for people of non-Ghanaian cultural background (expatriates), who want a place to worship God. Secondly, our Ghanaian brothers and sisters who prefer to worship in the English language or in a multi-cultural environment (for whatever reasons) were considered in the PIWC formation concept.

It was observed that there is a new group or generation in Ghana who do not appear to find their place in the traditional way of worship. They enjoyed teaching and worship, and seemed to thrive on mixing the Ghanaian culture with the Western traditions. This modern generation came about as a result of the dynamics of civilisation and the increased interaction of the peoples of the world through education, travel and commerce. They are the outcome of an aggregation of many transferred cultures. This new generation does not always conform to the known traditional ways of doing things.

Every generation, it is observed, has its own needs, challenges and opportunities.  The Lord throughout the ages has been using and still uses people in particular generations to meet the needs of that generation. Thus, the apostle Paul speaks of David as having served the purpose of God in his own generation (Acts 13:36).

19.2    Action Plan

·         Hold discussions with the Executive Council.

·         Invite all PIWC officers for a dialogue.

·         The outcome of the discussions will be shared with Executive Council and then with Area Heads. All ministers, officers and the church public will be educated about the need for PIWC.

20.0  GENERAL HEADQUARTERS ADMINISTRATION

 20.1 Overview

20.2 Action Plan

·         The Headquarters will continue to sharpen its effectiveness by offering periodic training for the staff.

·         It will continue to improve and update, on a regular basis, the church’s website.

21.0      EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

 21.1 Overview

21.2 Action Plan

·         The Executive Council will officially schedule four main meetings, where the member in West Africa will be expected to attend for prayer and consideration of memos received. 

o    Where there are no memos, the meetings will be expected to take place and prayer will be said for the church.   

o    These meetings will be scheduled in January (before the January prayer meetings), between March and May (before General Council Meetings), in July (for mid-year evaluation and prayers), and in November (before November Heads prayer meetings).  This will help the Executive Council to treat minutes before the General Council meetings instead of waiting till the General Council meetings where all are compiled and treated.

·         Emergency demands for meetings will be considered on their own merits. 

·         Exploration will be done on the use of telephone conference in order to reduce the number of emergency meetings.

22.0      GENERAL COUNCIL MEETINGS

 The General council is the highest governing body of the church.  Its meeting proceedings will, therefore, continue to be given serious attention.  

·         During General council meetings, a period may be set aside for intensive prayer for the church and the nations.