The Lord’s Work in Ghana

Three pastors supported by the Metropolitan Tabernacle have sent encouraging reports of the Lord’s work in different regions of Ghana.

Pastor Praise Agyei studied at the London Reformed Baptist Seminary from 1996-98 and pastors Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Agona Swedru. A vigorous evangelist, he conducts Bible studies in surrounding communities and ministers among young offenders at the local correctional centre. He has also taken a firm stand for biblical doctrine amid the widespread influence of charismatic teaching.

Pastor Anthony Bentum-Ennin studied at the LRBS from 1997-99 and pastors Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Cape Coast. The congregation has long maintained an extensive Sunday School ministry and has helped to establish other churches, including a now independent congregation in north-west Accra and a newer work in Takoradi.

Pastor Ferguson Kcofie studied at the LRBS from 1993-95 and pastors Weija Faith Reformed Baptist Church in Accra. Planted in 2023, the church maintains reverent worship, expository preaching, Sunday School classes and several forms of evangelistic outreach.

Agona Swedru: changed lives through the Gospel

Pastor Praise reports that the church, Sunday School, evangelistic work and ministry among young offenders are all continuing to thrive by the Lord’s grace. Newcomers are attending regularly, some reached through community evangelism and others invited by members of the congregation.

A couple brought to the truth

During evangelism in one community, Pastor Praise witnessed to a couple who belonged to the Roman Catholic Church and believed that they could pray to Mary. They subsequently began attending Grace Reformed Baptist Church.

Through the preaching and teaching of Scripture, they came to understand that there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”. Both have professed faith in Christ alone and rejected the teachings in which they formerly trusted.

A transformed market trader

Another striking testimony concerns a market trader known locally for her angry and aggressive manner. A member of the church repeatedly invited her to attend, despite several refusals.

At last the woman came to a service and was converted. She has since attended regularly, and those who knew her in the market have testified with astonishment to the evident change in her character.

Carrying the truth home

When Pastor Praise visited the home of one Sunday School teacher, her mother told him how faithfully her daughter defends biblical truth among neighbours influenced by false teaching.

The Sunday School is also progressing, with new children attending from the surrounding neighbourhood even though their parents belong to other churches. The Lessons for Life material has proved particularly valuable. The children remember what they are taught and sometimes use the Scriptures to correct false ideas encountered in their homes.

Hope for young offenders

The ministry at the boys’ correctional centre continues to bear fruit. Some of the young men are serving lengthy sentences for serious offences, but Pastor Praise and the church go to them with the conviction that Christ came to save sinners. Several have professed repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Cape Coast: reaching children and the city

In Cape Coast, Pastor Anthony gives thanks for the growing commitment of the congregation to Gospel work. Almost every able-bodied member is engaged in some aspect of the ministry.

Although this leaves the church stretched in both personnel and resources, the members gladly accept the privilege and continue to pray for conversions and for more labourers.

A thriving children’s work

The Sunday School remains the congregation’s largest and most demanding ministry. Attendance has remained high even through the rainy season: an average of 350 children in Cape Coast, with a further 130 at the Moree branch Sunday School.

Separate weeknight meetings bring together around 100 younger boys and girls. Eleven men staff the boys’ meeting and seven women help with the girls. A teenage class also gathers, although its numbers are less stable, averaging around 30.

There are encouraging signs of spiritual concern. Three friends—Ishmael, Stephen and Sarah—are particularly earnest about their souls. Two appear to have been converted, although the church is wisely taking time before reaching any conclusion. Former Sunday School pupils also continue to make unexpected visits to the Gospel services.

Sorrow amid the encouragements

These encouragements have come amid deep sorrow. During exceptionally heavy rains, one of the church’s junior Sunday School children was swept away by floodwater while returning from school. His body was not recovered until several days later.

The church has visited the grieving family and asks for prayer that, even through this tragedy, the Lord may work in their hearts and bring lasting spiritual blessing.

‘Let Cape Coast Hear’

The congregation has planned an ambitious new outreach entitled ‘Let Cape Coast Hear’. Gospel preaching is scarcely heard across much of the city, and the church’s burden is to take a clear presentation of the Gospel from one community to another.

The programme combines street preaching with projected visual illustrations. The team intends to spend two weeks in each area before moving on, continuing through the drier months while maintaining the church’s other regular ministries.

Teenagers accompany the workers, giving them valuable experience in public Gospel work. The long-term aim is simple but considerable: that the whole city may hear the Gospel clearly.

Accra: a steady witness at Weija

Pastor Ferguson gives thanks that, in a time of widespread confusion and compromise, the Lord has preserved the witness of Weija Faith Reformed Baptist Church.

Morning and evening services continue each Lord’s Day, centred upon prayer, the singing of psalms and sound hymns, the reading of Scripture and faithful exposition of the Word. Attendance remains at around 40 regular worshippers. Pastor Ferguson is thankful for this core of believers who love the truth and attend faithfully, while praying that the church will grow both spiritually and numerically.

Preparing two men for baptism

Two young men have expressed a desire to obey the Lord in believer’s baptism. The elders are taking time to examine their professions of faith and instruct them more fully in the Scriptures.

They do not wish to rush this important step, but pray that the concern shown by both men will prove to be the genuine work of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching every generation

The church maintains four Sunday School classes: Primary, Senior High School, Tertiary and Youth, and Adults. Numbers remain stable, although the changing academic calendar means that younger members regularly move between home and boarding school.

The classes continue from week to week because the church regards the early winning and instruction of children and young people as a vital part of its work.

Visitors from near and far

The church has been greatly encouraged by visitors from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada and other African countries. Some have attended while visiting Ghana; others have directed friends and relatives living in Accra to the church.

Local people are also reached through personal witness and house-to-house visitation. Many come once or attend intermittently. The congregation continues sowing the seed, praying that these passing visits will lead to a true and lasting work of grace.

The church has begun livestreaming its Lord’s Day services on YouTube and Facebook. This has enabled shut-ins and friends abroad to follow the ministry, while some seekers first encounter the church online before attending in person.

Gospel preaching and sound literature

A notable recent encouragement was the Accra Reformed Baptist Conference, held from 30 July to 1 August. Its theme was ‘Christ’s Parting Words—To the Ends of the Earth’.

Eight local Reformed Baptist pastors preached on the Great Commission, bringing searching and Christ-honouring messages. The conference drew 192 people from Reformed and evangelical churches across Greater Accra and beyond, providing a time of rich teaching, fellowship and renewed concern for the lost.

The Evangelical Bookshop, operated through the church’s Bible and book ministry, provided sound Christian literature from trusted publishers. Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Haatso also displayed books from the Metropolitan Tabernacle. These literature tables proved a considerable blessing to those attending.

Prayer for continued growth

Please pray for all three pastors and the believers serving alongside them:

• for genuine conversions and lasting additions to the churches;
• for the children and young people receiving biblical instruction;
• for the young offenders hearing the Gospel;
• for the bereaved family in Cape Coast;
• for the ‘Let Cape Coast Hear’ outreach;
• and for the Lord to provide faithful teachers, workers and all the practical resources these congregations require.