The Mantle of Leadership Passes in Ghana

On December 15, John Bekoe retired from his position as leader of our work in Ghana, a role which he has filled since 2017, and the mantle of leadership passed to Joseph Ansah. At the same time, Samuel Agbovi was appointed as a Ghana board member.

The installation ceremony was held at the Ghana headquarters church in Aplaku, and was conducted by Isaac Adigun, the District Superintendent of Western and Central Africa (WECA). Prior to the event, support for the new appointments was expressed by the Ghana board members, the Portland Board of Directors, and WECA board members, as well as the Ghana ministers and workers.

During the service, Reverend Adigun first announced Reverend Bekoe’s retirement at age seventy-five, after years of faithful service marked by humility and generosity. In addition, Reverend Adigun thanked him and his wife, Monica, for their dedication to the Gospel work. Reverend Adigun also spoke of Reverend Ansah and Reverend Agbovi, stating that each has served in the church faithfully and has met the Biblical criteria for leadership positions. He invited the congregation to show support for the appointments by standing, and everyone stood.     

Following this, Reverend Ansah and Reverend Agbovi were each prayed over. Laying hands on them, Reverend Adigun and the board members petitioned God for His blessings on their lives, families, and service.

Then Reverend Ansah addressed the congregation. While thanking God for the opportunity to serve in this capacity, he requested prayer for the ability to fulfill the assignment. He expressed optimism that God, who helped him serve under previous administrations, will help him in his new role as leader of the church in Ghana. He also acknowledged the importance of upholding the Gospel standard and continuing the Great Commission, and his hope to launch out into new areas to win more souls for God’s Kingdom.

Connecting Remote Members of the Apostolic Faith Family

In December of 2024, an effort was made to reach out to Apostolic Faith congregation members who are no longer living near one of our churches. This group includes individuals who relocated for work, school, or some other reason, to cities where we do not have a church. The goal is to find a way to connect them to an Apostolic Faith congregation again, either by informing them of an existing nearby branch, helping them relocate to a place where we do have a church, or perhaps helping them start a new Apostolic Faith group in their current location.

The first step of this endeavor was to distribute a digital survey collecting basic information about these individuals. The survey included questions about their current location, the number of people living with them, and how long they expect to be there. To date, over 100 have responded from 24 different countries. About 30 respondents are already living near one of our churches, and they will be assisted in getting in touch with that branch. Over 85 are not near one of our churches. Including family members, these represent over 300 individuals, including 41 living in Canada, 14 in the United Arab Emirates, 23 in the United Kingdom, and 55 in the United States.

In addition to the survey, a team of workers from every region of our work is being established to help network with these remote members of our church family through our district superintendents.

If you or someone you know is interested in filling out the survey, you can do so here: Apostolic Faith Remote Members Survey.

The final survey question asked what the church could do to help these individuals. Reponses included: “Gospel publications in the Italian language,” “Help me get fellowship,” “I will be glad if the church can be sending church magazines and tracts for the use of evangelism,” “We need Gospel tracts in Spanish and French languages,” and, “I’ll love to be constantly checked on, I feel like I’m alone here and do not have so many friends around.”

May God strengthen these saints who are living far from a church family, give wisdom for how to proceed in each case, and open doors for the Gospel to reach new areas.