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Focus on West Africa
By John Kpikpi
Accra, Ghana
West Africa is a large segment of mainland Africa bounded in the north by the Sahara Desert and washed in the south by the Atlantic Ocean. It is home to over 250 million people in sixteen countries, with at least 1,343 people groups, each with a different language and distinctive customs and traditions. In Ghana alone, about the same size geographically as the UK, we have at least 76 different tribes and a similar number of languages.
My wife Alexandra and I, with our first daughter Emily, arrived in Ghana over thirteen years ago initially committed to planting a local church in Accra but with a growing vision to see churches planted in other African nations. ‘Why another church in Accra?’ many asked. This was a valid question given the already-existing plethora of churches in Accra. We were, however, convinced that God had given us a new way of ‘doing church’ which we had seen while in Church of Christ the King in Brighton, UK, and we were eager to establish this kind of church here.
What kind of church were we trying to build?
When God revealed the prototype of ‘the church’
(a tabernacle) to Moses in Exodus 25, He urged him to build it exactly as He had commanded him (Exod. 25:9, 25:40, 26:30, 27:8). For us this meant that we did not do things simply because they ‘seemed nice’ or successful, but must build according to the plan God had revealed in His Word. This has
made us different in many ways from much of what goes under the name of church here.
Nation-changing churches
Although nearly 200 years have passed since Christianity came to West Africa, many of the thought patterns and belief systems which control the hearts and minds of millions in this region (including nominal Christians) are still pre-Christian. We felt called not simply to paint over the strong bastions of tribal traditions already there but, like Jeremiah, ‘to uproot and tear down…to build and to plant’ (Jer. 1:10).
What has happened so far?
The first few years of church planting in Accra involved lots of hard work and very little fruit. But God gave us key truths to work out, such as the grace of God and righteousness as a gift; the centrality of the church in God’s purposes; and God’s wisdom for marriage and family life, work and death. We discovered as we began to build on these that others were building on totally different foundations.
As we reproduce God’s kind of local churches in the nations they will be empowered to affect and transform their communities and nations.
The work within Ghana
From the City of God Church base in Accra we have planted four churches in Ghana. City of Life Church in Vakpo Fu is led by Kofi Adotse, City of Life Church in Tafi Mador and Atome is led by Timothy, and City of Christ Church in Adzanoa is led by Peter Asamoah. Michael Akotia, who leads our City of Faith Church in Ho, is also beginning to serve our new church in the neighbouring country of Togo.
The work in other nations
Nigeria
Abundant Grace Church in Lagos, the first church that we planted outside Ghana, was pioneered by Sam Amara. With an eldership team of three, the church is beginning to have influence in the area of Idimu.
Benin
In a nation where blatant idol (voodoo) worship is still ‘fashionable’ we have just sent Matthew Assogba to pioneer a new church plant in the capital city, Cotonou.
Togo
Sewa and Tanty, who spent six months with us in Accra, are now pioneering a new work (Cite de la Gloire or City of Glory Church) in Lome, the capital of Togo. This small country which has experienced a lot of political turmoil in the last few decades now seems to be settling down to normality.
Liberia and Monrovia
In October I travelled into Monrovia with Joe Seneadza and met Jerry Koroma who is planting a church in the capital. Two other friends, Abiodun and Watchen, have recently moved with their young family to Liberia, a country which has been torn apart by inter-tribal wars which unleashed unthinkable cruelty and destruction. Thankfully the war has ended, though the heavy UN presence remains.
Guinea
Planted by members of our churches in Sierra Leone who were forced to become refugees during the civil war in their own country, the Church of the Good Shepherd, which is led by Sieh Kargbo, is now a flourishing community in the capital, Conakry. Its own school and other projects are making significant in-roads into a predominantly Islamic nation.
Sierra Leone
Before Sieh left for Guinea he had planted New England Christian Fellowship which remains under his oversight and care. At the present time this is our only work in Sierra Leone.
Prophetic dimensions
Three significant words summarise prophecy over us: an arrowhead, a model and a monument! We are to keep pioneering, not only geographically but also by new initiatives that provide a model. The monument will become so big that many will come from all over the world to see it.
Serving God’s people and the nations
Churches planted in West Africa are immediately confronted with material, physical and intellectual needs as well as the spiritual well-being of the people. Several kingdom initiatives are becoming part of the life of our churches:
• Education
We serve our communities and nations in the development of schools providing good quality education. We now have church-based schools in Conakry, Accra and Lagos.
• Income generation and job creation projects
More people are out of work than are in gainful employment in West Africa and this is reflected in our church populations as well. Various job creation and training initiatives have been started.
• Water supply projects
Our water supply project in Ashaley Botwe in Accra has blessed this part of the city.
Other kingdom initiatives are agricultural projects and medical outreaches. These give us excellent contexts for discipleship and modelling godly ways of working, doing business and educating young people.
All our churches are at different stages of growth and development. The vision is that they will become very large churches of stature and influence in their respective nations and eventually join hands with our churches in East Africa and Southern Africa, and push northwards into other parts of Africa.
How can you get involved?
God spoke to us at our most recent conference, ‘Three centuries ago a greedy species of white people came over and joined forces with very callous black people to unleash a whole era of slave trade which produced one of the worst human crises in history. Now I am creating a new white man and a new black man and I will join them together and send them to the same places but they will be marked by My love and care for My people in these regions…’
We have been blessed by excellent relationship with the wider team of apostolic and prophetic ministries within Newfrontiers. Many people in our churches in the West have skills which could be a great help here, including business skills, carpentry, teaching, engineering, medical care, and ICT. Such people must be willing to be built first into our local churches; then their skills can be deployed and help to speed up the development and impact of our churches.
Visiting teams have made a positive impact here in Accra and beyond. A team of 21 from the Newfrontiers churches in the Netherlands came for three weeks to help build two classrooms for our New Nation School and decorate other school buildings. Then a twelve-strong Life Change Team from the UK completed decoration work, developed the nursery playground and helped establish valuable systems for the running of the school. We can do much more together than apart!
God is getting us working together to extend His kingdom in the nations. Let’s see what more He will do in West Africa! |
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