Presbyterian Church of Ghana

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. The missionaries had been trained in Germany and Switzerland and arrived on the Gold Coast to spread Christianity. The work of the mission became stronger when Moravian missionaries from the West Indies arrived in the country in 1843. 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. The denomination's Presbyterian sister church is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana.

Church structure The church is a founding member of the Christian Council of Ghana. 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. 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. 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: Department of Administration & Human Resource Department of Church Life & Nurture Department of Mission & Evangelism Department of Ecumenical & Social Relations Department of Development & Social Services Department of Education Department of Finance

Membership 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. 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.

PCG Statistics – 2001 to 2022

YearTotalIncrease%Increase2001 500,190 2002 535,130 34,940 7.02003 565,637 30,507 5.72004 578,727 13,090 2.32005 612,337 33,610 5.82006 615,391 3,054 0.52007 622,609 7,218 1.22008 624,890 2,281 0.42009 652,083 27,193 4.42010 691,949 39,866 6.12011 721,599 29,650 4.32012 739,548 17,949 2.52013 773,504 33,956 4.62014 811,807 38,303 5.42015 846,222 34,415 4.22016 876,010 29,788 3.52017 910,732 34,722 4.02018 947,015 36,283 4.02019 1,015,17468,159 7.22020 1,063,64948,475 4.82021 1,149,79686,147 8.12022 1,261,413111,6179.720231,366,375104,9628.3220241,469,767103,3927.57

The Church and education 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. 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. 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. 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.

In 2024, it was announced that the denomination had reached 1,366,375 members in 2023.

In 2025, the General Assembly Report stated that the denomination had grown to 1,469,767 members in 2024, following a net increase of 103,392 new members that year.

The Church and health The original health mission of the church started at the Basel Mission. Rudolf Fisch opened the first hospital at the Basel Mission in 1885. The church is a member of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG). 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.

The Church and agriculture 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.

Assets 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.

Church leadership Moderator of the General Assembly 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. Serving moderators use the honorific style, The Right Reverend. Retired moderators use the style, The Very Reverend after leaving office. No Moderator Tenure of Office1 Peter Hall 1918–222 Nathaniel Asare 1923–243 W. A. Quartey 1925–294 L. L. Richter 1930–315 E. C. Martinson 1932–386 S. S. Odonkor 1939–507 E. V. Asihene 1951–548 E. Max Dodu 1955–589 E. M. L. Odjidja 1959–6610 J. K. Sintim-Misa 1967–7811 I. H. Frempong 1979–8612 D. A. Koranteng 1987–9513 A. A. Beeko 1995–9814 Sam Prempeh 1999–0315 Yaw Frimpong-Manso 2004–1016 Emmanuel Martey 2010–1617 Cephas Narh Omenyo 2016–1818 J. O. Y. Mante 2018–2319Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye 2023– 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

Synod Clerk / Clerk of the General Assembly 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. 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: No. Synod Clerk / Clerk of the General Assembly Tenure of Office1 Nicholas Timothy Clerk 1918–322 D. E. Akwa 1933–403 M. A. Obeng 1941–494 Carl Henry Clerk 1950–545 A. L. N. Kwansa 1955–696 T. A. Osei 1970–747 R. K. Sah 1978–858 E. S. Mate-Kodjo 1985–959 Ofosu Adutwum 1995–9710 Nii Teiko Dagadu (Ag.) 1997–9911 Charles Gyang-Duah 1999–0312 Herbert Oppong 2004–1213 Samuel Ayete-Nyampong 2013–1914 Godwin Nii Noi Odonkor 2019–25 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, 202415David Aboagye-Danquah2025–

Notable people

Outside Ghana The church has a congregation in New York City, US PCG Manhattan website and in Milton Keynes, England. PCG Salem website There is also a congregation in Toronto, Canada. Ghanaian Presbyterian Church Toronto website 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

Presbyterian Church of Ghana

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