CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the research

The concept of true Christian mission is that which originates from the

Missio Dei. The Missio Dei dates back from the moment Adam and Eve were

tricked by Satan into disobeying God in the Garden of Eden. God came searching

for them and called “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9). This clarion call of God in

search for lost humanity, attests to His nature and mission throughout generations.

He continually seeks and initiates reconciliation between Himself and His fallen

creation.

As seen throughout the Holy Scriptures, God demonstrated His nature (i.e.

love) by sending various people and prophets to call man unto repentance

(Bashan, 1980). This finally culminated with the coming of His One and Only

Son, Jesus Christ into the world. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus,

those who believe and confess Him as personal Lord and Saviour are saved and

restored back to God.

The emphasis of John 3:16 is on God, who loved the world so much that

He gave His only begotten son for the redemption of humankind. This is the very

nature of God; He is constantly in mission, relating, reconciling and redeeming!

(Rheenen, 1996).

There is a realization that since the foundation of the world, God has been

the originator of missions. This is vividly shown by His acts both in the Old and

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New Testament. Mission therefore is the work of God in reconciling sinful

mankind to Himself. It is the totality of God’s plan for humankind’s perfection in

holiness of which He is the creator (Wright, 2006).

The desire of God to see all creation saved according to His plans is what

has propelled Christians missions throughout the ages. Motivated by the love of

God, Christians over the years have carried the missio Dei with passion to the

entire world. The love of God and the passion to see the mission of God through

the ages by Christians has sustained Christianity from its birth till now (Rheenen,

1996). It is the same mission spirit that constrained the early missionaries to bring

the gospel message of salvation to Africa (Foli, 2006). They were carrying out the

mission of God.

Missionary’s activity to the Gold Coast (Ghana) dates back since 1842.

The first missionaries were part of Portuguese merchants who came to the Gold

Coast for both commerce and preaching of the gospel. Even though the initial

work was not very successful, it prepared the ground for massive missionary. It

was the foundation upon which Christianization of Ghana in particular and West

Africa in general was built.

By 1918, other missionary groups like the Basel Mission (1828), Bremen

Mission (1847), the Roman Catholic Mission (1880) and Wesleyan Missionary

Societies (1835), had all made some in-rolls into the evangelization of the Gold

Coast. However, scholars are of the view that the vigorous evangelistic activities

of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement which started in the early 1970’s are

what have contributed greatly to the growth of Christianity in Ghana (Anderson,

2004; Foli, 2006; Koduah, 2004; Larbi, 2001).

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 The growth of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches in Ghana therefore is

attributed to the urgency on soul-winning through evangelism (Darkwa, n.d). The

Mission of these churches are carried out through evangelism crusades, personal

evangelism, gospel conventions, prayer and healing centres with the aim of

wining souls for Christ. In effect, membership has increased tremendously. It has

become a force to reckon with in Ghanaian Christianity. Pentecostal Christians

currently is about 40 per cent of the total Christian community in Ghana and 28.3

per cent of the entire population. (GSS, PHC 2010; May 2012).

Some scholars have attributed the rapid growth of Pentecostal Christianity

in Africa to the favourable condition and environment within which it found

itself. It means that the religious practises of Pentecostal Christianity fits well into

the belief systems of the African people. According to Larbi (2001),

from the human perspective, the single significant

factor that has given rise to a boom in Pentecostalist

activities in the country is that Pentecostalism has

found a fertile ground in the all-pervasive primal

religious traditions, especially in its cosmology and

its concept of salvation (p.g 3).

Even though Larbi was referring to Ghana in particular, the same can be said of

the rest of African. The growth of Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in Africa is

also attributed to the emphasis on the pneumatic elements that is demonstrated in

the preaching of the gospel. It relates well with the practices of African

Traditional Religion (Kalu, 2000). On his part, Hollenweger (1997) ascribes the

major gain of Pentecostal/Charismatic movement to factors as: the orality of

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liturgy, its favourable relationship with the culture, style of worship, and the

ability to relate body and mind in healing by prayer. Pentecostalism has therefore

found an acceptable place in the Ghanaian culture and affected Christianity in the

country (Asamoah-Gyadu 2005; Gifford 2004). It has given birth to major

churches one of which is the International Central Gospel Church.

The International Central Gospel Church

The International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) is an Evangelical,

Pentecostal/ Charismatic Christian Church. It was officially inaugurated as a

Church on the 26th of February 1984, in Accra, Ghana. The first meeting was

held in a small classroom with an initial membership of just about twenty people

(20) made up of mainly young men and women under the leadership of Pastor

Mensa Otabil. From February 1984 to April 1986, the membership grew to about

one hundred and eighty (180) adults in regular attendance.

Currently, the first assembly of the church has over twelve thousand, four

hundred & fifty (12,450) members. The church has over four hundred and fifty

(450) branches all over Ghana and other parts of Europe and the United States of

America. It has one of the biggest auditoriums that seats about ten thousand

members (10,000). It is called the Christ Temple in Accra, Ghana. It is arguably

the largest and most influential Charismatic Church in Ghana (Anderson, 2004).

Philosophy, mission and vision of International Central Gospel Church

The mission of International Central Gospel Church is, “raising leaders,

shaping vision and influencing society through Christ”. The vision of the church

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is based on Acts 2:42. The vision is, “to establish the house of God through the

development of model New Testament Christians and churches”. ICGC is

commitment to training and equipping God's to develop and grow into maturity in

Christ so they will manifest the character of Christ

(http://www.centralgospel.com).

The International Central Gospel Church is an indigenous church. This

means that it is “self propagating, self supporting and self government” (Van

Rheenen, 1996, pg. 186). Over the years, African churches depended on the

Western world for doctrine and financial assistance. Pastor Otabil’s decided not to

follow this trend and therefore declared that, ICGC will be different. It will not

rely on foreign missionaries and financial aids to fund its activities in Ghana. He

stated, “The declaration that ICGC will be an indigenous church was made in the

Kanda classroom where the church was started. There was no sound system, no

electricity, no building to call our own but with faith, purpose and conviction of

mind” (Preaching, 30th anniversary celebration).

The growth of International Central Gospel Church

The rapid growth of ICGC in Larbi’s (2001) view was due to its vigorous

evangelism and soul winning activities. Its membership grew from 700 to 1500

within one week in 1987. Since then, it has experienced rapid growth both in

membership and many assemblies in the urban centres of Ghana. ICGC enjoys

good-will among the Christian fraternity in Ghana and is acclaimed to be one of

the leading growing Churches. It is perceive by many as a decent and excellent

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church. Membership of ICGC assemblies is made up of mainly middle class

professionals and business people both in the urban centres and towns.

Additionally, the founder and General Overseer (G.O) Dr. Mensa Otabil,

enjoys great publicity in Ghana as a Pastor, Business Executive and a Statesman.

He is well-respected clergy and serves on various national and international

boards. The General Overseer announced that the church will have to increase its

branches to One thousand (1000) by the end of 2012 (ICGC Head Office

2011/2012).

Statement of the problem

The International Central Gospel Church has seen some growth in terms

of the number of assemblies over the years. The General Overseer Pastor Mensa

Otabil announced to the General Church Council (GCC) that the church aims at

planting one thousand assemblies 1000. The set target was not achieved so the

program was revised and presented during the 2012 Church Council report by the

Deputy General Secretary in the address to the General Church Council on 7th

November 2012 at Koforidua (Morris Appiah, 2012).

The church reviewed and set a new target that by the end of December

2014; it should have one thousand assemblies in Ghana and beyond. The target

had not been achieved. There is therefore the need for an evaluation of the

mission strategy of the church to ascertain whether the target that has been set is

achievable. The study therefore is an attempt to evaluate the mission strategy of

the International Central Gospel Church in relation to its growth.

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Objective of the study

Pentecostal mission over the century has been spontaneous and driven by

the passion to fulfil the Great Commission (Mathew 28:18-20). Lord (2005)

noticed that people with the experience of the Spirit are often joined together as a

family and become God’s tools for mission in the world. Anderson (2004)

observed that Pentecostal missions has not always been clearly formulated or

strategized. In view of the above, the study sought to achieve these objectives.

1. To find out the biblical basis of missions in International Central Gospel

Church (ICGC) in particular that has helped the church to carry out its core

mandate.

2. Find out how ICGC has carried out its missions over the years and its impact

on the growth of the organization

3. To find out the contribution of Dr. Mensa Otabil’s personality on the growth of

the assemblies on the International Central Gospel Church.

Research questions

The study seeks answers to the following questions:

1. What is the basis of missions in ICGC?

2. What is the missionary approach of the International Central Gospel

Church and how does it impact on its growth?

3. How does Dr. Mensa Otabil’s personality influence the growth of ICGC

churches?

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Methodology

In the attempt to evaluate the mission strategy of the International Central

Gospel Church, a Pentecostal/Charismatic church, a multi-dimensional method

was beneficial and convenient. The study used qualitative methodology instead of

the quantitative approach. The method calls for in-depth understanding of the

phenomenon under investigation in order that detailed explanation could be made

(Merriam, 2000). It describes the real world settings of people to better

understand social realities, processes, meaning patterns, and structural features

(Golafshani, 2003).

According to Creswell (2009), in a qualitative approach the researcher

makes knowledge claims based primarily on the multiple meanings of individual

experiences, and historically constructed with the aim of developing a theory or

pattern. “It also uses strategies of inquiry such as narratives, phenomenologies,

ethnographies, grounded theory studies, or case studies. The researcher collects

open-ended emerging data with the primary intent of developing themes from the

data” (2009, pg. 18).

Again, the qualitative approach was used in order to gain an understanding

of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations of the participants. It thus offers

understanding into the problem and helps to develop ideas and uncover trends.

The data that was gathered were mainly documents and the use of unstructured

interview techniques (Borg, Gall & Gall, 1993; Badu-Nyarko, 2010).

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Data collection

In order to get reasonable insight into the missionary activities of ICGC,

documents were obtained from the offices of the Mission Directorate and Daniel

Institute at the Head office in Miotso near Tema in the Greater Accra Region of

Ghana. The Daniel Institute is a leadership training school for ICGC pastors and

leaders. It also trains lay- pastors and church planters. The information that was

obtained from the documents was analyzed and conclusions were drawn

(Marshall & Rossman, 1995).

Information that were gathered from the documents included; the mission

policy of the church, the church planting guidelines of 2010, records on the

missionary activities of ICGC and other relevant document (history, paper or

piece of information) that was beneficial to the study. Relevant notes from the

documents were extracted and analyzed into various themes and categories.

Again, unstructured interviews were conducted with participants who have

in-depth knowledge of the activities of the church. The use of the unstructured

interview in qualitative research is applauded by Minichiello (1990) that in such

interviews, neither the question nor the answer categories are predetermined.

Those who were interviewed have deep knowledge of the missionary activities in

ICGC. Different questions were asked depending on the level of knowledge each

had on the missionary activities of ICGC over the years.

The questions asked generated different responses and a great effort was

made in analyzing the data systematically in finding out the patterns within it

(Patton, 2002). There were open-ended questions that allowed the interviewer to

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probe deeper into the initial responses of the respondent in order to gain more

detailed answer to the questions asked (Wimmer& Dominick 1997).

Population

The population of this study included the Presbytery members of ICGC

and the Directorate of Missions. The Presbytery is the highest executive body of

the Church that helps in the implementation of the decisions that are taken by the

General Church Council. The Presbytery currently has a membership of eleven

(11). These are the senior ministers of ICGC and are headed by General Overseer

(ICGC, 2010). According to the 2010-2011 report, there are eleven (11)

administrative districts that make up the entire ICGC body. These districts are

headed by the District Supervising Ministers (DSM).

Sample

Through convenient sampling, people who were available and willing to

offer relevant information were selected. This is important due to the time-bound

and limited resources available to the study. The interviewees were selected from

the Greater Accra Region because ICGC was started, and also has the Head

Office in the region. Moreover, the church is dominant and has majority of its

pastors and churches in the region.

Purposive sampling method was used in selecting pastors of ICGC in the

Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Only one of them comes from Northern Region

of Ghana. Again, most of the participants are members of the Presbytery and also

District Supervising Ministers (DSM’s). The reason for such a sample size was

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that the research methodology requires people with in-depth knowledge and also

higher level of experience both in ministry and in ICGC. The participants of the

study were senior pastors and officials of ICGC. They were chosen based on their

clear views, relevant information and the ability to answer the research questions

(Creswell, 2014; Swinton & Mowat, 2006).

The Presbytery members are senior ministers of the ICGC. They take

executive decisions on behalf of the General Church Council. Moreover, the

DSM’s are also senior members who oversee a number of ICGC churches in a

given district. They are responsible for implementing policies or guideline for

missions and church planting activities in their respective districts. This is because

in purposive sampling, participants are selected ‘‘based on a specific purpose

rather than randomly’’ (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003a, pg. 713).

In the opinion of Creswell (2011) regarding the appropriate sample size in

qualitative research it is typical “to study a few individuals or a few cases”

(pg.209). Hence the number of participants in the study was nine (9).

Methods/Instruments

In carrying out the research, the study used various methods such as; Empirical

method, evaluative method and secondary sources.

Empirical method: The study employed mixture of methods specifically,

unstructured interviews, special programs, radio and television evangelism and

the use of social responsibility projects as means of evangelism and soul-wining.

Most of the interviews were conducted in the comfort of the participant’s offices.

The interviews were very clear on the objectives of the study and various

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participants willingly answered the questions to the best of their understanding

and appreciation of missions in ICGC. Various strategies were looked at and most

of the contributions were elicited from their experiences.

Evaluative method: Through the use of this method, various strategies of

missions were looked at and its impact evaluated. The various approaches were

evaluated to see how effective they have been over the years. Again, by this

method, the study sought to examine the effectiveness of the mission strategies

and find out whether new strategies are needed for ICGC to expand faster into

other communities in Ghana and Africa in general.

Secondary data source: The study made use of several literature and

documentary sources on the topic. These include books on Missions, Church

growth, Mission strategies and church planting. Many journals and scholarly

articles on missionary strategies in the Twenty-first century were also used for the

project.

Significance of the study

This study on the mission strategy of ICGC is significant because it is will

lead the way for the church to critically look at its approach to missions. The

information that was collected and explore will lead to the church formalising its

missionary activities. It will add up to the collection of existing literature on

Pentecostal/Charismatic missions and its effectiveness in the current global world

and will present a fresh understanding of how Pentecostal/Charismatic should

formulate an effective mission policy in reaching-out for world evangelism and

missions.

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 Again, it provides basis for the development of appropriate and specific

missionary strategy for effective evangelization and church planting that is

tailored toward Ghanaian and West Africa context. More significantly, the study

will offer foundation for other researchers in the area of Pentecostal/Charismatic

missions.

Scope of work

The International Central Gospel Church which was started as a small

organization with twenty young men and women has grown over the years. It has

become a national church with assemblies in almost every urban centre and town

in Ghana. It has also planted churches in some parts of Africa, United States of

America and Europe.

The study therefore was not intended to know how individual assemblies

were growing in membership. Rather, it was aimed at looking at how ICGC is

reaching the people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It also looked at how new

assemblies were planted in the past and the strategy in planting new churches.

Theoretical framework

The study employed the heuristic exploration approach to discover the

strategy of missions adopted by ICGC. The heuristic approach as developed by

Clark Moustakas (1990) is psychologically focused and humanistic in its outlook.

It is based on the premise of the researcher having a rich source of data from

experience or has had an equivalent understanding of the experience under

investigation. He wrote, “in order to attempt a heuristic method of enquiry, the

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researcher needs to have an intense, vital direct personal experience with the

subject matter, or at least have a comparable knowledge of the topic being

researched” (pg.14).

The process includes closely examination of the researcher’s own

meanings, emotions, and perceptions about the topic. It requires that the study

looks at the question from different perspective in order to dig out understanding

(Louie, 2008). It also requires for participants who have in-depth knowledge of

the topic of the study and also willing to give their information for the study

(Nirmal, 1991).

In heuristic approach, the participants involved validate the experiences

depicted by the researcher. They provide their own understanding and allow the

researcher to give a representation of the full experience of the participants and

the researcher collectively. The researcher integrates the experiences of the

participants after conducting the study. The heuristic approach places emphasis on

the explanation of the experience itself, using individuals and creative means.

Another concept in heuristic approach is for the researcher to give good

attention to the topic of interest and to stay with it. This allows for awareness to

surface and gives room to refine and extract meanings. It helps in identifying with

the focus of the inquiry and also explores the topic in an open- ended way as

possible. (Moustakas, 1990).

Literature Review

There are considerable amount of written scholarly works on

Pentecostalism and its missionary prowess worldwide. One of such works that

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provides historical background to the understanding of the foundations, growth

and the expansion of the Charismatic Pentecostal Christianity worldwide is the

work of Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic

Christianity, (2004).

In describing the Pentecostal/Charismatic phenomenon, Anderson asserts

that, all the churches and movements that place a lot of emphasis on the working

of the Holy Spirit gifts both on phenomenological and theological grounds can be

put in the same category.

He gives a comprehensive background to the origin, development and

expansion of Pentecostal/ Charismatic churches world-wide, and how one can

identify them. Anderson discusses the rapid growth of Pentecostal and

Charismatic Christianity in many countries including North America, Latin

America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. He also reveals how globalization

has impacted the movement as most of their initial theologies can be traced to the

North American and the Azusa Street Revival.

However, little is discussed about any particular mission strategy that has

aided the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement to experience such a phenomenal

growth within a little over a century. This means that Anderson has not shifted

from the position of that, Pentecostal missions are not formalized rather they are

depended on “being sent by the Spirit” (Anderson, 2005; Harvey, 1996).

The work of Anderson has contributed in looking at the

Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in the African context and Ghana in particular

and how their unique characteristic has moved them from the peripherals to the

centre of Ghanaian Christianity. This study will step a little further to examine

15
whether the, “being sent by the Spirit” way of missions is gradually given way to

a any formalized strategy in the International Central Gospel Church.

Asamoah-Gyadu, (2013) opined that even though there was the “death of

God” theologians like Harvey Cox who was predicting the death of Christianity

by the middle of the twentieth century, the massive work of Pentecostals has

caused those who were predicting the demise of Christianity to change their mind.

Asamoah-Gyadu (2013) catalogued some of the reasons for the rapid

growth of Pentecostal Christianity in Africa. Among the issues discussed is the

prominence given to the work and the power of the Holy Spirit in these churches.

In view of the above, it is apparent that the experiential nature of Pentecostal

Christianity has being the driving force behind the revival of Christian faith in the

world. He argued that, “the pneumatic orientation of non-Western Christianity

accounts in significant measure for the growth and dynamism of the faith in this

context” (p, 4).

In discussing why Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity has become a

religion of choice, in contemporary non-Western world including Ghana in

Africa, his reasons were:

(1) Its emphasis on personal transformation wrought

by the power of the Holy Spirit; (2) its emphasis on

the experience of the Holy Spirit with specific

manifestation that make worship both a heartfelt

and body-felt experience; (3) the interventionist

nature of charismatic theology, which is seen in

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 healing, deliverance, and prayer for breakthrough in

life” (pg. 6).

Indeed, the above describes the reason for the growth of

Pentecostal/Charismatic brand of Christianity in Ghana and on the African

continent. However, nothing was said about the missionary nature of

Pentecostalism. In the opinion of Hollenweger (1997), Pentecostalism grew

tremendously from the days of the Azusa Street Revival due to its missionary

nature and passion for the salvation of soul wining.

This position is supported by Heward-Mills (2007) that, missions and

evangelism that results in the saving of souls is the reason for the rapid growth of

Charismatic churches. Again, Larbi (2000) attests to the rapid growth of

membership of the International Central Gospel Church from 700 to 1500 in one

week due to a coordinated evangelism program in April 1987. The growth of

ICGC therefore can be attributed to its concerted efforts in preaching the gospel to

the unsaved world and wining souls for Christ. Evangelism and missions has been

the foundation of the growth of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity. This is

clearly shown by Anderson (2007) that, even though the doctrine and experience

of the Spirit is central to Pentecostal mission, there has always been emphasis on

evangelism and mission as core to its existence and development.

De Witte (2008) through a case study method looked at how International

Central Gospel Church and Afrikania Missions have used the media space to

reach their audience. The PhD thesis was divided into three parts namely: (1)

Getting in touch; (2) The International Central Gospel Church; and (3) The

Afrikania Mission. After touching on the issues relating to Pentecostalism and

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African Traditional Religion, the study was of the view that, the two religions

may be seen as diametrically opposed to each. However, both religions make

good use of the media space to reach its adherents. The study ascertained that

ICGC has taken advantage of the media space and has become visible and popular

whilst the Afrikania Mission is struggling to find the space to articulate its views

and make impact.

This was because whereas ICGC has a well oiled and capital driven media

machine, the Afrikania Mission lacked the resources and therefore struggles to

find ways into the media. The second part of Witte’s work concentrated on the

International Central Gospel Church which is, “one of the largest and most

influential charismatic churches in Ghana (p.g 16). In her opinion, ICGC has

explicit strategy of outreach and evangelization through the space created by the

media.

De Witte (2008) had a full chapter of her thesis on Rev. Dr. Mensa

Anamua Otabil. In this chapter, Marleen discusses Otabil’s public personality, his

particular style of performance, visual and textual marketing strategies, and his

distinctive divine message. She described him as the public face and the

embodiment of the church, whose name is used interchangeable with the church

in the general public.

De Witte was of the view that the popularity of Pastor Otabil accounts for

the large congregation at Christ Temple. Not only has his personality contributed

immensely to the huge congregation at Christ Temple, but all ICGC pastors and

assemblies leaned heavily on him for the growth of their churches. This

popularity is based on how best ICGC has utilized the public space provided by

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the mass media. Indeed, most members of ICGC encountered the church through

the media ministry and public appearance of Dr. Otabil.

She asserts that Otabil has a kind of natural authority that is based mainly

on charisma as a supernatural quality and a gift. This supernatural power as a

‘Man of God’ is transmitted and thrives to a large extent on the marketing

strategies, personality creation, style and celebrity that has been created around

him. However, De Witte’s goal here was not so much about presenting Otabil as

mission strategy for ICGC. Rather, she focused on presenting Otabil’s gift “as a

kind of charisma that is carefully designed, crafted, and marketed, branded, so as

to create him as a religious celebrity” (pg. 119).

This agrees with Gordon and Hancock argument that, “Bonnke’s

particular success ‘lies in the ways that the visual reconstitutes the charismatic

core of Pentecostalism in connection with his development of a “brand scenario”’

(2005 pg. 387). In the same way, Otabil’s success lies in how he has been

packaged and presented to the general public. This has contributed so much to the

overall growth of the International Central Gospel Church.

Evangelism and Missions, the main duty of the Church had been Foli’s

(2007) concern. He challenged the church to go out and fulfil the reason for its

existence. This is because the greatest commission Jesus gave to the church was

to “go out and make disciples of all men” (Mathew 28:19). He quoted Lausanne

Congress on Evangelism’s definition that evangelism is “ To spread the good

news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to

the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord, he offers forgiveness of sins and the

liberating gift of the spirit to all who repent and believe...” (p.g.5).

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 He bemoaned how the church has neglected this duty of spreading the

gospel for soul-winning through evangelism and rather focusing on things that are

not its core business.

Foli (2007) illustrated how the early church succeeded in multiplying the

congregations and at the same time increasing the number of churches. They

witnessed to the people, win them into the faith and disciple them. This he called,

“the strategy of multiplication” (p.g.24). He challenged every church to have a

plan in how to accomplish the Great Commissions. He concludes that the growth

of the early church was due to its zeal in obeying the Great Commission that was

given by Jesus Christ.

Again, he offered suggestions on how the church should carry on with the

preaching of the gospel through one-to one approach, witnessing to the same sex,

mass evangelism and Sunday outreaches etc. However, he did not offer any

suggestion as to how the work can be done in this contemporary society with.

Organization of the study

The study is divided into five chapters. The chapter one is the general

introduction to the study. It included the background of the study; the statement of

the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, methodology;

significance of the study, scope of work literature review and the contents of the

study. The chapter one also traced the development of Pentecostalism and

Charismatics in Ghana and a brief discussion on the International Central Gospel

Church.

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 The Chapter two looked at the basis of missions in ICGC and related

literature on missions from the biblical point of view. This included biblical

theology of missions, mission history in modern times and modern strategies of

global missions. The chapter three of the study looked at the mission strategy of

the International Central Gospel Church. The various approaches were looked at

carefully and its impacts were evaluated. The emphasis on the urban church, mass

media and modern technology were seen as a major mission strategy in ICGC.

The chapter four explored the contribution of Dr. Mensa Otabil and its

impact on the growth of ICGC. Pastor Otabil’s lifestyle, excellent leadership and

simplicity in the teaching of the word of God were seen as a great contribution the

overall growth of the church.

Lastly, chapter five gives a succinct summary of the main points,

discussion and some recommendation for the organization and future researchers.

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 CHAPTER TWO

THE BASIS OF MISSIONS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL

GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC)

Introduction

In this chapter, the study looked at the basis of missions in the

International Central Gospel Church. The objective is to find out the missiological

principles that have made it possible for ICGC to grow as a church. In order to

achieve the above objective, the study looked at the Biblical basis of missions

from both the Old and New Testament. This is because the Bible is the basis and

record of theology in mission. It shows God’s action that leads to the salvation of

mankind (Peters, 1972).

The content of the Bible is a demonstration of the love and mercy of God

in relation to the fallen man. Byron (1994) is of the view that every true Biblical

understanding of mission must be built on the foundation of Scripture. There has

been a challenge in regards to the definition of mission and missions. The mission

of God and the missions of the church must therefore be defined in line with

Scripture.

God’s purpose for the salvation of mankind is the mission of God (Missio

Dei) whilst the activity of the called ones (church) in fulfilling this purpose of

God is missions. In defining the mission of God, Bosch (1991, p.g 10) states that

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it is “God`s self -revelation as the One who loves the world, God’s involvement in

and the world, the nature and activity of God which embraces both the church and

the world, and in which the church is privileged to participate”. The participating

church must engage in it as stipulated by the Bible and on a sound theological

basis.

Base on the above, ICGC strives to build a solid theological basis of

missions for both the clergy and the laity. This is amply demonstrated in the

establishment of the Living Word School of Ministry in 2000. The purpose is to

equip lay people with basic theological training for missions, evangelism and

church leadership. This is also in line with the mission statement of ICGC which

aims at “raising leaders, shaping vision and influencing society through Christ”.

The Living Word School of Ministry has trained many people who are currently

working as lay leaders and pastors in various churches.

ICGC believes and accepts the whole Bible as the authoritative source of

missions to the entire world. P 3 confirms that ICGC builds its missions based on

what the Bible teaches. “The whole Bible is our message of telling the world, how

God wants all men to be saved” (Personal interview, August, 2014). P 5 states

that, “when we win souls by preaching the gospel of Christ based sound biblical

principles to the world, and then we can be sure of leading men to heaven. Our

assignment is to do the work of God based on sound biblical theology”. This is

what can sustain the organization in the future” (Personal interview, July, 2014).

ICGC as an Evangelical/Pentecostal church depends entirely on the Bible as its

major source of missions as described by McClung that,

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 The Biblical base of Pentecostalism is apparent in

the believers’ love for the Bible which they

understand literally and carry with them wherever

they go. Their experiential Christianity as well as

their view of the presence and power of the Holy

Spirit is based on strings of scripture references

from which they deduce their strong Christology.

Their Christological emphasis is reaching out to

those who do not know Christ thereby holding to an

urgent mission (1999, pg. 21).

Biblical theology of missions

According to Neill, Anderson and Godwin (1971, p.g. 594), theology of

mission is defined as, “concerned with the basic presuppositions and underlying

principles which determine, from the standpoint of Christian faith, the motives,

methods, strategy and goals of the Christian world mission”. Understanding the

biblical truth in relation to missions will help anyone who is interested to be

engaged based on God’s way (Richebacher, 2003; McClung, 2010).

The God’s way of missions is what the Bible says, as Simmons (1998, pg.

130) posits, “The source of theological understanding, the Bible is the premier

missions textbook. It is not just a collection of sixty-six (66) books, but an

evidence of theology in mission”. Wright (2006, pg. 533) also attested “that the

whole Bible is about missions, God’s mission to the world”.

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 Again, Tsinigo (2011, pg. 29) that, “The Bible is the story of God’s

mission- why and how lost humanity must and will be redeemed by a loving God;

in the same sense it is God’s manual for missions”. One cannot study or do

missions without a sound theological background. The following section of the

study pursues in brief some of the major missiological premises in both the Old

and New Testament in a concise missional tour through Scripture.

Mission in the Old Testament

The fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the subsequent call

from God (where are you) was the begining of God’s mission in reaching the lost

man. According to Moureau, Corwin and McGee, (2004, p.g. 30) “In essence, the

story of missions from that time on has been the story of God reaching out to

humans, who are asked to choose sides”.

Other commentators on biblical theology of mission in the Old Testament

usually point to the importance of the call and promise to Abraham, the Exodus

experience, the engagement of Israel’s prophets with their neighbours, and some

scriptures in parts of Isaiah and Psalms that relate to Israel’s role as a “light to the

nations” (Roxborogh, 2001). This means that the nations will look to Israel as a

light out of which they will come out of their darkness into the light of God.

God’s mission therefore is to use Israel as a means of reaching the entire world.

Thus the mission of God began with the calling of Abraham and the

promise given that “out of him shall all the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3). The

intention of God was that out of Abraham, He will raise a people and through

25
these people reach the entire world. God’s universal nature of love with a salvific

blessing was clear in the calling of Abraham and the promise given.

Again, God’s mission in relation to the nation of Israel is seen in the

deliverance from Egypt. He carried them on “eagle wings” as seen in Exodus

19:4. “God heard their cries, saw their misery, and brought them out with

miracles, signs and wonders. God’s mission of deliverance was based on His

eternal attribute of love as seen in Exodus 34:6-7” (Rheenen, 1996, p.g. 15).

Once more, the crossing of the Red Sea and the Wilderness experience was a

testimony of God’s desire to see all men saved through His chosen people. But

through the instrument, a man named Moses.

Even when the people of Israel rebelled and were taken into exile, the

purpose of God in using them as means of reaching the world was clear. He sent

the prophets to warn and to encourage them to remain the light for the world. The

prophesy of Ezekiel 36: 22-23 states,

Therefore say to the house of Israel, “this is what

the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, O

house of Israel, that I am going to do these things,

but for the sake of my holy name, which you have

profaned among the nations where you have gone. I

will show the holiness of my great name, which has

been profaned among the nations, the name you

have profaned among them. Then the nations will

know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign

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 Lord, when I show myself holy through you before

their eyes” (NIV).

Again, it is written in Zechariah 2:11, “many nations will be joined with the

Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will

know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you” (NIV). This shows that God

still had his divine agenda on course in reaching the entire world through Israel

(Moureau, Corwin, & McGee, 2004). In further of God’s agenda of using Israel

as mission channel to the entire world, McClung (2010, p.g.5) affirms that,

As God’s people experienced the period of

deportations and exile into Babylon, Israel’s

missionary role began to shift from that of an

attracting field to an outward-going force.

Throughout the era of the “Intertestamental period”

(between the Old and New Testaments) the

knowledge of God was taken by the Jews of the

“Diaspora” to surrounding peoples and distant

lands.

In reality, God’s dealing with Israel in the Old Testament in times of disobedience

was not only for punishment. It was also a way of pointing them to salvation, and

again for the entire world to be saved as in the promise given to Abraham (Gen.

12:3).

However, Bosch (1991) is of the view that in the Old Testament, Israel

was not supposed to go out and help change the religion of the neighbours, rather

the nations were to come and partake of their blessing from God. He states, “This

27
is because there is in the Old Testament, no indication of the believers of the old

covenant being sent by God to cross geographical, religious, and social frontiers

in order to win others to faith in Yahweh” (Bosch, 1991, p.g.17). Wright

challenged the position of Bosch and indicated that, it does not reflect the real

understanding of the mission mandate of Israel. This is because there are

scriptures pointing to Israel’s sending mandate. Thus, Wright (2000, p.g. 1) saw

Bosch’s position as a narrow definition and understanding of Old Testament

mission and states:

A more fully biblical understanding needs to show

how the missionary mandate of the NT had its roots

in the OT scriptures. This task requires careful

attention to the rich texture of OT themes and texts

that shaped, justified and motivated that NT mission

through Israel’s self-understanding of their own

mission as the elect people of God in the midst of

the nations.

The above shows the link between the Biblical narrative, God’s mission, Israel’s

mission, Jesus’ mission, and the Church’s mission as in the New Testament.

McClung (2010) maintained that even though one cannot find in the Old

Testament a “Great Commission” statement as seen in Mathew 28:18, there is

indeed an international/intercultural understanding of missiology in the Old

Testament. He posits, “What you will find, however, is a well-stated purpose from

the heart of God that He wants His people to be a light to the nations” (McClung

2010, pg. 23).

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 Furthermore, the Book of Jonah shows how God sent the prophet to a

foreign land outside Israel to preach the word of repentance. Nineveh represented

the world outside Israel. He was sent to go Nineveh, just as in Mathew 28:19, the

disciples were also sent to go to all nations. The position that missions are not

evident in the Old Testament cannot stand; they are seen in the Old Testament just

as it is in the New Testament.

Missions in the New Testament

The New Testament narratives are the prime examples of the fact that the

Bible was not intended to be “a textbook in theology, but to be a casebook about

mission—God’s mission and our mission” (Allison, 2008, p.g. 5). It is full of the

accounts of God ‘who works to save’ and therefore equips his people to be sent to

the world.

Thus, mission is the central theme of the New Testament. The long

awaiting Promised One who is the Saviour for the entire world as promised in

Genesis 3.15 appeared. He was in the person of Jesus Christ who was sent to fulfil

God’s plan of reconciliation. He echoed his mission, “the Son of man came to

seek and to save all that are lost” (Luke 19:10). This emphasizes the

understanding of missions in the New Testament (Moureau, Corwin, & McGee,

2004; Rheenen, 1996). The coming of Jesus Christ was God’s prudently arranged

time in reaching the world through His own Son in the “kairos” moment. Kairos

is a New Testament Greek word expression meaning a specific, strategic,

opportune moment in time. It confirms Galatians 4:4a, which states but when the

time (kairos) had fully come, God sent his Son (McClung, 2010). The mandate

29
and command of the church which included ICGC is to “go, seek and share” the

gospel of Christ as Saviour to the entire world” (P 6, Personal Interview, May,

2014).

Missions in the Gospels

In the gospel of Mathew, Jesus was introduced by the angel as one to be

born for the purpose of saving the world from their sins (Mathew 1:21). His entire

life was dedicated to preaching the love of God. He preached repentance, asking

all men to turn from their sins to God (Mathew 3:2). An important note in

Mathew’s gospel was the understanding of missions before the resurrection. The

disciples were asked to go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the

Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mathew 10:5ff).

Matthew’s account as seen in his gospel shows that his missions’ targeted group

are the Jews (Muthuraj, 2004). Yet, after His resurrection, He commanded the

disciples to go and preach to all nations. He gave the greatest commission to the

disciples. The commission eventually became the church’s mission mandate as it

is seen in Mathew 28:18-20:

Then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in

heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the

Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to

obey everything I have commanded you. And surely

I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

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 In Mark, Jesus came “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (Mark

1.14). In the analysis of Rheenen (1996, p.g. 20), “A fuller summary of Christ’s

message is given in Mark’s gospel: “The time has come… The kingdom of God is

near. Repent and believe the good news” (1:15). He was clear and intentional on

His purpose and mission (Mark 10.45). He again gave the command to His

disciples to continue the mission of God by “going into the whole world and

preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15-16).

In Luke’s gospel, the universal love of God to all mankind is revealed.

The mission of Jesus was introduced in Luke 4.18 as,

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has

anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He

has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the

oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.

The entire humanity is lost and therefore God has send Jesus to come, seek and

save man. He was both the Sent and the Sending One to the world (Bosch, 1991;

Rheenen, 1996). After the resurrection,

He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ

will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be

preached in his name to all nations, beginning at

Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things (Luke

24:26-48).

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In Luke’s mind, the message of the gospel must go to all nations through the

power of God.

In John’s gospel, he showed also introduced Jesus, as was with the Father

and was the Creator of the entire world (1:1-4). And He has come to give life to

the world that is dead in sin, and light to the world in darkness. John the Baptist

introduced Him as the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world (1:29).

He came to give abundant life to those who will believe in Him (10:10). He was

the Sent One and the Sender: “Again Jesus said, Peace be with you! As the Father

has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21; McClung, 2010).

In the four gospels, the purpose of God in sending Jesus was made clearer,

“to seek and save the lost and dead world.” Through his name, the forgiveness of

sins will be preached to all. Those who believe will be saved. They also are ‘sent’

to go and preach the gospel to all. However, the ‘sent ones’ can only fulfil their

assignment through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:29; John 20:22).

Missions in the Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles narrates the work of the disciples. They went out

to preach the gospel in obedience to the Great Commission. It is the first

missionary document that gives account of the missionary activities of the

disciples after the ascension of Christ. “The Acts prove themselves to be both a

history and a philosophy of missions in one. What is found in the four Gospels in

precept and principle is found in the Acts of the Apostles in practice and

application” (Llewellyn & Merve, n.d). The gospel teaching as spelt out by Luke

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the Evangelist is practiced literally and historically through the outpouring of the

Holy Spirit in Acts.

Some scholars see the book of Acts as the best document for studying the

missionary activities of the Apostles from Jerusalem to the end of the world

(Klaus, Petersen & Demper, 1999; Menzies, 2000, 2013; Stronstard, 1999;

Turner, 1991). In contrast to the above scholars, Richardson (1981) argues that

the purpose of Luke for writing Acts of the Apostles was to show the reluctance

of the Apostles to obey the Great Commission. He contends that, the Apostles

refused to obey the command to preach the gospel everywhere and to all people;

instead, they remained in Jerusalem and reached out only to the Jews. However,

Dollar (1993, pg. 59), disagreed and states, “…..Luke presents the twelve apostles

as positive and realistic for those committed to frontier missions”.

Again, Richardson argued that it was only after the outpouring of the

Spirit on the Day of Pentecost did the Apostles began to do effective missionary

work. He however, forgot that Luke’s account of the ascension of Jesus and the

command to preach the gospel everywhere was intertwined with these word,

“….wait in Jerusalem until you are filled with power from on high” (Luke 24:48-

49).

The power of the Holy Spirit was crucial for their ability to fulfil the

mandate. Luke re-echoed the word of the Lord Jesus, “wait until you are

empowered with the Holy Spirit from above” (Luke 24: 49; Menzies, 2004). Luke

quoted the words of Jesus, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit

comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and

Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

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 Since the Day of Pentecost, the activities of the Apostles gave meaning to

the working definition of missions as proposed by Bird. According to Bird (2004,

p.g.117), missions may be defined as “the activity of a movement that attempts to

win others to a new understanding of a transcendent reality through either active

(imparting truths) or passive (attractive presence) means”. The disciples were

empowered on the Day of Pentecost to win others to the new faith in Jesus Christ.

They imparted the truths that Jesus, who was crucified as a criminal has become

the Lord and Saviour of the entire world (Acts 4:12).

Beginning from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles through to the

Book of Revelation, there is evidence to show that mission was central to the New

Testament. In summing up the missionary nature of the New Testament, McClung

(2010 pg. 52-53) made the following assertions:

• Every book in the New Testament was written by a foreign missionary.

• Every letter in the New Testament that was written to an individual was written

to a convert of a foreign missionary.

• Every epistle in the New Testament that was written to a church was written to a

foreign missionary church.

• The one book of prophecy in the New Testament (Revelation) was written to

seven foreign missionary churches of Asia.

• The only authoritative history of the early Christian church is a foreign

missionary journal (Acts).

• The disciples were called Christians first in a foreign missionary community

(Antioch).

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• The map of the early Christian world is the tracing of the journeys of the first

missionaries.

• Of the 12 apostles chosen by Jesus, every apostle, except one, became a

missionary. The other became a traitor.

• The problems which arose in the early church were largely questions of

missionary procedure.

Another important factor of missions in the New Testament is its

universalism. The gospel message of salvation should be proclaimed to “all” for

the salvation of “all.” Senior (1984, p.g. 269) observed that, “The scope, the

structure, and the content of Acts are dominated by the question of the universal

mission”. However, this is not found in Acts of the Apostles alone. There are also

scriptural passages in the gospels that show that the gospel must reach all (Matt.

24:14; 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47 & Acts 1:8). This is called universalism of

the gospel.

In explaining the rationale behind universalism of missions, Muthuraj

(2004, pg. 59) stated that, “Universalism means that the task is to be carried out

by all Disciples of Christ and mission is a two-way process, that is, there is a

movement from Jerusalem, Antioch/Ephesus to other cities and vice versa”.

Whereas this statement is accepted by P 3 as the basis for encouraging every

member of ICGC to be a soul winner, P 6 contends that even though many were

born-again as a result of Peter’s message in Acts 2:41 and Acts 4:4, there is no

record to show that all of them were engaged in evangelism. It is therefore

important that “members are not forced to go out for soul-wining. Rather, those

35
who are empowered by the Holy Spirit will do the work of God” (Personal

Interview, May, 2014).

The Holy Spirit and Missions

The role of the Holy Spirit in missions cannot be over-emphasized. He is

the source of power for mission. Jesus Christ before He ascended to Heaven told

the disciples in Luke 24:49, “I am going to send you what my Father has

promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on

high.” Again, it was repeated in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the

Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all

Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Luke was referring to the Holy

Spirit in 24:29 as the source of power for witness (Shelton, 1991). Missions after

the Day of Pentecost experience in Acts 2 clearly showed that it was the (Agyin-

Asare, 1997) work of the Holy Spirit and not man.

The International Central Gospel Church teaches that every believer must

be passionate and filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the promise of the

Father to all that will believe in His Son Jesus as it is seen in Acts 2:39, “The

promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom

the Lord our God will call.” This understanding of missions in ICGC is based on

McGee’s (1997) approach to missions. It typifies early Pentecostal understanding

of mission. His radical strategy is a pneumatological approach that is founded in

the early apostolic era. This is based on the Apostles empowerment of the Holy

Spirit before they were able to witness to the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2:38 &

4:18-31).

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 When the Holy Spirit empowers the believer, the mission of witnessing is

accompanied by signs and wonders thus, energizing the missionary effort. The

empowerment of the Spirit for accomplishing the task of reaching the world is the

DNA of Pentecostals. Thus every missionary effort that is successful is based on

the Holy Spirit. No individual can win anyone to Christ without the Holy Spirit. P

4 posits, “Our source of strength and power comes from the Holy Spirit”

The incident of Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost began the spreading of the

gospel from Jerusalem to the end of the earth as said by Jesus. It is written in

Mathew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole

world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”. The gospel

indeed began in Jerusalem (Jews), and had to reach the entire world. Yet, it

cannot be done without the Holy Spirit.

The disciples received power from the Holy Spirit and preached the

gospel with all boldness. In essence, the Holy Spirit guided the messengers to call

humanity to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Whenever the gospel of Christ

was preached in the Book of Acts through the power of the Holy Spirit, it led to

repentance. Many gave their lives to Christ and the church grew. The goal of

missions therefore was accomplished.

The appendix 1 shows how mission was accomplished through the power

of the Holy Spirit. First, when the one hundred and twenty (120) people in the

Upper Room in Acts prayed they received the Holy Spirit. Secondly, when Peter

preached in 2, after they were filled with the Holy Spirit; three thousand (3000)

people gave their lives to Christ. Thirdly, when the cripple received healing

37
through the power of the Holy Spirit, five thousand (5000) responded to the

gospel and gave their lives to Christ.

On his part, Anderson (2000) described the first twenty years of

Pentecostal mission as chaotic in operation, yet very successful due to their

passion and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in them. Anderson (2004 pg.

215) pointed out that Pentecostal “evangelistic methods were flexible, pragmatic

and astonishingly successful.” This is because there were no dichotomy between

‘church’ and ‘mission’ because by nature Pentecostals were missionaries. The

sense of urgency that characterized Pentecostal missiological thrust was a definite

argument in Pentecostalism that sustained its existence. In the words of Miller

(2005, pg. 21)

Azusa Street’s greatest contribution was to global

missions. Mission was at the very heart of the

revival. Seymour and early Pentecostal leaders

believed that God was pouring out the “latter rain to

empower the church for worldwide witness”. They

believed that the primary purpose of the baptism in

the Holy Spirit was to empower the church to

preach the gospel to all nations before the soon

coming of Christ.

The above strengthens the opinion that the rapid growth of

Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in Africa has been due to its emphasis on the

power of the Holy Spirit in missionary works (Agyin-Asare, 1997).

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 The gospel should be proclaimed through the power of the Holy Spirit. In

preaching the gospel, there must be signs and wonders. Paul in his letter to the

Corinthian church emphasized, “My message and my preaching were not with

wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that

your faith might not rest on [human] wisdom, but on God’s power’ (1 Cor. 2:4-5).

In describing the general Pentecostal mission drive McGee (1986, p.g.

166) states that, “The missions’ consciousness of the early Pentecostal revival

demonstrates continuity between the nineteen century missions and the

emergence of the Pentecostal movement.” Thus mission is a continuation from the

past into the future till Christ comes with power and might to destroy finally Satan

and his demonic forces. Until He comes, the gospel should be preached with

power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit.

Hence, one indispensable component in the mission thrust of the

Pentecostal/Charismatic is power encounter. It is always seen as a

necessary ingredient in the proclamation of the gospel. It is a pattern of

evangelism in the New Testament through the power of the Holy Spirit

which confirms Jesus’ word in Mark 16:15-20:

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach

the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and

is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not

believe will be condemned. And these signs will

accompany those who believe: In my name they

will drive out demons; they will speak in new

tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands;

39
 and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt

them at all; they will place their hands on sick

people, and they will get well”.

The concept of power demonstration comes from the belief that there are

always powerful evil forces, which stand in the way of the salvation of

individuals, groups, families, and nations. Signs and wonders are believed to

break the hold of the devil and his host of demons over their victims (Agyin-

Asare, 1997; Wagner, n.d.).

The phenomenon of signs and wonders has been deliberately incorporated

into the evangelization efforts of Pentecostals/Charismatic churches. This is

attested to by Asamoah-Gyadu (1999, pg. 32) that, “Wherever I have seen growth

in Christian ministry the power of the Spirit has also been evident”. This is seen in

the numerous healing, signs and wonders that are seen in the gospel crusade

grounds and church services. The church therefore becomes the instrument

through which the power of God is demonstrated in missions. It is important to

note that no missionary activity has been successful without the full control of the

Holy Spirit. Cole (1998, p.g. 18) succinctly puts it,

This book Luke wrote on the expansion of

Christianity is not really the Acts of the Apostle, it

is really the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit

is mentioned or alluded to by the author fifty seven

times in twenty-eight chapters! When the question

is asked, "Who was in control of the growth and

expansion of the church?" there is really only one

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 answer-the Holy Spirit! Peter was not (Acts 10:19-

20). James was not (Acts 15:28). Paul was not (Acts

16:6-10). There is no human leader who

orchestrated and organized the growth and

expansion of the New Testament church! From a

strictly human perspective this operation was

completely out of control!

It is evident that Pentecostal missions have not been strategized from the

beginning. Yet, it had been sustained by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads the

mission, convinces and converts the people. Churches are then planted to nurture

the newly born-again believers into the body of Christ.

The importance that Pentecostals placed on the Holy Spirit gives them an

urge over the mainline churches in missionary activities in the twenty-first

century. The spread of Pentecostalism in the early 20th century, in about 42

countries outside of North America and Europe from 1906 to 1926 was as a result

of the strong emphasis on evangelism. It was backed by the power of the Holy

Spirit but not on any formalized mission plans or strategy. This assertion is agreed

to by P 1 that, “there were no formal strategies for expanding the church. We

were sent to go and preach the gospel, gather the souls and start a church. Infact

we depend more on the Holy Spirit and faith than whatever plans that needs to be

put in place” (Personal Interview, June, 2014).

The appendix 1 shows that the Holy Spirit is the source and force behind

the apostolic missionary activities. This is in line with (Miller, 2005) sentiment

the Holy Spirit is the same and force of every successful mission. It also confirms

41
Klaus statement “that indwelling power of the Spirit of Christ is the source of the

church's life and ministry” (Klaus, 2008, pg. 22).

Yet, the critical role of the Holy Spirit in mission was neglected by some

missionaries some time ago. Gallagher (1999) termed it as the ‘forgotten factor’

in world mission. His conclusion was based on the study of the Holy Spirit and

mission in Protestant missiological writings from 1945-1995. He concluded that

70 of the most influential Protestant missiologists within the period ignored the

link between mission and the work of the Holy Spirit. Thus, missions were mainly

understood by them as an activity of someone who is sent to a foreign land with

the gospel of Christ to win souls. This activity was a preserved for a selected and

educated few.

However, for the Pentecostal/Charismatics, missions is the primary duty

of every born again Christian, who is filled with the Holy Spirit. According to

Anderson (2007, pg. 294),

Pentecostalism has always been a missionary

movement in foundation and essence. Its firm

conviction was that the Spirit had been poured out

in ‘signs and wonders in order for nations of the

world to be reached for Christ before the end of the

age.

This confirms Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes

on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth”.

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 The Pentecostals accept as true that everyone can receive the gifts of the

Holy Spirit such as prophecy or the capacity to speak in tongues (Kalu, 2008).

The Spirit that was received on the Day of Pentecost and subsequently by all

believers according to Pentecostals is a Spirit of prophecy that proclaims the

Lordship of Christ for the salvation of all. Everyone who receives the Spirit’s

baptism must be a witness of Christ wherever you find yourself.

McConnell (1997, pg. 10) was also certain that, “Missionary work depends on

spiritual dynamics. When the apostles were baptized on the day of Pentecost,

that’s all they had; a great inner spiritual dynamic who was the Holy Spirit. They

didn’t have much or any education”. The qualification that is needed as a

missionary was not what man gives, but the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is a

sense of divine call. That is why days after the Azusa Street Revival, education or

academic qualification was not a requirement for a missionary. Rather a fair

knowledge of every book in the Bible and accurate knowledge of the doctrine of

salvation and sanctification. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit was the most

essential qualification as a missionary.

However, the above position had some challenges on the mission field in

the early days after Azusa Street Revival. Thus, Saayman (1993) was of the view

that missions in the mainline churches were planned thoroughly by institutions

and therefore avoided some mistakes. Yet, Pentecostal missionary institutions

were birthed not as an outcome of some clearly thought out theological decision

but rather on the mission field. Strategy and method were fashioned mostly in the

crucible of missionary praxis.

43
 Even though McGee (1997) agrees, his position was that successful

missionary endeavour depends on the Holy Spirit not on strategies and

institutions. It is the Holy Spirit who initiated the Pentecostal missions a century

ago. It has been successful for a century and so later strategies for the 21st century

will also depend so much on the same Spirit. This is what we are seeing in these

days. The Holy Spirit initiated mission is given birth to mega churches in the

world. There is now a reverse mission from the Third World Pentecostals to

Europe and the Americans.

Spurgeon (1995) agrees that any where one finds him/herself, is a mission

field and the Christian a missionary. This is because there is always someone who

is not born again around that needs to hear the gospel of salvation. There is

therefore no qualification or geographical location necessary for one to be a

missionary or engage in missions.

Paul’s missionary strategy of the Spirit

Pomerville (1985) on his part showed that obedience to the command of

the Great Commission is the reason for evangelicals yet to the

Pentecostal/Charismatic, the Holy Spirit poured out and received on Pentecost

and subsequence in Azusa is the missionary Spirit empowering the community for

missions. To him, Paul’s missionary activity in Ephesus was a clear strategy that

is helpful in reaching the uttermost part of the earth. This is a mission strategy

based on a particular understanding of scripture.

Apostle Paul’s understanding of missions involves and depends on the

pneumatic empowering of the missionary. The promise of the Spirit in Acts 1:8

44
was for empowerment for missions. Subsequently, in Acts19:1-2, it is written

“While Apollo was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived

at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the

Holy Spirit when you believed?” The events thereafter give an idea of Paul’s

missionary strategy. It was simply the ‘Strategy of the Spirit’.

It was his strategy throughout the Roman Empire which was very

successful. The goal of Paul was to plant the church not only in Ephesus but

throughout Asia Minor. He succeeded in doing so within two years as a result of

the culmination of a deliberate and sustained application of a missionary strategy

based on the Spirit. This means that baptism of the Spirit was critical for the

success of every believer for effective missionary activity. That is why Paul

asked, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

This presupposes that the Holy Spirit, in the Lukan sense is an

empowerment for mission. Paul’s task was to ensure that the Ephesian believers

were empowered by the Spirit as the Jerusalem believers on the Day of Pentecost.

So they can obey the Great Commission of going to the uttermost part of the earth

(Luke 24: 47-49).

Shelton (1991, pg. 208) concurs: “Paul initially raised the question

whether the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” The implication is clear: the purpose

of the Holy Spirit’s coming upon the Ephesian disciples was empowerment for

witness as Jesus had promised. Paul categorically stated in Romans 15:18-19,

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has

accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by

what I have said and done— by the power of signs and miracles,

45
 through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way

around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

Furthermore, Green (1970, pg. 149) concludes that, “Every initiative in

evangelism recorded in Acts is the initiative of the Holy Spirit.” This is made

effective through times of effective prayer. Paul therefore requested that the

church in Rome pray for him so that he can embark on successful missionary

activity in Spain (Romans 15:23-24).

Mission conducted on any level requires a prayerful and effective

strategizing in order to make the little resources available useful for the venture.

Prayer is an integral part of every missionary activity because that is what the

disciples were doing on the Day of Pentecost before the Holy Spirit came on

them. There is a direct link between prayer and effective missionary work. Church

planters who spent more time in prayer are more successful than those who pray

less. As said by the General Overseer of ICGC, Dr. Mensa Otabil, “It is better for

you to fast and pray for twenty-one days before starting a church than to suffer for

twenty-one years in ministry without success” (Personal Communication, 2013).

The fullness of the Spirit is received through prayer for the effectiveness

of the mission (Acts 4:23-31). Meyer (1999) noted that the historic mission

churches fail to take the experience of the Holy Spirit seriously thus leading to

drifts of their members into Pentecostal/Charismatic churches and movements.

46
The role of the Church in missions

The Christian Church throughout Scriptures has one objective. The

objective is its missionary hard work “to make disciples of all nations to the Lord

Jesus Christ”. This is seen in the command of Jesus in Mathew 28:18-19

Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in

heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the

Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to

obey everything I have commanded you. And surely

I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

After the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the

Day of Pentecost, the role of the Church in God’s plan of salvation by making

Christ known to the lost world has become a matter of great interest. This is

because some perceive the Church as the channel through which the Kingdom of

God is made known to world. Others are of the view that the mission is entirely

God’s (Missio Dei), with or without the Church.

The contention in relation to the role of the church in God’s mission

emerged out of the ecumenical gathering of church leaders. It was named the

International Missionary Council of 1952 in Willingen. After the meeting, there

emerged two broad ranges of theological outlooks, with different opinions. The

positions were the traditionalist and humanist in relation to the concept of Missio

Dei.

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 The traditionalist position insisted that the Church was the means to

fulfilling God’s eschatological intentions. In effect, the work is God’s (Missio

Dei); He is the ultimate source, actor, and fulfiller of mission and the Church the

tunnel in bringing out the purpose of God. The humanist view on the other hand

did not deny the role of the Church but emphasized that because the Kingdom of

God is already inaugurated, the Church is there not as a means to the realization

but the announcer of its existence (McKinize, 2010).

Other scholars added their voice to this discussion. For example, Wolgang

(2003, pg. 529) states that, “Mission is ultimately God’s affair,” and Bosch (1991,

pg. 390) argued, “In the new image mission is not primarily an activity of the

Church but an attribute of God.” Robinson (2012, pg. 29) also added his voice to

the concept of Mission Dei and states

Mission is God’s mission (Missio Dei), and it is a

mission that goes beyond the church. It embraces

everything that God is doing in the world through

people and nations to establish His Kingdom here

on earth. God's work is not limited to the

endeavours of the church, but the church does have

a special role, sent by God to continue in His

mission.

Robinson’s assertion is that God’s work of salvation is not limited to the

church. However, the church has a special role: the means and strategies by

which the church carries out this divine assignment is of great interest. The

48
church’s role in the implementation of God’s salvific plan is anchored by Bosch

as he states,

The classical doctrine on missio Dei as God the

Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the

Son sending the Spirit, was expanded to include yet

another “movement”: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

sending the church into the world... Our mission has

no life of its own: only in the hands of the sending

God can it truly be called mission, not least since

the missionary initiative comes from God alone

(1991, p.g. 390).

Even though the concept emphasizes on the ultimate of God in missions,

the role of the Church in missions has been clearly accepted by the various

scholars. According to Scott, Moreau and Corwin (2003, p.g. 73) “In sum, Missio

Dei is a comprehensive term encompassing everything God does in relation to the

kingdom and everything the Church is sent to do on earth.”

Therefore, the ultimate duty of the Church now is to make sure that the

mission of God is carried out. In the opinion of Goheen (2001) the Church is

beginning to understand that mission is not simply one of its activities, but

belongs to the very core of its existence. However, Foli (2007, p.g 2) alerts that,

“we are so busy with church work that we no longer have time to do the work of

the church.” The work of the church accordingly is to carry out the mission of

God which is the salvation of men. The mission of God has been evident

49
throughout the Scriptures, showing that in every dispensation or era God initiates

a means by which man can come to Him.

In ICGC and other Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches, there is no

difference between the church and missions. For this reason,

Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity is flourishing in African as attested by

various scholars. Although they assigned different reasons based on their

orientation and specialities, the fact still remains that, the church sees mission as

its ‘reason for existence’.

Whereas Gifford (2004) attributed the phenomenon to sociological issues

such as the socio-economic situation on the continent; Larbi (2001) disagreed,

attributing it more to more of the working of God. He cited Ghanaian

Pentecostalism as an example and pointed out that, in the early 1970’s there was a

deep passion for God which led to the establishment of Prayer Camps and various

student religious organization.

The great strides made by Pentecostals/Charismatic have been attributed

to the orality of the liturgy, flexibility of its worship and the pneumatic

expressions that characterizes the daily worship. Even though both the Mainline

and Pentecostal churches believe in the Holy Spirit, “Pentecostalism takes the

matter further by its emphasis and active promotion of the experiential presence

of the Holy Spirit in new tongues, healing, deliverance, revelations, and other

such pneumatic phenomena” (Asamoah-Gyadu, 2006, p.g. 366).

The pneumatic phenomenon was not so visible in the mainline churches

and as such drew many young people to the Pentecostal churches. The young

50
people from the Universities and other educational institutions formed Christian

and Town Fellowships in their various communities.

Larbi (2001) was of the view that the emergence of Para-Church

organizations like the Scripture Union (SU), University Fellowship (UF) and the

Town Fellowships were the place of expression of charismata for the younger

members of the Mainline Churches. The desire to expression the zeal of the active

younger members of the Mainline Churches became the rallying point and

birthplace of Neo-Pentecostal Movement known in Ghana as the Charismatic

Churches.

The Pentecostal/Charismatic churches have survived because there is

dichotomy between the church’s mission and the work of saving souls. This is

what gave birth to them and this is what sustains them, and bring growth (P 4).

The church has programs that are aimed at winning souls as part of its missions.

Others have several weeks in the year that is dedicated to evangelism and soul-

winning. Again, various programs are initiated to raise funds for missionary

activities which comprise the whole church. The mission of the Church is carried

out through evangelism as such; missions and evangelism are the same in practice

and carried out with much passion (P 6).

Mission, missions and evangelism

The basis of missions in ICGC is to share the love of God to humanity.

The sole aim is to “seek and save” all those that are lost. Sharing the gospel

(evangelism) is the most important mission in ICGC. Members are trained to

reach out for soul-wining, make them disciples with the aim of planting a church

51
to cater for and nurture them to become mature Christians. This is based on the

Great Commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ in Mathew 28:18-20.

On his part Avery (1992) defines mission as “the total redemptive purpose of God

to establish his kingdom (pg 2)”. Whilst, Van Rheenen (1996, p.g 20) defines

mission “as the work of God in reconciling sinful humankind to himself”.

Fundamentally, all the above definitions show that God’s mission on earth

is to make Himself known to his creation and restore man back to Himself. It

involves God’s purpose and plan for the redemption of mankind from sin and

depravity.

Missions’ on the other hand are closely related to mission (Missio Dei)

and refer to what the church and other organizations are doing to carry out the

purpose of God on earth. According to Charles (2009, p.g 11), “Missions is seen

as making Christ known to unbelievers and new believers being trained not to just

believe, but to be Disciples of Christ.” Again, Tsinigo (2011, p.g 2), defines

missions as “anything that God is doing on earth through the church for the

expansion and building of the kingdom of God”. In the view of Eliade (1978, p.g

573) missions succinctly is “the extension of the church beyond its existing

frontiers.” The church is the agent through whom God‘s mission is accomplished.

Thus, Van Rheenen (1996, p.g 20) defines missions as “the activities of

God’s people, the church, to proclaim and to demonstrate the kingdom of God to

the world”. Foundationally, preaching the gospel and demonstrating the Kingdom

of God to the world is the task of missions. The mandate of the whole church

therefore is bringing the whole gospel to the whole world (Bosch, 1991). The

work of the church is to engage in missionary activities. Hence, Tsinigo (2011,

52
p.g 2), asserts that missions must be “the specific work or various missionary

activities of the church such as evangelism, social services, etc. in the task of

reaching people for Christ by crossing cultural boundaries”.

Although, the focus of missions is preaching the gospel and the goal is

wining souls for Christ. Yet, social services have become integral part of the

missionary task of the church. Bosch (1991) is of the opinion that if the ultimate

goal of every missionary activity is salvation; then it must be a ‘comprehensive

salvation’ that includes meeting the social needs of the people.

Mission and missions are intertwined and is carried out with evangelism in

mind. As such, “every member is encouraged and empowered by the Holy Spirit

‘to go and win souls’ because that is the main mission activity of the church

(Personal Communication, 2014). Both Bosch (1991) and Oboriji (2006)

emphasize evangelisation, the process of spreading the gospel by proclamation

and witness, as a key element of mission, however, the understanding is that

evangelization is not synonymous with mission. In principle, evangelism and

missions should not be construed as one, yet the practice in ICGC is that they are

inseparable and therefore one.

On one hand, this agrees with Loffler’s (1977, pg. 341) argument that

evangelism is “sufficiently distinct and yet not separate from mission.” On the

other hand it disagrees with Bosch that “evangelism should not be equated to

missions” (1991, pg. 412). However, there is no controversy over whether there is

a real difference. In Pentecostal/ Charismatic thought and practice, there is not

much difference between missions and evangelism. This is because in missions,

the ultimate is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people which is

53
evangelism. It is a duty for everyone who is a Christian to win souls through

sharing of the gospel (Yesudian, 2001).

In ICGC, every missionary activity of the church must result in the wining

of souls for the Kingdom of God. For example, the Ga rural community in the

Greater Accra Region of Ghana was the mission field in the early years of ICGC.

“We were not so much concern about training or definitions, whether

evangelization or missions; rather, we spend time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit

to lead us and win souls for Christ”. That is our mandate and we carried it on

successfully” (P 2, Personal Communication).

This agrees with Larkin’s (1996) definition of missions. He states

“Missions are the divine activity of sending intermediaries, whether supernatural

or human, to speak or do God's will so that his purposes for judgment or

redemption are furthered” (pg. 534). Members of ICGC become the

intermediaries who speak God’s lovely word of salvation to the people who are

not saved through the sharing of the gospel of Christ. The mission to the

community always begins with evangelism. When a few people are gathered in

the community, the church starts meeting in any available place.

In Hebrews 1:1 it is written, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers

through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he

has spoken to us by his Son. Currently, God sends ordinary men and women to

speak for Him. The messenger is not as important as the content of the message

from God. The International Central Gospel Church based on this above principle

sends men and women to go and preach the word of God.

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 In Matt 4:19, Jesus introduced the duty of the disciples when he said

“Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men”. They were asked to go out and

search for men like fishermen who go out to fishing. Thus the essence of

preaching the gospel of salvation to all (evangelism) is the prime mission of Jesus

and the Church. Evangelism and mission therefore are inseparable in practice.

This Johnston confirms (1978, pg. 18) that, “Historically, mission of the church is

evangelism alone”. Glasser and McGavran acknowledged that “Theologically,

mission is evangelism by every means possible” (1983, pg. 17).

Evangelistic activities are central in God’s important message to

humanity. It was sent through Jesus Christ: it was the message of His love

demonstrated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christian

mission therefore is the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and

Pentecostals has carried out this duty with urgency and passion. From its birth, the

Pentecostal movement has been a missionary enterprise. According to Anderson,

Pentecostalism has probably been the fastest

religious movement in the twentieth century and it

is now found in almost every country in the world.

One of the reasons for this must surely be because it

has always had a strong emphasis on mission and

evangelism (2004, p.g. 207).

The missionary prowess of Pentecostalism is reiterated by McClung (1999, pg.

32) that “Pentecostalism by its very nature is intrinsically missiological.” Mission

is understood as going out to save the lost. Karkkainen consented that,

“theological reflection on mission has not been the hallmark of Pentecostalism for

55
the simple reason that they have been more ‘doers' than ‘thinkers” (2004, pg.

167). Thus, being ‘doers’, Pentecostalism has become a worldwide brand of

Christianity.

Wilson (1997, pg. 15) justified the above and states, “Missions for most

Pentecostals had never been merely the dutiful fulfilment of an obligation. The

missionary task for many came close to being their movement’s organizational

reason for being”. Missions and evangelism therefore cannot be separated from

each other. In the Pentecostal thought, missions is to go out and preach the gospel

through evangelism with the aim of saving souls for the Kingdom of God to

expand.

Heward-Mills, a Pentecostal/Charismatic missionary and evangelist with

churches all over the world agrees with the above assertion and states that for the

Church to be seen in carrying out its mission, “we must win the lost at any cost”

(Heward- Mills, 2001, pg. 12). Thus, the foundational meaning of ‘missions’ is

‘soul winning’ and ensuring that the church of God grows.

In analysing the great expansion of Pentecostalism on the African continent, Kalu

(2008) claimed that, Pentecostalism intensified in the 1990s through a vigorous

evangelization program, thereby creating a very multifaceted religious

environment. Klaus (2010) accepts the fact that Pentecostalism has grown with

incredible vigour, with prediction from the 1990s that it would be central to 21st

century Christianity. These assertions are based on the aggressive nature of

Pentecostal evangelism also.

Over the past two decades, Pentecostal/Charismatic missions have

developed new patterns for world evangelization and strategies for penetrating the

56
unreached people in Ghana. In the strategy, the churches through evangelism,

expands their territories. They establish new branches in both the un-reached and

reached areas as part of their missionary activities. To this assertion, Anderson

(2000) attests that,

In many parts of the world, Pentecostals are

notorious for rather aggressive forms of evangelism

and proselytism, and Africa is no exception. From

its beginnings, the Pentecostal movement was

characterized by an emphasis on evangelistic

outreach, and Pentecostal mission strategy placed

evangelism as its highest priority. Evangelism

meant to go out and reach the ‘lost’ for Christ in the

power of the Holy Spirit (pg. 1).

Thus, the missions in ICGC are primarily focused on the proclamation of the

Good News (evangelism), with the purpose of winning souls, discipling them, and

planting of new churches.

Conclusion of the chapter

In this chapter, we have discovered that the mission of the church must be

based on scripture and not on anybody’s assumption. God is the source and

originator of missions therefore every missionary activity of the Church must be

based on his original plan. The Bible as the word of God contains the pattern of

missions that originates from God and therefore is the blue print of everyone who

wants to do mission’s in God’s way.

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 Whereas, some contend that the Old Testament does not give a vivid

picture of what Christian missions is about, the study have been able to prove that,

in the Old Testament there was a missionary mandate given to Israel as “the light

to the Gentiles”. Although it was not specifically commanded as seen in the New

Testament’s Great Commission that was given to the disciples by Jesus, there are

equally patterns and shadows of the same command as seen in the New

Testament.

In the New Testament however, the mission of the Church is clearly spelt

out by Jesus Christ as a command for all to obey. This is evident in the entire

Gospels through to the Acts of the Apostles which is seen as the ‘missionary

document of the Apostles of Christ. Again, the important role of the Holy Spirit in

missions was discovered in the chapter. The evidences confirms that every

successful missions depends on the power of the Holy Spirit as it was said by

Jesus Christ in Luke 24:49, “I am going to send you what my Father has

promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on

high” and was confirmed in Acts 2:1-4. The Spirit that was given on the Day of

Pentecost was an empowerment for missions.

The basis of missions in ICGC is solidly on Scripture and in the power of

the Holy Spirit. There is no difference in practice as far as missions and

evangelism is concern. Ultimately, every missionary activity of ICGC is aimed at

winning souls for the Kingdom of God and through discipleship gathers the souls

and nurtures them to become responsible Christians in the Body of Christ.

In the next chapter, we will look at the means by which ICGC is carrying out its

missions that have resulted in the rapid growth of the church. We will also

58
examine whether the same strategy can be applicable future and replicated in

other African countries where the church is not doing very well.

59
 CHAPTER THREE

THE MISSION STRATEGY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL

GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC)

Introduction

There are varieties of ways by which churches are communicating the

gospel of Christ in these contemporary times. These strategies are designed to

increase membership, plant more churches and promote commitment from

members (Wilson, Keyton, Johnson, Geiger, & Clark, 1993). Strategy is very

important in accomplishing any set task or assignment. Malphurs (2005, pg. 167)

defines strategy in Christian missions as, “the process that determines how your

ministry will accomplish its mission”. Yet, this strategy must be dependent

entirely on the Holy Spirit (Cook, 1963; van Rheenen, 1996).

In carrying out the mission of God, the method and means by which it is

done is critical. Bosch (1991) points out that the particular forms the missions

take and its relationship to the specific times and places are of great importance.

Missions should be placed within a context that will make it easier for the

recipients to participate in the Missio Dei.

The study explored various strategies that have been used by ICGC as it

carries on with its mandate of reaching the world with the gospel of Christ. The

60
strategies that are discussed in the chapter are: Urban missions, how the church

has utilised the media space, special events, the use of lay leaders in church

planting, corporate social responsibility programs and the role of Dr. Otabil in the

growth of ICGC. Again, some of the responses from the interviewees in the study

are incorporated in the discussion. The interviewees are presented in the study as

participants and are given identification numbers as P1, P2 etc.

Pentecostal/Charismatic mission strategy

Missions for a Pentecostal/Charismatic church like ICGC was not based

on theological sophistication and high church order but rather on the power of the

Holy Spirit (Asamoah-Gyadu, 2009). Wonsuk (2005, pg. 17) attests that

“Pentecostal mission has been carried out without much reflection ... they were

more acts of intuition, often "led by the Spirit”. He pointed out that there is the

need for a reflection in its missiological approach in the century in order for it to

stand the test of time. The International Central Gospel Church from its inception

as attested by P 2 may fall in the same category. The mission strategy of ICGC

therefore is the discussion at this stage of the study.

In ICGC, members with passion and zeal for soul-winning are sent out

with a pastor or a leader to go out, win souls and start a church. Theological

training and reflections was not so much needed because, it is deemed to delay the

work of God. The understanding was that Jesus will be returning soon and

therefore there is no time to wait until for one to be fully trained before going on

the mission field. “Behold! I am coming soon....” (Rev. 22:7 & 12) was the

motivation. Although that was what prevailed at the beginning of the church, yet

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much has changed. The setting up of the Central Bible College which later

became Central University College was purposely for training of Christians with

the call of God to become pastors.

The unstructured nature of Pentecostal missionary activity was grounded

in the premillennial eschatology, making the task of evangelism and mission more

important than reflection and strategy (Anderson, 2005). One of the key scriptures

for the movement is found in Mathew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom

will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end

will come”.

The urgency to preach the gospel for the salvation of souls was more

important than the means (strategy) of reaching them. Jesus said, “Go and preach

the gospel”, and that was most important for the Pentecostals; obedience to the

Great Commission. An aggressive form of missions, which was characterized by

an emphasis on evangelistic outreach therefore, is the highest priority in

Pentecostal mission strategy (Agyin –Asare, 2007; Heward-Mills, 2001; Kissi-

Ayittey, 2011).

Thus in ICGC, obedience to the command is more important than

reflecting on the availability of financial resources and other logistics. When more

emphasis is placed on these things, it is perceived as, “the one who is sent is not

exercising enough faith in God to supply the needs for His work”. This is because

in Luke 10:4 when Jesus was sending the seventy-two He said, “Do not take a

purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road” (Personal

Communication, P3).

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 The Ghanaian Pentecostal/Charismatic missiological philosophy has

largely been driven by the passion to win souls into the Kingdom of God. As

such, the proclamation of the gospel is its core duty. There should not be any

difference between life style of the believer and the propagation of the gospel.

The sense of mission and the urgency of the task is based on the command of the

Lord to preach the gospel to all mankind (Matthew 24:14).

Missions strategy must depend on the context (situation and environment)

not necessarily on detailed guidelines that are followed everywhere. There must

be variations about the mission processes. For example, Christian leaders of today

cannot follow Paul’s strategy of preaching first in the local synagogues as seen in

the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 14:1). In the early mission trips of Apostle Paul, he

demonstrated a pattern of reckoning with the Jews in synagogues first, that was

his initial strategy (Gallaher, n.d).

Yet when he went to the Gentile communities of Lystra, Derbe, and

Philippi, there were no synagogues so he changed his strategy (Acts 14:11-16).

He resorted to preaching the resurrection of Jesus in the marketplaces (Acts

17:17-18). Both models of evangelism were considered by Luke as suitable

“applications of missionary principles since the operation varied depending on the

situation and culture” (Gallaher, n.d. pg. 7).

Missions strategy in International Central Gospel Church

The International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) as an

Evangelical/Pentecostal church has been a mission minded church. The task of the

Lord that was given to the disciples in Mathew 28:18-19 is its major focus. ICGC

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within twenty-nine (29) years has planted churches in every region in Ghana. As

stated earlier, there is no difference between missions and evangelism in

Charismatic churches (Bosch 1991; Loffler 1977).

Thus in ICGC, missions means preaching the gospel to all whether there

are already churches or not. It also includes planting churches, meeting the needs

of the communities in which the churches are planted through good corporate

social responsibility programs. However, the strategy is that the missions should

begin from the urban centres, so that the rural churches will be assisted by the

urban churches in both human and financial resources.

Through the interviews, the selected participants gave their views about

the mission strategy in ICGC and what has contributed to the rapid growth of the

church and some challenges. Even though the interviews were unstructured,

various themes emerged from the data collected and are discussed below (Hcyner,

1999). The focus of the interviews was to uncover the mission strategy of ICGC.

One major discovery was that, missions’ strategy depended on the context

(situation and environment) not necessarily on detailed guidelines that must be

followed.

For example, the initial idea of the General Overseer Dr. Otabil was for

ICGC to become one big and centralized church in Accra. It will be a converging

point for thousands of people to come to service each Sunday from every part of

the country. This informed the missions approached from the beginning.

Therefore, planning and strategies for missions and church planting was not a

priority. There were no formal plans in planting churches beside the one

centralized church or even outside the city of Accra.

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 The lack of a well planned strategy for missions in ICGC was reiterated by

P 4. He pointed out that missions’ in the rural communities which boosted church

planting activities were an ‘after-thought’. It was the natural result of the vision as

the church grew. The idea of church planting came in after the first church at

Koforidua was successful. Others that followed were the Sakumono and Adenta

branches. P 3 however, contended that God knows why the initial vision was to

have one central church; because it was God at work. Adenta and Sakumono were

among the first churches that were planted outside Christ Temple in Accra. These

locations were suburbs of Accra which have now become prime areas in the city.

The success of Adenta, Sakumono and about one hundred more churches became

the basis for the church planting policy in 2011.

When asked whether the ‘one church’ initial vision was not in contrast to

Acts 1:8, which states that, “the gospel should be preached everywhere starting

from Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria to the uttermost part of the earth”? P 3

argued that it was the initial vision but later the dynamic nature of the vision led

to the policy of planting more churches. The assertion of P 5 was that the one big

and centralized urban centred church was a planned mission strategy. Yet, there

were no documents at the mission’s directorate to ascertain that assertion. This

meant that even though it worked for the church, it was not a documented

strategy. Also, church planting in the rural communities outside Greater Accra

region was not considered initially. P 2 stressed that it was later decided that the

urban centred churches should go out and plant churches in the rural areas.

Although planting other branches was a welcomed idea, procedures and

processes were not in place from the beginning. How churches were planted and

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inaugurated therefore defers from place to place, and individual to individual. For

example, when P 5 started his church, he had the G.O announce from the pulpit

for people within that community to join the new branch. Both the G.O and wife

attended the inaugural Sunday church service. There were about two hundred and

fifty people (250) in attendance on the first Sunday.

However, in the case with P 2, he started gradually with evangelism and

gathered few people. There was a sharp contrast between the experiences of P 2

and P 5. P 2 gathered people gradually and could not boast of fifty members even

after one year.

Language is critical to the dissemination of information. In the church, the

language used in communication with the congregants is very critical. In ICGC,

the language used by the church planters differs. There were no official rules with

regards to the language (English or indigenous) to use in church services. It

depends on the context and geographical location. Whereas, P 1’s church and few

others started with the local languages P 5 used English language right from the

beginning. However, due to the people P 1 wanted to attract, he later changed to

the English language.

The challenge of financial and logistics constrain regarding the planting of

new churches came to bear. There seems to be lack of appropriate direction. P 6

was of the view that every pastor who is sent out to start a church must be given

adequate support. It is required that the Supervising Minister or church provides

good meeting place, sound equipment and other personnel to assist in the work.

However, P 3 insisted that, the financial resources of the ‘sending church’

determine how far they can go in assisting the new church. Rather, the financial

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assistance should come from a fund set up by the District Mission Committee.

This is because there is no fund available at the Mission Directorate for church

planting. The Missions Directorate is an arm of the Missions Board in the ICGC

(see appendix 2 for the terms of reference of the Missions Board). P 7 supports

the idea of mission’s fund to be set up for planting new churches. The above

discussions shows that new churches are financed based on the ability of the

individual pastor and sending church but not on a formalized system.

Again, the development of a strategy for missions was not the immediate

priority of the church until recently. Therefore, there were no guidelines that

regulated church planting activities until recently. The Church Planting

Guidelines (C P G) was introduced in 2011. This was after twenty-seven (27)

years of the establishment of ICGC. Within three years of the adoption and

implementation of the guidelines, the number of new church that was planted

increased almost one hundred percent (100%). This means that as much as

Pentecostals believe and “depend on the leading of the Spirit”, missions become

more successful when it is formalized. The main focus of missions in ICGC

(winning souls and planting new churches) is gradually being followed through a

systematic and formalized strategy.

Urban missions

One of the opportunities that the church in the twenty-first century has is

the phenomenon of urbanization. A report by the United Nations in 2014 shows

that more people live in urban centres and cities than in rural areas. It is estimated

that currently, 54% of the world’s population live in the urban centres. It is

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anticipated that this will rise up to 66% by the year 2050. The major growing

urban centres will be Africa and Asia. The population in the cities expected to

triple in the next forty years (UN, 2015). In agreement, Jenkins (2002, pg. 93)

states,

Most of the global population growth in the coming

decades will be urban. Today, around 45 percent of

the world’s people live in urban areas, but that

proportion should rise to 60 percent by 2025 and to

over 66 percent by 2050. The result will be a

steadily growing number of huge metropolitan

complexes that could by 2050 or so be counting

their populations in the tens of millions.

Population growth in urban centres in the 21st century should be an advantage to

the church’s mission. Majority of the population resides in the urban centres

therefore it is easy to reach them with the gospel. However Baker (2009, pg. 9)

contends, “In many ways missions and the church as a whole did not take

advantage of the phenomenon of urbanization.”

A report by the Ghana Statistical Service on the Population and Housing

Census in 2010 shows that majority of the Ghanaian population lives in urban

areas. This is about 50.9 percent. Greater Accra Region has the highest number of

urban population (90.5%). It is followed by Ashanti Region (60.6%). The reason

for the high population in urban centres is because of the concentration of

industries and commercial activities.

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 Most industries and commercial activities are located in the Greater Accra

and Ashanti Regions. The presence of the industries accounts for the high urban

populations (GSS, 2012). The report implies that any church that will be serious

about urban missions is likely to grow both numerically and financially. Thus,

ICGC is taking advantage of the vast populations in the urban centres by reaching

out to them with the gospel through various means. It is no wonder that majority

of ICGC churches are found in the Greater Accra Region which is the capital city

of Ghana.

Notwithstanding, there is also the challenge of the emergence of secular

and Eastern religious beliefs and practices. In urban centres, they are publicizing

their presence and attracting some of the learned and elite in society. Moreover,

Islamic religion is fast gaining grounds in the urban centres. Huge Islamic

mosques can be seen springing out all over the cities. It is a threat to the Christian

church.

One of its mission strategies is to plant churches first in urban centres.

This is seen as a strategy that was adopted by the Apostle Paul in his missionary

activities. Apostle Paul deliberately chooses principal cities as the centre for his

evangelization of entire regions. In support of urban centred missions,

Kanagaraj(2008, pg. 3) writes, “Paul identified in each region the key cities such

as Antioch of Pisidia, Paphos of Cyprus, Philippi, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus,

Macedonia, and Caesarea to carry out his mission”.

Again, in Paul’s attempt reach Spain, he wrote to Rome asking for their

assistance to evangelize the western part of the province (ref. Rom. 15:19, 23-24;

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Hahn, 1965). In comparing Philo’s approach and that of Paul, Hedlund (1985, pg.

241) asserts,

In line with Philo’s choice of venues to teach his

philosophy, Paul chose prominent cities which

provided him such strategic locations as the market

places, synagogues, lecture halls and houses to

reach out easily both Jews and Gentiles with the

gospel of Jesus and to expand his mission to the

neighbouring towns and regions. He also chose

Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, as a centre

of strategic importance for his new Western

mission.

ICGC has also chosen this approach in reaching other cities and towns

apart from the capital city Accra. In the other regions in Ghana, churches are first

planted in the regional capitals. When these churches are stable, they then serve as

centres from where they can reach other towns and villages. Currently, there are

branches in all the ten (10) regional capitals of Ghana.

One of the means by which ICGC is reaching the urban population is

presenting herself as attractive to the middle and elite class of the society. By this

I mean how the church has packaged itself and services. One of such methods is

the use of the English language as a means of communication in almost all the

churches in the urban centres. Evangelistic activities are also conducted in the

English language. Thus the medium of communication becomes a means of

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attracting people to the church (Gifford, 2004). This is a deliberate strategy that

aims at reaching the urban educated audience.

The use of English language in church services also makes it easier for

other non-Ghanaians to join the church. These non-Ghanaians, of which some are

elites, easily associate with the church community, easily communicate with and

share ideas without any language barriers. They are found in the urban centres as

businessmen and women and others highly professionals of many fields. Some are

also students of tertiary institutions among which Central University College is

one of their preferred institutions. As such, “Charismatic Christianity is growing

fast among young, educated and upwardly mobile urbanites” (De Witte, 2003, pg.

178).

One may argue that the church will be full of people who are not born-

again, but once again the admonition of the General Overseer comes in, ‘allow

them to come and let the Holy Spirit work on them’ (Personal Communication).

The pattern set forth by the New Testament church growth comes into play. Thus,

Warren (1995, pg. 18) asserts that, “the New Testament itself is the most

profound book written for church growth”. Therefore everyone who comes into

church can be worked on by the Holy Spirit for conversion.

Furthermore, Larbi (2001) noted that the Neo-Pentecostal churches have

become attractive to the youths and middle class due to the flexibility of the ethos

and liturgy. The services are conducted in an atmosphere of joy and Christ-

centred worship. There is orderliness, discipline and time (duration of service)

well respected. ICGC is noted for the excellent and orderly manner it conducts

activities. No wonder excellence is one of its philosophies (Gifford, 2004).

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Opoku Onyinah at a meeting of presbyters of English Assemblies in the Church

of Pentecost gave reasons for the rapid growth of Charismatic as follows:

It may interest you to know that I took time off the

last two Sundays to visit two of the well known

English Churches in Accra, namely, the

International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) and

the Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM).

Apart from worshipping with them, I also seized the

opportunity to assess the whole service, the content,

congregation, the conducting, and the lessons that

can be drawn from them. As some of you, if not all,

might be aware, both churches run two sessions on

Sunday mornings. At ICGC especially I was, to say

the least very impressed with not only the

organization but also the content of the service. My

visit left me with no doubt that they were reaching

their generation quite effectively (August 4, 1992).

Onyina concluded that, the ethos, liturgy and medium of communication in ICGC

appeals to the youth and educated classes of the urban society. This approach is

therefore giving ICGC the lead in attracting even some members of the Church of

Pentecost (COP) into their fold. One may argue that, it is not a mission strategy

because it pulls people from one church to the other. But it is better for people to

join new churches if they are disinterested in their former churches than to turn

away entirely from going to church.

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 The urban-church mission strategy has been used by ICGC to reach out to

some rural communities in Ghana. A Rural Outreach Team was formed at Christ

Temple to lead in the process of establishing churches in the Ga rural

communities. This was in line with ICGC’s strategy and patterns after Apostle

Paul’s as well. Pauls approach was that, the city was the ideal place to first preach

the gospel and plant churches. From then on, he spreads the gospel to the

surrounding rural areas.

According to Stott (1990, pg. 58), “In each case the missionary journeys

included the capital cities in their itinerary—Thessalonica being Macedonia’s

capital, and Corinth being Achaia’s, and Ephesus being Asia’s”. Accra and other

regional capitals have thus become the focal points from which the gospel from

ICGC travelled to other parts of the country.

Some of the rural churches that were established very early are Oyibi-

Adamorobe in the Accra North District, Pokuase and Asofan in the Accra North

West District, Weija and Tetegu in the Accra West District, just to mention a few.

All these churches which were established initially as outreach post has grown to

become mature which has in turn planted other churches under their supervision.

The urban churches have been the main financiers of the rural churches.

They provide leadership, equipments, meeting places and social services to the

deprived communities. The rural communities within which these churches are

set up has benefited immensely from the social responsibility program of the

church. Example is the Clean Water Project in the communities.

The Clean Water Project is an initiative taken by ICGC to provide clean

water for the rural communities near Accra through the construction of boreholes

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fitted with hand pumps. As of the time of the study, twenty (20) projects had been

completed for nineteen (19) deprived communities. The estimated total population

of the community is about twelve (12,000). The community is in the Ga West

Municipal Area in the Greater Accra Region. The cost of the project was two

hundred thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢ 200,000.00).

The Social Responsibility intervention for the provision of bore-holes

water has facilitated ICGC’s evangelistic activities in the beneficiary

communities. It has made the church planting activities easier. Membership of the

church has seen great improvement and the image of the church have been

boosted. Thus the social values of ICGC have contributed immensely to its

success in the host communities. Again, the financing of the projects have been

provided by the urban churches.

The media and mission

The use of the mass media has become an effective means by which

Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in Africa are reaching the public. The church is

increasingly and effectively using the mass media and penetrating public space

each day. This has contributed significantly to the visibilities they enjoy and the

masses they reach at every point in time (Asamoah-Gyadu, 2005).

Churches have now adopted Integrated Marketing Communication as a major

strategy in church growth (Lau, McDaniel, & Busenit, 1993). The use of IMC,

which comprises advertising, marketing, and sales promotions, has become a

common phenomenon in the charismatic churches in particular (Newman &

Benchener, 2008).

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 As a result, the church now reaches greater audience who hitherto will not

walk to the church or read anything from the Bible. The role of the media in the

dissemination of Pentecostalism is not new. This is because soon after the birth of

modern Pentecostalism on Azusa Street in 1906 in Los Angeles, radio served as

an important conduit for preaching and evangelism (Anderson, 2004;

Hollenweger, 1997; De Witte, 2008). Churches are writing articles in the

newspapers and using billboards to announce up-coming of events (Vokurka,

McDaniel, & Cooper, 2002).

The liberalization of the airwaves in the 1990’s in Ghana was greeted with

much joy by the Christian community. It opened the floodgates for churches to

take advantage of the new media spaces and to use their religious, commercial

and political possibilities to its maximum (De Witte, 2005). It has become one of

the strategies used in missions. There are televised church services, radio

sermons, religious talk shows that are interactive (phone in’s), video movies,

audio-taped sermons.

There are also great amount of gospel music. The media is now used as a

catalyst for evangelization. Thus the modern media has facilitated the flow of the

word of God to the masses. Clearly it has become a tool that in transforming and

influencing cultures. It is a tool for God’s people in the daily battle against the

devil (Hackett, 1998).

Commenting on the utilization of the public space with media technology

by the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches, Asamoah-Gyadu (2005, pg. 11) stated

that, “The new Pentecostal churches very clearly dominate the field of televised

Christianity in Ghana. The presence of these Pentecostals accounts for up to 90%

75
of religious television in Ghana”. This has contributed to its rapid growth.

Maxwell (1998, pg. 255) observed that “what is new about African

Pentecostalism is its recent growth, enormous vitality and its appropriation of the

electronic media to the point that this has become part of Pentecostal self-

definition’’.

The appropriation of media technology in Ghana has reshaped the

Pentecostal/Charismatic movement’s approach to fulfilling the Great Commission

given by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note that using media

technology (especially the airwaves) to reach the masses comes with a

considerable cost, yet the churches go a long way to pay for it. This gives both the

radio and television owners the needed resources to run their enterprises.

As De Witte (2003, pg. 117) again pointed out, “Churches are keeping the

radio stations in business, paying for interviews, adverts and airtime etc.” This

section looks at how ICGC has used the media as a tool in missions and

evangelism. One major channel that has made Mensa Otabil and ICGC the toast

of many people in Ghana and beyond is the mass media. This is because ICGC

has a well established media presence through which life transforming messages

are disseminated. The media has become an effective channel for spreading the

gospel of Christ to the masses. The core function of the media in

Pentecostal/Charismatic churches is evangelization.

Altar Media is the official media outlet that takes care of all the publicity

and manages the public outlook of ICGC. Its core function is to use media

technology as an effective tool for outreach and evangelization. It oversees,

regulate and monitor the flow of information from the pulpit of the General

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Overseer Pastor Mensa Otabil. The contribution of the media ministry in mission

plan of ICGC cannot be overemphasized. The staffs of Altar Media argued that,

“The Devil is using all technologies, so we also have to use the same weapons to

fight him” (De Witte, 2003, pg. 185).

Living Word radio broadcast

The Living Word broadcast was first started on Joy FM, a local radio

station in Accra from 1997. It is a weekly program that is aired every Sunday

morning from 7:05 to 7: 35. Through this broadcast, many people have joined the

church. Some may be Christians already attending other churches whilst some are

people who have never been Christians before.

The effectiveness of the broadcast is shown by the number of visitors who

indicates on the visitors’ form that they were attracted to the church through the

radio broadcast. The success of the Living Word broadcast on Joy FM thus

influenced another radio station Radio Gold to broadcast messages by Dr. Otabil.

Other radio stations like Radio Gold and Happy FM also based in Accra have

been broadcasting Living Word messages daily.

The message of salvation from Otabil’s voice is heard daily all over Accra

and other parts of the country. This is because the major radio stations in Accra

have affiliates in other parts of the country which re-broadcast the sermons at

various times on their airwaves.

Again, Altar Media has weekly programs on Sundays in the Brong-Ahafo

region; Kumasi in the Ashanti Region on Luv FM; Takoradi in the Western

Region on Sky Power FM; and in the Volta Region on Volta Premier station. The

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liberalization of the airwaves has therefore created a major opportunity for the

gospel to be heard at all times and through various media. Where the church

cannot reach through personal evangelism or other means, radio has become the

mode of transporting the gospel message for all to hear and be saved (Romans

10:10-17). Currently, Living Word is being broadcast daily on Joy FM weekdays

at 1pm.

The presence of AltarMedia broadcast in the Northern Region of Ghana

has contributed significantly to the acceptance of the Charismatic brand of

Christianity. According to the GSS Census 2010, about 60.0% of the population

in the Northern region is Muslims. Regardless, the Living Word by Pastor Otabil

is aired on the radio daily in Tamale. According to Rev. Peter Gagara (ASM of

Northern Region) and Resident Pastor of Tamale ICGC, Alhaji Alhassan Abu-

Bakari (a Muslim) out of his own will has been sponsoring the Living Word in

Tamale since 2008.

The daily broadcast has affected the Tamale Township so much that even

Muslims gather to listen to it in the afternoon after their prayers in the mosques.

He iterated, “what the radio broadcast is doing in the community is more than

what any evangelism strategy can do”. According to him, there are places in the

community you cannot go with the Bible and share the word of God but they are

always listening to the gospel through the Living Word. Currently, there are two

radio stations in Tamale that are broadcasting the Living Word messages.

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Living Word television broadcast

Altar Media’s Living Word does not broadcast only on the radio waves; it

broadcasts messages also on television networks. Living Word broadcast on

television started in 1997 on GTV, the state owned television station. Initially, it

was broadcasted at 5:30 am on Monday mornings. It continued from 1997 till

2001 when the broadcast was taken off from GTV to TV3, a private television

station. The message of the hope of salvation through Christ has since been aired

weekly on TV3 network every Sunday evening at 6pm.

Many people have been blessed through the televised messages and have

ended up giving their life to Christ. The impact of the broadcast has been very

successful. AltarMedia again started broadcasting on another television station in

Kumasi named Fontonfrom TV weekly to audience in the Ashanti regional capital

and its environs. It is also broadcast on Net2 TV, a private television station

owned by Ken City Media Network in Accra on Sunday evening at 6:30pm.

The Living Word broadcast on television has gone international in East

Africa and Europe. It first started broadcasting in Nairobi- Kenya. The broadcast

started weekly on a Nairobi Christian network named Family TV in 2000.

Currently, Living Word is broadcasted on KICC TV in UK and reaches most parts

of Africa, Asia and Europe and the Middle East.

Since television has become a household appliance for everyone in Africa

and Ghana, it is important that the Church takes advantage and reach the millions

of people who are glued to it always. It has opened the way for Christians to

communicate the gospel effectively (Kissi-Ayittey, 2007). The motivation by the

Ghanaian Charismatic churches is informed by their quest ‘to use modern media

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technologies to radically transform Ghanaian people with the message of Christ

and not to remain stuck in an archaic idea of religion as separate from the world’

(De Witte, 2003: 172–3).

Missions through special events and programs

ICGC is a Christian organization that upholds the philosophy of human

dignity and excellence. It engages in promoting and staging events that have

impact on the depths of the Ghanaian society. These programs are designed to

bring Christ closer to the doorsteps of the people. The programs attract many

people in the cities and beyond. Some of the people who patronize these programs

are either not Christians at all or are nominal believers who want a place of

revival for their spiritual life and a better relationship with God.

Even though most of these programs and events take place in Christ

Temple, they are replicated by the various assemblies and districts of the church.

The goal of such programs and events are geared toward winning more people

into the kingdom of God. Thus, though it is not tagged a “mission activity”, at the

end it brings men and women to Christ; and adds up to the numerical growth of

the church. Hence, it has become one of the mission strategies of ICGC.

The Apostle Paul said, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I

have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save

some” (1 Cor. 9:22). In ICGC, the goal of every program is to win some for

Christ. One program that attracts a lot of patronage from those outside and inside

the church is Greater Works Conference. It is an annual program that is organized

in July throughout ICGC Churches. The program is preceded by thirty (30) days

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of fasting and prayers. Every ICGC member is expected to fast and pray each day

throughout the month. There are various prayer meetings that are held each day

in almost all the branches.

One of the main prayer topics for this season of prayer and fasting is the

salvation of souls for the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “The harvest is ripe”

(Mathew 9:38; Luke 10:2). The intense prayer for souls during these days always

results in men and women giving their lives to Christ. When the strong man who

has held people bondage in sin and unbelief is dealt with in prayer, the floodgate

of repentance opens for the salvation of lost souls (Matt. 12:29; Mk 3:27 & Luke

11:21; Wagner, 1996). The battle for the souls of men ranges on but the church

overcomes through the power of prayer (Rankin &Stetzer, 2010). Below are some

of the pictures of Greater Works Conference 2012.

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Figure 1: Section of the pastors and members @ Greater Works Conference 2012

Figure 2: Some pastors and church leaders at Greater Works Conference 2012

Figure 3: Section of the overflow at Greater Works 2012 @ Christ Temple

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 One other major event on the calendar of ICGC that is geared toward

winning souls to the Kingdom of God is Crossover Service. This is held on the

31st night of December each year. It is the last service of each year and almost all

the churches prepare extensively for it. The churches always hold vigil prayers of

thanksgiving God for the year and ask God for protection, prosperity and grace

for the coming year. Even though all the churches in the various assemblies hold

this meeting; the limelight has always been on Pastor Mensa Otabil at the Accra

Sports Stadium.

The program is named Crossover because the church or the people cross

from one year to a new year. Before 31st December of each year, huge bill boards

are erected by various advertising companies informing the city and the environs

about the forth- coming Crossover Service with Pastor Otabil at the stadium.

Extensive work is done both in publicity and preparation of the venue for this

great occasion. The Crossover Service at Accra Stadium attracts thousands of

people from all walks of life. Both members of ICGC and other Christians come

to hear what God has given to Pastor Otabil for the nation in the coming year.

Other non-Christians also attend the program at least to thank God for their life

the previous year and ask Him for protection for the coming year.

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Figure 4: The crowd at Crossover 2013 @ the Accra Sports Stadium

It is always a service of praise and thanksgiving with jubilation and merry

making. Yet, the purpose of the gathering is not lost or forgotten. Special attention

is given to those who give their life to Christ. Many unbelievers give their lives to

Christ on that day. The people are taken care by the Counselling Department of

the church. They are given forms to capture their data. The team later follows

them up with phone calls and those who turn up in church are taken through the

various new membership procedures for them to become full of members of

ICGC.

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Figure 5: Choreography by Dramatic Arts of Christ Temple @ Crossover Night.

31st December, 2013.

Lay Leaders (Tent Makers) in missions and church planting

There has been a great demand for workers in the vineyard of God. Jesus

noted, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the

harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Mathew 9:38-39;

Luke 10:2). The statement shows the need for more labourers in the Kingdom of

God for the harvest of souls. Much as it is necessary for more workers in the

Kingdom, it is increasingly becoming expensive in employing Full Time

ministers’ as workers in every community for evangelism and church planting.

In ICGC, there are two kinds of ministers. There are the full- time ministers who

are engaged solely in the work of the ministry in the church. There are also lay

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leaders who are ministers or Resident Pastors of various branches of the church

but are financially supported by a marketable skill or trade. In formulating a

church planting strategy for planting more churches in the urban centres, a

circular was sent to all pastors to plant new churches within their communities. It

specifically stated that these churches should be headed by people who are

gainfully employed and may not need the full financial support of the church for

living.

In the opinion of Chand (2003), salvation is free but ministry is expensive.

In view of the expensiveness of ministry currently, McGavran (1970) has

summarized some principles that can help in effective urban evangelization and

church planting. Among them were the emphasis on house churches and the

development of unpaid lay leaders as key to urban missions. The unpaid leaders

principle have been every effective in ICGC. One of the districts of ICGC in

Accra has seventy-five percent (75%) of the pastors as lay or part time pastors

(Personal communication on 16th June 2014).

It is also one of the ways of getting people to work for the Lord at minimal

cost. This concept is known as tent making in ministry. This approach is pattern

after Apostle Paul who was both a successful missionary and also a tent maker

(Wilson, 1979). He elaborates further that

The apostle Paul, who thus supported himself, was

the greatest missionary who ever lived. In Acts

18:1-5 we read, “Paul . . . came to Corinth and

found a certain Jew named Aquila. . . lately come

from Italy, with his wife Priscilla. . . .And because

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 he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and

wrought: for by their occupation they were

tentmakers. And he. . . persuaded the Jews and the

Greeks … that Jesus was Christ (Wilson, 1979, pg.

16)

In describing who a Tent maker is, Siemens (1997, p.g. 121) said:

I will use the term tentmaker to mean missions-

committed Christians who support themselves

abroad, and make Jesus Christ known on the job

and in their free time. They are in full-time ministry

even when they have full-time jobs, because they

integrate work and witness. They follow Paul’s

model of tentmaking, for the same reasons he did it.

The above definitions show that one can equally be fully employed in any

secular job and still be loyal to the work of missions. What qualifies one for the

description as a tent maker is what Andrew Dymond refers to as, “a missionary in

terms of commitment, but is fully self-supporting” (Payne, 2005, pg. 2). An

individual may be fully engaged in a profession yet fully committed to the work

of God.

On the other hand Payne (2005, pg. 6) broadens the definition of a tent

maker describing him as, “A missionary who is focused on evangelism that

results in churches, and who is financially supported by a marketable skill, trade,

and/or other non-clergy source of income”. In this discussion however, the

definition of Payne (2005) becomes more appropriate. This is because there are

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many people who are engaged in evangelism that results in church planting but

are within their own culture. The model or strategy of tent makers as a means of

propagating the gospel has been accepted as one of the effective ways of reaching

the world with the word of God. It has worked effectively for ICGC over the

years and has become a major contributor to the growth of the organization.

In making a case for ‘tent making’ as a mission strategy, Sjogre and Lewin

(2003, pg. 173) write, “You desperately need to get into the community. You

need to work no matter what your financial backing looks like. We encourage you

to work outside the church until your plant reaches 200 in weekend attendance”.

This counsel seemed to be taken seriously in ICGC. The strategy has

worked to a large extent for ICGC because there are now many of the churches

that are planted under the leadership of lay pastors. These churches are headed by

lay leaders or what may be referred to as tent makers. Many professionals and

skilled workers who are working in circular organization are now resident pastors.

These pastors are now overseeing thriving churches whilst fully engaged in their

secular jobs.

Pastoral leadership and development

Good and effective pastoral leadership is one of the key drivers of every

church. The quality of the pastor reflects in the church and contributes to its

growth. His passion and commitment leads to the vibrancy of the church. Even

though, it may not be directly seen as a mission tool, it contributes to the overall

growth of the church. The newly born-again souls are nurtured by the pastor.

Thus, quality pastor leadership is critical to the mission strategy of the church. In

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ICGC, there is a deliberate effort to develop good pastors for the church. Raising

leaders is a mission statement in ICGC. The growth of the local branches of the

church is directly related to the ministry of the pastor.

This agrees with Means assertion that, “church leadership exists to guide

the church to spiritual vitality, unity, and effective ministry” (1990, pg. 17). Good

leadership therefore becomes a mission strategy. The twenty (20) year plan of the

church named the Agenda 2034 has a core mandate to train good pastors. These

pastors then become the engines of growth for the church. Even though

participants agreed that quality leadership is key P 2 argues, that it takes a good

environment for anyone to maximize his/her full potential. Therefore emphasis

should be placed not only on the development of good pastors but also good and

conducive meeting places.

On the role of lay pastors as a mission strategy in the church, it became

evident that it is one of the most successful strategies in the multiplication of the

church. For example, in the district of P 6, there are about seventy-five per cent of

lay pastors. Their contribution in the district is so much in comparison to the

minimal financial expenditure that is made on them.

Wilson (1979) sees the lay pastoral method as that of Apostle Paul’s

missionary strategy. P 2 was emphatic about the rapid growth of the church within

the shortest time. He asserts that it has been the excellent work by some of the lay

pastors. He posits, “They have become the engine of growth of the church”. It

confirms the reason for which the number of lay pastors trained in the Daniel

Institute far out-numbered the Full – Time Pastors.

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 Due to the semi-autonomous system of governance in ICGC, every pastor,

whether Full – Time or Part – Time, is challenged to use all his/her capacity to

grow the church to his/her maximum ability. Members who move from one

location to the other end up beginning a branch of ICGC or joining others in the

community to start a new branch. Many of these churches are headed by lay

pastors.

The work of the lay pastors was highly commended by the entire

participants. Unfortunately, there is no structured remuneration for them. The lay

pastors live at the mercy of the local church leaders who determine what they

should earn as support at the end of the month. Again, they are not part of the

Provident Fund established by ICGC for its workers. This is because they are not

recognized as employees of the church. The issue is one of grave concern to the

lay leaders who are working efficiently to see the church grow.

In the opinion of Payne (2005), lay pastors are very useful in evangelism

and church planting. He argued that they may be gainfully employed elsewhere,

with their commitment to evangelism resulting in new church planting; hence

they are missionaries. P 4 was of the opinion that it is a matter of calling and the

seriousness of the pastor that matters. Success in ministry therefore should not be

determined by either you are a full time or part time minister. Rather, the work of

the individual must be the yard stick for remuneration. P 5 contends that the issue

of lay leaders should be looked at properly and a remuneration formula be put in

place. This is because some of the lay pastors are doing equally good jobs, if not

more than some of the Full Time pastors. It is therefore in the right direction that

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ICGC has given room for everyone called to be a missionary in his or her own

way without any restrictions.

The challenge that has emerged, however, has been how a lay pastor who

wishes to enter into the full time ministry will be absorbed into the system. When

asked, P 2 and P 6 posit that it is about the person being able to prove his/her

ministry. The branch church should be financially sound and strong enough to

cater for the pastor if he/she wants to go into full time ministry. Again, care

should be taken so that individuals who are lazy and jobless do not see full time

ministry as a refuge. This will bring financial challenges to the church.

The position of P 2 and P 6 is supported by Sjogre and Lewin with respect

to lay pastors moving into full time ministry. They wrote, “You desperately need

to get into the community. You need to work no matter what your financial

backing looks like. We encourage you to work outside the church until your plant

reaches 200 in weekend attendance” (2003, pg. 173). However, the challenge in

ICGC is that there is no documented procedure of accepting qualified lay pastors

into full time ministry when they so desire.

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Pentecostal/ Charismatic churches have been criticized as not

concerned with the welfare of people outside its fold. The criticism is that

corporate social responsibility is not part of its agenda (Peterson, 1996). Yet, it

boasts of offering salvation to the masses. In the opinion of Bosch (1991 p.g.

393), the church should not be engaged only in planting new churches as core to

its mission agenda but also in ‘mediating salvation’ in the 21st century. He

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explained that meeting social needs of the people who receive the gospel should

be an integral part of Christian mission. He contends that the scope of one’s

definition of salvation, invariably determines the missionary enterprise.

On this point Peterson (1996) agrees and is of the view that Pentecostals

spent all their time engaging in evangelism and church planting at the neglect of

civil society. He criticizes Pentecostals who, “use their divine empowering and

faith building message for self-serving purposes” and “neglect the social

responsibilities that should accompany this phenomenon” (1996, pg. 299).

Much as this critique was true of Pentecostal movement some time ago,

the trend is changing rapidly with Pentecostals now actively involved in politics,

social services and education. In Ghana and Nigeria for instance, almost all the

Classical Pentecostals and some Charismatic churches are involved in education.

Some at the basic and secondary whilst others at the tertiary levels. In Nigeria for

example, Burgess (2012, pg. 40) observes a healthy response of the Pentecostals

to the societal needs and concludes that,

The shift to social and political engagement within

the Nigerian Pentecostal constituency is a

significant development which belies its image as a

movement preoccupied with prosperity teaching,

evangelism and church growth. Some of the most

innovative social programmes in Nigeria are being

initiated by Pentecostals in response to human

problems associated with poverty and violence.

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 Furthermore, the collaboration between church and state in the provision

of social amenities seems to be going on very well in Ghana. For example, The

Church of Pentecost which is the leading Pentecostal church in Ghana has schools

(pre-school to university), hospitals and vocational centres. Other churches like

the Apostolic Church of Ghana, Christ Apostolic-Ghana and Christian Action

Faith Ministries just to mention a few are all engaged in providing social

intervention programmes as part of its missionary activities. This can be seen as

part of Bosch called “mediating salvation”.

One of the churches in Ghana that is providing social amenities as part of

its missions is the International Central Gospel Church. It is the subject of this

study. Corporate social responsibility is one of the core missionary activities of

ICGC. This is in relation to its philosophy of human dignity and practical

Christianity. The church is meeting some of the needs of its members and

congregation. This includes their social, emotional and educational needs, among

others. The social responsibility of ICGC is seen as one of the best in the country

by any religious organization (Asamoah, 2013).

In the late 1990’s, ICGC established Central Aid to cater for brilliant but

needy students with educational scholarships. The care for the needy and the

underprivileged in terms of educational scholarships through the Central Aid cut

across religious boundaries. The needy students are from the entire country at the

second-cycle level irrespective of their religious affiliations.

The establishment of Central University College (CUC) is one of the

greatest contributions of the ICGC to socio-economic development in Ghana.

CUC has been offering first class cutting-edge education at the tertiary level to

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complement government’s effort in the development of our nation’s human

capital. Students from the West African Sub- region find the place an appropriate

place for world class education based on faith, integrity and excellence.

Again, ICGC continuously supports health institutions like the Ghana

Heart Foundation, Princess Marie Louis Children’s Hospital, and Plastic Surgery

Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Blood Bank of the Korle Bu

Teaching Hospital, Mamocare (breast cancer screening project), Osu Children’s

Home and other orphanages. Indeed, the church continues to support a number of

these institutions on a regular basis.

ICGC collaborates with the Blood Bank of the Korle Bu Teaching

Hospital to conduct two (2) blood donation exercises for its members and

congregation every year. In furtherance of its corporate social responsibility,

ICGC sponsored the building of a 50-bed 2-storey fully-furnished boys’ hostel

costing $200,000 for Osu Children’s Home. The facility has a dormitory, state-of-

the-art e-learning centre, staff flat, dining room, store room, sick bay and

washrooms.

In order to develop the community holistically, the church has built a

recreational facility comprising basketball, volleyball and tennis courts at Christ

Temple, Abossey - Okai. The cost of the facility was about one hundred thousand

US dollars ($100,000). The facility is for both the Christian community and

interested members of the general public.

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Conclusion of the chapter

The discussions in the chapter brought to light what hitherto was not a

formalized strategy of mission’s in ICGC. However has become an effective

means of reaching the world with the gospel of Christ. The dynamic nature of

vision and the successes of the early assemblies that were planted motivated

ICGC to expand beyond the initial “one big and centralized church”

Although, the popular assertions of scholars that Pentecostal missions

were not structured prevailed at the beginning, ICGC has shifted from that

position to a more organised strategy in evangelism and missions. The result is the

increase number of branches from one hundred in twenty six years (26) to about

four hundred (400) in the last four years.

In ICGC, evangelism is core to missions as it is seen in other

Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches. There is no clear difference between

evangelism and missions; every missionary activity must end in the preaching of

the gospel for the salvation of souls and churches planted to nurture and disciple

the new members.

The urban centred approach has worked effectively for ICGC. This

approach is in line with Apostle Paul’s missionary strategy and contemporary

missionary approach. Scholars like Gallagher (n.d) and Stott (1990) agrees that

the urban centred mission approach was Paul’s model that was very effective in

reaching other places.

Again, the liberalization of mass media in Ghana has been effectively

utilised as part of the mission’s strategy of ICGC. Through the radio, television

and the internet, the church has carried out the preaching of the gospel which is

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core in its missions to a larger audience. Through the media ministry of Dr.

Otabil, (Altar Media) ICGC has become a household name in Ghana.

Advertisements on both billboards and in the print media announces the church’s

outreach programs that also helps in reaching the masses during special programs

like Greater Works Conferences, Destiny Summit and Crossover Services.

Another important strategy that has contributed to the growth of ICGC in

planting new churches is the use of lay-leaders (Tent-makers) as pastors. The

study showed that majority of pastors in ICGC falls in this category. These are

well trained personnel in their various secular fields who are also pastors of ICGC

churches of various sizes and in various places. The benefit of using lay pastors is

that, it takes a lot of financial burden from the young churches until they are well

established and able to take care of the resident pastor. The challenge however is

that no formal processes have been put place to take on such pastors into full time

ministry when they are willing to enter full-time ministry.

Finally, the provision of social amenities like bore-hole water,

scholarships, support of the cancer unit of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has been

used as a means of missions in ICGC. It shows that the church is concern about

the needs of the society. This has endeared many in rural communities to the

church as it demonstrates the love of God through the provision of some basic

amenities.

This is addition to the great personal ministry, charisma and national status

of the General Overseer, Dr. Mensa Otabil which the church have utilised

effectively over the years. The next chapter of the study will look at the impact of

Dr. Mensa Otabil on the growth of ICGC

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 CHAPTER FOUR

THE IMPACT OF DR. OTABIL ON THE GROWTH OF ICGC

Introduction

Church leadership is seen as one of the most complex and dynamic type of

leadership. Clinton (1988) defines church leadership “as a dynamic process in

which a man or woman with God-given capacity influences a specific group of

God‘s people toward His purposes for the group” (pg.14). Its basic assumption is

“getting things done through people” (Engstrom, 1976 pg.138).

Also in Means argument, “church leadership exists to guide the church to

spiritual vitality, unity, and effective ministry” (1990, pg.17). It thrives on the

ability of the leader to obtain followers and influence them (Maxwell, 1993). His

position on leadership is that, “Leadership is influence. Nothing more; nothing

less” (Maxwell, 1993, pg. 1).

In Barna’s view, there are distinctive qualities that make a leader in a

church context. These qualities help them to lead others. When any of the

qualities is taken away, the person would remain a member in the group, but not a

leader (1997). The success or otherwise of churches has mainly depended on the

abilities and prowess of its leader. This means that the charisma and vision of the

leader becomes the pivot around which the organization is built.

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 A walk through the city of Accra and other places shows many churches

rely heavily on their leaders. The pictures and portraits of the leaders are used in

publicity material to attract people to the church. Charismatic churches in general

have leaned heavily on the charisma and vision of their founders (De Witte,

2008).

The leaders have become the embodiment of the church. This is not the

challenge of Charismatic churches alone. It is basically a leadership challenge.

Both in the corporate and business world, leaders or CEO’s tend to be the public

face of the organization. ICGC is no exception. Its founder Rev. Dr. Mensa

Otabil is the public face and embodiment of the church. As affectionately called,

Pastor Otabil “is not only the founder and leader, or ‘general overseer’; he is the

public face, the embodiment of the church” (De Witte, 2008, pg. 85).

His public stance has become a major public relation tool for ICGC. His

personality is not used only for public relations purposes, but also as an

evangelism tool for the ICGC. His personality and status as a pastor, statesman,

entrepreneur, educator and motivational speaker has made him an admirable

personality.

Barna’s (1997, pg.25) definition of church leadership as “called by God to

lead; leads with and through Christ-like character; and demonstrates the

functional competencies that permit effective leadership to take place,” best

defines Pastor Mensa Otabil. For the past thirty years, he has led the ICGC with

twenty (20) young members in a small classroom to a thriving and vibrant church

in Ghana and other parts of the world.

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 Almost all ICGC churches lean heavily on the popularity of Pastor Otabil.

This is seen in how his pictures are used widely on almost all of the bill boards or

directional signs of the churches. Rev. Peter Gagara attests to this and said, in the

Northern part of Ghana, “Dr Otabil’s picture is an evangelism material” (Personal

communication on 20th of March 2014). According to Lidzen,

Unlike other charismatic church pastors, who

generally put more emphasis on spiritual healing

than on practical social questions, Otabil is an

advocate for social change and political attention.

Through regular television- and radio shows, Otabil

spreads his thoughts well outside the ICGC and

preaches not only about Christian values but also

about socio-political topics such as how Ghana

should modify its culture (criticizing old African

values) in order to grow economically (Lidzen,

2008, pg. 9)

Thus, Dr. Otabil is a preacher not only ICGC or the Christian church but the

entire nation.

The International Central Gospel Church since its birth has enjoyed a

stable leadership. This has helped in the growth and development of the church.

The Founder and General Overseer, Dr. Mensa Otabil has grown from a humble

begining and has become a world acclaimed teacher of the word of God. He is

also an international conference speaker, and a great statesman. His leadership

prowlers and philosophy of ministry has been accepted in Ghana. This chapter of

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the study looks at the impact of Dr. Otabil on the growth of the International

Central Gospel Church.

The influence of Dr. Mensa Otabil (G.O) on the growth of ICGC

The concept of leadership, its influence on an organizational structure and

performance as enumerated by Maxwell (1995) fits well in the experience of

ICGC. During the interviews, it came out that, even though ICGC operates a

semi-autonomous system of governance, the role of Dr. Otabil in its growth is

enormous. The participants gave various reasons as contributing factors to the

growth of ICGC with regards to Dr. Otabil’s influence.

They testified of his clear vision, leadership style, clear and simplified

way of teaching biblical truth and the freedom given each pastor to grow the

ministry. It was also clear in the discussions that Dr. Otabil’s personality and

statesmanship is a great asset to the organization. This is aptly observed by

Marleen that “as do most charismatic churches, the International Central Gospel

Church leans heavily on the personality, vision, and charisma of its founder and

leader, Rev. Dr. Mensa Anamua Otabil” (2008, p.g. 85).

ICGC applies several public relations strategies to reach the public.

Horsefield, Hess and Mediano (2004), think that the images charismatic churches

present in the media are consciously intended to reflect the message that is

preached. Their view was that such consciousness is necessary to “engender a

personal connection with their audience” (Quebedeaux, 1982, pg.110 as cited in

Horsefield, Hess & Mediano, 2004, pg 17).

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 Pastor Otabil as shown by De Witte (2008) has been well packaged to

attract people to the church. That notwithstanding, P 5 argued that, even though

Dr. Otabil’s influence is critical in attracting people to the church for the first time

(new comers), it is the branch pastor’s ministry that keeps them in the church. P 2

was of the view that if care is not taken, too much dependence on Dr. Otabil may

lead to a seeming crisis in his absence of in the future.

This is because as a human being, he is fallible, prone to sickness, accident

or even death. Whereas everyone is praying for good health and long life for Dr.

Otabil, measures should be put in place to build a strong church and sustainable

structures against his absence. The church must be built on Christ and not on any

human personality. The message of the gospel of Christ is what should draw men

to the church.

Clear vision

Vision is very important in every organization. It is what separates on

entity from the other. P 1 was of the view that since the birth of ICGC, Dr. Otabil

has and continues to make his vision clearer and simpler. This makes following

him very easy. His vision is clearly written down for everyone to run with. From

the birth of ICGC, he has given clear visions of what God has asked him to do and

his focus in fulfilling this vision. This vision has been structured in plain and

simple languages.

Again, he was of the view that one does not need to struggle to understand

where by the grace of God, Dr. Otabil the church are headed to. The simple

message: “There is hope for the future” which he carved out of Jeremiah 29:11,

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“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you

and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”, was simple and clear

enough to run with. P 3 agrees that many lives have been turned around with this

simple message and vision.

Furthermore he stressed that, even in the Northern Region of Ghana, the

church is made up of mostly students and transferred workers from the Southern

part of Ghana. Although many of these Christians are not ICGC members, they

find it easier to be part of ICGC than other churches. They join ICGC mainly due

to the clarity of vision that Dr. Otabil presents. However, the elites from Southern

Ghana join ICGC in the north because the south is the fertile ground of

Charismatic Churches and Ministries. P 4 and P 6 agree that based on his vision,

many people who could not have accessed tertiary education have become

graduates through Central University College.

The church services of ICGC are run in a very professionally manner. As a

typical of charismatic church, it leans heavily on the personality, vision and

charisma of its founder and leader, Rev. Dr Mensa Otabil (Gifford, 1994). The

combination of charisma and practice of good leadership qualities has become a

major strategy for church growth in Charismatic churches (Lau, McDaniel, &

Busenit, 1993).

Leadership style

Otabil’s leadership style of selflessness and dedication to ministry has

endeared him to many. P 6 asserts that Dr. Otabil’s leadership on and off the

pulpit has a lot of influence on the public outlook of ICGC. This has contributed

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greatly to the goodwill it enjoys in the country. People therefore come to ICGC

because of his leadership skills. It is therefore not surprising that he consults for a

number of organizations in leadership development through his consultancy,

Otabil and Associates.

His simple lifestyle devoid of the “Hollywood lifestyle” of other

Charismatic pastor’s in and out of the pulpit is of great value to the church. His

humility is even evident in the manner of his dressing. Apart from the Sunday

church service, Otabil is always seen in his simple jeans and an African shirt to

match as explained by P 3. However, his perceived simplicity has been criticized

by others because he has personal bodyguards. Yet, the body guards are there to

ensure his safety since he is more of a statesman and public figure.

There is however a loud cry from the young pastors to tap into his wealth

of experience in ministry. P 4 states that, Daniel Institute (D I) was set up

primarily to train pastors in ministry. P 5 agrees that education is the best way to

impart knowledge. However, P 6 and P 7 argue that there must be a systematic

approach in mentoring the next generation of pastors. This is because Dr. Otabil

personally is not a lecturer of Daniel Institute. P 2 concedes that due to the busy

schedule of Dr. Otabil, it will be difficult for him to engage always with the rank

and file of his pastors.

In as much as Dr. Otabil is a great asset to the organization, the seemingly

gap between majority of the pastors of ICGC and himself is a matter of concern.

The loud cry from the junior and younger pastors should be listened to. This will

help the young pastors to develop greater capacities for ministry through his

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deliberate mentorship programs. Nonetheless, it is not possible for him to be

accessible to everyone at all times.

This is because his health and security must also be taken into serious

consideration. Moreover, you can follow somebody from far away through the

sermons on audio and video CD’s. Just as previously, the African preachers

followed North American preachers through their sermons on audio, video tapes

and books.

Clear and simplified way of teaching Biblical truth

Again, P 2 is of the view that Dr. Otabil knows how to organize and

structure his sermon. It is always simple and straight to the point. This has made

him a teacher of the nations. Many people listen to him daily both on television,

radio and internet through the Living Word broadcast. His ministry cut across to

others who are not members of ICGC and even non- Christians. P 7 indicates that

wherever you pitch your tent with Dr. Otabil‘s picture people will come and the

church will grow.

This position is also supported by P 3. He posited that even people who

are already Christians and belong to other churches find ICGC as the preferred

place for fellowship and development of Christian character. This is due to the

powerful but simple teaching ministry of Dr. Otabil.

One major factor that has contributed to creating a platform for Dr.

Otabil’s messages to be a blessing to the nation is the media. P 3 testifies that

even in Tamale, long before he went there as a pastor, a Muslim cleric was

sponsoring Dr. Otabil’s messages each day at lunch time, and this has contributed

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immensely to the city accepting the church that Otabil leads. P 1 also agrees that

many people who are not members of the church use his teaching materials as

devotional guides. They see him dealing with the realities of everyday life. He

teaches how to apply the principles of biblical truth in every facet of life. Thus

people readily and easily follow him. P 5 states that Otabil is the lifeline of

growth in ICGC. His popularity contributes to the growth of every local assembly.

Due to his popularity, a great number of people attend special programs

and events that are organized at Christ Temple where he is the Head Pastor. Some

of them who are not Christians get born again and later join other ICGC churches

apart from Christ Temple. Against all the negative scholarly works about

Pentecostal/Charismatic hermeneutics, Otabil has proven to be one of the

soundest biblical teachers of our time (Fee, 1991; MacAuthur Jr. 1993).

However, even though his sermons and teachings have contributed

immensely to the growth of ICGC, there are others who criticize him for being

more of a motivational and social gospel preacher. He is not considered as one of

the ‘spiritual preachers’ of our time. This is because he does not attribute

everything wrong or misfortune to demonic influences that requires deliverance.

Instead, he proposes reasonable and practical solutions to the challenges of life.

Despite the fact that the Muslims may not accept the Bible as the

authoritative Scripture, they find in Otabil’s teaching, principles for everyday

living. They do not approach Otabil and his church with the same hostile attitude

they show to other Christians and pastors. However, no matter how ICGC feels

comfortable with the Muslims due to Otabil, the truth should not be compromised.

The gospel should be made plain to them that Jesus Christ is the only way of

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salvation (John 14:6). The non offensive nature of his sermons can deprive the

Muslims and non- Christians of the urgency of the need for repentance and faith

in Jesus Christ as the way of salvation.

Pastoral liberty in ministry

Through the interviews, it was clear that the freedom given to each pastor

to develop and grow in ministry has been one of the driving forces to the growth

of ICGC. No one is prevented from developing his/her ministry. Instead, each

pastor is encouraged to be unique. Dr. Otabil challenges every pastor to grow

his/her church irrespective of where they find themselves. No one is required to

be a photocopy of Otabil.

Again, P 5 observed that although ICGC churches do not often engage in

personal evangelism, the churches keep growing. They do not hold Church

Conventions or Evangelistic Crusades but are growing everywhere. He attributes

this to the freedom given to every pastor by the G. O. His opinion is that unlike

other Charismatic pastors who inhibit and control their junior pastors, Dr. Otabil

rather encourages everyone to be different; strive to prove his/her ministry. He is

not intimidated by any pastor’s gifts and calling. Thus, every local pastor has the

liberty to develop his/her branch to any level based on the grace of God given to

that individual. This has helped the churches to grow from the pulpit (charisma

and leadership skills of the resident pastor) rather than on any formal mission

strategy.

Nonetheless, P 1 argues that pastors should be monitored so that they will

not go astray in the name of ‘freedom to operate’. This is why there is a course

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named ICGC Distinctive in the leadership training manual for new pastors. But it

is also important that the D S M’s and A S M’s increase their supervisory roles in

making sure that no pastor goes astray. They should not be concerned about their

churches alone but also those under their care. Again, the freedom of operation

should not mean that bigger and more resourceful churches would not help the

younger churches with resources and assistance.

On his part, P 2 was of the view that the pastor’s ministry in the

community contributes to the growth of the church. To him even though

formalized mission strategies are good, the ultimate is getting people to be born

again and discipling them in the church. Therefore any church which gives space

to the pastors to operate already has a mission strategy. P 1 stated that the G.O

knows that the church is bigger than him. As such he believes in every pastor, and

has given each one enough room and opportunity to grow and expand.

Dr. Otabil’s personality and statesmanship

Charismatic leadership in Ghana and other parts of the world has been

subjected to numerous criticisms. These criticisms may sometimes come from

their own colleagues. Some are accused of misapplication and embezzlement of

church funds, and others are accused of immorality and infidelity. However, Dr.

Otabil has displayed a high level of integrity and Christian leadership to the

admiration of even those outside the church.

The opinion of P 1 is that if the G.O. had not conducted himself well in the

country, ICGC would not have been an attractive church. His calmness in the

midst of criticism and his views have given the church a good name. P 6

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comments that the personality of the G.O. is enough mission strategy for the

church. P 2 also asserted that the character of the G.O. is more of his personal

sermon. Unbelievers are even attracted to him and the church. Therefore, when

unbelievers are prompted to go to any church, ICGC becomes the preferred one.

Yet, it is also argued that the messages of Otabil in the pulpit are so

relaxed and lack strong emphasis on godliness and holiness. For that matter,

people easily find ICGC a safe haven where they can live any kind of life and still

be seen as Christians. Strong emphasis should be placed on godliness in ICGC

from the pulpit. So that unbelievers who join the church will genuinely repent and

receive salvation. The ungodly were afraid to join the early church because of the

standard of morality that was there. The same should be seen in the church today

(Acts 5:11)

In concluding the discussion on the influence of Dr. Otabil, there was an

emerging challenge that needed to be addressed. The challenge was about the

similitude, fallibility and mortality of the G.O. In the view of P 1 the church has

become stronger and bigger than Dr. Otabil. The current structures in place will

not allow any slack in growth of the church in the absence of the G.O. P 3 on the

other hand expressed some reservation about the church’s ability to continue with

the current growth path without the G.O.

He prayed for a longer life and health for him. He argued that stronger

structures should be developed before the G.O. goes on pension or otherwise. P 5

on his part contends in support of P 1. He was of the opinion that there are enough

structures and personnel to take over and drive the vision and mission of the

church in the absence of the G.O.

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 There were contrasting views between P 3 and P 5. P 3 was of the view

that, discussions on the G. O. is a grey area in ICGC. He opted for a more

pragmatic approach to development that can carry the mantle in his absence. He

sees the current processes as inefficient due to the great task ahead of the one to

continue after him. P 7 concurs and argued that spiritual development for anyone

to take over from the G.O. is a necessity.

In his view, P 5 stated that there are deliberate efforts in decoupling ICGC

from the overdependence on the G.O. P 1 supports the idea that his picture should

not be used in any form of publicity again. The only exception is when Pastor

Otabil is going to be there in person for that program. The church now faces the

challenge and effect of ‘iconization’ of leadership in charismatic churches. P 6

was of the opinion that even though Otabil’s absence at anytime may create a

vacuum, he trusts that it can be managed. Again, he was of the view that the

current form of the Constitution of ICGC has clear procedures to follow to avert

any mishaps in the future.

However, the challenge is not that of a leadership crisis that may emerge,

but rather somebody of the same or higher calibre in terms of vision, integrity and

passion in ministry to be able to move the church to greater heights than what the

G.O has achieved. In the view of P 1, the leadership development strategy which

the organization has put in place will produce the same stronger and passionate

pastor in the calibre of Dr. Otabil. Interestingly, there seem to be no obvious and

deliberate attempt by the G. O to expose and introduce other pastors capable of

leading the organization to the rank and file of the church members.

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 Thus people have fallen in love with Dr. Otabil’s personality and clarity of

vision. P 5 continued, “that is why even though we have advised ICGC churches

to stop using Dr. Otabil’s picture on their billboards and banners; the advice is not

heeded to. In the opinion of P 2, Dr. Otabil’s picture is an evangelism material.

Due to his clarity of teaching that has been circulated in the country through the

mass media (Tapes, CD’s, Radio, Television and currently the internet), people

want to be identified with his church.

It is however dangerous for the church to lean so heavily on his personal

charisma for growth. Jesus must be the centre of attraction that ICGC should lean

on. The gospel of Christ must be preached for the salvation of souls into the

church not Dr. Otabil’s pictures. In Romans 1: 16, it is the gospel of Christ that is

the power of God for the salvation of the unbelievers.

Conclusion of the chapter

The discussions above shows to a larger extend the focus and practise of

missions in ICGC. The church has relied so much on the charisma of the General

Overseer in the past. He is the public face of the organization and has become one

very important element that has contributed to the growth of ICGC.

He is simple, has a clear vision and continuously motivates the church and

the society to rise and be counted as children of God. His contribution to

education and the needs of the deprived communities in Ghana has been well

accepted by majority of the public in the urban centres. Dr. Otabil has become a

statesman with a high reputation. This has worked well to the advantage of the

Church.

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 However, there are conscious efforts being put in place to ensure that the

church and its logo become more visible than the personality of the G.O. This is

due to the fallibility of human nature and the effects it may have on the

organization in the advent of any misfortune.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

The study looked at the mission strategy of the International Central

Gospel Church (ICGC). This was achieved by finding out the missiological

principles that help ICGC, a Pentecostal/Charismatic church to grow. It looked at

how ICGC has carried out its missions over the years and its impact on the growth

of the organization. The contribution of Dr. Mensa Otabil to the growth of ICGC

was critically looked at. This study was necessitated by the fact that even though

the ICGC has seen significant growth over the years, no study has been conducted

to evaluate the effectiveness of its mission strategy.

The study again assiduously sought to answer the questions of what the

basis of missions in ICGC is, the missionary approach of ICGC, how the mission

strategy has imparted on the growth of ICGC and finally, how Dr. Mensa Otabil’s

personality has influenced the growth of ICGC. It is evident therefore, that how

missions have been carried out in ICGC and what has resulted in the growth of

the church in the last thirty years is the core of this work.

In chapter 2, literature on missions from scholars was reviewed. They

included journal articles, books, conference proceedings and reports. The

literature covered various topics from biblical basis for missions to contemporary

issues in missiology. Themes on global missions, West African missions in

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general and Ghana in particular was looked at. The writers were both from the

Mainline and Pentecostal/Charismatic Christian communities.

As seen in chapter 3, the work was the result of examination and

evaluation of empirical data (documents and interviews). The study employed the

use of purposive sampling in selecting the participants that were interviewed. The

data collected was augmented by secondary data (books, journal articles,

conference proceedings, reports etc). By this process, various themes were

derived from the data. They were compared, contrasted and conclusions drawn as

seen in the introduction of chapter 4. The conclusions of the study were

elaborated and discussed with some observations as indicated below.

Discussions

The discussions in this section of the study are categorized as follows:

1. Focus of missions and practice,

2. Missionary gaps,

3. Urbanization of contemporary Christian missions,

4. Leadership development

5. The challenge and ‘iconisation’ of charismatic leadership.

Each of the above points is discussed with their implications below.

Focus of missions and practice

Over the years, the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) has

carried out the command given by our Lord Jesus Christ to reach the entire world

with the gospel. Its core mission mandate is to preach the gospel of salvation to

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all. When souls are saved, churches are planted to nurture the newly born-again

Christians into maturity. In ICGC, missions mean getting people born again and

planting churches to cater for them.

The church has used both traditional and contemporary evangelistic

methods to reach the people with the gospel. The traditional approach included

personal evangelism, preaching in schools and soul winning programs. Personal

evangelism was a major strategy in ICGC at its birth. Larbi (2001, pg. 296)

stressed that personal and collective evangelization of non Christians led to the

massive growth in ICGC. The church grew and doubled its membership in one

year based on personal evangelism (Gifford, 1994; Larbi, 2001, pg. 338). Yet,

over the years, the church has moved away from aggressive personal evangelism

to the use of modern media, publicity and reliance on the General Overseer as its

mission strategy.

The use of modern media has been one of the most effective

contemporary means of missions in ICGC. It has become an effective tool of

propagating the gospel. This has helped the church to reach the masses which

hitherto was difficult through the traditional way of personal contacts and

evangelism. Media as a means of transforming culture has widely been accepted

by scholars as very effective (Anderson, 2004; Hollenweger, 1997; Marleen,

2005, 2008).

However, over dependence on the media and modern technology has led

to the decline of personal, organized and collective evangelism in ICGC. The

church now depends so much on people coming to church through the media:

radio, T.V broadcast, advertisement and the use of modern technology.

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Billboards, flyers and signage have become more popular in evangelism than

sharing personal testimonies about the faith in Jesus Christ. Dependence on the

media and its affiliates is now more recognized as church growth strategies than

personal evangelism. This has resulted in many people going to church but not

having other mature Christians who are responsible for their Christian growth and

maturity.

Branding and the appropriation of media technology in missions of

today’s world are very essential (Hackett, 1998). ICGC has become a brand name

that many people are eager to associate with. This is due to how it has been able

to utilize the media landscape. Much as the dynamics of modern society demands

that new ways should be used in propagating the gospel, it is important that every

believer must personally be involved in preaching the gospel to the world. There

are people who have no access to these modern technologies. Again, there are

others who will need a personal encounter with someone before he/she will

receive the gospel. A deliberate effort of teaching and encouraging members to be

involved in soul-winning through personal witnessing should not be lacking in the

church (Yesudian, 2001). It is the duty of every believer to share the gospel (Prov.

11:30; Mark 16:15-20; 1 Cor. 9:16).

Again, as a Pentecostal/Charismatic church, a formalized strategy for

mission was not an immediate concern. Rather, the passion for souls and winning

them into the kingdom were of more importance. Missions therefore depended

more on the context than on a strategy (Anderson, 2004; Pomerville, 1985). That

is why as seen in chapter 4, there was not a uniformed way of starting churches at

the earlier stages.

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 It confirms Saaymaan (1993) position that strategy and method in

Pentecostal missions were fashioned mostly in the crucible of missionary praxis

but not on well thought theological position. However successful the church has

been over the years, it is important that strategies be put in place to accelerate the

growth of the church.

Jesus had a strategy, he sent the twelve disciples to go and preach the

gospel (Luke 9:1-3). At another time He sent the seventy-two in pairs to go to the

cities ahead of him and preach the gospel (Luke 10:1-3). Through the power of

the Holy Spirit, they were to begin witnessing from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria

and to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). The strategy was for them to start

from the capital city, to the region, to the closest allies and to the uttermost part of

the earth. The empowerment of the one hundred and twenty disciples in Acts 2

was a strategy of missions. Thus, the early church mission’s was successful due to

its strategy.

Paul also had a strategy. It included preaching at the synagogues, market

places, public places and homes (Hedlund, 1985). The church must have a

mission strategy as well. A well prepared strategy in mission results in

effectiveness and efficiency. Strategy in mission is however missing in most

Pentecostal/Charismatic churches which include ICGC (Terry & Payne, 2013).

An effective way of carrying out the mission also depends on the level of

collaboration between the various players. This collaboration will eventually lead

to bridging the missionary gap.

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The missionary gap

Another major finding was that there is a missionary gap that existing

between the mission’s directorate, documentation and the field work. Although

the ICGC has seen growth from its humble beginning of twenty (20) members in

a small classroom to a multifaceted organization, much has not been documented

on how this feat was achieved. This confirms the assertion of scholars that

Pentecostal missions are not formalized and documented; rather they rely mostly

on ‘as sent by the Spirit’ (Anderson, 2004; Klaus et al, 1999; Pomerville, 1985).

For example, the Mission’s Directorate that oversees the missionary

activities of the church was set up as a Secretariat with a full-time Director of

Missions in 2012. This was after twenty-eight years of the church’s existence. As

a result, documentation on mission policy, implementation and strategies are

lacking. Again, ICGC is divided into various administrative districts. It is

expected that each district must have a district mission’s officer to co-ordinate the

activities between the district and the Mission’s directorate at the Head Office.

This will enhance the evaluation of the mission programs and activities of the

church. There must be up-to date information on the missionary activities in

ICGC. This will help in the implementation and evaluation of missions in the

various activities of the districts. It will also ensure speedy propagation of the

gospel which the church is mandated to do.

Again, the various district missions’ teams should develop appropriate

strategies in identifying appropriate fields for planting new churches. Having the

missions’ directorate and district mission teams collaborating will ensure the

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smooth implementation of the church planting policy guidelines. It will limit the

occurrence of rifts between pastors concerning the location of new churches.

Urbanization of contemporary Charismatic Christian ministries

An urban centred mission has been one of the main strategies of ICGC.

This concept of mission has been patterned after that of Apostle Paul. In Paul’s

missionary work, it was evident that he begins his work in the urban centres. This

approach is seen as an effective way of reaching the rural communities.

According to Kanagaraj, (2008, p.g. 3), “Paul identified in each region the key

cities such as Antioch of Pisidia, Paphos of Cyprus, Philippi, Athens, Corinth,

Ephesus, Macedonia, and Caesarea to carry out his mission”. He aims at reaching

the other towns through the churches in the urban centres as seen in case of his

desire to witness in Spain but had to seek assistance from Rome (Hedlund, 1985).

ICGC over the years has done very well in planting major churches in the cities.

This has however led to the branding of the church negatively as an urban and

affluent church.

The challenge now is how the urban churches can impact positively on

rural missions. Not many pastors are ready to plant new churches in the rural

communities. Yet, Paul’s pattern in missions was that the urban churches will go

to the rural areas and continue with the mission of God (Cole, 2008). Is the

motivation to work in the urban centres due to financial gains or easy accessibility

to the livelihood facilities to the neglect of the rural communities?

Even though there is an advantage for starting a mission work in the urban

centres, the next target should be to the rural areas. The rural communities should

118
not be ignored. The comfort of urban life and wealth displayed by charismatic

Christian leadership should not deprive others the gospel of salvation. The

universality of the gospel denotes that the church should be planted everywhere

irrespective of the social status of the community. The poor and the vulnerable

must also receive the gospel of salvation. Financial gains and affluence should not

determine where the church must go out for mission.

In the various eras in mission, people sacrificed, went to the unreached

and hinter lands with the gospel. The command of Jesus was that the gospel

should reach the entire world before his coming (Mathew 24:14). Salvation is not

for the urban dwellers alone. It must be mandatory in the ICGC that every urban

church plants and nurtures at least one rural church in a year. In this way some of

the resources that are available in the city churches can be channelled into rural

missions. Then the poor and the vulnerable in deprived rural areas will not be

denied at least the living gospel of grace that brings salvation and abundant life to

all.

Leadership development

Leadership training and development has been one of the core mission

strategies in ICGC. The church believes that the quality of the leader determines

the quality of the church. It also drives the growth of the church. Even though

others may argue that one does not have to be a good leader before one can be

successful in mission, ICGC believes otherwise. This assertion is based on the

goal of missions in ICGC.

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 Every missionary endeavour must end in church planting. The church

must grow and the quality of pastoral leadership is very essential for the church.

The church therefore makes conscious efforts in training its pastors and leaders.

This has contributed immensely in turning out well-trained and well equipped

pastors and leaders for the church.

The study showed that ICGC churches mainly grow from the pulpit but

not through evangelism (personal/collective). To grow from the pulpit means that

it is the pastor who is solely responsible for the growth of the church. His/her gifts

and abilities is what matters not the collective efforts of members in evangelism

or soul wining. Therefore, there is not much emphasis on encouraging church

members for soul wining. There are fewer activities that are related to the

development of missions on the calendar of the church.

Moreover, every individual pastor/leader is given the free hand to fulfil

his/her ministry without obstruction from the supervising ministers or the Head

Office. The missionary activities of the local assembly solely depend on the

passion of the pastor. This means that if the pastor is not passionate about soul

wining and missions, his /her church will not do much in this area. The members

of the church will care less about the Missio Dei which is the main duty of every

believer (church). The church will then be full of members who are not bearing

fruits in soul-wining.

The semi-autonomous system of administration in ICGC encourages

pastors to work hard and grow their respective branches. Much as this system is

good, it has its own implications. Many pastors are sent to the mission field

without any financial assistance or resources. Some pastors go through such

120
difficulties that they end up in frustration. Some leave both the church and

ministry due to the hardship that they encounter on the field. Others also break

away or take the churches as their own churches. This is because no assistance

came to them in the times of difficulty. It is good for pastors to be asked to

‘prove their ministries’; but there should be some considerations for pastors who

are in deprived areas.

Every one soul is important to Christ (Mark 8:36-37). Pastors going to the

rural or deprived areas for missions are being obedient to the command of Jesus to

preach everywhere. Every soul won is an addition to the kingdom no matter

where they are. The churches and the pastors in the deprived communities should

be properly cared for by the other well endowed churches in the cities. Let those

who are strong bear the burden of the weak (1 Cor. 16:1; Galatians 6:2).

The success or otherwise of a pastor must not be determined by the

number of congregants he or she has or the level of financial resources that is

available to the church. The environment, geographical location and the social

status of the community in which the church is established is critical to the growth

of the church. There must be deliberate policy and systems in support of pastors

who are sent out for missions.

The study again shows that lay pastors of ICGC have made great

contributions to the growth of the church. They have been the force behind the

massive church planting activities that have resulted in the number of churches in

the organization currently. The massive contribution of lay pastors as seen in the

study is again attested by Payne, (2005). Much as their contributions have been

acknowledged, issues about their status and remunerations are not well defined in

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the policy of the church. Siemens (1997) refers to lay pastors (tent makers) as

mission minded Christians who are prepared to share the gospel wherever they

find themselves. They evangelize, plant churches and pastor the churches at

minimal financial cost. For that matter, their labour must be adequately

recognized and rewarded. If the lay pastors are not adequately resourced, the

mission of the church may not be fully realized.

Moreover, some of the pastors may break away or resort to unethical ways

that will dent the image of the church.

The challenge and ‘iconization’ of charismatic leadership

The role of visionary leadership is critical to the success of every organization.

The church is not exempted from the impact of good or bad leaders. ICGC from

its birth has experienced vibrant growth. One of its strong mission strategies is the

dependence on the leadership prowess of Pastor Mensa Otabil. The participants of

the study attested to the important role of Pastor Otabil in the growth of the

church. As we saw in chapter 4, various scholars have also attributed the growth

of ICGC to the great leadership skills of Pastor Otabil.

The ‘Otabil’ factor in the growth of the church is enormous. Marleen

(2008) rightly observed that Otabil and the ICGC are synonyms in the mind of the

ordinary Christian in Accra. He has therefore become a mission icon for the

church. However, the challenge is that as a human being, there is a limit to how

the organization should rely on him for growth. We should preach Christ when we

go to evangelize rather than tell people, ‘we come from Otabil’s church’.

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Paul realized this challenge and explained to the Corinthian church that he

preaches Christ and Him crucified only (1 Cor. 2:1-5). The message of the church

should be the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The church should not

lean heavily on the charisma of its leader no matter how influential, articulate and

respectable he is. Rather, the gospel of Jesus is what the church should preach as

its mission language. Now the study offers some recommendations for missions

in ICGC and other Pentecostal/ Charismatic Christian missions.

Recommendations

The study recommended that the International Central Gospel Church

(ICGC) formulates a mission policy that will spell out its mission strategy. The

policy has to be easy and simple to follow and implement in all ICGC branches.

As part of the policy, every district in ICGC needs to have a District Mission

Committee that is mandated to carry out missions in line with the policy.

Again, District Church Planting Committees (PCPC) must ensure the

formation of missions departments in every local assembly. This will sensitize

and train members in missions and evangelism so that every average church

member will be a soul winner through personal evangelism. When members are

sensitized, trained and encouraged, they will be able to contribute adequately to

the growth of the church so that the burden on the resident pastor is reduced.

It is undisputable that missions without financial resources cannot be

successful; hence ICGC could set up a mission fund. In order to realize this, every

local church will need to contribute a percentage of its income to the missions

fund every month. Financial resources will then be available for missions in the

123
rural and deprived communities. It will also reduce if not eliminate the challenge

of newly sent out pastors in acquiring places of worship. To raise the awareness

and importance of mission, a week could be set aside (missions week) every year

as part of the activities of the church. Special offerings could be raised during the

mission’s week to supplement the mission’s fund.

Both human and financial resources should be adequately provided for the

Missions Directorate to carry out its mandate. As a result, supervision of all

mission activities of the church will be ensured. There will also be guaranteed

standardization and harmonization to avoid the situation where mission approach

is based more on the context more than a prescribed practice. The District

Mission’s Committee will serve as a check and have measures that will help

evaluate the Local Mission’s Committee’s work. These will exercise supervisory

roles over the Local Mission Teams which will be operational at the local branch

levels of the ICGC. Each Local Missions Department will be tasked to

continuously propagate the gospel.

It will be in the best interest of the church, to try to reduce its dependence

on the public image of the General Overseer. In so doing it can stand on its feet

and grow more in the absence of the General Overseer. It is again emphasized that

the use of Dr. Otabil’s portraits, images and pictures be discouraged. As an

alternative, the logo of the church is commended for use by churches in their

adverts. There should be a sensitization and nurturing of the entire church to be

mission minded. It is indeed vital that at least a week be set aside in each year for

Mission awareness and activities in every ICGC church.

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 The Corporate Social Responsibility Projects seem to be another area

through which ICGC reaches out to the masses, every district in the church should

have an office handling its affairs. There should be an officer responsible for

monitoring, supervision and evaluation of the impact of the Social Responsibility

Projects and community development activities. This will ensure that the good

name the church enjoys in the communities will continue. Every local assembly

of the church can have an officer overseeing Social Responsibility Projects so that

he/she will report to the district officer. This will mean that the churches can be

assessed to see how they are meeting the needs of the people in the community.

There is the need for more churches to be planted in and outside Africa. A

strategy should therefore be put in place to outline how policy and formulae by

which missions outside Ghana will be approached. Missionaries should also be

trained and sent to other parts of Africa.

Recommendations for further study

The following are recommended for further research.

1. Relationship between the growth of the church and the health of the

church

2. The impact of the corporate social responsibility of the church in the

beneficiary communities

3. Missions and national development

4. Financing of mission activities in Pentecostal/Charismatic churches

125
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APPENDIX 1

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 APPENDIX 2:

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR MISSIONS BOARD

1.0 Introduction

Article 26 of the constitution of ICGC, allows the Presbytery to create

Committees, Support Ministries and Boards for the effective performance of its

functions.

The Presbytery therefore at its meeting of 17th November, 2011 approved the

membership and the terms of references of the Missions Board of ICGC as

follows:

2.0 Membership

1. Rev. Anthony Cudjoe Chairman

2. Rev. William Tsinigo Member

3. Rev. Dickson Sarpong Tuffour Member

4. Rev. Peter EniboGagara Member

5. Rev. KojoSallah Member

6. Rev. ReichesOseiBonsu Member

7. Min. Daniel Inkoom (Dr.) Member

8. Missions Director Secretary

9. Rev. OwusuKyereko Member

2.1 Policies and Procedures

1. Formulate Policies for the execution of both the local and international

missionary programmes of the church

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2. Define short-term and long-term goals and activities for the church’s

missionary programme.

3. Establish standards and procedures for the missionary activities to be

embarked upon by missionary groupings within the churches.

4. Set the scope and define parameter for international missions.

2.2 Missionary Awareness

1. Facilitate mission awareness in the church at all times through

dissemination of materials and other activities relating to the promotion of

missions.

2. Advice and assist churches in matters concerning training to enable them

to better equip their members for the work of the missions.

3. Stimulate interest in missions and encourage churches and church groups

to participate in missions.

2.3 Missions Facilitation

1. Facilitate the establishment of committees and structures necessary to

achieve the missionary objectives of the church.

2. Examine and recommend proposals an suggestions from the missionary

groupings and the Directorate towards the overall improvement of the church’s

missionary.

3. Review new mission initiatives that are in line with the mission objectives

of the church.

4. Provide various kinds of assistance approved by the Presbytery to local

churches to achieve their missionary vision.

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5. Encourage research in matters directly relating to mission, and make the

findings of research available to all churches.

6. Evaluate missionary activities for the year and make proposals for

improvement.

3.0 Meetings

The Board shall meet at least quarterly to deliberate on the mission activities of

the church.

4.0 Reporting

The Board shall submit reports at least quarterly to the Presbytery through the

Head Office.

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