Imprementation Strategies - Vision 2023 of COP

Imprementation Strategies - Vision 2023 of COP

In line with the broad strategic objectives, the various facets of The Church of Pentecost will be targeted for phased interventions. This section of the vision document provides details of the three-pronged approach to take possession of the nations and the specific actions to be undertaken for the relevant facets of the church to be targeted for intervention. It is however important to note that some of the recommended actions are country specific and may not apply to all. Where constitutional issues are also involved, we shall follow the due procedures.

3.1 Equipping the Church to Take the Nations This strategic approach focuses on the proposed actions that will be taken to equip specific focal areas of the church to fulfil its dual purpose. The targeted focal areas are: The local Church, Intentional Discipleship Programme, Reorganising our Ministries, The Counselling Ministry and Prayer Centres.

Source: Pexel.com

3.1.1 The Local Church / Assembly

i. Overview (Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Pe. 1:5-8; 2 Pe. 1:5-6) Building the local church as a measured-up strategy for equipping the church to possess the nations is a major focus of Vision 2023. This is premised on the understanding that the local church is the church’s focal point for most of its spiritual life and development activities. Thus, it serves as the point where believers are trained and discipled to project Christ to the world. A conscious effort will therefore be made to make the local church an equipping centre, where members are oriented and equipped to possess the nations. In creating the enabling environment for these to be appropriated, special attention will be given to developing the leadership base at the local church. Specific Objectives a. To develop and strengthen the leadership base at the local church. b. To make the local church a centre for equipping members to possess the nations. ii. Actions to be taken The Local Assembly/Church a. The local church will be taught to understand the dual purpose of the Church (i.e. the church has been called out of the world to belong to God and sent back to the world to witness and to serve). b. The local church shall be oriented on existing worldviews and philosophies such as secular humanism, atheism, hedonism etc. that contradict the values 11 and principles of the Kingdom of God and equip them through conferences and seminars to address these worldviews and philosophies within their spheres of influence. c. The local church will be made aware that she is God’s new society, the living embodiment of the gospel and a visible sign of the Kingdom of God. d. The local church will be organised to be seeker friendly. In furtherance to this, the church’s seating arrangement and other practices may be considered for modification to make the church more welcoming to outsiders. e. Ushering/protocol during church services shall be given special attention. f. The Lord’s Supper day shall continue to be a solemn assembly. Songs on the blood and the reflection on the work on the cross will continue to be the focus on this day. g. The Sunday morning service after the Lord’s Supper day will be designated as “Gospel Sunday” worldwide; unless such Sundays clash with a designated programme. The Gospel Sunday will be dedicated to the preaching of the gospel and soul wining. h. Every church member will be required to do the work of an evangelist and to see him or herself as an agent for transformation. i. Every member shall be an automatic member of the evangelism ministry in addition to at least one of the other ministries. j. Holy Spirit baptism and infilling will be intensified in all our local assemblies worldwide. In view of this, Ministers and Presiding Elders are required to conduct Holy Ghost sessions at least once in a month. k. Officers and members will continue to be encouraged to exercise their spiritual gifts at the local level. l. The local church shall be a house of prayer and a place of sound biblical teaching. m. The local assembly prayer days shall be pursued in all earnest. n. Discipleship of the local church will be made intentional and vigorous. o. Career advisory and counselling services at the local church shall be intensified. p. Fellowships and visitations to backsliders will be intensified. q. The local church will be required to attend to some social needs of the local community. r. The need to maintain holiness as a core value of the church will be given special attention. s. Decency and modesty will be upheld by every member of the Church. t. Excessive noise making during church services, especially in all-night prayer sessions shall be discouraged. Our churches will be encouraged to comply with the by-laws on noise making.

The presiding elder a. The presiding elder is key to the development of the local church. For this reason, he will carefully be selected. b. Presiding elders will be offered periodic training to equip them to lead the flock well so as to build a good church. c. The Presiding elder will be required to organise the members for service to the church and the community. d. The District Minister through the local presbytery shall carry out an annual performance appraisals of the Presiding Elder to ensure that desired performance objectives are being met at the local level. e. Periodic reviews of presiding elders will be consciously and proactively done. This shall be done within the framework of the constitution. The local presbytery a. The local presbytery shall be required to hold meetings once in a month to evaluate the operations of the local assembly. Minutes books and other church records shall be inspected regularly by Area Heads and District Ministers in this regard. b. Area Heads/District Ministers/Presiding Elders will be required to conduct regular training programmes for presbytery members.

3.1.2 Intentional Discipleship Programme

 i. Overview (Mt. 28:18-20; 1 Ti. 3:14-15; Jn. 8:31-32) An intentional discipleship programme is vital in equipping the saints for societal transformation and impact. This programme shall take into consideration welldefined discipleship interventions such as family-based discipleship, personaloriented discipleship, and local church (assembly) discipleship. These forms of discipleship shall seek to position our members to reflect and advance the values and principles of the Kingdom of God in whatever sphere of society they may find themselves. The early Church has left us an example of how they succeeded in influencing their generation

Specific objectives a. To institute an intentional discipleship programme to prepare our members for societal impact and transformation. b. To position and re-orientate our members to practice values and principles of the Kingdom of God in whatever sphere of society they may find themselves. ii. Actions to be taken a. The church shall be committed to transforming the Bible study groups to become Discipleship Groups to augment the pastoral care system in the church. Bible study leaders shall visit group members at their homes and work places to encourage them in the faith where feasible. b. We shall be committed to developing a new module for equipping Bible Study leaders and Cell leaders. c. To ensure maximum participation of members, Bible study meetings shall preferably be held after worship. d. We shall use the Home Cell system as a platform for impacting communities. In view of this, our home cells will be made community-friendly. For instance, issues to be discussed or topics to be treated should be of relevance to the community. The NDLDC will provide the guide. Home cell meetings could be limited to once a month, preferably the Sunday preceding the Lord’s Supper day. e. District Ministers and Presiding Elders will be obligated to pay closer attention to the discipleship of new converts. In addition to organising new converts classes, church leaders must run retreats for them and spend time with them in prayer, teaching and counselling to ground them in the faith. f. We shall be committed to establishing ‘New Members Class’ for Christians who will join the church from other denominations. This will provide a platform to orient them on the tenets and other peculiarities of the church for effective integration. An orientation manual will be developed by the NDLDC in this regard. g. The NDLDC will be tasked to develop a ‘Read through the Bible a Year Plan’ to encourage members to read and study the Bible. This “Read through the Bible a Year Plan” shall be shared with our members across the nations. District Ministers shall be required to use their speakers plans to facilitate this initiative. h. Public reading of the Bible shall be encouraged at the local level. i. We shall encourage intentional and consistent daily personal devotion. j. Family devotions shall also be encouraged to make Christ the centre of the family. 14 k. We shall encourage teachings on marriage and family life at all levels. Periodic seminars and retreats will be organised for couples. l. Evenings of Lord’s Supper days will be maintained for family meetings. m. The church shall produce audio versions of all discipleship manuals in the local languages for members who may be interested. n. The annual Bible study lessons will make provision for topics on sanitation issues for the next five years to educate our members on the importance of sanitation and its link to the transformation agenda of Vision 2023. iii. Discipling Officers The training and discipling of our officers under Vision 2023 shall be intensified. a. The Pentecost Theological Seminary will institute a one-year certificate training programme for Elders. b. All officers shall be committed to participate in the lay leadership training school. c. The lay leadership school shall be evaluated to ascertain its impact for further improvements. d. Every officer will be provided with a copy of the Ministerial Handbook. Ministers will be encouraged to periodically use the content of the handbook for the training of officers. e. The church will translate the Ministerial Handbook into local languages to enable as many people as possible to read them. f. Area officers’ retreats (apostolisation) shall be evaluated and strengthened. g. Officers shall be required to commit themselves to prayer and good preparation for their preaching and teaching assignments.

3.1.3 Re-organising our Ministries

i. Overview The Ministries play a critical role in the growth and development of the church. We shall continue to employ their expertise to build the church. Where appropriate, we shall streamline their activities to feed into the “spirit” of Vision 2023. Again, their mode of operation will be reviewed to reflect the current spiritual and socio-economic needs and aspirations of the people they are called to minister to. The various directorates will be tasked to monitor activities of their respective Ministries at all levels to ensure that these activities are geared towards equipping members to contribute meaningfully to the ideals of Vision 2023. It is expected that through the activities of the Ministries, our members worldwide will be equipped practically to influence the various spheres of society through evangelism, Christ-like character and service. Area Heads, National Heads and 15 District Ministers will be expected to show much interest in the detailed activities of the Ministries at all levels. Specific objective: To re-position and re-align the functions of the various ministries with the objectives of Vision 2023. ii. Actions to be taken All Ministries a. We shall explore the possibility of devoting the last week of the month (the week preceding the Lord’s Supper week) as “ministry week”. The week will offer a day each to the various ministries for their meetings/classes. This shall be as follows: Monday – Youth Ministry Tuesday – Women’s Ministry Wednesday – Evangelism Ministry (the whole church programme) Thursday – PEMEM The Fridays shall be for area and districts joint services for the Women’s Ministry, PEMEM and the Evangelism Ministry. There will be four joint services for each of these ministries in a year, with the Youth Ministry taking the Saturdays of the designated ministry weeks. All other Saturdays will also be available for any ministry who will want to carry out any specialised activity or programme. The Women’s Ministry’s weekly dawn/morning prayer sessions will continue. b. Ministries will be required to review their syllabus to sync with the Vision 2023. c. Each Ministry will be required to develop a handbook to provide a detailed operational framework to guide Ministers and workers within the respective Ministries (e.g. the Youth Pastor’s Guide). d. As much as possible, songs sung at ministry meetings should be ministryspecific to create the desired distinctive characteristics of the various Ministries. e. Ministry leaders at all levels will be required to ensure that programmes carried out are Ministry-centred; with emphasis on needs-based activities rather than being a replication of the main church’s activities. f. Each Ministry should of essence add evangelism and discipleship to their activities. g. Leadership of all ministries at the grassroots will be strengthened. As part of this, a training manual will be developed for ministry workers or leaders at the grassroots. 16 Children’s Ministry a. For the five-year period spanning 2019-2023, the Children’s Ministry will focus on training children in the values and principles of the Kingdom of God; preparing them to be agents of transformation within their spheres of influence such as the schools. b. Leaders at all levels will be required to show interest in raising children in the values and principles of the Kingdom of God. c. The church will explore the possibility of appointing Children’s Ministry Pastors to facilitate the activities of the ministry at the Area level. d. The church will consider sponsoring more Pent TV coverage for children related activities and events. e. A second edition of the Ministry’s Devotional Guide will be published. f. The church will encourage individuals to form Children’s clubs for the purpose of bringing children in the communities closer to God. This initiative involves mobilising children in a given neighbourhood periodically for fellowship in a relaxed atmosphere. g. As part of the transformation agenda, our children shall be engaged on some form of civic education. h. Intergenerational services will be strengthened in all assemblies worldwide. Children must necessarily play active roles in such services. i. Local churches running shifts will be required to make adequate provisions for a place of meeting for children. j. Quality leadership of the Children’s Ministry will be required at all levels. At the assembly level, mature officers are to be brought on board. k. Trained or professional teachers with Christ-like character and well versed in scripture will be encouraged to bring their expertise on board the Children’s Ministry as teachers. l. Children who respond to the gospel during crusades and rallies will be carefully assimilated into the church. Youth Ministry a. The Ministry will focus on deepening the spirituality of the youth at both individual and corporate levels through the study of the Word, prayer, fasting and the development of a solid devotional life. b. Periodic training of Youth Pastors shall be intensified. c. The formation of Bible Reading Clubs will be encouraged at the assembly and district levels to challenge young people to read the Bible. d. Leadership will promote the use of the Youth Devotional Guide on major church platforms. Online access to the guide will also be explored. e. The Political and Business Chambers will be firmed up and further developed. 17 f. Young people shall be encouraged to take up social responsibilities at the community level such as visiting the sick and inmates at prisons. g. The Ministry shall intensify career advisory and counselling services among the youths. h. The Pentecost Young Missionaries (PYM), an outreach programme to rural communities which has been in operation for over ten years at the national level will be decentralized to operate at the Area level for maximum impact. Pentecost Students and Associates (PENSA) a. PENSA, which operates under the Youth Ministry, shall be organised to have a worldwide focus of possessing the campuses and equipping them to be agents of transformation in the society. b. As part of measures to sustain the over 70% youth/children membership of the church and to improve upon it, the church will explore the possibility of posting resident full-time campus pastors to the five main public universities in Ghana – University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, University of Development Studies and the University of Education, Winneba. The Youth Director shall also pay frequent visits to the campuses. These will help to provide better pastoral care to the students. c. The Ministry shall develop a PENSA Discipleship Programme (PDP) with a well-defined strategy and content for use on the campuses. d. Additional Travelling Secretaries will be appointed to meet the growing pastoral care needs on our campuses. e. PENSA Travelling Secretaries will be given more training on Campus Ministry and Chaplaincy. f. PENSA Travelling Secretaries will be required to offer chaplaincy services to Primary and Junior High Schools within their jurisdictions where applicable. g. Standard/prototype building drawings will be adopted for the construction of buildings for the various PENSA branches based on congregational size and locations. h. We will take advantage of PENSA’s music, drama and other arts ministries to project the import of Vision 2023 to the entire church populace through Pent TV and other media outlets. i. We will explore the possibility of creating a PENSA Volunteering Teams that will undertake “PENSA Community Projects” such as teaching in deprived communities. 18 Men’s Ministry (PEMEM) a. Men, being family heads, shall be required among other responsibilities, to lead the family altar and maintain Godly standards in the family (Eph. 5:23- 25). b. The Men’s Ministry shall be required to increase efforts in preparing men in the church to be agents of transformation in all spheres of life. c. PEMEM meetings will be organised around special activities or events to create more interest. d. The Ministry’s week celebration in a given year will be tied to Fathers’ Day celebration whenever feasible. Women’s Ministry a. The Women’s Ministry shall be required to increase efforts in preparing women in the church to be agents of transformation in all spheres of life. b. There shall be a collaborative effort between the Youth Ministry and the Women’s Ministry to operate the ‘Virtuous Ladies Group’ with the vision of preparing young ladies for the future. c. The Ministry’s week celebrations in a given year will be tied to Mothers’ day celebration whenever feasible. Evangelism Ministry a. Every Ministry shall be required to have evangelism as a core activity. b. There shall be an Evangelism Coordinating Team at national, area, district and local levels, with the Chairman, National Head, Area Head, District Minister and the Presiding Elder as patrons respectively. They shall encourage and coordinate evangelistic activities in the church. The Evangelism Executive Committee plus one member each from the other Ministries’ leadership shall form the Evangelism Coordinating Team. c. Every member will be encouraged to pursue personal evangelism as a lifestyle. d. Every member shall be an automatic member of the evangelism ministry in addition to at least one other ministry. e. Budgetary allocation shall be made to facilitate evangelism at all levels. f. The “One member, one discipled soul” project will continue to be pursued in the month of November, in every given year across the nations. Where the designated period may not be conducive to a nation, a more convenient period shall be considered.

3.1.4 The Counselling Ministry

 i. Overview Psychosocial stressors are considered by experts as the leading causes of sickness and death in the world. Some statistics indicate that by 2020, depression will be a leading cause of ill-health and death globally. Destitution in Africa is on the rise, and one way the Church will be “relevant” for its teeming members is to provide a safe refuge and solace for the hurting who may come to Christ; as well as those who are already in the Church who for some reasons may need such services. As an institution concerned with the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of its people, CoP shall seek to re-organise its counselling unit to address mental health and other related issues such as grief/depression/anxiety, suicidal crisis; domestic violence and abuse; financial and social problems; chronic health problems; families struggling with transitions/crisis etc. Specific objective: To have a restructured counselling service accessible by all members at all levels. ii. Actions to be taken a. We shall be committed to strengthening the Counselling Unit of the church. b. Each Area, District and local shall have a recognised team for counselling ministry. c. In an effort to reorganise the counselling ministry of the church to make it more effective, a seminar shall be held for all professional counsellors and mental health workers in the church such as the psychologists, counsellors, psychiatrists, pastoral/clinical counsellors, chaplains, social workers and other allied health professionals in the church to solicit their voluntary services. d. This group will serve as a resource to train lay counsellors (i.e. Church leaders with the interest and passion for helping those who are hurting) and Prayer Centre leaders in each Area, and this will trickle down to the District and Local levels, using the Train-the-Trainer approach (TTT). e. The counselling team at all levels shall be led by a certified counsellor. f. Areas that can afford shall be encouraged to create space for the counselling team at the Area office. g. Marriage and Family counselling shall be given special attention. h. Counselling services shall be introduced into all our Senior High and Basic Schools. i. PTS shall be required to run certified counselling programme for Ministers and their wives as well as interested members of the church who have passion for the counselling ministry.

3.1.5 Prayer Centres

i. Overview

Lessons learnt over the years indicate that managing the operations of the prayer centres/camps within the framework of the operations of The Church of Pentecost has remained a big challenge. Over the years, various attempts have been made to manage the prayer centres/camps. For example, in 1995 under the chairmanship of Prophet M. K. Yeboah, the leadership of the church came out with guidelines to regulate the operations of prayer centres/camps, which state, among other things, that no new prayer centres were to be established. It is worth noting that, historically, prayer centre/camps leaders who have refused to operate within the framework of the church's doctrines and practices have either voluntarily left the church or have been excommunicated. Obviously, such a situation disturbs the church. Conscious of these challenges, Vision 2023 reiterates the following guidelines agreed upon at a meeting of apostles, prophets, evangelists, area heads and directors on the above-named subject on 18th August, 2017 at PCC, Brofoyedru, Kumasi. a. That no more new prayer centres/camps are to be established by anyone anywhere in the Church of Pentecost. b. That apart from the approved prayer centres/camps, all unapproved prayer centres/camps are to be closed down. c. That under no circumstances should any church member, officer, or group of persons acquire a piece of land or facility in their personal names with the aim of organising prayer meetings in the name of the church. d. That church members and officers are to desist from organising and patronising prayer meetings outside the normal prayer meetings and church services without the knowledge of the church leadership. e. That church members and officers are hereby discouraged from organising and patronising prayer meetings and all-night meetings in open fields, parks, people's homes, and even in church premises without the knowledge of the district or local leadership of the church. f. As much as possible, all prayer meetings are to be organised within church buildings and other approved places under the leadership of the church. As it is written, "my house shall be called a house of prayer..." (Matt. 21:13a). NB: The rationale behind all these is not to discourage people from praying, but the concern is that people should not use these prayer meetings to start new prayer centres, for it has been observed that some of those prayer meetings were being used as breeding grounds for strange teachings and practices.

3.2 Transforming Society

This strategic approach focuses on the proposed actions that will be taken to take the nations and influence every sphere of society with values and principles of the Kingdom of God. The targeted focal areas are: Marriage and Family Life, Evangelism and Church Planting, Enhancing Church and State Relations, Possessing the nations through Chaplaincy, Ministry to the Chieftaincy Institution, The Church and Socioeconomic Development, Community Transformation and Ministry to Persons with Disabilities. 3.2.1 Marriage and Family Life i. Overview (Ge.2:18; 21-25; Mt.19:4-6; 1 Co.7:1-2) With the family being the basic unit of society, it is logical that the transformation of the society should begin with the family. For Christians, the relationship between husband and wife should be more than a commitment between two persons. It is a three-sided relationship consisting of husband, wife and God. God adds the spiritual dimension to family life and transforms the relationship into a power house of strength, which eventually extends into the society for the needed impact. A generational blessing is guaranteed if the entire household is included in this relationship. Vision 2023 therefore considers family life as a calling which must be pursued in all earnest. Specific objective: To render the home a transformative arena for societal impact and transformation. ii. Actions to be taken a. Members will be taught to see the family as the basic unit of society and a little church and seminary in itself. In the ideal situation, the “family church and seminary” has the husband as its pastor and his wife as his assistant with their children and others as members. Single parents and childless couples should also see their homes (household) as a church and seminary. b. The church at all levels shall encourage consistent family devotion by all members; raising a family altar around which the family including all members of the household gather to offer worship to God. c. Members shall be educated to see marriage and family life as a calling. A call to be a husband and a father, a wife and a mother. d. Spouses will be educated to see marriage as a call to support each other's salvation. e. As part of their calling, parents will be expected to teach their children obedience to God and to themselves (parents). 22 f. Children at home including all other dependants will also be taught to see themselves as called to learn this two-fold obedience (obedience to God and parents) from their earliest days. g. One out of the three Area and District weeks in a given year shall be dedicated to teachings on marriage and family life (such as marriage, finance, health, work, parenting, education etc.) in all our churches across the globe. h. Couples and singles retreats shall be encouraged at all levels. i. With reference to the 11th tenet of the church, members will be taught and oriented on what constitutes true marriage in the face of the corrupted views on marriage. j. The Pentecost Theological Seminary will run short courses on marriage and family life for interested couples. 3.2.2 Evangelism and Church Planting i. Overview (Mt. 28:18-20; Ro. 1:16; Ro. 10:13-15) The Church is God’s instrument for the Great Commission. Evangelism, church planting and discipleship are the major aspects of the Great Commission. Efforts shall therefore be made at all levels and through all possible avenues to preach the gospel in our communities, our spheres of influence, and send the gospel to all unreached communities. Planting of new churches in unreached areas shall be pursued in all earnest. In order to effectively ground souls won, our discipleship and counselling structures shall be strengthened as outlined in section 3.1.2. Ghana In Ghana, we plan to increase overall membership by 821,382 over the five-year period, with an average percentage growth of 6.4%. We also project to plant a total number 2500 new assemblies over the vision period, with an average number of 500 new assemblies opened each year. The number of districts to be created in line with vision 2023 will be monitored carefully to determine the intake of new Ministers. The table below provides an overview of projections made for the creation of districts and the intake of new Ministers in Ghana. Table 1: Proposed Creation of Districts/No. of New Ministers (2019-2023) 23 We also plan to create about ten (10) new areas in Ghana over the five-year period. These proposed areas are Haatso-Atomic Hills Area (to be created from Madina/Achimota Areas), Kade Area (to be created from Suhum/Asamankese/Oda Areas), Offinso Area (to be created from Suame Area), Twifo Praso Area (to be created from Assin Fosu/Cape Coast/Dunkwa Areas), Nsawam Area (to be created from Suhum/Asamankese/Achimota Areas), Accra New Town Area (to be created from La Area); Teshie Area (to be created from Teshie Nungua Area), Enchi and Juaboso Areas (to be created from Essam Debiso/Asankragwa/Sefwi Wiawso Areas) and Duayaw Nkwanta Area (to be created from Sunyani Area). Missions The church currently is present in 100 nations. Over the five-year vision period, we project a minimum increment of 15 new nations, with an average number of 3 new nations per year. We also plan to increase overall membership by 315,802 over the five-year period, with an average percentage growth of 10%. This will result into an overall total membership of 833,255. In terms of new assemblies to be opened over the period, Vision 2023 projects the opening of 1770 new assemblies with an average number of 354 assemblies per year. On the number of districts, the forecast for the next 5 years is to add 60 districts per year. This will give an overall increase of 300 districts in the nations. Specific objectives Year No. of new Districts No. Of Retirees Missionaries, Youth Pastors, Children Pastors etc. No. Of New Ministers 2019 40 27 8 75 2020 40 28 8 76 2021 40 30 8 78 2022 40 43 8 91 2023 40 30 8 78 24 a. To intensify evangelism and church planting in unreached areas b. To increase the church’s overall worldwide membership by 37% by 2023 using 2017 as the base year. ii. Actions to be taken a. Evangelism, being our core responsibility will be spearheaded by the chairman, the national head, the area head, the district minister and the presiding elder. b. All ministries will be expected to be active in evangelism. c. We shall be committed to train and encourage personal evangelism among all members. d. Rallies and crusades will be encouraged at all levels. e. Gospel Sunday (Sunday after Communion Sunday unless the day clashes with a designated programme), a day dedicated to the preaching of the gospel and soul winning shall be keenly observed. f. Teachings on evangelism and the second coming of Christ shall be intensified. g. Teens and children will be intentionally targeted in our evangelistic activities. This group is known to respond readily to the gospel message. Beyond this, it will help us possess the next generation. h. Every district will be motivated to plant at least one assembly every year. Where constrained by geographical space, the district should support other districts to open new assemblies. i. Where new assemblies cannot be established and the membership is huge enough, the shift system will be encouraged. j. The use of social media for evangelism shall be encouraged. k. Conscious efforts will be made to do altar calls at all church gatherings including weddings, funerals, naming etc. l. A week in the month of November in every given year (preferably the Lord’s supper prayer week) will be designated for soul winning across the nations, dubbed, “One member, one discipled soul. Where the designated period may not be conducive to a nation, a more convenient period shall be considered. 3.2.3 Enhancing Church and State Relations i. Overview (Ro. 13:1-4; Dan. 2:46-16; 1Tim. 2:1-2) As “salt of the earth”, the Church per its mandate, is required to engage the governance structures of the nations on the values and principles of the Kingdom of God. This is based on the fact that the Church has a biblical mandate to contribute meaningfully to the development of the nations. It is to serve as the conscience of society by playing a prophetic role. It is also to play advocacy, help in conflict resolution, and help deal with vices such as corruption. The Church of 25 Pentecost with this understanding, will seek to roll out programmes to strategically engage/disciple the nation’s existing governance structures (the Executive, Judiciary and the Legislature) within the framework of fulfilling its prophetic responsibility to the nation. Members of the Church who operate within these governance structures will be discipled to positively impact the nation from all angles. The Church will consciously create mentoring platforms to raise Godfearing young people who have the required interest to occupy strategic positions within the nation’s governance and political space. Specific objective: To roll out programmes to strategically engage/disciple the nation’s existing governance structures. ii. Actions to be taken a. We will establish a baseline data of all members of the Church of Pentecost who occupy sensitive positions within the nation’s governance and political space such as Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executives, Judges, leaders of political parties, etc. Periodic forums will be created by the Chairman/National Heads/Area Heads to engage these identified members on the church’s transformation agenda. These forums will serve as discipleship and equipping platforms. b. The church will be intentional in offering chaplaincy support to state and corporate institutions. c. We will liaise with the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council and the Christian Council of Ghana to dialogue with the state apparatus on sensitive national issues. Where necessary, a joint communique reflecting the outcome of such dialogues shall be made public. 3.2.4 Possessing the Nations through Chaplaincy i. Overview One way by which the Church of Pentecost can “possess the nations” is to promote godliness and the use of Godly principles in decision making at the workplace. We can do this through a well laid out chaplaincy service that can serve all spheres of society. Our customized chaplaincy service shall aim at causing people to trust Jesus and look up to Christian chaplains for spiritual and emotional care and direction. The Church of Pentecost is already engaged with providing chaplains in military, prisons, hospital, schools and some workplaces. We shall review their operations and expand to fit our use in “possessing the nations”. Other chaplaincy areas we shall explore will include hospital/hospice chaplaincy, sports chaplaincy, first attender/emergency services chaplaincy and chaplaincy to widows, widowers, the 26 aged and orphans. Persons to be engaged in these fields as chaplains may not necessarily be professionals or full time Ministers and shall operate as volunteers. Specific objective: To promote godliness and the use of Godly principles in decision making at the workplace. ii. Actions to be taken: Operational structure for Chaplaincy Ministry a. A 7-member National Chaplaincy Board for The Church of Pentecost that shall be responsible for coordinating chaplaincy placements, activities and training of all chaplains will set up. They shall report bi-annually to the Chairman. b. Area Chaplaincy committees shall be established to coordinate chaplaincy activities at the area level. They shall submit bi-annual reports to the National Board through their Area Heads. c. Pentecost Theological Seminary (PTS) shall be responsible for the training and certification of our chaplains. The seminary in running this certification programme will consider engaging the services of external faculty to augment its faculty strength. We shall commit ourselves to sponsor qualified persons within our jurisdiction who have the flare for the chaplaincy ministry for higher studies in chaplaincy. d. We shall be committed to training all ministers of the church in basic chaplaincy; and encourage them to avail themselves to offer chaplaincy services to institutions within their jurisdictions who may need them. iii. Military and Prisons/Correctional institutions Chaplaincy a. Since these institutions have their own criteria for enlisting chaplains, we shall relate more with them in order to increase the number of chaplains from The Church of Pentecost. iv. Hospital and Hospice Chaplaincy a. We shall train and certify responsible members of the Church who are interested in chaplaincy to work in various hospitals as chaplain assistants. In collaboration with Ghana Health Service/ Ministry of Health, they shall be deployed to the various health care facilities. Their role shall cover patients, hospital staff and families of patients. b. We shall commit ourselves to train hospice chaplains who shall seek to offer spiritual and emotional care and spend time with people who are terminally ill in both hospital and domestic hospice settings. The affected people around them will also be ministered to. v. Workplace Chaplaincy 27 a. We shall enlist and train members who shall be certified to provide chaplaincy services in various workplaces. vi. Schools chaplaincy a. We shall be committed to strengthening the chaplaincy ministry in all Church of Pentecost Schools. b. PENSA Travelling Secretaries will be required to offer chaplaincy services to Primary and Junior High Schools within their jurisdictions where practicable. c. We shall train and certify chaplain assistants who shall offer chaplaincy to Basic schools. vii. Sports chaplaincy a. Members who have an interest in sports and fitness, and seek chaplaincy in the field of sports shall be recruited and trained. b. The Church shall initiate the formation of Keep-Fit clubs where chaplaincy services shall be offered. The clubs will be a strategy for mobilizing people so that the chaplains can disciple them. viii. First Responder/ Emergency Services chaplain a. We shall liaise with NADMO, Ghana National Ambulance Service and Ghana National Fire Service to provide chaplains for them. ix. Chaplaincy to Orphanages and Aged Homes a. We shall seek to provide chaplaincy services in other areas such as chaplaincy to orphans and the aged. b. Persons to be trained for this chaplaincy services shall pay active visits to identified aged homes and orphanages to provide spiritual and emotional care. x. Chaplaincy to the Palace The church will be encouraged to devote time for traditional rulers in order to provide chaplaincy services to the chieftaincy institution. 3.2.5 Ministry to the Chieftaincy Institution i. Overview (1Tim. 2:1&2, Rom. 13:1&2) Chieftaincy is a major cultural heritage and institution in Africa. It provides a scope for leadership and exercise of authority and it is supposed to be the most respected institution in the community. The culture, tradition and the governance system of the community revolves around the chieftaincy institution and the 28 church’s ability to influence this all-important institution will give us some inroads into the community. Vision 2023 will therefore continue with the efforts made by Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah (Rtd.) to recognize the critical role the chieftaincy institution in Africa plays. We shall go beyond the biennial royal conferences organised for chiefs and institute teams/working groups at all levels of the church to minister to the chieftaincy institution. Specific objective: To deepen engagement with the chieftaincy institution in order to impart values of the Kingdom of God to traditional authorities. iii. Actions to be taken a. Chieftaincy ministry committee will be set up at the national level to facilitate the church’s engagements with the chieftaincy institution. The Committee will operate directly under the office of the Chairman. This will be replicated at the Area and District levels. b. We shall continue to organise conferences and training programmes for the chieftaincy institution. c. “Guidance for Christian Royals”, a practical handbook for Christian chiefs currently being put together, will be expedited for publication and use. d. In order to transform certain aspects of our culture and to promote community development, we shall continue to encourage and guide our members who are royals and feel called by God to enter into chieftaincy. e. The church will be encouraged to devote time for traditional rulers in order to provide chaplaincy services to the chieftaincy institution. 3.2.6 The Church and Socio-economic Development i. Overview The Church is instrumental in fostering growth and transformational development of every nation. Over the years, The Church of Pentecost has been instrumental in promoting growth and sustainable development in Ghana. Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS), the institution set up to lead the process, will be restructured and be used as a vehicle (social ministry) to contribute to accelerated socioeconomic development in order to launch out our transformation agenda in the society. 29 Specific objectives a. To enhance the relevance and visibility of PENTSOS. b. To embark on strategic partnerships with government in developing the nation. iii. Actions to be taken a. We will refocus and restructure and position PENTSOS to work effectively as a development-oriented organisation as well as a corporate organization cast in the mode of other faith-based development organisations such as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS). b. The church will provide phased support to PENTSOS with an exit strategy to enable it establish itself as a corporate organisation. c. PENTSOS will produce a periodic PENTSOS Newsletter to create more visibility and awareness of its programmes, performance and impact. The operations of PENTSOS will also be publicized on PENT TV and our social media platforms to create public awareness of our social interventions. d. The annual Bible study outlines will have lessons focusing on certain aspects of the operations and activities of PENTSOS. e. Where feasible, we shall partner Government to establish public schools at strategic places to enable the poor have improved access to education. f. We will partner Government to improve facilities in our Senior High Schools in Kumasi and Koforidua. g. We shall explore the possibility of establishing an educational unit to manage our schools and a health unit to manage our health facilities. h. We shall commit ourselves to upgrade and expand the facilities at the Pentecost Hospital in Madina to offer improved services. i. Areas, districts and locals shall be required to provide details of scholarships offered at their levels to the Headquarters periodically. j. Follow up shall be made on the beneficiaries of the church’s scholarship scheme and a guild formed to facilitate networking and human resource mobilization. k. Area heads, district ministers and presiding elders will be encouraged to provide sponsorship for students in other fields including vocational and technical education as well as those pursuing apprenticeship. l. PENTSOS shall provide economic livelihood training such as soap making, mushroom cultivation and snail rearing to interested members. m. Encourage the establishment of more Pentecost Credit Unions (PENCU) across the country to improve members’ access to financial services. n. PENTSOS shall be involved in civic education to educate the citizenry on relevant national issues. 30 o. We shall partner with Christian aid organisations such as Compassion International, World Vision and Christian Aid to implement specific initiatives for the development of some sections of society. iv. Strategic Partnership with Government in Developing the Nation a. We shall contribute to national level dialogues and discussions on highly relevant issues that promote national development and border on the welfare of Ghanaians. b. The church will partner the government and community to provide potable drinking water in some selected deprived communities. c. We shall partner Government to put up Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds to improve access to health care in some selected deprived communities. d. We will initiate a security-based development project dubbed “Police Station & Post Project (PSPP)” to put up police stations/police posts in some selected deprived and insecure areas. This will be our contribution to Government efforts to provide Police Posts in communities where they are needed. e. In collaboration with the Ghana Prisons Service, the church will initiate the construction of accommodation facilities (cells) for selected prisons in the country as part of efforts to support Government ease congestions in those prisons. f. Areas and well-endowed districts shall be encouraged to construct shelters at bus stops for communal use. Such initiatives should be undertaken with evangelism in mind. 3.2.7 Community Transformation i. Overview (Gen. 41:39-41; Jer. 29:4-7) The Church is commissioned by Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to advance the kingdom of God on earth. Its mandate is the discipleship of the nations, which also brings along societal transformation and development. In other words, to develop and transform the nations and communities is to move those communities towards Christ. This calls for changing worldviews, opinions, attitudes and ways of life. To succeed in this, the church must learn to walk alongside the community and “seek its good” in diverse ways towards its development as it endeavours to disciple it with values and principles of the Kingdom of God. Specific objective: To position the local church as an agent for community transformation. 31 ii. Actions to be taken a. The church, represented by its leaders and members at all levels, will show interest in the life of the communities within which it operates. b. We shall revise the programme for ministers in training (PTS) to include compassionate ministry/community development. c. Leaders and members will be encouraged to actively participate in community activities and to become known figures in community development and transformation. d. We shall encourage the assemblies, districts and areas to identify community challenges that the church can work on as part of the transformation agenda. e. The church will explore the possibility of running a community literacy programme for community members in areas where this felt need is identified. f. The church will make the proclamation of Christ a part of all its development activities. g. Members will be encouraged to take up roles in their respective communities such as Unit Committees, political parties, family headship and chieftaincy. This will help to impart Christian values in the affairs of leadership in the community. h. The church will embark on sanitation campaigns at the district and the local levels. These campaigns will seek to sensitize members and community members on good sanitation practices. i. Our annual Bible study lessons will make provision for topics on sanitation and other environmental issues for the next five years to educate our members on the importance of sanitation.

3.2.8 Ministry to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)

i. Overview Vision 2023 regards disability inclusion as a high priority. Globally, persons with disabilities remain a large neglected mission field that urgently requires the church to consciously reach out to. For instance in Ghana, according to the 2010 national population and housing census, there are 737,743 persons with some form of disability, representing 3.0% of the nation’s total population. In response to the challenges within the PWD community, the church has ordained a physicallychallenged person into pastoral ministry and has put in place some sponsorship packages for PWDs. However, we acknowledge that our overall consciousness on how we treat and interact with PWDs will need some much more attention; a priority Vision 2023 will earnestly pursue.

As we embark on an intensified mission to persons with disabilities across the nations, we are collectively fulfilling the Great Commission and also heeding to Christ’s mandate for us to bring in those who are oppressed, the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame (Luke 14:21 ESV). Specific objective: To intensify ministry to Persons with Disability. ii. Actions to be taken a. We shall be committed to strengthening ministry to persons with disabilities. In doing this, Committees shall be set up to look for and share the gospel with persons with disabilities at all levels. b. We shall design intervention programmes to help us care and attend to the needs of the disabled community, including the provision of braille materials for people who are blind, listening devices for people who are hearing impaired, and large prints for people who are visually impaired. c. We shall create disability awareness in any ways practicable among members of the church. We shall also use Pent TV and other media outlets in this regard. d. The church will be educated to make their churches disability-friendly. This may include the provision of climbing ramps, special toilet facilities, disabledfriendly parking spaces etc. e. Skilled persons as well as interested and committed members will be trained in how to communicate, evangelise and disciple persons with disabilities. f. Persons with disabilities won for Christ shall be integrated and assimilated into the local church. g. At least each district will be required to have a sign language interpreter to facilitate communication with the deaf and dumb during church services. h. We shall endeavour to partner Government to equip persons with disabilities won for Christ with the needed skills to be productive in the communities in which they live and in furtherance to this, take part in the church’s mission of transforming the nations. 3.3 Strengthening and Realigning Church Institutions and Structures This strategic approach focuses on the proposed actions that will be taken to strengthen and realign existing institutions and structures within The Church of Pentecost. The targeted focal areas are: Media Institutions and Outlets, Missions, Pentecost University College, Pentecost Convention Centre, Regional Coordinating Committees, Pentecost Theological Seminary/Ministerial Training and Development, Pentecost International Worship Centres, The Pension Board, General Headquarters Administration and Finance, Projects and Infrastructure Development, Strengthening our Fraternal Relations, The Executive Council and General Council Meetings.

3.3.1 Media Institutions and Outlets

 i. Overview Conscious of the indispensable role media plays in modern society, Vision 2023 will make significant use of media to advance its course. Media will be used as a means of propagating the gospel, for discipling members of the church, and for transforming society. The various media outlets of the church will therefore be given a facelift and used for this intended purpose. The church will roll out a process to set up a single management body under one Director but with qualified personnel and experts heading the various media arms of the church. This body will be known as Pentecost Media Centre. Specific objective: To restructure and empower the media outlets of the church to propagate the gospel, disciple members of the church and for transforming society. ii. Actions to be taken: a. We will work towards the effective collaboration and synergy among the various media arms of the church, namely; Pent TV, Radio Ministry, Publications Department and Pentecost Press. b. The Pentecost Media Centre will be established to bring the various media arms under a single management structure. c. Develop a suitable structure to house the Pentecost Media Centre. d. Efforts shall be made to bring together all media professionals at all levels in the church to help spearhead our transformation agenda and as well help in managing information about the church. iii. Pentecost Press a. The Press will be tasked to diversify their products to serve the church and the general public beyond. iv. Pent TV a. We will recruit professionals with requisite technical TV experience to manage the operations of Pent TV. b. Professional training programmes will be organised for personnel. c. The church will partner Pent TV to acquire an additional digital free-to-air channel for viewers without satellite receivers. d. The church may also explore the possibility of acquiring a DSTV channel to help our brethren across the globe to have easy access to Pent TV. e. The church will partner Pent TV to acquire state-of-the-art equipment which will make the station appealing and competitive. f. Pent TV will be required to review its existing programmes and develop innovative, entertaining and life-transforming content that is viewer friendly. g. Pent TV will continue to strengthen its online presence with captivating and inspiring content. It will consciously build an online community from its online patrons/social media friends and use it as a means of carrying out the transformation agenda of Vision 2023. h. Phone-in sessions will be introduced for the Pentecost Hour and Grace Hour programmes to enhance viewer feedback. i. The station will be used as a major platform for the propagation of the gospel. j. Pent TV will be used to publicise the church’s social interventions in society. k. The Headquarters will partner the Children and the Youth ministries to sponsor their programmes on Pent TV. l. Pent TV in reaching out to the francophone brethren will introduce some programmes in the French language. m. More English language programmes shall also be introduced for the benefit of the growing global viewers. n. Pent TV shall be committed to the use of sign language in their major programmes. v. Radio Ministry a. The church will set up a Christian radio station to propagate the gospel. b. Pastoral care will be extended to people who call for help after listening to our radio broadcasts. c. Radio ministry programmes in the various Areas will continue unabated. d. We shall explore the possibility of broadcasting Pentecost Hour on other major radio stations in Ghana such as Joy FM and City FM. e. The church will set up an online radio to reach out to the virtual global community. f. The church will encourage PUC to enhance the operations of its radio station (Pentvars Radio) to reach out to students and the surrounding community with the gospel. g. Our mission areas will also be encouraged to set up radio stations to augment the preaching of the gospel. vi. Social Media a. PIWCs, Worship Centres, and other well-equipped assemblies across the nations will be encouraged to live-stream their church services when appropriate for the benefit of the global online audience. Persons to do this shall be given some form of training. b. The values and principles of the Kingdom of God will be packaged in diversified picture, audio, and video formats to be shared across these platforms. 35 c. We will redesign the CoP Mobile App in order to incorporate more shareable content (videos, songs, infographics etc.) d. We shall ensure regular update of the church’s (headquarters) social media platforms with content tailored to the theme for the year. vii. Publications and Literary Works Under Vision 2023, the church’s publications and literary works will be given detailed attention. In addition to the services being rendered by Apostle Michael Ntumy, the church will also engage the expertise of Aps. Prof. Opoku Onyinah (Rtd.) in all its publications and literary works. The church will complete among others, the following publications: “God’s Covenant with the Church of Pentecost” and “Guidance for Christian Royals”. 3.3.2 Missions i. Overview (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom 15:20, Num. 22:4-6, Acts 17:6) The church has been called to reach out to the nations; a mandate which remains the bedrock of Vision 2023. The church will continue to make conscious efforts to increase its presence in the nations. Our target is not just to be present in a nation but that our presence would be felt as we impact the land with the values and principles of the d. In addition to providing ministry to people largely of Ghanaian descent, ministers in the diaspora will be trained to be mission minded. e. We will give special attention to planting indigenous churches. As part of the measures to achieve this, ministers already on the missions field and those to be posted to the missions field will be made to learn the language and culture of the people (Dan. 1:3-4). f. Efforts will be made to strengthen the Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs), by giving them more room to operate. This will include delegating responsibilities to the Apostles and Prophets in the mission areas. g. In order to consolidate the gains made in our missions front, we shall guide our external mission areas to build strong and solid administrative structures. In view of this, each nation will be guided to develop a workable national constitution and well documented policies and practices. h. Training of leaders at all levels will be encouraged. i. Calling of young people into the ministry will be encouraged. j. We will encourage the establishment of more cross-cultural churches (PIWCs). k. Churches in the diaspora will be more aggressive in doing ministry among the common people such as the down-trodden and outcasts, including the homeless, drug addicts and drunkards. This will not only pave way for the harvest of new souls for the Lord, but may also contribute to winning indigenous people into the church (Mark 12:37 KJV, Luke 4:17&18). l. The Missions Board will institute interactive training sessions for missionaries after the annual heads’ meetings in November. m. Efforts will be made to make Pent TV friendlier to our Francophone brethren by introducing programmes in the French language. n. Churches in the mission areas will be encouraged to strengthen relationship with existing para-church organisations and relevant ecumenical bodies in their respective nations. o. Ministers will be encouraged to attend conferences as part of their personal ministerial development efforts. iii. External Missions (PENSA and the Nations) Among other implementation strategies, Vision 2023 will adopt PENSA as a strategic platform to reach out to the nations. The following actions will be employed in this regard: a. We will strategically establish PENSA in the nations where possible. b. We shall be committed to appointing more PENSA Travelling Secretaries (campus ministers) in the nations. 37 c. We will create an international forum for PENSA to be known as PENSA International (PENSA Int.). PENSA International will be branded to be recognized globally across our churches. d. PENSA International will among its functions register all students and alumni of the Church into a global network via A PENSA international professional social media app. This global network will help in facilitating the work of missions in the nations. e. Under PENSA International, a massive global campaign will be launched to encourage students to initiate PENSA on every campus they find themselves. f. We shall explore the possibility of appointing a Coordinator to coordinate the activities of PENSA International. g. In collaboration with the International Missions Office, PENSA students and alumni will be recruited as volunteers for social work and missions’ trip when necessary and when convenient. h. A PENSA International conference shall be held every three years with evangelistic focus. i. PENSA International will also facilitate professional networking among its members. iv. Internal Missions a. The Executive Council will consider reviewing the status of the internal mission areas to ascertain the possibility of weaning off some of them from their mission area status. b. The Executive Council will also consider reviewing the administrative oversight of the internal mission areas. v. Home Missions “The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself…” (Lev. 19:34). a. Home missions will seek to reach out to foreigners/expatriates wherever they are, so that they become disciple makers when they go back to their respective countries. b. A special ministry will be established to reach out to the Fulani or fula people (nomadic herdsmen spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa) wherever they may be found. c. Efforts shall be made to establish more French speaking assemblies in the English-speaking West African Countries. This concept shall be replicated in other language zones. d. We shall see PIWCs as home missions. In line with this, the Missions Board and the Headquarters shall augment the financial assistance that is being 38 provided by the districts and areas to establish more PIWCs in strategic areas in Ghana. vi. Urban Mission And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind to set the oppressed free (Lk. 4:17&18 NIV). When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy (Mt. 8:1-3). Large numbers of people move to the cities to find work and seek better life. However, many of these find their hopes dashed and as such they struggle to adapt to life in the city. This has resulted in many disillusioned people living in slums with hunger to find meaning in life, acceptance and a loving community. Accordingly, a. Urban missions will seek to give the hope that can only be found in Christ Jesus to these people. b. Urban missions will seek and win the urban poor and the destitute such as the kayaye, the homeless, street children and drug addicts just as Christ did. c. Assemblies, projects and people groups that will be identified as being in the strategic interest of the church will be given assistance necessary for achieving their strategic objectives. vii. Integration of the Northern Outreach Ministry and Assimilation of Members a. The church shall assess the extent of assimilation of persons won under the former Northern Outreach Ministry into the local church. b. The church shall assess the extent of integration of the Northern Outreach Ministry into the mainstream church.

3.3.3 Pentecost University College (PUC)

i. Overview PUC will continue to be assisted to become a university of choice in Ghana, where excellent graduates will be produced to meet the needs and challenges of the fast-changing world. It will be considered a unique mission field of the church with the aim of leading students to the Lord Jesus Christ, discipling and equipping them to possess the nations. Specific Objective: To help position PUC to effectively equip students for societal impact and transformation. ii. Actions to be taken a. We will continue to support the PUC to create an enabling learning environment. b. The church will continue to ensure that PUC has both qualified faculty and staff who are academically and spiritually sound to prepare people for both Christian ministry and the secular work. c. It is expected that by 2023, PUC would have been a chartered University. d. PUC will intensify its commitment to research and academic dialogues. e. The church in partnership with academia shall organise an international academic conference every year. This conference shall attract both international and local scholars who will reflect on some aspects of the annual themes under Vision 2023. It is envisaged that this will promote publications and scholarly activities in our tertiary institutions (PUC and PTS). f. Career advisory services for students shall be introduced as part of the university’s mentoring programme. g. A percentage of Areas’ designated IGF to the Districts will be used as scholarship funds to sponsor students to PUC. Apart from developing the human capital of the church, this initiative will also contribute to increasing enrolment of the University and as well help with its financial stability. h. Well-endowed Areas, districts and locals will also be encouraged to sponsor students to PUC. i. PUC will institute an Open Day concept where the University will introduce SHS students to the PUC brand on yearly basis to improve intake, using the social capital (goodwill) of the church. 40 j. Our churches shall be required to continue to advertise PUC in their respective jurisdictions. k. We shall encourage districts to have at least one member enrolled at PUC each year.

3.3.4 Pentecost Convention Centre

 i. Overview The Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC) will continue to provide Christiancentered hospitality services with excellence while making efforts to expand the facilities at the Centre. Specific objective: To expand the facilities at the Centre to provide Christiancentred hospitality services with excellence.

 ii. Actions to be taken

 a. PCC will continue to serve as a spiritual renewal centre.

b. We will double up efforts to complete the multipurpose four-storey building project under construction.

c. PCC will consider the construction of recreational facilities at the centre. This is expected to augment the existing facilities to give it a facelift to meet international standards.

 d. The church will continue to develop the Kumasi Pentecost Convention Centre at Brofoyedru.

3.3.5 Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs) The Regional Coordinating Committees play a very critical role in the decentralised administrative structure of the church. The Committees will continue to be empowered and given more room to effectively carry out their constitutionally assigned mandate, especially in providing effective supervisory role at the grassroots level. To enhance the reporting system of the RCCs, a new reporting template will be developed for the compilation of the regional composite reports taking into consideration Vision 2023. With the completion of the church’s web based digital e-portal geo-mapping solution, the RCCs will help in carrying out proper re-demarcation of areas and districts in regions where there is the need. 41 3.3.6 Pentecost Theological Seminary/Ministerial Training and Development i. Overview (Acts 18: 24-28; Ezra 7:9-11) Ministry in the 21st century is challenged by the dynamics and trends of the contemporary environment. A virtuous reality however emerges when Ministers are provided with the needed opportunities to learn, practice, and develop capacities for effective ministry. This calls for constant upgrading and increase in knowledge and skills in modern trends for all ministers. In line with this, the Pentecost Theological Seminary (PTS) instituted by the church for this purpose, will seek to strengthen ministerial formation, refresher courses, higher theological education and missionary training for the church. Specific objective: To provide ministers with the needed opportunities to study, practice, and develop capacities for effective ministry. ii. Actions to be taken a. As part of the ministerial formation programme, provision will be made for serving and retired Apostles and Prophets and some senior pastors to share their ministry and life experiences with ministerial students. b. PTS will run a refresher course for Ministers in Theology and Christian Ministry. c. The church will institute a five-week Cross-Cultural Missionary Training programme for new missionaries. d. Missionary Training will be extended to Ministers in the diaspora through the church’s Bible Schools and Colleges across the globe. e. The institution will seek to obtain accreditation for all its intended programmes within five (5) years. f. The ministers’ wives’ training programme will be upgraded. g. PTS will continue to offer support to the training programmes of the external branches of the church through the newly established seminaries and Bible Institutes in both Anglophone and Francophone countries. This would be done through assistance in curriculum development and exchange of lecturers where necessary. h. We will ensure that the pursuits of further studies by Ministers do not negatively impact the ministry. i. We will continue to sponsor identified Ministers who can pursue M.Phil. and/or Ph.D. degrees in theology and other disciplines such as leadership development, administration and management. j. Specialised training in ministry areas such as chaplaincy will receive special attention. 42 iii. Training Institutions outside Ghana a. Efforts shall be made to promote the church’s training institutions outside Ghana. b. The church will provide support to help refurbish the Birmingham Christian College in the UK to make it fully operational. c. The Pentecost Theological College in the US shall also be supported to speed up its accreditation process. It will be positioned to offer training to leaders in the Hispanic region. d. The Executive Council shall set up a board to oversee the running of the Bible School in La Cote D’Ivoire for the Francophone nations. iv. Ministers and Wives’ Conferences a. Global Ministers / Ministers and wives’ conferences shall be organised when necessary. b. Ministers and wives’ conference for Francophone countries will be held every other year. c. The Heads’ meetings in November and January shall continue. 3.3.7 Pentecost International Worship Centres (PIWCs) as Strategic Partners in Possessing the Nations i. Overview (1 Cor. 9:19-23; Acts 13:36; Php. 1:12-18) The rationale behind the establishment of the Pentecost International Worship Centres (PIWCs) was to provide a well organised, cross-cultural church, primarily for people of non-Ghanaian cultural background (expatriates) who want a place to worship as well as our Ghanaian brothers and sisters who prefer to worship in the English language or in a multicultural environment. The centres will continue to serve these purposes. Furthermore, the PIWCs shall be considered as strategic partners in our determined efforts to possess the nations. This is because the PIWCs have a rich pool of talents, skills and professionals most of whom are occupying positions of influence in the academia, corporate, political and traditional spheres of our society. This resourceful human capital will be harnessed by the church to extend the impact of the Kingdom to all spheres of society and the nations. Specific objective: To harness the resourceful human capital of the PIWCs in order to extend the impact of the Kingdom to all spheres of society and the nations. 43 ii. Actions to be taken a. Periodic seminars will be organised for Ministers and officers of the PIWCs at the Area level, and where necessary at the national level. Resource persons can be drawn from across the country. b. We shall encourage the strategic and intentional planting of PIWCs across the nations. c. The church will discourage PIWCs from running assemblies that speak vernacular. d. PIWCs will be required to employ creative evangelistic strategies in order to effectively reach out to their target populace. e. We shall encourage PIWCs who have the capacity, to adopt assemblies in the mission areas for regular support in the form of finance, outreach etc. f. PIWCs shall be encouraged to reach out to expatriates. g. PIWCs, and assemblies that have the required capacity will be encouraged to consciously reach out to French-speaking nationals within their jurisdictions. Souls won will either be integrated into the church or separate French Speaking Assemblies opened for them. iii. English Assemblies a. We shall encourage Districts to continue to plant English assemblies. 3.3.8 Pension Board i. Overview The mandate of the Pension Board is to establish a fund distinct and separate from the End of Service Benefits (ESB) operated by the Headquarters of the Church for the benefit of a Minister who retires at the age of sixty-five (65) or is prematurely retired. Specific objective: To enhance the activities of the Board in fulfilling its constitutional mandate. ii. Actions to be taken a. The Board shall continue to invest in less risky ventures. b. The Board shall continue to hold seminars for retirees, serving ministers and members of the church on the subject of retirement. 44 3.3.9 Strengthening our Ecumenical Relations i. Overview (1 Jn. 17:20-21; 1 Thess. 3:11-13; Eph. 3:14-21) The Church of Pentecost has over the years gained the respect of the Christian community in and outside Ghana. This, we must seize as a God-given opportunity. The church will continue its efforts to play a leading role in Christianity. It will attempt to share fraternity with other Christian churches and para-church organisations across the globe, with the aim of contributing to the call for a renewed community of believers consumed with the zeal of the Lord to promote values and principles of the Kingdom of God within the global community. Specific objective: To contribute to the call for a renewed community of believers poised to promote values and principles of the Kingdom of God within the global community. ii. Actions to be taken a. With our transformation agenda, the church will also use its influence to organise both national and international interdenominational conferences where necessary. b. We shall continue to play a leading role in supporting para-church and other Christian organisations such as Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), Scripture Union, Bible Society of Ghana, Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation and Ghana Evangelism Committee. c. We shall continue to exchange visits, interact and share ministry with leaders of some Christian churches in Africa and other parts of the world. d. At the global level, we shall continue to maintain relationship with Elim Pentecostal Churches, Links International, Lausanne Movement, World Pentecostal Fellowship and the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM). e. We shall continue to make meaningful contributions to Empowered 21. 3.3.10 Projects and Infrastructure Development i. Overview (Ex. 35:4-29; Gen. 6:14-21, Ex. 35:10; Ex. 36:1, Lk. 14:28-30) Every organism needs a conducive environment to grow and develop holistically. The church must as well be housed in an eco-friendly built environment to enhance a balanced growth. By the way church buildings look, they can serve as evangelistic tools sometimes. Thus, they pull people to church and even determine the class of people who may want to fellowship there. Excellence is biblical, and so efforts would be made to give the needed attention to the 45 planning and execution of construction projects. The monitoring and supervision of developmental projects shall be stepped up. All our projects must achieve value for money, be compliant with church practices and meet construction standards and local statutory requirements. Following a successful four-year implementation of the flagship CBCB project, the existing modalities for the disbursement of funds will be reviewed. Two categories of grant allocation shall stream out of the CBCB system earmarked for accelerated removal of churches under trees, in classrooms, and congregations in urban centres without church buildings. The first category will continue to be the traditional CBCB system earmarked for the rural areas. There shall be a counterpart fund for the CBCB in the urban centres to be known as the Urban Accelerated Church Building (UACB) project. The quantum of funds for UACB projects may be higher than that of the CBCB project. As such, fewer UACB projects would be approved per annum per Area in comparison to the CBCB allocations. Specific objectives a. To accelerate the provision of conducive worship environment for all our local assemblies. b. To ensure that all building projects meet the value for money requirement, and are compliant with construction standards and local statutory requirements. ii. Actions to be taken a. The grant allocation for CBCB projects would be categorized into two strands; the traditional CBCB grants for rural and semi-urban areas and the Urban Accelerated Church Buildings (UACB) for urban centres. b. Prototype UACB designs would be made for 300-seat capacity and 500- seat capacity auditoria for urban centres. These facilities shall include places of meeting for children and washrooms. The above notwithstanding, UACB grants may also be applied to accelerate the completion of on-going church building projects. c. Based on the annual development budgetary allocation for the Areas, an Area may request for an aggregate blend of CBCB and UACB grants. Based on the level of infrastructure deficit and classification of Areas, the funding focus may either be skewed to CBCB or UACB allocation. d. In principle, only one CBCB and UACB grant allocation shall be administered per project during its lifetime execution, unless otherwise approved by the office of the Chairman. The Areas shall be expected to facilitate the completion of CBCB and UACB projects. 46 e. Considering project urgency, justification and duration, special grants shall be administered to accelerate the completion of on-going church building projects. f. By the year 2020, all Areas shall be required to accelerate the completion of all on-going CBCB projects rolled out from 2014 to 2018. g. The existing CBCB designs shall be reviewed to make provision for a place of meeting for the Children’s Ministry. A 200-seat capacity CBCB design shall be developed and proposed for zonal centres. h. Irrespective of the source of project funding, the use of prototype designs (depending on certain classifications and indicators) shall be encouraged nationwide due to its enormous socio-economic benefit to the church. i. Before the commencement of any church building project, the building design must have a meeting place for the children ministry and must be disability friendly. j. All facilities of public nature must be disability friendly. k. In order to ensure efficient use of church resources, formal authorization from the office of the Chairman shall be required prior to redesigning, demolition and re-construction of building projects. l. All Areas will be required to engage the services of qualified technical experts (Project officers) to offer the needed technical support services for the construction, inspection and supervision of new projects as well as the maintenance of existing facilities. Periodic training programmes shall be offered to these project officers to build their capacities. m. The Areas would be obligated to coordinate and consolidate efforts meant to perfect all land documentation for landed assets nationwide. Where practically feasible, all documentation on the church’s landed properties should be perfected by the end of 2023. n. Periodic training will be organised by the national estate Committee to train local artisans in the church and educate them on emerging construction technologies and church policies on building. o. Efforts shall be made to assist the completion of some major PENSA institution projects. p. Standard/prototype building drawings will be adopted for the construction of buildings for the various PENSA branches based on congregational size and locations. q. All assemblies would be encouraged to complete statutory requirements for their church buildings and register their church buildings as a place of worship with the local authorities. r. Purchasing of strategic lands by areas, districts and local assemblies for future use shall be encouraged. 47 3.3.11 General Headquarters Administration and Finance i. Overview The General Headquarters administration and the finance function, represent a crucial part of the organisational support structure of The Church of Pentecost, given the Church’s centralised system of administration. This calls for a rather pragmatic approach to improve upon the administration and the finance functions; which involves discovering, dreaming, designing and delivering a robust administration and finance system that can withstand contemporary challenges of organisational structures. Further, it will not only identify what needs to be done but more specifically, a detailed design of how the transformation and equipping could be achieved. Specific objective: To improve the administration and the finance functions to a level that can withstand contemporary challenges of organisational structures. ii. Actions to be taken: Headquarters Administration a. We will be committed to ensuring all Headquarters staff and management exhibit Christian values in their work. b. Periodic tailor-made training programmes will be offered to staff to promote high level of professionalism in their work. c. We will review and update the administrative manual of the Headquarters to improve efficiency in operations. d. We shall endeavour to maintain optimum staff numbers for the headquarters operations. e. The Headquarters Administration will periodically pay working visits to subsectors of the church to inspect work being done by these institutions. f. We will strengthen the Audit, Monitoring and Evaluation capacity of the church at all levels including the Audit, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit to facilitate the continuous assessment of the achievement of set targets of the vision document. iii. Finance a. The church will discourage over ambitious projects that do not meet the value for money criteria. b. The church will be committed to a purposeful plan to budget expenditure purely within the income to be generated within a particular year. c. The church’s financial manual will be reviewed to help replicate controls in financial administration in the Areas, districts and locals. d. The church will be committed to ensuring that development funds (LDF and DDF) are released for their originally intended purposes at the local and 48 district levels. This is to curtail the practice of aggregating such funds by some districts and areas for infrastructural development. e. Efforts will be made to ensure that the designated percentage of the Areas’ Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to be released to the districts is reviewed from time to time to reflect the financial strengths of the Area. f. A percentage on the Areas’ designated IGF for the Districts will be set aside as scholarship funds to sponsor students to PUC. Apart from developing the human capital of the church, this initiative will also contribute to increasing enrolment of the University and as well help with its financial stability.

g. The headquarters will create a fund that will be allocated to evangelism as a way of mainstreaming the financing of evangelism. The Areas and districts will also be encouraged to make budgetary allocations for evangelism.

3.3.12 Tertiary Educational Support for Ministers’ Children

i. Rationale The Church has instituted various educational supports, such as scholarships for members who qualify. When it comes to employees of the church, the headquarters’ conditions of service provide for one-off educational support for children of staff who enter tertiary institutions every year. It is evident that this educational support to staff mitigates the financial pressure, as a result of the increasing cost of tertiary education on the parents, particularly when the children are entering tertiary institutions for the first time. It has however been noticed that this important educational intervention is not extended to children of ministers of the Church. This apparent gap, if filled could ease the yearly financial pressure on ministers who may have to contract loans from the church and banks to finance the entry-point of their children’s education. The proposal therefore seeks to reduce this financial pressure on ministers, and again reduce the demand for loans from the Church when schools re-open. The proposal, in terms of financing, could also be managed within the Church’s annual budget because of its ‘one-off’ nature. The purpose of this proposal is to supplement educational expenses of children of ministers of The Church of Pentecost who enter tertiary institutions for the first time. Definition of tertiary institution is a post-Senior High School Institution. For effective implementation, conditions as noted below may apply.

ii. Eligibility

a. A minister’s child means either biological or legally adopted child of the minister.

b. The child should not be more than 23 years and not married at the time of accessing the fund.

 c. There should be evidence that the child has gained admission to an accredited tertiary institution. d. It should be the first time the child is entering tertiary institution. It does not include children who have already entered tertiary institution, and for some reason discontinued, and wish to enter again.

e. If two or more children of a minister qualify to enter tertiary institution in a particular year, only one child would qualify for the educational support. f. It will be for ministers who may need it. iv. Mode of Application a. Applications shall be made to the General Secretary’s Office, through the Area Heads. b. Application should reach the General Secretary’s Office early enough before schools re-open. v. Maximum Amount and Mode of Payment a. The Finance Board will determine based on published fees for first year students in the public schools each year, the maximum amount to be paid for each child that qualifies for support under this facility. This will consider hostel and other charges. b. It must be noted that this is to supplement whatever expenses the minister may have to pay. It is not full payment for the child’s education. c. Payment shall be made to the ministers through the Area upon application. d. It will be a one-off payment.

3.3.13 The Executive Council

i. Overview

The Executive Council will continue to serve the church as mandated, wholeheartedly and with integrity in the fear of the Lord. Specific objective: To continue to render effective and efficient administrative oversight of the church. ii. Actions to be taken a. The Executive Council’s officially scheduled five (5) main meetings in a year will continue. b. An RCC Coordinator from the External Branches could be invited to attend Executive Council meetings from time to time.

3.3.14 General Council Meetings

i. Overview

The General and Extra-ordinary council meetings will continue to receive the needed attention and support. Specific objective: To continue to make the General Council more functional. ii. Actions to be taken a. Provision made for heads from external branches to attend General Council Meetings will be reconsidered. In order to reduce the cost of travel, attendance to Council meetings will be limited to the National Head and one other person. b. Reports from the areas and the nations will be properly scrutinized. c. A conducive atmosphere will continue to prevail for councillors to contribute freely on the floor.