University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF GHANA A STUDY OF THE RATIONALE FOR THE PROVISION OF EDUCATION BY THE CHARISMATIC CHURCHES IN GHANA: THE CASE STUDY OF THREE SELECTED CHURCHES BY JOSEPH KOJO FRAKUE-QUARSHIE (10551482) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MPHIL STUDY OF RELIGIONS DEGREE JULY, 2017 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and that any other sources of information and work by others, consulted as references for this work, have been duly acknowledged. Signature………………………………………… Date………………………. Joseph Kojo Frakue-Quarshie Signature……………………………………………. Date………………………… Professor Elizabeth Amoah (Supervisor) Signature ……………………………………………… Date…………………………… Dr. Cosmas Ebo Sarbah (Supervisor) i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my dear wife Linda Owusuaa, our son Nsroma and to the memory of my late parents Mr. John Napoleon Frakue- Quashie and Rebecca Akyeamaa Ayim. ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACNOWLEDGEMENTS I give all thanks and praise to God Almighty for His grace and mercy towards me. Through all the difficult and challenging times in the course of doing this research, He stood with me and gave me an unusual strength to finish this research. I acknowledge the support and encouragement of my wife Linda Owusuaa for being there for me and her understanding. My appreciation goes to my supervisors Prof. Elizabeth Amoah and Dr. Cosmas Ebo Sarbah for their unflinching support and understanding. They gave me audience, had patience with me and encouraged me in the course of my work. Their sacrifices and guidance to me in this work will not be forgotten. My sincere thanks also go to the Head of Department Dr. George Ossom-Batsa and all the faculty members for the knowledge imparted to us and the good and caring atmosphere they created for us for learning. All efforts were made to address challenges we faced during our studies. We are ever grateful I thank Rev. Clement Oboh of FGCI for his support. I appreciate Dr. Perry Tettey of ICGC for his time and support, and all who in one way or the other contributed to the completion of this work. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................ i DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... ii ACNOWLEDGEMENTS .........................................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 The Catholics .................................................................................................................... 2 1.1.2 The Dutch Reformed Church ............................................................................................ 5 1.1.3 The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) ...................................................... 7 1.1.4 The Moravians .................................................................................................................. 9 1.1.5 The Basel Mission........................................................................................................... 11 1.1.6 The Wesleyan Mission .................................................................................................... 14 1.2 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................... 18 1.3 Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 19 1.4 Research Question ............................................................................................................. 19 1.5 Significance of Study ......................................................................................................... 20 1.6 Scope of Study ................................................................................................................... 20 1.7 Review of Related Literature ............................................................................................. 21 1.7.1 Indigenous Education...................................................................................................... 21 1.7.2 Formal Education ............................................................................................................ 22 1.7.3 The Charismatic Churches .............................................................................................. 26 1.7.4 Worldviews and Educational Practice ............................................................................ 28 1.7.5 Christian Worldview ....................................................................................................... 31 1.8 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................................... 34 iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.9 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 35 1.10 Definitions........................................................................................................................ 36 1.11 Structure ........................................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................... 40 THE EMERGENCE OF THE CHARISMATIC CHURCHES IN GHANA. ......................... 40 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 40 2.2 African Initiated Churches (AIC‟s) ................................................................................... 42 2.3 Prophet William Wade Harris ............................................................................................ 43 2.4 The Classical Pentecostal Churches................................................................................... 46 2.5 The CAC and Education .................................................................................................... 48 2.6 The Church of Pentecost (COP) ........................................................................................ 49 2.7 The Charismatic Renewal in the TWMC Churches. ......................................................... 50 2.8 Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches ............................................................................. 51 2.9 Theology of Ghanaian Charismatic Christianity ............................................................... 53 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................... 57 3.1 THE FULL GOSPEL CHURCH INTERNATIONAL...................................................... 57 3.1.2 Brief History of FGCI ..................................................................................................... 57 3.1.3 The Philosophy of FGCI ................................................................................................. 59 3.1.4 Vision Statement ............................................................................................................. 63 3.1.5 Mission Statement ........................................................................................................... 63 3.1.6 Message and Teachings .................................................................................................. 63 3.2 THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ................................ 66 3.2.1 Brief History of ICGC .................................................................................................... 66 3.2.2 Philosophy of ICGC ........................................................................................................ 67 3.2.3 Vision Statement (Acts 2:42) .......................................................................................... 68 3.2.4 Mission Statement (Jeremiah 31:17) .............................................................................. 68 3.2.5 Message and Teachings .................................................................................................. 69 v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.3 THE ACTION CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL (ACI) ....................................................... 76 3.3.1 Brief History of ACI ....................................................................................................... 76 3.3.2 Philosophy of ACI .......................................................................................................... 76 3.3.3 Vision Statement ............................................................................................................. 78 3.3.4 Mission Statement ........................................................................................................... 78 3.3.5 Message and Teachings .................................................................................................. 78 CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................................. 82 THE RATIONALE FOR THE PROVISION OF EDUCATION BY THE THREE SELECTED CHARISMATIC CHURCHES. .......................................................................... 82 4.1 Introduction: ....................................................................................................................... 82 4.2 THEFULL GOSPEL CHURCH INTERNATIONAL (FGCI) .......................................... 82 4.2.1 Samuel Noi Mensah – Leader of FGCI .......................................................................... 82 4.2.2 Rationale for the Establishment of the Full Gospel Academy ........................................ 83 A. Knowledge and Godliness ............................................................................................ 85 B. Worship Services for Pupils .......................................................................................... 88 C. Curriculum .................................................................................................................... 89 D. Education for a „Token‟ ................................................................................................ 90 4.3 THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ................................ 93 4.3.1 Mensa Otabil – Leader and founder of ICGC ................................................................. 93 4.3.2 Scholarship Scheme (Central Aid) .................................................................................. 94 4.3.3 Rationale for the Establishment of the La ICGC Primary School .................................. 95 A. Worship Service for Pupils ........................................................................................... 96 B. Curriculum .................................................................................................................... 97 C. Integration of Faith and Learning ................................................................................. 98 4.3.4 Factors Responsible for the Upsurge of Private Higher Educational Institutions in Ghana ..................................................................................................................................... 100 4.3.5 Rationale for the Establishment of the Central University ........................................... 101 A. Curriculum and Programs ........................................................................................... 104 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh B. A Relaxed Fee Paying Regime ................................................................................... 106 4.4 THE ACTION CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL ................................................................ 108 4.4.1 Nicholas Duncan Williams – Leader and Founder of ACI ........................................... 108 4.4.2 The Rationale for the Establishment of the Dominion University College .................. 110 A. Curriculum and Programs ........................................................................................... 112 4.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 114 CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................. 121 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................ 121 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 121 5.2 Summary of Findings ....................................................................................................... 122 5.3 Findings............................................................................................................................ 124 5.4 Satisfying Research Objectives........................................................................................ 126 5.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 127 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 130 vii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF ABBREVIATION ACI Action Chapel International AFTC African Faith Tabernacle Church AG Assemblies of God AIC African Initiated Church ARS Apostolic Revelation Society CAC Christ Apostolic Church COP Church of Pentecost CU Central University ESOCSS Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Society FGBMF Full Gospel Business Men Fellowship FGCI Full Gospel Church International FGEM Full Gospel Evangelistic Ministry GES Ghana Education Service GPCC Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches ICGC International Central Gospel Church JHS Junior High School MDCC Musama Disco Christo Chucrh PCG Presbyterian Chucrh of Ghana PGEA Prayer Group and Evangelistic Association SHS Senior High School SPG Society For the Propagation of the Gospel SU Scripture Union TWMC Traditional Western Mission Churches UK United Kingdom viii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT The focus of this thesis has been to investigate the rationale for the provision of education by three selected Charismatic churches in Ghana – the Full Gospel Church International (FGCI), the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) and the Action Chapel International (ACI). It discussed and examined the factors responsible for the generation of interest by the selected charismatic churches in the provision of education in Ghana. Particularly, the charismatic churches have been seen to be “experiential” by nature and so have been preoccupied with addressing the spiritual needs of its members while little interest have been demonstrated by them in the social economic needs of their members at their emergence on the Christian landscape of Ghana. However, three decades ago, the Charismatic churches began to show interest in the provision of education in Ghana. The historical approach and phenomenological method of data gathering were employed. Interviews, participant observation, books and other print materials were consulted. Internet resources were also used. Heads of selected churches, administrators of the schools established by these churches were interviewed; school children as well as parents were also interviewed. The findings of this research identified a number of reasons that informed the provision of education by these charismatic churches. It was found out that these charismatic churches‟ interest in the provision of education is evangelization, responding to educational needs of Ghana, prestige and profit. Among some recommendations made is the fact that, in as much as the charismatic churches are not to neglect the intellectual and academic development of their pupils and students, more attention and impetus should be brought to bear on the Christian up bringing aspect of their provision of education. ix University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Indigenous system of education existed and functioned in Ghana before the advent of formal education. In the Ghanaian indigenous system of education, the elderly impart knowledge and 1 skills to the youth to become relevant and useful members of the community. One obvious characteristic of Ghanaian indigenous education is the moral and ethical content. Thus, part of the rationale for the indigenous African system of education is to instill a sense of morality and the indoctrination of the youth about their religious beliefs and practices. In addition, the youth were trained to acquire self-employable skills that equip them to be self-supporting and self-reliant. Basically, the indigenous pedagogical approach used is observation and 2 participation. The indigenous education system primarily focused on skills training and moral upbringing in a non-formal form in an African traditional society. The arrival of western Christian missionaries witnessed the introduction of a different form of education based on western civilization ideas. In the western sense, a school denotes the system of formal education beginning from nursery to the university where education is impacted directly and systematically to the children and the amount of education received by the child measured by examining the child and awarding grades, diplomas and degrees. The idea of the involvement of churches in the provision of education therefore is not a new phenomenon. The Traditional Western Mission Churches (TWMC‟s) operations in the Gold th th Coast especially during the 18 and 19 centuries introduced Western form of education. The Western missionaries came to the Gold Coast or Ghana from different countries of Europe 1 K.A Busia, Purposeful Education for Africa (The Hague: Mouton &CO, 1964), 15-16. 2 Busia, Purposeful Education for Africa, 13; and Moses Antwi, Education, Society and Development in Ghana (Accra: Unimax Publishers Limited, 1992), 25. 1 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh th th and at different times by the period between the 15 and 19 centuries. However, it is quite clear that they all had a common mission, which was, to spread Christianity in West Africa. In their quest to make converts to Christianity, formal education played a major role. It served as a conduit to achieving their evangelization goal. The main motivating factor 3 underlining the provision of education by the early missionaries was to „civilize‟ the African with the Christian gospel, to bring them light so to speak and later on to evangelize and convert the Africans from Indigenous African Religion to Christianity. According to S.K Odamtten, the top priority of the missionaries was to enable the converts to read the Bible, 4 and train preachers who would be their helpers. Thus, it was not only to convert the natives but to further equip them through formal education to facilitate the reading and understanding of the Bible for effective evangelization, the growth of their churches and the spread of Christianity in the Gold Coast. The Catholic missionaries were the first to arrive in the Gold Coast. 1.1.1 The Catholics Portugal, being predominantly a Catholic nation, felt it had the special divine mandate from God and by the support of Vatican to spread the Catholic faith across the world and keep the major obstacle to the Christian faith, Islam, at bay from spreading and gaining roots around 5 the world. The pursuit and fulfillment of this mandate was spearheaded by Prince Henry, born on 1394, the son of the Portuguese king John I, later known as Prince Henry the 6 Navigator. Prince Henry‟s passion to see this dream fulfilled drove him to organize ten such 3 Peter B. Clarke, West Africa and Christianity (London: Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd, 1986), 58. 4 S.K. Odamtten, The Missionary Factor in Ghana’s Development up to the 1880’s (Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 1978), 137. 5 David N.A Kpobi, „African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa‟ in African Christianity: An African Story, Perspectives on Christianity Series, Ogbu U Kalu (ed) (Pretoria: Department of History, University of Pretoria, 2005), 142-170. 6 Kpobi, „African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa‟, 142-170. 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 expeditions between 1421 and 1445. It is said with regards to Henry the Navigator that it “was his great desire to create the Holy Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to lead in this Faith 8 all souls desirous of being saved.” The Portuguese were, therefore, the first to arrive on the 9 shores of the Gold Coast (Ghana) at Elmina in 1471. “It was the policy of the Portuguese to place priests on board all their ships, whose primary task was to keep spiritual oversight over 10 the sailor as well as to make contact with the local Africans to preach the gospel to them.” The first catholic mass was celebrated on the second day after landing at Elmina. An altar was erected for the celebration at the foot of a big tree in the Central Region on Wednesday th 19 January 1482, under the leadership of Don Diogo de Azambuja. This celebration was done amidst prayers to God for the success of their mission to convert the natives to 11 Christianity. That ceremony was indicative of their priority, perhaps among other motives like trade and their exploration of the West Coast of Africa. Portuguese traders would continue pursuing their agenda, stretching to the West Coast of Africa, in accompaniment with chaplains to spread Christianity. Although the initial missionary efforts of the Catholics did not produce much result, they could perhaps be credited as the first mission to have made efforts to start a school in the 12 Elmina castle years later in 1529. Their building of the Elmina castle may have been to facilitate trade but starting a school in that castle was predicated on specific instructions by the Portuguese king at the time, King John III to the Portuguese governor at Elmina for the specific purpose to convert the natives to the Catholic Faith by using the castle school “to 7 Kpobi, „African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa‟, 142-170. 8 Odamtten, The Missionary Factor in Ghana’s Development up to the 1880’s, 12. 9 Odamtten, The Missionary Factor in Ghana’s Development up to the 1880’s, 12; and H.W. Debrunner, A History of Christianity in Ghana (Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 1967), 16. 10 Kpobi, „African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa‟, 152. 11 James Kwaku Gyekye Walton, Early Ghana Methodism (Artegraphics, 2015), 2. 12 Antwi, Education, Society and Development in Ghana, 29. 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 provide reading, writing and religious teaching for African children” . Trade, though was important to the Portuguese merchants, however, Christianization was a higher priority. In fact, at a point in the course of their mission when it was observed that focus was being lost, King John III of Portugal in 1529 reminded the missionaries to do the needful in the following strong words: I command the captain in his service for God to remember in a very special way, using any honest ways to motivate the black people from the village and any other people to turn to the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ to be saved and not forgetting the ones who will follow them; about the black people who live in the village, they must learn to read and to write; to follow the church‟s meetings, praying and singing and to learn how to exercise the 14 ministry of the church. This suggest that the evangelization of the natives using formal education as a tool was the major priority and was considered in the scheme of things of the Catholics, to deserve all the attention it required. Reading and writing was fundamental and served as a catalyst to enhance the process of evangelization. Since making converts through other means were not yielding the desired results, the establishment of a school as means of evangelization was perhaps the single most concrete approach to evangelization for the Catholic missionaries. Once the African could read and write, it was easier to pass on to them Christian teachings and training. Again, for converts to “learn how to exercise the ministry of the church” required a more rigid and stringent system like the schools that could produce trained youth into the ministry of the church by compulsion. The Catholic mission started work again in 1881 in Elmina, started a school in Elmina, started a girls‟ school and opened more schools at Agona, Komenda Shama, Cape Coast and 13 C. K. Graham, The History of Education in Ghana: From the Earliest times to the Declaration of Independence (Abington: Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1971), 1. 14 Antonio Duate Brasio, Monumanta missionaria Africana. Africa occidental (Lisbon: Agencia Geral do Ultramas, 1952),502,503. Cited in Early Ghana Methodism by James Kwaku Gyekye Walton. 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 Keta. Using schools as a means of converting the native children to Christianity indicates how much premium the Catholics placed on the promotion and establishment of Christianity among the natives using formal education. The Catholics by 1890 had enrolled hundreds of pupils in their schools than the Wesleyan mission because their schools unlike the Wesleyan 16 schools did not charge school fees. Establishment of the Castle schools by the Catholics was perhaps a milestone in the mission efforts in the Gold Coast at the time that subsequent missions would adopt to evangelize the natives. It turned out to be the precursor for western education in Ghana. The Dutch Reformed Church had followed the Catholic Church to pursue similar agenda. By the time the Catholic Church encountered problems at the initial stages of their missionary activities, the Dutch were coming in. 1.1.2 The Dutch Reformed Church 17 The Dutch arrived in 1637. They had seized the Elmina castle from the Portuguese, resuscitated the castle school with similar aims and instructions as that of their predecessors. The Dutch Charter of 1621 which was renewed in 1640 stipulated the creation of “Christian schools” for the propagation of the Christian gospel and the advancing of the teachings of the 18 Dutch Reformed Church among the natives wherever they traded. Talking about castle schools in the Gold Coast with respect to the Dutch, a young man by name Jacobus Elisa Johannes Capitein is worth mentioning. Having been captured as a slave at eight and sold to a ship captain Arnold Steenhart, he was kept in Shama by his master 19 instead of being added to his fellow slaves on board the slave ship to Europe or America . His master Arnold Steehart, upon leaving the Gold Coast, left him with his friend Van Goch, 15 Graham, The History of Education in Ghana, 102. 16 Debrunner, A History of Christianity in Ghana, 220. 17 Ibid, 1. 18 Ibid. 19 Kpobi, „African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa‟, 142-170. 5 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 a Dutch. Van Goch, the adopted father of Capitein sent Capitein to school in Holland. Upon completion of his education he was ordained by the Dutch Reformed Church as its 21 ambassador to the Gold Coast, Elmina, assigned as a school master and a chaplain. His coming back to the Gold Coast was possibly part of a grand plan of the evangelistic effort to derive the advantage and impact that a native preacher of the gospel to his fellow natives could yield. His first attempt at evangelization was to start a school. He established a school for mulattoes and African children which became very successful to the extent that the Asantehene Nana Opoku Ware I sent fourteen of his subjects, twelve boys and two girls to Capitein‟s school to 22 be trained. He went around Elmina convincing the parents and elders of the community to allow their kids to attend the school with the plan to send the very brilliant ones to Holland 23 for further training. Capitein perhaps understood the need to give other brilliant children the same opportunity he was offered to study abroad not only for the education alone but perhaps for the exposure to a better ambience of Christian teachings, upbringing and interactions with other Christians for a deeper Christian experience. He might have envisaged the value of the contribution that they would bring to the evangelization effort upon their return. He was prepared to give his whole life to such a cause and to raise others to follow suit. This I believe was his motivation to have produced to his credit “three important documents: the Lord‟s Prayer; the Ten Commandments and the 24 25 Twelve Articles of Faith” from Dutch into the Fante language. C.K Graham records that before his death in 1747, Capitein succeeded in creating a strong foundation for the school in Elmina and had left behind a hard core of about 400 boys and girls trained in the ways of 20 Kpobi, „African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa‟, 158. 21 Ibid. 22 Ibid. 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid. 25 Odamtten, The Missionary Factor in Ghana’s Development up to the 1880’s, 14. 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Christianity who could affect their community positively with Christian values he had taught 26 them. What needs to be noted from this account is the fact that evangelization through the formal school systems at the time proved to yield a far reaching impact at least from Jacobus Capitein‟s experience. 1.1.3 The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, which later became the Anglican Church, from England arrived on the Gold Coast at Cape Coast in 1752 in the person of the 27 missionary Rev. Thomas Thompson. He hired a room at his own expense and started a school intended for the mulattoes, the children of some important chiefs and children of some 28 wealthy merchants. The coming on board of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel was not to make any dramatic change in the way their predecessors have done. The Rev. Thomas Thompson‟s deep insight into missions was going to rather engage the community by attempting “to bring the Christian teaching from the Castle to the Africans and make the 29 schools a nursery of the church.” Making the school a nursery for the church then implies that Rev. Thompson radically made the schools the base for assimilation of the youth into the church. His intention to deepen the evangelization effort using the school concept was very clear. “He set precedence by preaching outside the castle in the home of Birempon Cudjo, Philip 30 Quaque‟s father.” First of all, bringing the school outside the confines of the castle to his own hired house in the community had provided the opportunity to reach a wider audience, creating access to the school for the less privileged in the society thereby enhanced the chance for more conversions into the church. Secondly, Preaching in the house of Birempon 26 Graham, The History of Education in Ghana, 7. 27 Ibid., 13. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid., 14. 30 F.L Bartels, Roots of Ghana Methodism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965), 4. 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Cudjo, the chief of the community, perhaps indicates the sympathetic inclination of the chief to Christianity and by the chief‟s influence some in his community might have been attracted to Christianity. Rev. Thomas Thompson enrolled the chief‟s son Philip Quaque into the castle school upon the father‟s approval. Philip Quaque with two other boys, Thomas Caboro and William Cudjo, were later sent to England for further training through the instrumentality of 31 Rev. Thomas Thompson by the sponsorship of the S.P.G. It is conceivable that Rev. Thomas Thompson have had high hopes that these boys on their return join him in the mission work probably to start their own schools to make more converts. Only Philip Quaque was to survive and return to the Gold Coast in 1766 after his education in England to re-start the work that Rev. Thomas Thompson had pioneered; the other two 32 died. On Philip Quaque‟s return, with his British wife, they stayed in the castle and he immediately revived the castle school, his former school, which seem to have collapsed at the 33 time. This effort began to see some significant success that attracted the attention of the Royal African Company, the sponsors of the castle school, to request that Philip Quaque recruit teachers for schools along the coast where they were operating, which he did, and 34 began overseeing schools in Winneba, Komenda, Discove, Sekondi and Tamtumquerry. His 35 short four months visit to Accra was start another school. Rev. Thomas Thompson‟s vision to bring the schools out of the confines of the castles to allow access to schooling for the majority of the ordinary children of the community and thereby converting them to Christianity, a dream by which Philip Quaque was possibly motivated to take further, was quite significant. Even though he was unable to chalk the degree of success he had been so optimistic about. Kpobi had indicated that “by the time of 31 Graham, The History of Education in Ghana, 14. 32 Bartels, Roots of Ghana Methodism, 4. 33 Kpobi, „African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa‟, 161. 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid. 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 36 his death in 1816, he himself (Quaque) felt that he had achieved little.” Perhaps Rev. Thomas Thompson and Quaque‟s effort was to set the stage for future missionary operations. Quaque‟s impact may have been underestimated by most scholars however, it is quite instructive to note what Odamtten wrote with respect to Quaque‟s work in connection with the schools. Two of Quaque‟s school products “John Martin and Joseph Smith were largely 37 responsible for inviting the Wesleyan Missionary society into the country.” He states further that “when the missionaries arrived, it was the product of Joseph Smith‟s school who 38 became their interpreters.” Thus, a very instructive and significant impact by Quaque‟s involvement in the schools as far as mission was concerned. It reveals magnitude of the role the schools played in the growth of the established churches during the initial stages of their existence and Christianity in Ghana as a whole. The prominent role that the provision of education played as a mission policy in the Gold Coast by the TWMC‟s could perhaps have been a pattern that was laid down knowingly or unknowingly which many centuries later could factor in the mission schemes of churches yet unborn. 1.1.4 The Moravians The Moravians Church also known as the United Brethren or the Herrnhutters, emerged from 39 a pious Lutheran nobleman by name Count Nicholas Ludwig Von Zinzendorf. One cardinal characteristic of the Moravian Church was that it insisted on literate membership such that 40 schools were very important next to their church. Clearly, with such a policy, the Moravians missions placed formal education in the center stage of their mission scheme. They run a castle school for mullatto children by the Rev. Elias Svane, a chaplain at the Christiansborg 36 Kpobi, „African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa‟, 162. 37 Odamtten, The Missionary Factor in Ghana’s Development up to the 1880’s, 28 and H.O McWilliams & Michael.A. K-Poh, The Development of Education in Ghana (London: Longman,1975), 20. 38 Odamtten, The Missionary Factor in Ghana’s Development up to the 1880’s, 28. 39 K.Nkansah Kyeremanteng, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG): History and Impact (Revised Edition) (Accra: Optimum Design and Publishing Services, 2015), 32-34. 40 Kyeremanteng, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 32-34. 9 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh castle in Osu, Accra. Christian Jacob Prottten was one of Rev. Svane‟s pupils. Protten was born in 1715 by a Danish business man based in the Christianborg castle and a native woman 41 from Osu. Having been identified by Rev. Svane as a promising boy with great prospect, Svane decided 42 to facilitate his further studies abroad by taking him along to Copenhagen. Svane might have reasoned to follow the same strategy of “schools for evangelism” by the other churches, to advance his organization‟s mission effort. The Danish king, Frederik IV, who was also a patron of the missionary movement of the Danes, eager to see Africa evangelized, took 43 special interest in Protten and opted to pay all his educational expenses. The king must have been very hopeful that Protten would fit into in plans of evangelization in Ghana. Upon Protten‟s return from Europe in 1737, he embarked on starting a school which did not 44 yield any good results and although other Moravian missionary effort followed, however, 45 there was no significant success achieved in that regard. The point must be made that despite the fact that expected results were disappointing in certain cases of the missionary activities by the missionaries for example the Moravian case, the will and focus to continue using the schools in advancing mission persisted. It became clear that the strategy for the evangelization in the Gold Coast by preceding missionaries charted a pattern for missions in Ghana to be followed by other missionaries like the Basel and Wesleyan missions who brought impetus to missions in the Gold Coast by broadening the frontiers of the use of schools in evangelization of the Gold Coast. 41 Kpobi, African Chaplains in Seventeenth Century West Africa in African Christianity, 163. 42 Ibid. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid., 164. 45 Kyeremanteng, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 34. 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.1.5 The Basel Mission The circumstances surrounding the founding of the Basel Mission is quite interesting. It is recorded that during the Napoleon wars in Europe, Switzerland, the home of the Basel Mission (Basel Missionary Evangelical Society, BMES), was being attacked by the Napoleon forces but somehow, beyond human efforts and reason, Switzerland was able to marshal resources to eventually defeat Napoleon in 1813, a feat which the Swiss believed could only 46 had been possible by the divine intervention of the Christian God. A 3000 feet high monument with the inscription “Gott mit uns” (God with us) was erected to commemorate 47 this event. Again, Basel recounted what they believe was a divine intervention of God in the course of the war in which God caused a „storm‟ to neutralize fifty bombs thrown by the 48 Napoleon forces under the command of general Barbanerge. For an act of appreciation to the Christian God the monument was erected but something more was to follow to express their appreciation to God which in a few years later would culminate into an evangelistic mission around the world and in the Gold Coast (Ghana) in particular. In 1815, the Basel Missionary Evangelistic Society (BMES) came out with an agenda to spread Christianity to heathen lands, an agenda that the citizens of Basel fully supported as a 49 gesture of their deep appreciation to the Christian God. It must be noted that for the Basel mission, which later became the Presbyterian Church, the drive and energy to spread Christianity across what they considered heathen lands including Ghana, was fueled by the understanding of what the Christian God had done for their country and that meant that the Basel Mission‟s focus and determination for mission work in Ghana was not going to be allowed to wane. Anything short of establishing Christianity in heathen lands would have connoted an act of ingratitude to the Christian God who had helped their nation, something 46 Kyeremanteng, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 36. 47 Ibid. 48 Ibid. 49 Ibid. 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh they were never prepared to allow to happen. This thought possibly might have undergirded and fueled their mission agenda in the Gold Coast. The Danish government had the idea to spread Christianity in areas of their trading and political jurisdiction in the Gold Coast and so had requested its governor at Christiansburg, Johan Christian von Richelieu in 1822, to negotiate with the Basel Mission for missionaries to be brought to the Gold Coast for mission work. The request was gladly accepted by the th Basel Mission and the first batch of missionaries arrived in the Gold Coast on 18 December, 50 1828. It is very conceivable that the Basel Mission may have considered the invitation for missions in Ghana as God sent and so were prepared to give it their all to ensure success. Four missionaries were the first arrivals but all died within a year except one by name Henke. Their death necessitated the next batch of three to follow in March 1832. Two died after few 51 weeks but Andreas Riis survived. It will be recalled that Rev. Thomas Thompson did make attempts to move the center of missionary activities from the schools within the confines of the castles into the immediate surroundings of the larger community. However, the Basel mission “was the first Christian missionary body to have started a school in the interior and 52 away from the coastal areas” Whatever could have been the factors that caused the movement into the interior by the Basel Mission, it is also most probable that the Basel Mission perhaps saw the need to follow the precedence set by previous missions of the use of schools as the major tool for evangelization and replicate same in the hinter lands. Odamtten had indicated that the Basel missionaries were charged by their superiors to open 53 schools. Graham asserts that “like the Wesleyans, the Basel mission also used their schools 50 Kyeremanteng, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 36. 51 Ibid. 52 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement: A Hundred and Fifty Years of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (1828-1878), (Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 2011), 289. 53 Odamtten, The Missionary Factor in Ghana’s Development up to the 1880’s, 32. 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 54 not only to provide secular instruction but also as training ground in Christianity, ” confirming the fact that the plan to follow the blue print set by predecessors with respect to the schools system was not going to change but perhaps rather taken to new levels. The Basel mission was not just involved in using their schools as training grounds for the conversion of the youth into their church, but also expanded the frontiers of Christian evangelization by the introduction of vernacular for easy engagement with the school children and other natives, for more effective evangelization and taking evangelization through the school system to a higher level. Consequently, between 1843 and 1848 two schools were established in Akropong and Osu. An English school was started in Osu in November 27, 1843 by one George Thompson but 55 the English language was later replaced by Ga as the medium of instruction. And in Akropong, in 1848, Twi and English schools established were merged together to become 56 one Twi school with Twi as the medium of instruction. This intervention was growth focused growth to win more converts into the church. The Basel mission established more schools. By 1880, they had established 45 schools with total enrolment of 1,200. By 1889 they had 92 schools with enrolment of 2,500 pupils and by the close of the century their 57 schools had increased to 154 with nearly 5000 pupils. This suggests how effective the Basel mission school evangelization system was by the recruitment of more converts for the growth of their church from the schools. The Basel Mission introduced the Salem system. Christian converts were isolated from their families and secluded so they did not get contaminated or influenced negatively by their 54 Graham, The History of Education in Ghana: From the Earliest times to the Declaration of Independence, 101. 55 Kwamena-Poh, Vision and Achievement, 292. 56 Ibid. 57 Graham, The History of Education in Ghana,100. 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 58 unconverted family members. The negative impact of the Salem system was the fact that 59 families were disunited, creating a major social challenge. One will have though that it would have made more evangelistic sense to have rather allowed the converts to live with their families to have afforded them the opportunity to exert Christian influence on their family members and the community. The Salem system may have served the purpose for which it was designed but within the context of evangelization the negative impacts far outweighed the positives. 1.1.6 The Wesleyan Mission Joseph Dunwell was the first Wesleyan missionary to the Gold Coast. He arrived at Cape 60 Coast in January 1835 but six months after arrival he died. He was followed by George Wrigley and Peter Harrop on September 1836 and January 1837 and their wives respectively 61 who also died a year after their arrival. Mrs. Wrigley started a school which later became 62 the present day Wesley Girls High School. The continuous death of European missionaries was a major challenge to the mission work and the Wesleyan mission would find a way to address this major hindrance by sending Thomas Birch Freeman thinking that a person of African descent would suit the climate and hence advance the mission work. Thomas Birch Freeman, a mullatto, came to join in the work and did survive after a short few 63 weeks of fever attacks. His wife, an European, died. This personal experience is what perhaps might have inspired Freeman to consider the option of using African agency to drive the mission work. Bartels made the observation that the Africans played a major role in the 58 Cephas Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism: A Study of the Development of Charismatic Renewal in the Mianline Churches in Ghana (Zoetermeer, Boekencentrum, 2006), 54. 59 H.W. Debrunner, History of Christianity in Ghana, 145-148. 60 Kofi Agbeti, West African Church History: Christian Missions and Church Foundations: 1482-1919 (Leiden: E.J Brill, 1986), 55. 61 James Kwaku G. Walton, Early Ghana Methodism (Accra: Ategraphics, 2016), 56. 62 Kwaku G. Walton, Early Ghana Methodism, 57. 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 64 growth of the Methodist church. The Wesleyan also were the first to establish a high school 65 in Ghana, Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast in 1876. With the schools as nurseries for their churches, creating the high possibility of a situation for majority of the pupils to be naturally integrated into the churches, suggest that most of the Africans that became involved in the mission work may have come from the schools. Graham states that from the beginning of their mission in 1835 to about forty-five years later, the Wesleyan or Methodist church had 66 established 45 schools with a total enrolment of over 3000 pupils. Most of these pupils undoubtedly may have been incorporated into the Methodist church. It is quite clear that the missionaries created a system where their churches and the schools became interdependent in the evangelization process. The schools trained fresh and young Africans into members of their churches. This way, the churches almost always were constantly being populated with new members. Most probably, the more conservative and stringent education system run by the mission schools almost made it impossible for pupils to pass out without ending up being converts. “The term „Christian‟ became synonymous with 67 civilization and development.” It almost perhaps became fashionable for the indigenes to want to look like the Whiteman or rather even wished to become like the Whiteman. A certain image of prestige was perhaps associated with one‟s connection to the Whiteman and by extension Christianity. The influx of the Africans into the church as a result of the missionary activities may have necessitated the need to equip and train a good number of them to assume various responsibilities in the churches including involvement in missions. Indigenes played key role in the evangelization process, indigenes reached out to indigenes, facilitating the growth of 64 Bartels, The Roots of Ghana Methodism, 39. 65 Noel Smith, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 1835-1960 (Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 1966), 175. 66 Graham, The History of Education in Ghana, 104. 67 Larbi, Pentecostalism: The Eddies of Ghanaian Christianity, 27. 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the church perhaps exponentially. It is to be noted that the operations and function of the missionaries was invigorated by the tenets of the Christian worldview. However, the growth of the churches accompanied with the challenge of meeting the needs of their congregation. The churches had challenges meeting the felt needs of their congregation resulting in the emergence of alternative Christian experience which brought about the emergence of the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches in Ghana. In 1887, the education ordinance was initiated by the colonial government which made provision for church or mission schools to be assisted with government funds under certain conditions. The school must have a minimum of 20 pupils, staff must be certificated teachers, and teaching covered English (Reading and Writing), Arithmetic and needle work (in the case 68 of girls). The mission schools until government intervention operated religious education geared towards Christian principles from the Bible. Those Christian or mission schools even with government assistance still maintained their core values. Governor Sir Gordon Guggisberg in 1925 produced 16 principles of education which endorsed the teaching of Religious Education by the mission schools. It also emphasized cooperation between the mission schools and government to the extent that mission schools got subsidy from government while government also had ultimate control over education 69 throughout the country. In this respect it can be suggested that government ensured that its assistance to mission schools did not warrant undue interference in their affairs. It could be imagined that government assistance to mission schools in the form of recruiting teachers and other staff and paying salaries could have impacted the mission schools in terms 68 Moses K. Antwi, Education, Society and Development in Ghana (Accra: Unimax Publishers Limited, 1992), 32. 69 Michael Albert Kwamena – Poh and H.O.A McWilliam, The Development of Education in Ghana, New Edition, 1975, 57. 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of gradual movement away from their promotion of Christian teachings in their schools to a rather neutral situation. However, the mission schools kept to their core vision of maintaining the standard of Christian education in their schools. Examples of some second cycle assisted mission schools that were considered among some of the good schools in Ghana at the time and currently are Wesley Girls School and Mfantsipim College established in 1836 and 1876 respectively by the Methodist church; Adisadel College established in 1910 by the Anglican Church; St Augustines College and Holy Child established in 1935and 1945 respectively by the Roman Catholic Church, and Presbyterian Boys School established in 1938 by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. However, the Christian landscape in Ghana has undergone different phases of development from the Traditional Western Mission Churches to the current state. For example, the African Initiated Churches (AIC‟s) developed from the early spiritual churches like the Twelve Apostles Church, Musama Disco Christo Church (MDCC), The Saviour Church (Memenda Gyidifo), The Apostles Revelation Society (ARS), Africa Faith Tabernacle Congregation (AFTC), The Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Society (ESOCSS), and The 70 Church of the Lord (Aladura Church) to the Classical Pentecostals like the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), The Apostolic Church, Church of Pentecost (COP) and Assemblies of God Church. And then the Charismatic Churches and the Prophetic movement were the next phase of the development of Christianity in Ghana. Some of the charismatic churches have engaged in the provision of education for the past three decades even though they were not engaged in the provision of education at the initial stages of their existence. The establishment of schools by some charismatic churches began after some significant number of years of their existence. For example, the Full Gospel Church International was started in 1978 but its first school was established in 1994, Action Chapel International started in 1979 and its first 70 G .M Halibuton, The Prophet Harris: A Study of an African Prophet and his Mass Movement in the Ivory Coast and Gold Coast, 1913-1915, 3. 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh established school started in 2012, International Central Gospel Church was started in 1984 but established its college in 1993. There could obviously be reasons for the participation of the charismatic churches in the provision of education in Ghana. The provision of education by the existing institutions prior to the emergence of Chariamatic Christianity like the Ghanaian indigenous education and the western missionary education systems had clear cut goals as has been discussed. In the course of the past three decades in which some of the Charismatic Churches have been involved in the provision of education in Ghana, much research has not been done with regards to the specific case of discovering the rationale for the involvement of charismatic churches in the provision of education in Ghana. This research explored this phenomenon. The study focused on schools established by three leading charismatic churches in Ghana. Central University, one of the schools founded by the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), is the first university established by a charismatic church in Ghana. It is also the first accredited as a fully-fledged university to have been established by a Charismatic Church in Ghana. One of the pre-tertiary schools established by ICGC was also studied. The Full Gospel Academy, is a primary and Junior High school established by the Full Gospel Church 71 International, the first charismatic church in Ghana. The Dominion University College is established by the Action Chapel International. These schools established by the respective churches were studied. 1.2 Statement of the Problem I have made an observation that one of the major factors that contributed to the spread of th th Christianity and the establishment of the TWMC‟s in Ghana in the 18 to 20 centuries missionary activities in the Gold Coast is the establishment of schools. The church in Ghana 71 Edmund Smith Asante The Pentecostal Voice 1, no. 2 (2000) Published by the Ghana Pentecostal Council, 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh has gone through phases after the establishment of the Traditional Western Missionary Churches like the Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican just to mention a few. The current phase is the Charismatic and Prophetic movement phenomenon. They did not quite demonstrate much interested in the provision of education at the initial stages of their existence. However, in the past three decades these Charismatic Churches became interested in the establishment of schools in Ghana. Some have questioned the motivation or rationale for the involvement of the charismatic churches in the provision of education in Ghana. This research sought to find out the rationale or motive behind the provision of education by the Charismatic Churches in Ghana. From my observation, it appears that a reasonably large section of the public have questions with regards to the motivation behind the provision of education by some charismatic churches in Ghana. This research attempts to address that problem. 1.3 Objectives 1. Examine the philosophy, vision and mission statements of the selected Charismatic Churches in Ghana. 2. Analyze the curriculum and programs being run by the schools established by the selected Charismatic Churches. 3. Find out the rationale for the provision of education by the selected Charismatic churches. 1.4 Research Question What is the Rationale for the provision of education by the Charismatic Churches in Ghana? 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.5 Significance of Study Issues of national development are of key concern to all well-meaning people anywhere in the world including Ghana. Education, a key among some of the many social issues that contribute to national development, has generated a huge debate among scholars on a wide range of issues. This research work provides the opportunity to widen the frontiers of knowledge and to enrich the debate with regards to education in Ghana. The findings of this work could offer a platform for more exploration and further research in this area in the future. Joel Carpenter has observed that much study had not been conducted in the area of the 72 Christian higher education , meaning that a lot still remain to be explored of this phenomenon especially in respect of the charismatic churches. 1.6 Scope of Study Jill and Quentin have argued that the number of mission schools grew significantly in Ghana th during the 19 century and by 1950, almost all children enrolled in schools attended 73 missionary schools. For a long time Christian missions kept the lead in the provision of western form of education in Ghana. The government maintained limited involvement in 74 education until the 1950s. The period of independence saw the first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah‟s heavy investment into education, bringing government into the picture as a major provider of education in Ghana. After independence in 1957, the period over the past three decades in Ghana, from the 1980‟s till now, saw the advent of private sector institutions. The education sector witnessed the provision of private education on the ascendency. The first private university college, for 72 Joel Carpenter, Christian Higher Education: A Global Reconnaissance.eds., Joel Carpenter, Perry L. Glanzer and Nickolas Lantinga( Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing CO, 2014),10. 73 Jill Olivier and Quentin Wodon, „Faith-Inspired Education in Ghana: A Historical Case Example,‟ The Review of Faith and International Affairs 12, Issue 2 (2014): 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2014.918751, Accessed October 8, 2016. 74 E. Kingsley Larbi, Pentecostalism: The Eddies of Ghanaian Christianity (Accra: Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, 2001), 18. 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh example, to be establishes by a charismatic church was Central University (1988), an initiative of the International Central Gospel Church. Some other charismatic churches have followed in the provision of education. The scope of this research spans from 1980 to 2015. 1.7 Review of Related Literature 1.7.1 Indigenous Education Long before the advent of European form of education in Africa, indigenous education 75 existed in Africa . Kofi A Busia contends in his book Purposeful Education for Africa that the goals of indigenous African system of education of the Akans for example, a predominant tribe in Ghana, was that the older generation imparted to the young the skills they needed for making a living and that everything the young were taught had relevance to the life and 76 culture of the community and to the kind of life they were expected to lead. Indigenous African education is meant to achieve among other goals the raising of young people of the community, indoctrinated in their religious beliefs, instilled consciousness of morality and trained with skills to be self-reliant. Studying the essence of the Akan indigenous religion, it become abundantly clear that belief in the Almighty Creator and upholding morality are the foundation upon which the religion rests, the measure by which all actions and behavior are judged within the indigenous Akan context.“African cultures are ensouled by religion – all the communal activities of homo 77 africanus are encased in religion.” This statement suggests that every activity of the average African and for that matter the Ghanaian has religious implications. Busia and Antwi observed that the young learnt by informal methods of observation and participation. Learning about standard behaviour and skills from the elderly of the community was 75 Busia Purposeful Education for Africa, 13. 76 Ibid., 15-16. 77 John S. Pobee. Religion and Politics in Ghana (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 1991), 147. 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 78 upheld. Occasions for teaching included naming ceremonies, rites of passage, festivals, 79 apprenticeship, funerals, and lessons from the exemplary lives of the ancestors. Skills training was not the only objective for Akan indigenous education system but standard behaviour, moral uprightness was of key importance and a major objective as well. Thus, people were trained to be self-reliant and morally sound individuals to properly fit into the community and contribute meaningfully for the development of the community. 1.7.2 Formal Education The phenomenon of public and private schools has been a major topic of debate as far as provision of education is concerned. Several scholars hold strong views on this matter. In his book, Public or Private Education? Lessons from History, Richard Aldrich argues that unlike public or government schools, private schools, by their set up, may fulfill different functions in different societies and at different periods in history. He notes further that private schools 80 in some countries have been „expression of religious and other cultural identities.‟ This is a factual phenomenon across the world and in Ghana. In most cases, faith based organizations like churches and Islamic organizations have established schools that express their religious orientation and identity. The Traditional Western Missionary Churches adequately demonstrated this idea in respect of their mission activities in the Gold Coast in which their schools played a major role in evangelization and Christian upbringing of the pupils and students. As Christian organizations, it could be expected that schools established by charismatic churches would have a religious outlook. 78 Busia Purposeful Education for Africa, 13 ; and Antwi, Education, Society and Development in Ghana, 25. 79 K.A Busia, The Challenge of Africa (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962), 35. See Albert D.K. Amedzro, Globalization, Non-Formal Education and Rural Development in Developing Economies (Accra: Ghana st University Press, 2005), 61-64 and D.E. K. Amenumey, Challenges of Education in Ghana In the 21 Century (Accra: Woeli Publishing Services, 2007), 27-29. 80 Richard Aldrich, Public or Private Education? Lessons from History (London: Wobrum Press, 2004), 3. 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh C.K Graham, in his book The History of Education in Ghana: From the Earliest Times to the 81 Declaration of Independence, sought to tell the story of the growth and development of European-type of education or formal education in the Gold Coast. He also shows the relationship of education to aspects of social structure like economic, religious and the political. In terms of formal education and its relationship with the religious, he establishes the linkage between the provision of formal education and the missionary work of the mission churches in Ghana. Recounting the work of the Rev. Thomas Thompson‟s critical role in respect of the castle schools, he highlights the Rev. Thomas Thompson‟s efforts in expanding the borders of formal education by being the first to have brought the castle 82 schools out from within the castle walls into the communities of the Gold Coast, which effort could perhaps be considered a major step towards the development of formal education by the church in Ghana. Graham‟s work served as a good resource for my work. It provided enough information on the historical development of the social participation and role played by the historical churches with regards to education. In his article “The Limits to Growth of Non- Government Private Schooling in Sub-Sahara Africa,” Keith M. Lewin deals with the diversity of non-government private provision of education and some fundamental issues that shape its contribution to the enhancement of access to education. Focusing on financial constraints, he discusses the extent to which exclusion is connected to wealth, location and gender and deals with the need to identify mechanisms that expand services to large numbers of school-age children from poorest households in the quest for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDD‟s) 83 now Sustainable Development Goals (SDG‟s). The efforts of private and public institutions 81 C. K. Graham, The History of Education in Ghana: From the Earliest times to the Declaration of Independence (Abington: Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1971). 82 Graham, The History of Education in Ghana, 12-15. 83 Keith M. Lewin, The Limits to Growth of Non-Government Private Schooling in Less Economically Developed Countries, Asian and African Perspectives (United Kingdom: Symposium Books, 2007), 41-51. 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh are undoubtedly concerted for achieving national development which the SDG‟s also represents. However, some private entities, especially religious organizations like churches would most probably pursue the provision of education not only for the purpose of creating access to education and the pursuit of the intellectual or academic development of people but may have special interest in the spiritual or moral development their pupils and students. Lewin‟s concern is the fact that states or governments are the ones with the moral and legal responsibility of providing education for its citizens and that private entities can be limited in some ways in extending access to education services due to their essential interest in profit (for-profit private institutions) and in the case of the non-profit private institutions, 84 inadequate funds could be a major limiting factor. Much as Keith‟s point could be a major source of concern, there could also be the possibility that some non-profit private institutions for example some churches that could be self- supporting enough to fund their own education projects without being limited in the way that many may imagine. Examples of such instants exist in the Christian community today. Winners Chapel International and International Central Gospel Church are a few of the examples. The selected schools for my study are self- supporting enough and have been able to run their schools all by themselves with internally generated funds. Heyneman and Stern, in their article Low Cost Private Schools for the Poor: What Public Policy is Appropriate?,take the position that the popularly held notion that all non- government schools are accessible to the elite and wealthy citizens in developing countries is a misconception. Their research was focused on schools in developing countries including Ghana and sought to provide evidence of non-government schools that are providing private 84 Lewin, The Limits to Growth, 42. 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 85 education for children of low income families. The reasons for the increase in demand for non-government schooling around the world and in Ghana have been identified as: insufficient supply of public school spaces, low quality of public schooling and failure by public schools to meet the differentiated needs of families for example the need for smaller 86 classes, more personalize teaching and religious emphasis. The reason parents may enroll their kids in schools seen to have religious emphasis in their curriculum I believe cannot be underestimated. However, the question is whether indeed the religious benefit for which reason a parent may enroll their kids in a school can really be accrued to their children at the end of the day? Thus, do those schools provide that religious emphasis expected? The thinking behind the establishment of schools by some Christian institutions like some Charismatic Churches in Ghana, who are believed to have the capacity to provide religious emphasis in the content of curriculum and programs offered by their established schools, is what my thesis seeks to study. James Tooley and Pauline Dixon, in their book Private Education is Good for the Poor, researched on private education in low- income countries including Ghana. Their focus was to discover the extent of private schools in selected low-income areas to compare their inputs with those of public schools serving the same population and also focused on private schools‟ 87 management, gender issues, and teacher to students‟ ratio. Though they acknowledged the 88 emerging presence of schools by religious organizations, no detail work was done in that respect in their work. Two decades after their research, the establishment of private schools 85 Stephen P. Heyneman, Jonathan M.B Stern, “Low Cost Private Schools for the Poor: What Public Policy is Appropriate?,” International Journal of Educational Development 35 (2014), 3-15. www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedudev , accessed April, 2017. 86 Heyneman and Stern, “Low Cost Private Schools for the Poor.” 87 James Tooley and Pauline Dixon, Private Education is Good for the Poor: A Study of Private Schools Serving the Poor in Low-Income Countries(Washington D.C: Cato Institute, 2005), 7. 88 Tooley and Dixon, Private Education is Good for the Poor, 17. 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh by the charismatic churches has been on the significant ascendancy in Ghana which this work explored. 1.7.3 The Charismatic Churches 89 E. Kingsley Larbi‟s book Pentecostalism: The Eddies of Ghanaian Christianity focuses on how the concept of salvation is perceived and appropriated by the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches in Ghana through making the gospel respond to the traditional African or Ghanaian cosmology. Larbi further acknowledges in his book, that some new Pentecostal churches may have some amount of foreign influence; but it does not nullify the fact that in the process of time, most Ghanaian Pentecostal leaders seem to have developed their own 90 theological distinctiveness for example the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) . Larbi gives quite a comprehensive account of the development of the changes and transformation the church in Ghana has gone through with emphasis on the emergence of the various strands of the renewal movements and their influence on the religious landscape in 91 Ghana. The historical account of the emergence of the charismatic churches and their theological distinctiveness is of interest to this work. The theological distinctiveness and how it plays out in their provision of education is of importance to this thesis. 92 Cephas N. Omenyo in his book Pentecost outside Pentecostalism, deals with the background of Ghanaian churches and Ghanaian revival movements. He traces the history of the church in Ghana and isolates some major charismatic movements in the post-apostolic church era and looks at Pentecostalism on the global level but focuses on the charismatic renewal in Ghana. He deals mainly with the charismatic renewal in the TWMC‟s in Ghana by 89 E. Kingsley Larbi, Pentecostalism: The Eddies of Ghanaian Christianity (Accra: Centre for Pentecostal Studies, 2001). 90 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 352-360. 91 Ibid., 55- 363. 92 Cephas Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism: A Study of the Development of Charismatic Renewal in the Mainline Churches in Ghana (Zoetermeer, Boekencentrum, 2006). 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh looking at the historical development of the charismatic phenomenon within the mainline (TWMC) churches, the spirituality, doctrine and practice of the charismatic renewal groups in the mainline churches in Ghana. Omenyo‟s book is a good informative source for my work. The engagement of the Neo-Pentecostal strand of the charismatic movement also known as the charismatic churches in national development issues is getting the attention of scholars and researchers to study. Their increasing interest in the area of education in Ghana leaves room for study of the phenomenon. In his book African Charismatics: Current Developments within Independent Indigenous 93 Pentecostalism in Ghana, Asamoah Gyadu looks at the collective history, religious theological orientations of the charismatic churches. He notes that the growth, diversity and variegated nature of Pentecostal movements across the world defy attempts at achieving clear classification and designations. Terms associated with Pentecostalism have come to mean different things to different context. He indicates that for example in a sub-Sahara African country like Ghana, the expression „Charismatic‟ Is more in reference to the wave of independent Pentecostal movements. Despite their indigenous roots, they are greatly inspired by North American, neo-Pentecostal, televangelistic movement with their mega-church philosophies, world-dominating agenda for Christianity and religious entrepreneurial ambitions that motivate people to translate their salvation into practical everyday 94 achievements in business, education, economics and family life. . This description gives an accurate picture in a general sense, of the characteristics of the charismatic churches in Ghana. For instance, it would be noticed that the desire for world domination by the charismatic churches finds expression in their nomenclature. The word “International” will always somehow find its way in the name of a charismatic church in 93 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics: Current Developments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in Ghana (Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, 2005). 94 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics, 1. 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ghana. For example, Full Gospel Church International, Action Chapel International, International Central Gospel Church. (International italicized for emphasis). This is an allusion to the fact that the charismatic churches believe in a sense of responsibility for the accomplishment of a global mission in spreadingthe gospel of Christ to the nations of the world. He argues further that the major impetus that the African Initiated Churches bring to bear on the Ghanaian society is the provision of a form of Christian experience that has relevance to society with regards to the needs of the Ghanaian. A Christian experience that finds expression in terms of salvific themes like “salvation as transformation and empowerment,” salvation as healing and deliverance and the theology of health and wealth. Asamoah Gyadu‟s definition for Charismatic Churches in Ghana is my working definition for charismatic churches in this thesis. 1.7.4 Worldviews and Educational Practice The idea of worldview is an important issue that affects the life of cultures, nations, institutions, families, groups and individuals, whether the affected is conscious or not conscious of its power of influence on their way of life. Varying visions, missions, goals and aims of various enterprises and institutions are understood to be pivoted on worldviews that determine the distinctiveness and inform the identity of such enterprises and institutions from others. James W. Sire defines worldview as “a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic construction of reality and that provides the 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 95 foundation on which we live and move and have our being.” Worldview basically becomes the pivot around which people‟s life revolve. The influence of the worldview held by people, and organizations has a cascading effect on their values, and their day to day choices and actions. John Bolt has also defined worldview as “a thoughtful comprehensive view of human 96 life in relation to God, the world and other humans.” Meaning a worldview assumes a form of mindset or mentality by which actions, behaviour and a way of life of individuals, groups and institutions could almost predictably be determined. In order words, not much dichotomy could be established between the way of life or behaviour of a people, a nation, groupings, organizations, or individuals and their worldview. It informs their view of the world and interpretation of reality. The values, norms, choices, decisions, beliefs, operations and the overall outlook of their lives are influenced by their worldviews. Charles Kraft in his book Christianity and culture, describes worldview as “the central systematization of conception of reality to which the members of the culture assent (largely 97 unconsciously) and from which stems their value system.” So the values of a culture, group, organization, institutions, are based on worldview. The worldview apprises the value system of that culture and becomes the fulcrum, reference to which things deemed as important to that culture is determined. Brummelen describes worldview as “a set of beliefs and assumptions about life and reality” or “a comprehensive framework of basic convictions 98 about life” Individuals and organizations may have convictions by which they are prepared to stand and perhaps even die. Conviction is persuasion or principles born out of worldviews. 95 Sire, Naming the Elephant, 122. 96 John Bolt, The Christian Story and the Christian School (Grand Rapids: Christian Schools International, 1993), 232. 97 Cited in W Garry Philips and William E. Brown Making Sense of your World: A Biblical Worldview (Salem Wisconsin: Sheffield Publishing Company, 1991), 29. 98 H.Van Brummelen. Steppingstones to Curriculum: A Biblical Path (Seattle, WA: Alta Vista College Press, 1994), 24. 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff asserts that “a people‟s worldview is their way of thinking about life and the world, coupled with the values they set for themselves in the 99 context of that way of thinking.” Worldview is a mindset or way of thinking of a people, the crucible out of which values and norms are formulated to the extent that on the basis of it, one can probably almost predict what actions, choices, policies and decisions that could be made by an individual or an institution in a given circumstance. Therefore, in the case of institutions, the charismatic churches for example, the rationale for their provision of education must be informed by a particular thinking or mindset based on a worldview. A Christian worldview, secular worldview or whatever worldview it might be. It is important at this point to establish the link between worldview and philosophy and the further linkages of same with mission and vision statements of organizations. Albert Greene‟s perspective of worldview is what he considers as that which is held “below the level of 100 consciousness.” He explores the relationship between worldview and philosophy and posits that “when a worldview is brought to the conscious level and logically worked out into 101 what we are calling a consciousness, or perspective, we have a philosophy.” Thus Greene believes that worldview is foundational for the mindset and intentions of individuals as well as groups, however, a practical expression is given to that worldview by a translation of it into a philosophy. By Greene‟s understanding, giving a logical, systematic and structured form to a worldview becomes a philosophy. In the light of Green‟s perspective, the philosophy behind an act, thus, the rationale, thinking, reason or motivation behind what people or institutions do, and why they do what they do, is a reflection of their worldview or philosophy for life. The vision and mission statements of organizations, for instance 99 Cited in Philips and Brown Making Sense of your World: A Biblical Worldview, 29. 100 Albert E. Greene, Reclaiming the Future of Christian Education: A Transforming Vision (Colorado Springs, CO: Association of Christian Schools International, 1998), 30. 101 Greene, Reclaiming the Future of Christian Education, 31. 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh churches, the vision and mission statements including the teachings gives glimpses and pointers to their worldview and philosophy and vice versa. Wolters on the other hand establishes the relationship between worldview and philosophy in 102 a phrase he put as “worldview crowns philosophy.” Wolters is suggesting that worldview is the highest manifestation of philosophy. From the views of Greene and Wolters, it can be argued that worldview and philosophy are two sides of the same coin. One reflects the other or one emanates from the other and both cannot be diametrically opposed to each other. 1.7.5 Christian Worldview 103 Worldview has been categorized into four by Barna Group , a renowned research group led by George Barna as Secularism, Postmodernism, Maxism and Biblical or Christian 104 worldviews. Secularism worldview holds “scientific methods as an explanatory framework for life and advances a rational and materialistic view of the world.” Thus, for those who hold this worldview, the material world is all there is to life. “Meaning and purpose comes from 105 working hard to earn as much as possible so you can make the most of life.” In other words, Life is driven by insatiable desire for material things. Postmodernism advances the idea that “truth is subjective.” Meaning, what one believes to be truth, perhaps based on their own experiences, is truth to him or her. “what is morally right or wrong depends on what an individual believes.” In other words, people are their own standards morally and ethically. What one feels is good for them is good and acceptable by their own standards. Maxism prioritizes the idea that “governments, rather than individuals should control as much of the resources as necessary to ensure that everyone get their fair share.” Proponents 102 Albert M. Wolters, “On the Idea of worldview and Its Relation to Philosophy” in Stained Glass: Worldviews and Social Science (Lanham MD: University Press of America, 1989), 14-25. 103 All quotes under (1.9.5) are from Barner group unless otherwise indicated Barner Group, 2017 nd www.berner.com, accessed 22 June 2017. 104 nd Barna Group, 2017 www.barna.com, retrieved 22 June 2017. 105 nd Barna Group, 2017 www.barna.com, retrieved 22 June 2017. 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of this worldview discourage private property owning. They believe that “private property encourages greed and envy.” Maxism and Secularism worldviews formed the philosophical basis of the communist and capitalist system of government respectively. The capitalist manifest secularist tendencies, believe in private property owning system with the usual 106 mantra that “the private sector is the engine of growth.” While the communist system, with Maxist tendencies, rather encourages state owned enterprises and initiative. In Ghana for instance, the two major political parties philosophically align to either of these two ideologies for their systems of government. Christian worldview, also known as Biblical worldview is based on the essential belief in the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible as God‟s word. Interpretation to reality and perspectives on life is derived from the principle of the Bible. The Barna Group defines 107 Christian worldview as the conviction that “truth is absolute” or truth is objective.” Thus, Christian worldview holds that absolute truth exists, moral and ethical truth exist but it is defined by the Bible. The Bible is the guide for moral, ethical and even legal issues in life. The Bible is the custodian of truth and this truth are espoused in the teachings and principles from the Bible. For instance, the Bible teaches that God is the Creator and owner of the entire universe, human beings are made by God in his own image and likeness not by evolution, human beings have inherent value. God is all powerful, all knowing, all present. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, lived a sinless life here on earth, and his universal Lordship is indisputable. Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned; Satan is real; Christians have a grave 106 A popular mantra within the socio - economic milieu around the world and in Ghana. 107 Barna Group, www.barna.com/research/competing-worldviews-influence-todays-christians/ , retrieved June 22, 2017. 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people with the intention to convert 108 them to Christianity. The point must be re-emphasized that worldviews explains the way individuals and institutions behave and operate in their day to day endeavors and educational institutions are not exception. It defines the rationale behind why people or organizations do what they do. Christian schools established by churches, for example in the case of the charismatic churches, presumably operate based on principles of the Biblical or Christian worldview. What then is a Christian worldview? Christian worldview then would mean a worldview that hinges on the Bible as its source of ultimate authority on all issues of life - truth, morality, relationships, and so on and so forth. This understanding is what would give legitimacy to Christian mission schools that set out to provide Christian education to the public. A school established based on a Christian worldview, elevates the Bible as its sole source and reference of principles and values. The Bible becomes the foundational manual and reference around which the curriculums revolve and are arranged. Enough evidence abounds as has been discussed in chapter one that demonstrates that the establishment of schools by the Traditional Western Mission Churches in the Gold Coast (Ghana) was buttressed by the rationale to convert the indigenes to Christianity using their schools as conduits. It was a task that was embarked upon with recourse to the tenets of the Christian worldview. Is the entry of the charismatic churches into the education space motivated by same reason? What could possibly be the motivation for the charismatic churches‟ involvement in the provision of education in Ghana? This research is intended to find some answers to these questions. The advent of the TWMC‟s to the West Coast of Africa was motivated by various reasons as some have argued. Some believe it was 108 Pauline J. Chang, „Barner Findings of 2003‟. www.google.com.gh/amp/s/www.christianpost.com/amp/barna-findings-of-2003-19865 retrieved June 22, 2017. 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh motivated by trade and others hold that it was motivated by the subtle intention to compliment the colonization agenda of the colonizers. A historical account of the missionary activities by the TWMC in the Gold Coast as discussed in chapter one, divulges the fact that the TWMC‟s were motivated by the conviction of their Christian beliefs based on the Christian worldview. Their action was in response to the demand of a facet of the Christian worldview which demands Christians to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the people of the earth as enshrined in the Bible in Matthew 28: 18-20. This provision enjoins Christian to care about bringing salvation to the souls of mankind anywhere around the globe and to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ to all people across the world irrespective of creed, culture colour and genda. A good number of the missionaries that arrived in the Gold coast died due to the tropical conditions but were prepared to die in the course of duty because of the fortitude of conviction on the strength of their Christian worldview that delineated the rationale for their action. 1.8 Theoretical Framework James W Sire defines worldview as “a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic construction of reality and that provides the 109 foundation on which we live and move and have our being.” John Bolt defines worldview as “a thoughtful comprehensive view of human life in relation to God, the world and other 110 humans.” These two perspectives conveys the meaning of worldview that the kind of life people live cannot be disconnected from their mind set, how they understand life and 109 James W. Sire, Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept (Downers Grove II: Intervarsity Press, 2004), 122. 110 John Bolt, The Christian Story and the Christian School (Grand Rapids: Christian Schools International, 1993), 232. 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh interpret reality. Their values, choices, decisions, beliefs and the overall outlook of their lives emanates from their worldview. The same applies to organizations and institutions including educational institutions. The rationale behind the roles, operations and function of institutions, or the philosophy, culture and practices of institutional bodies are influenced by the worldview held by those institutions. Institutions, as entities, hold certain set of values that guides and informs what they consider important and consequently influencing how they function and undertake their unique roles and task in society. Schools, churches, businesses, and so on, normally state their philosophy, vision, mission and values as pointers and guidelines to their activities underpinned by the bigger narrative or worldview they hold. My work is therefore based on the theory of worldviews by James W. Sire and John Bolt. 1.9 Methodology The historical and phenomenological approaches for data gathering were used. Phenomenology is basically the descriptive study of experiences. The phenomenological method requires the use of epochè whereby the researcher bracket out or suspends his own previous ideas or opinion and seeks to observe the phenomena as they appear, being as 111 objective as possible. Descriptive analysis and interpretation of the data is employed. Interviews of heads and officials of the selected schools and that of the churches that founded the schools were conducted. Pupils and parents were interviewed taking into consideration anonymity for those who would not want their identity to be known. Interviews, participant observation and data from historical documents and other secondary sources like books, journals, newspapers, and any other secondary source relevant to this thesis were used, as well as the internet. 111 James L. Cox, Expressing the Sacred: An Introduction to the Phenomenology of Religion (Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications, 1996), 26-27. 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Merriam posits that for qualitative research, interviewing formats exist along a continuum 112 from structured to unstructured/informal. I used a semi-structured interview format in this study. In this type of interview scheme, “the majority of the questions related to issues to be explored, and the questions were flexibly worded or occasionally rearranged to promote the natural flow of the conversation.” According to Merriam “this format allows the researcher to respond to the situation at hand, to the emerging worldview of the 113 respondent, and to new ideas on the topic.” The interviews provided richly descriptive data, an important characteristic of qualitative 114 research. I used “well-chosen open-ended questions that [could] be followed up with 115 probes and requests for more detail” To be able not to miss any of the pieces of information being provided by interviewees in the course of each interview without having to interrupt the conversation to capture quotes accurately on paper, interviews were recorded for accuracy of later transcription. 1.10 Definitions A. Education The word education etymologically comes from two latin words educare which means to bring up or to train or mould. The other word is educatum which denotes the act or practice and the principles of teaching. In a broader sense, education is a lifelong process of the total development of the personality. In this sense, education consists of all the experiences a person may have been affected from birth till death. Education in the narrower sense means a consciously designed program in an educational institution like schools for the intellectual 112 Sharan B. Merriam, Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009), 90. 113 Sharan B Merriam, Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009), 90. 114 Ibid. 115 Ibid.,17. 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh development of children to attain pre-determine aims within a specific period of time by providing pre-structured curriculum with set of methods for the development of the child. B. Christian School The nature of a Christian school is viewed by Mclaughlin as an educational institution that provides a full-time general education for its pupils, and does so in an institutional context in which the truth of the Christian faith is presupposed and taught. It also seeks to develop in its pupils the understanding and commitment which are characteristics of an “educated person” 116 and of a “religious person”. This suggests that Christian schools are educational institutions that provide intellectual, academic and skill training within a religious context. Thus, a form of education that focuses not only on the academic development of its pupils or students but also the moral, ethical and character development of the pupils and students based on Christian beliefs and principles. C. Charismatic The term „charismatic‟ in Christian thought means extraordinary abilities or graces traceable to the working of the Holy Spirit (the third personality of the Godhead, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit) - the Christian God. The etymologically rendition of the English word „charismatic‟ is the root word for the Greek word Charis which refers to embodiment of grace. The Greek expression charismata pneumatika means graces of the Spirit. Thus the charismatic spirituality has everything to do with the manifestation of charismata in worship 117 and ministry. Charismatic churches therefore connote the category of churches characterized by the manifestations of operations of the Spirit of God. Examples of some 116 T.H, McLaughlin, Education for All and Religious Schools in G, Haydon (ed), Education for a Pluralistic Society: Philosophical Perspectives on the Swam Report, Bedford Way Paper 30, (London: University of London, Institute of Education, 1987), 69. 117 J. Kwabena Asamoah Gyadu, Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity: Interpretations from African context, (2013), 59. 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh manifestations attributed to the work and influence of the Holy Spirit that are commonly associated with the charismatic churches are prayer in glossolalia or tongues, exorcism, intense evangelization, prophecy, healings, and emphasis on prosperity. The charismatic churches have been viewed by some as „experiential‟ and consequently been seen as uninterested in social issues facing their community. However, the charismatic churches are making their presence being felt regarding social issues like education, health and others in recent times. 1.11 Structure The work has been structured into five chapters. Chapter one is the introduction in which I discussed the background to the study, offered working definitions of some key terms, statement of the problem, research objectives, research questions, review of related literature, theoretical framework, methodology, significance of study, scope of study and structure. Chapter two discusses the emergence of the charismatic churches in Ghana. The main body of the study is discussed in chapters three, four and five. Chapter three examined the philosophy, vision and mission statements, the message and teachings of the three selected churches. Chapter four focuses on the rationale for the provision of education by the three selected churches and chapter five presented the conclusion findings and recommendations. 1.12 Conclusion Education is paramount to the personal development of people and nations at large. Prior to the advent of western form of education in Ghana, indigenous Ghanaian education existed. This form of education, mostly by informal methods, trained the youth to properly fit into their community by use of the useful skills and knowledge acquired for the development of the community. Moral education formed a major part of indigenous Ghanaian education. Western education – formal education, introduced to Ghana by the TWMC‟s with the 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh intension to „civilize‟ the natives, trained the youth for their personal development but also as grounds for evangelization, preparations and assimilation of the youth into their churches. The provision of education by churches therefore is not a new phenomenon. The attempt by some charismatic churches to participate in the provision of education in Ghana had generated public interest and debate. Some have questioned the motive for such action. Perhaps the legitimacy of such criticism has been informed by a fair understanding of what the motive for the provision of education has been of what existed before. This thesis then sought to find out the rationale for the provision of education by the charismatic churches. Chapter two discusses the emergence of the charismatic churches. In the light of their emergence, their disposition and theological orientation is also highlighted. 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO THE EMERGENCE OF THE CHARISMATIC CHURCHES IN GHANA. 2.1 Introduction The Church in Ghana has experienced such a tremendous growth with the emergence of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches. Alluding to this assertion, David Barrett in his article Christianity in Africa, observed that by 2000 AD, the center of gravity of the Christian faith would have shifted markedly southwards, not only resulting in Christianity becoming the dominant religion in Africa, but also as the cause of transformation into a primarily non- 118 Western faith. This means Christianity could become more vibrant in Africa and for that matter in Ghana if it finds expression within the worldview of the African. Thus, indigenization of Christianity could engender large following in African. Asamoah Gyadu contends that “a significant dimension to the general growth in Third World Christianity then is that Pentecostalism is the area in which this growth has mostly been 119 felt.” The Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in Ghana had seen some significant growth so far as a result of their ability to appeal to the cosmology of the African. The advent of the charismatic churches unfolded phenomenal dimensions of Christian experience that contributed to the general broadening of the frontiers of Christianity. It was felt at a point in the existence of the TWMC‟s by some members of their stock that their felt needs, especially 120 spiritual needs, were not being adequately addressed by the church. The general feeling perhaps was that there could be a deeper Christian experience beyond the existing status quo provided by the TWMC‟s. The call by the disgruntled members for a deeper Christian experience was on the ascendency. 118 David B. Barrett, „AD 2000: 350 Million Christians in Africa‟, International Review of Mission, .59 (1970), 39-54. 119 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics, 15. 120 Ibid., 17. 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh It is held by some scholars that the very initial stages of the African Initiated Churches, AIC‟s dates as far back as 1862 in the Methodist Church at Anomabu in the Central Region of 121 Ghana with a separatist group called the Methodist Society followed by the National Baptist Church founded by one Rev. Mark Christian Hayford in 1898, considered to be the 122 first African Independent Church founded in the Gold Coast. The desire for a more potent spiritual experience is not alien to the cosmology of the average Ghanaian. “To the Akan, just like other African people, whatever happens to the human being has a spiritual interpretation. 123 To them, behind the physical is the spiritual, behind the seen is the unseen” Thus, in Ghanaian cosmology, there is no dichotomy between the spiritual and the physical and that the spiritual impacts directly the physical and vice versa. The belief in the existence of the power of evil forces that oppose the well-being and prosperity of the people through the operations of witchcraft, curses and other demonic orchestrations is a part of the Ghanaian worldview. The belief that forces of evil are responsible for the misfortunes of mankind in working to prevent mankind from enjoying abundant life and fulfilling their nkrabea (destiny) is ingrained in the average Ghanaian consciousness. The need for power for protection against forces believed to have the power to obstruct the well-being of people going about their normal duties in pursuit of happiness and prosperity for themselves and families was a major challenge and a succor of a counter power was imperative. Many then thought that the kind of Christianity that the TWMCs provided was inadequate and lacked the potency to deal with specific peculiar challenges of the 124 African and for that matter the Ghanaian. This then led to the emergence of the African Initiated Churches (AIC‟s) who were seen to have an alternative Christian experience that 121 Asare Opoku, „A Brief History of Independent Church Movements in Ghana since 1862’, in The Rise of Independent Churches in Ghana (Accra: Asempa Publishers,1990), 12-21. 122 Asare Opoku, „A Brief History of Independent Church Movements in Ghana since 1862’, 12-21. 123 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 6. 124 Kwame Bediako, Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non -Western Religion (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1995), 69. 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh commanded much spiritual power to address the needs of the average Ghanaian under the prevailing circumstances. 2.2 African Initiated Churches (AIC’s) The Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in Ghana came in various strands or categories. The period between 1920 and 1930 gave rise to a number of African Initiated Churches, the first category of the Pentecostal/ Charismatic wave to emerge in Ghana. These are churches which were mainly founded by former members of the TWMC‟s who broke away from their mother 125 churches. Others were offshoots from other indigenous churches from Nigeria, for example the Aladura Church. Various description and definition have been assigned to the AIC‟s by 126 some scholars. Harold Turner refers to the AIC‟s as the Aladura Churches. Baeta refers to them as „Spiritual Churches‟ or locally known as Sumsum Sore because he believes that their activities are intended to signify that. Baeta further observes that in their worship, the AIC‟s engage in various activities that are meant to invoke the Holy Spirit of God or are to be 127 interpreted as signs of the Holy Spirit‟s descent on the worshippers. Cognizance is given to the special place of the influence of the Holy Spirit in their services and so the Holy Spirit presence is invoked perhaps through prayer and singing. In his book Christianity in Africa, Kwabena Bediako makes reference to Christian Baeta‟s view of the AIC‟s in comparison to that of the TWMC‟s, as churches which exhibit revivalist tendencies, emphasize faith healing 128 and have a vibrant worship full of lively music. The AIC‟s accentuation on faith healing and belief in the manifestation of the Holy Spirit power through healing and miracles may have placed them attractive compared to the TWMC‟s to the natives. 125 Ione Acquah, Accra Survey (London: University of London Press, 1958), 148-150. 126 H. W Turner, A Typology of African Religious Movements, A journal of Religion in Africa 1, (1968), 28. 127 C. G Baeta, Prophetism in Ghana. A Study of some ‘Spiritual’ Churches, (London: SCM Press, 1962), 1. 128 Kwabena Bediako, Christianity in Africa, 91. 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The AIC‟s are normally founded and led by individuals, male or female, who claim to have had visions or some sort of spiritual encounters that inspired them to start their churches. Leaders of the AIC‟s are normally dressed in special clothes, usually long white or coloured gowns or girdles. They turn to observe food taboos like abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, 129 snail, pork and so on and so forth for reasons that perhaps suggest that their consumption of such things generated negative repercussions for their spirituality. Most of the AIC‟s have 130 sacred places, sacred objects and sacred dresses. These are distinctive description that easily identifies the clergy of the AIC‟s. The circumstances that caused the emergence of the ACI‟s and their modus operandi clearly brings to the fore their focus and preoccupation. Addressing the spiritual needs of its members seems central to their activities. They were not so much keen on education as did the TWMC‟s. There is no record to the best of my knowledge that suggest any interest in education demonstrated by the AIC‟s either by their founders acquiring formal education to the highest level or to the extent of establishing schools like the TWMC at the time. Formal education may perhaps have been perceived by their rank and file to be a secular endeavor, „unspiritual‟ and hence unnecessary. In fairly dealing with the subject of the AIC‟s in Ghana, one outstanding historical figure by name William Wade Harris, a man considered by most scholars to be the foremost trail blazer of Ghanaian Pentecostalism, cannot be left out due to his immense unique contribution to Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in Ghana. 2.3 Prophet William Wade Harris William Wade Harris, a Kru man of the Grebo tribe of Liberia who came to the Axim and Appolonia districts of Ghana at the time, had a ministry that stretched between Liberia and the Gold Coast along the coast of West Africa. Prophet William Wade Harris was a trail- 129 Cephas Omenyo, Pentecost outside Pentecostalism, 74. 130 Ibid., 74. 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh blazer and a new kind of religious personage on the African scene, the first Independent 131 African Christian Prophet. As a fore bearer of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches, Harris‟ style of ministry perhaps provided significant precedence for the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches. Harris is said to have described his conversion in terms of 132 words like “the Holy Spirit having come upon me”, a spiritual experience that seemed to suggest that the Holy Spirit‟s influence and power would mark his ministry. The high points in his message was an appeal to his listeners to believe in God and the cross, to surrender their amulets and charms (cult objects of the traditional African religion), to be baptized, to join churches, to keep Sundays holy, to respect the Bible and to wait for the 133 missionaries for further instruction in the faith. Wade Harris‟ ministry offered a kind of spirituality that was seen to be more potent compared to that of the existing TWMC and as a suitable spiritual alternative not only to the TWMC‟s but also to idol worship. Larbi‟s assessment of Harris ministry says Harris saw himself as a person of destiny who has been commissioned to fulfill a divine mandate following in the footsteps of his Master. He inspired awe and fear as he went about his missionary activities burning fetishes and exercising complete mastery over those spiritual forces that 134 had kept his audience captive Asamoah Gyadu also holds the opinion that, The reputation of Harris went before him as he toured West African coastal towns demonstrating the ominipotence of God through manifestations of divine in dramatic conversions, healing, prophecy and deliverance from evil spirits and faith in the material 135 symbols of traditional religiosity The assertion by Larbi and Asamoah Gyadu about Wade Haris‟s ministry is quite significant. It reveals key aspects of Wade Harris‟ ministry that would have some semblance with the 131 Kofi Asare Opoku, „A Brief History of Independent Church Movements in Ghana since1862’in The Rise of Independent Churches in Ghana (Accra:Asempa Publihing, 1990), 16. 132 David A. Shank, Prophet Harris: The ‘Black Elijah’ of West Africa (Leiden: E. J Brill, 1994), 57. 133 Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalsm, 68. 134 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 57. 135 Asamaoh Gyadu, African Charismatics, 19. 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ministry of the charismatic movement that was to emerge years later. Harris‟s ministry was seen as unique because it appealed to the African indigenous audience in the sense that coming from indigenous African Religion background they could relate to it than that of the TWMC‟s. It offered answers to the peculiar needs of the Ghanaian. Consequently, thousands of converts were won through his ministry. He first worked in the Ivory Coast where it is estimated that over 100,000 people were converted. In the Western Region of Ghana alone, he baptized 36,000 adult converts from traditional religion and in 1920 he had as many as 150, 000 people under catechumen instruction. Furthermore, 52 villages were reported to 136 have heeded his message and to have burnt their fetishes. Harris ministry had become the alternative Christian experience that many had craved for. Although he did not establish a church on his own, after his demise; his converts namely John Nackaba and Grace Tani later formed the Twelve Apostles Church. Others that also sprang up later on included The Musama Disco Christo Church (MDCC), The Saviour Church (Memenda Gyidifo) and 137 others. Interestingly, Harris did not establish schools. It appears clearly that establishing a school was not a part of his evangelistic plans as did the TWMC‟s. Perhaps he might have even been aware of the educational program of the TWMC‟s and its impact and the gains brought to bear on their evangelization efforts but did not consider that approach as important in his mission plan. The AIC‟s offshoots of his ministry did not established schools either. It was perhaps because they may have viewed education as quite irrelevant with respect to their evangelization and growth strategy. To them, perhaps the “spiritual” was what was very important. Thus, the manifestations of the miraculous, the healing, exorcism, prophecy, 136 Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalsm, 68. 137 G .M Haliburton, The Prophet Harris: A Study of an African Prophet and his Mass Movement in the Ivory Coast and Gold Coast, 1913-1915, 3. 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh prayers and so on and so forth, must have been enough basis for the attraction of people to their fold instead of the use of the school system. Asamoah Gyadu observed that the Sunsum sore attracted mainly adults with little or in many 138 cases no formal education. The manifestations of the supernatural and the miraculous that marked Harris‟ ministry and offshoot churches of his ministry could be imagined to have been a major factor that contributed to their growth. Same could be said about all other AIC‟s influenced by his ministry. It is to be noted also that the children (the youth) will normally be carried along by the adults (their parents) to church. It is a fact that the degree of the manifestations of the miraculous that characterized the ministry of Harris was lacking in the spiritual experiences of the TWMC‟s. The use of symbols and objects regarded as „extensions of faith‟ by the AIC‟s, began to attract criticism. They were criticized for over reliance on symbols and objects (faith objects) as a means of contact with God and syncretism in their worship. Such criticism had impact on the AIC‟s. According to Asamoah Gyadu, it caused a steady decline of membership such that some of them transformed their churches by considerably limiting the use of these „faith 139 objects‟ in order to survive. Within the context of the development of Ghanaian Christianity this criticism immensely contributed to the emergence of the Classical Pentecostals. 2.4 The Classical Pentecostal Churches The first Classical Pentecostal Church in Ghana is the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), th 140 started by Apostle Peter Anim, born on the 4 of February 1890. He developed deep interest +in reading a religious periodical, The Sword of the Spirit, which circulated in Ghana 138 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics, 117. 139 Ibid., 72. 140 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 97. 46 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh at the time. It was edited by Pastor A. Clark founder of the Faith Tabernacle ministry in 141 Philadelphia, America. The magazine stressed on divine Healing and prayer which Anim found intriguing. At least it was a new knowledge he had encountered different from what he had known from his Presbyterian upbringing. He was greatly influenced by the teachings on divine healing and miraculously his chronic stomach ache and guinea worm disease were 142 healed. The personal spiritual experience of Anim changed the direction of his life out of which the Classical Pentecostal wave in Ghana emerged. The CAC was established in 1922 in Asamankese in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The church engaged in spiritual activities as healings, exorcism and the experience of what the Pentecostals refer to as the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the speaking in the glossolalia. 143 One could possibly imagine what the response of people to this phenomenon would have been. Just as in the case of Wade Harris, people were attracted to Anim‟s ministry and his church experienced growth. Anim‟s church was affiliated to the Apostolic Church in Braford United Kingdom, through one Apostle George Perfect who had recommended for a missionary to be sent to Ghana to help Anim‟s work and by the affiliation, Anim adopted the 144 nd name Apostolic Church for his church. The missionary, James McKeown arrived on 2 March, 1937. McKeown‟s coming to work with Anim is very significant because his missionary work would later give birth to the Church of Pentecost which later became a very influential Classical Pentecostal Church in Ghana. Later on in 1937, the affiliation between Anim‟s Church and the UK Apostolic Church was broken and Anim‟s church became known 145 as the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC). 141 Ibid. 142 Ibid. 143 Ibid., 141-143. 144 Ibid., 104. 145 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 103-108. 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.5 The CAC and Education Unlike the other AIC‟s, the CAC, at a point in its existence thought to use the provision of education for the expansion and growth of their church as indicated by the leadership of the CAC by the following statement For the future proper functioning, expansion and advancement of the church, we have recently held a meeting and we visualize that the proper training of our future generations and especially our school children educationally, morally and spiritually, without which we 146 could never achieve nobler and prosperous ends, as other churches The CAC seem to have decided to go the same way as the TWMC‟s. The phrase “as other churches” could have been in reference to the TWMC‟s because they were the ones who were into the provision of education at the time. It decided to promote the gospel of Christ and to secure the future and growth of their church as the TWMC‟s had done. The statement suggests something of an evidential value to support the fact that the TWMC‟s had made significant progress with evangelization through their schools. In 1924, the CAC established its first primary school at Asamankese followed by the second 147 one at Anum Apapam near Asamankese in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The Missionary Council of the CAC at the time had approved a plan to start two secondary schools by 1951, 148 one in the Ashanti Region and the other one in the south of the country. The CAC seemed to have had different ideas from the general thinking of the majority of the AIC‟s at the time with respect to the role formal education could play in missions. Consequently, the CAC perhaps reasoned that the same plan was relevant to their evangelistic program and the growth of their church and so adopted same strategy. 146 Ibid., 121. 147 Ibid., 122. 148 Ibid., 97. 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.6 The Church of Pentecost (COP) A rift developed between Anim and McKweon on the issue of medication which Anim opposed based on his belief that prayer of faith only was enough for healing from sickness but McKeown subscribed to medication when he was taken ill by malaria. Both leaders had a following in Anim‟s group thus the original Faith Tabernacle Church; however, there was an eventual break up into two factions. Anim‟s faction was called The Christ Apostolic Church. McKeown continued to work as a missionary of the UK Apostolic Church for 15 years until 149 he finally seceded in 1953 and founded The Gold Coast Apostolic Church. The faction that did not align with McKeown was still under the oversight of the UK Apostolic Church but with a new name Apostolic Church of the Gold Coast. Later on McKeown‟s church, The Gold Coast Apostolic Church, was renamed Ghana Apostolic Church after Ghana became 150 independent in 1957 and finally adopted the name Church of Pentecost in 1962 . The UK Apostolic Church, which had become Apostolic Church of the Gold was also renamed 151 Apostolic Church of Ghana after independence in 1957. These three churches, Christ Apostolic Church, Apostolic Church of Ghana, the Church of Pentecost and in addition to them the Assemblies of God Church, making four became the Classical Pentecostal Churches in Ghana. The Apostolic Reformed Church from the Christ Apostolic Church and the Foursquare Church were also classical Pentecostal churches that 152 came up a bit later. The Church of Pentecost did not venture into the provision of education as did CAC but would do that many years later. 149 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 211. 150 Ibid., 226, 238. 151 Ibid., 226. 152 Onyinah Opoku, Pentecostals and Charismatics: Similarities and Dissimilarities, 21. 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.7 The Charismatic Renewal in the TWMC Churches. It is critical to state that charismatic renewal had been ongoing in the TWMC‟s otherwise known as the Mainline Churches. Through the new Pentecostal wave activities, Para- church organizations like The Full Gospel Business Men Fellowship (FGBMF) and the Scripture Union (SU) contributed immensely to bringing about the charismatic renewal in the mainline churches in West Africa and for that matter Ghana. The SU won many converts through its 153 campus evangelism and the (FGBMF), through its prayer breakfast meetings and conventions, was able to introduce non-Pentecostals to Charismatic-type fellowship and 154 interaction. Through the ministry and vision of a man by name David John du Plessis in North America, a minister from the Apostolic Faith Mission, espoused God‟s intention to renew the mainline 155 churches. By 1961, this movement spear headed by du Plessis and continued by one Dennis Bennett, a vicar of St. Mark‟s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys California, had grown to the extent that it was believed that virtually every major Protestant church like the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Mennonites, Methodist and Baptist had various experiences of what 156 Christians call the baptism in the Holy Spirit. 157 The Catholic Church was to have same experience in 1967 in America. The critical feature about this renewal movement is the fact that the people who had the charismatic experience, remained in their respective mother churches as prayer groups, Bible study groups, worship 158 groups and healing groups. In the Catholic Church for example, the charismatic renewal 159 group is known as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR). Perhaps the leaders of this 153 Opoku Oyinah, Pentecostals and Charismatics, 33-34. 154 Ibid., 33. 155 Ibid., 34. 156 Ibid., 36-38. 157 Ibid., 38. 158 Opoku Oyinah, Pentecostals and Charismatics, 39. 159 Omenyo, Pentecost outside Pentecostalism, 101. 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh renewal experience felt that the new spiritual experience will be of great benefit to their churches if it remained a movement within their churches than outside. Citing the Catholic experience, Omenyo reveals the response of the Catholic Church to challenge posed by the impact of the rise of the renewal movement to the Catholic church that “the CCR in Ghana has sought to respond to some of the challenges that the Ghanaian context poses to the 160 Christian within the framework of the Catholic Church through its renewal programs.” It was important to stop their members from moving around for solution to the problems and eventually losing many to the charismatic churches. It is very obvious that the charismatic renewal in the mainline churches did not have any intentions whatsoever with regards to independently establishing their own churches outside their mother churches and perhaps thick of further venturing into the provision of education at a point in their existence. 2.8 Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches As it has been indicated early on in this chapter, the emergence of the AIC‟s and the Neo- Pentecostals otherwise known as the charismatic church is traceable to the inability of the TWMC‟s to meet the felts needs of their members. Cephas Omemyo has attributed to the rise of the charismatic churches to “the lack of dynamic manifestations of the Holy Spirit of God in the mainline churches; their lack of concern for practical and existential issues, both 161 physical and spiritual that confront membership.” But people find in the charismatic churches the way out to their challenges as Omenyo adds that the charismatics “seem to offer 162 some answers to some of the questions the members of the mainline churches are asking.” This to a large extent made the charismatic churches very popular as many people patronized their services. 160 Ibid., 103. 161 Ibid., 98. 162 Omenyo, Pentecost outside Pentecostalism, 98. 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh It must be noted that churches like the Musama Disco Christo Church, Nakaba, the Christ Apostolic Church, the Church of Pentecost and others that first emerged and the charismatic churches which later followed are all African Initiated Churches (AIC‟s) but the difference has been that the first group have largely indigenous tendencies, while the second group like the charismatic churches have largely Western tendencies in their approach to doing church. The aftermath of the Evangelical or Charismatic Renewal in the 1960‟s and the 1970‟s witnessed the development of new Independent Pentecostal Churches, some becoming very 163 prominent huge churches in less than a decade from the time of their emergence. Some of these churches came out of Pentecostal Churches, others from the Para-church movements and others from the renewal that took place in the mainline churches. Those whose pattern of worship followed closely to that of the classical Pentecostals were termed as Independent Pentecostal Churches while those influenced by the pattern of the charismatic renewal were 164 referred to as Charismatic Churches. Certain characteristics that marks the Charismatic as observed by Asamoah Gyadu are that unlike the Classical Pentecostals and the Sumsum sore, the Charismatic Churches do not separate the sitting of males from females in church, the dressing of members in church is more modern and fashion inclined, the congregation are largely youthful, have exuberant 165 worship with high musical content and participatory. Sermons are mostly focused on challenging the audience to rise above any challenges and difficulties in life. Young people 166 are given the opportunity to function in the church on account of their gifts. Cephas Omenyo‟s observation and assessment of the Charismatic Churches is captured in the following 163 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 90. 164 Opoku Oyinah, Pentecostals and Charismatics, 40. 165 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics, 119. 166 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics, 119. 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The Pentecostal charismatic movement did not put emphasis on social services mainly because they have generally been perceived as an experiential movement. There were overly concerned with „sacred‟/ „spiritual‟ matters….In fact, some did not see social ministry as their responsibility to others. Even when it was seen as a need it was ranked lower than the „salvation of the soul‟ thus they felt the churches over indulgence in development programs a 167 misplaced priority. The TWMC‟s have been well known in the social arena for the provision of education and health services but as observed by Omenyo, the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches have not been seen to have shown much interest in the social sector because of their orientation and emphasis on the spiritual. Consequently, they considered an involvement in the provision of education and other social programs a displaced priority. However, the situation now has changed. Some charismatic churches have ventured into the social arena. 2.9 Theology of Ghanaian Charismatic Christianity Allan Anderson posits that the centrality of the teachings of the charismatics is “the 168 experience of the fullness of the Holy Spirit” Charismatics ascribe all credit to the Holy Spirit as the power behind all they do. The Holy Spirit causes people to prophesy, heal the sick, speak in tongues, exorcise demons, preach and perform miracles. The Holy Spirit is the 169 „leader‟ of the church‟s activities and that the central ministry of the Holy Spirit is to bring 170 honour and glory to Jesus Christ as Lord over all. Ghanaian charismatics hold that every Christian needs a post -conversion experience they call “the baptism of the Holy Spirit” that the Christian is supposed to experience with the evidence of glossolalia or what they call “speaking in tongues.” This Christian spiritual experience enables the believer to receive 167 Cephas Omenyo „A Comparative Analysis of the Development Intervention of Pentecostal Charismatic Organization in Ghana‟ Swedish Missiological Theme, 4 (2006), 16. 168 Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 198. 169 Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 197. 170 Ibid., 204,205. 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh spiritual empowerment and gifts for service and for victorious Christian living and power 171 over demonic forces Charismatics are very keen on the concept of salvation. They hold a broader concept of salvation. Their concept of salvation resonates more with the Akan concept of salvation, nkwa. Larbi, writing of the charismatic churches‟ concept of salvation, contends that Their quest for salvation or abundant life manifests continuity with the Akan conception of salvation: health, prosperity, fertility, security, vitality, and equilibrium within the cosmos. Their quest also manifests a radical discontinuity with all traditional forms of 172 supernatural succor. Charismatic‟s teaching on salvation is holistic. The posture of the charismatics is that of a display of a strong self-belief that they are the custodians of spiritual truth of the Bible. This explains why the charismatics hold a high view of themselves and believe that the best of life is God‟s plan for mankind packaged in the teachings of the Bible. With this notion, they turn to be intolerant towards any situation of life that is demeaning to the human- poverty, sicknesses and diseases, sufferings and all forms of anti- progress forces against mankind. The charismatic believe that the salvation of a soul begins from the born again experience. If a person receives Christ he or she becomes „born again‟ as the Charismatic say, he or she becomes a Christian and at that moment that individual‟s sins are forgiven by God and saved from all the negative forces that militate against their total well-being. The born again experience also brings a person into the blessing of God and into spiritual power over all demonic forces. This understanding is what perhaps informs the prosperity teachings by the charismatic churches that have generated lots of controversy and criticism from sections of the public. The charismatics believe and teach of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit against spiritual forces of evil, for healings, exorcism and so on and so forth. 171 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics, 150 – 163; See Omenyo, Pentecost outside Pentecostalism, 227. 172 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 330. 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Charismatic‟s teachings are also focused on the second coming of Christ. They believe anyone who has not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will be lost in hell when 173 Christ return the second time to judge the world. On the strength of this belief the charismatic churches are mostly keen on evangelization and embarking on missions and church planting to rescue many from being condemned to hell. Consequently, their mission activities culminate into phenomenal numerical growth for most of their churches. However, the charismatic churches initially were not keen on the social development of their members and of society. Focus has mainly been on the spiritual development of their members. It became common knowledge that the charismatic churches have not demonstrated enough interest in the social development of their members and the society as has been the case for the TWMC‟s. But the situation has changes. The charismatic churches have become more visible in the social space currently. Most of the charismatic churches have engaged in social project like the provision of education. This current situation could be associated with the increasing realization and appreciation of the extent of their role in society with recourse to the demands of the Christian worldview. Adhering to the totality of the demands of the Christian worldview is germane in the discharge of Christian responsibility. The theological orientation of the charismatic churches in relation to the Christian worldview requires the complete development of the human person-spirit soul and body. Therefore an appreciation by the charismatic churches of the need to go beyond the spiritual development of its members and society is rife. Hence the visibility of the charismatic churches in the social space has been on the rise and social issues have featured in their mission scheme. The social needs of the society are being given attention in various forms for example, the provision of education. By virtue of their current disposition, perhaps the charismatic 173 Omenyo, Pentecost outside Pentecostalism, 224. 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh churches would support and promote any project or endevour that seeks to address the total wellbeing of people and the society and society as a whole. The impact of the social agenda by the charismatic churches is being felt by the society. 2.10 Conclusion Charismatic Christianity in Ghana has become a force to reckon with. Their involvement in the socio economic development of Ghana is increasingly becoming visible. As observed by Omenyo, some charismatic churches „did not consider social ministry as their responsibility to others‟. However, for the past three decades enough interest in social programs like the provision of education, health and others is being demonstrated by some charismatic churches in Ghana. Some Pentecostal/Charismatic churches have been very much involved in the provision of education especially. The question is what changed? What is the rationale behind the involvement in the provision of education by the Charismatic churches? This is the question my thesis seeks to answer. In the ensuing chapters the rationale for the provision of education by some well-known selected charismatic churches‟ is discussed. Chapter three examined the elements that could provide the basis of the rationale for the provision of education by these selected churches – the philosophy, vision and mission statements and teachings of the selected churches. The discussion also sought to determine whether or not there exist linkages between the worldviews or philosophies of the selected churches with the Christian worldview and furthermore the relationship between their worldviews with those of their subsidiary schools. The next chapter recounted the history, outlined and examined the philosophy, vision and mission statements and teachings of each selected church. 56 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE 3.1 THE FULL GOSPEL CHURCH INTERNATIONAL 3.1.1 Introduction This chapter deals with the origins, the philosophy, vision and mission statements and the teachings of the churches selected for this study. The worldview of organizations influences their philosophy, vision and mission statements which determines their role, functions and operations in society as has been discussed in chapter one. Consequently, examining the philosophy, vision and mission statements and teachings of these selected churches provides an insight into the basis that forms the rationale for their provision of education. The brief history, philosophy, vision and mission statements and teachings of the FGCI are quoted 174 directly from its church official documents. 3.1.2 Brief History of FGCI In 1963, a young man in Accra by name Emmanuel Ashong Mensah, then an employee of the State Transport Corporation, had an encounter with God which led to him being born again or receiving Christ as his Lord and saviour. He became a member of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) in Accra. Later on he was transferred from Accra to work in Tema. In Tema, with his wife Mrs. Catherina Mensah, they worshipped with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Greenwich Meridian Congregation, at Community One. He rose to become a presbyter and a lay preacher in the Church. Motivated by his new spiritual experience, he began holding a regular worship and prayer meetings with his family and one Mrs. Adelaide Budu Dawson, a neighbor and a member of his church, the PCG, at his residence in site 21, Community One. The prayer meetings grew rapidly and with the accompanying of healings and manifestations of the power of the Holy 174 FGCI membership training manual titled “Discovering My membership” C.L.A.S.S 101 Teacher‟s Manual, 9; Funeral Brochure of Very Rev E.A Mensah, February 6 2010 and; the FGCI Constitution. 57 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Spirit, the attention of the community was attracted to their meetings such that his residence could not hold the meetings due to the influx of people from the community into the meetings. It became necessary to relocate to a playground in the open in front of his residence. The group became known as the Prayer Group and Evangelistic Association (PGEA) with the mission to pray and win converts for Christ. The movement became popularly known as the “Site 21 Revival”. It must be noted that Emmanuel Ashong Mensah was still a member of the PCG while leading the PGEA. The PGEA, under the leadership of Emmanuel Mensah Ashong, occasionally invited other influential figures like Evangelist Abraham de Love, Rev Enoch Agbozo and others who came to fellowship and preach at the PGEA meetings. The leadership of the PCG Greenwich Meridian Congregation could not countenance the activities of the PGEA further, incurring the displeasure of the PCG leadership and majority of the general congregation of the PCG at the time. This occasioned the eventual secession of Emmanuel Ashong Mensah from the PCG to start the first independent Charismatic Church in Ghana. The name changed from PGEA to Full Gospel Evangelistic Ministry (FGEM) and had its first church service on the nd 2 February, 1978. Emmanuel Ashong Mensah the founder was ordained as a Rev. minister and first President of the FGEM at a nearby school, the George Padmore Basic School, at site 21, Community One, Tema. Many branches of the church were established by the founder during his ministry for thirty- eight years. At age70, he retired and handed over leadership of the FGEM to the next generation leader, his own son, the Rt.Rev. Samuel Noi Mensah in the year 2000. The ordination service was attended by senior ministers like Dr. Mensah Otabil, senior pastor and founder of the International Central Gospel Church as the keynote speaker. Others were Rev. Simon Asore, the leader of the Assemblies of God Church at the time among others. By this, 58 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh he became the first Charismatic Church leader to have successfully passed on leadership to th the next generation whiles alive. He died at age 82 on 12 November 1999. Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams is quoted to have said regarding the leadership of the Very Rev. E.A Mensah as “Emmanuel Ashong Mensah was the first and only known independent Charismatic Church leader in Ghana who successfully raised his own son and 175 handed over the mantle of leadership to him whiles alive.” 3.1.3 The Philosophy of FGCI The Full Gospel Church International‟s statement of philosophy reads: 1. Man is a tri-partite being (spirit, soul and body), created in the image of God. Man is a spirit being, has a soul and lives in a body. Man was therefore made by God and for God‟s purpose. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose our significance and our destiny. Man was made to last forever. He was made to have: A purpose to live for People to live with Principles to live by A profession to live by Power to live on 2. We believe that God designed His church specifically to help people fulfill these five purposes He has for them. We believe that God‟s purposes for His church are identical to His five purposes for mankind: Worship helps people to focus on God 175 Archbishop Duncan Williams said this in his eulogy in honour of the founder and first president of the FGCI, the late Very Rev. Emmanuel Ashong Mensah during his funeral at the headquarters church of FGCI in Tema Community One, February 6, 2010. 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Fellowship helps people face life‟s problems Discipleship helps people find their talents Evangelism help people fulfill their mission on earth. 3. We believe that the quality of a person‟s life in direct proportion to his/her commitment to excellence regardless of his profession 4. It is, therefore, our desire to help people all those who come in contact with us, to develop a quality mindset in church, business, home and everywhere else. Society has programmed human beings to have negative mindset which reflect in negative behaviour 5. Since life is dynamic and not static, we believe that the Word of God (the Bible) is not only given to us to increase our knowledge but to change us. However, the method of communication and application must be relevant to deal with the challenges of our generation. We are therefore open to change. We are not trapped by tradition. 6. We are committed to helping people discover, develop and use their gifts, talents and abilities to enable them become useful and relevant to society, their community, and to fulfill their life-mission on earth. 7. We are, therefore, the voice and the hand that encourage and empower people to change their lives with hope comfort and peace, so they can live a purpose-driven life By Greene‟s contention of the relationship between worldview and philosophy as he puts it that, “when a worldview is brought to the conscious level and logically worked out into what 176 we are calling a consciousness, or perspective, we have a philosophy,” a strong point can be made then that a person‟s or organization‟s worldview cannot be divorced from their philosophy. The worldview and the philosophy are two sides of the same coin. One reflects 176 Greene, Reclaiming the Future of Christian Education,31 60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the other or emanates from the other. The above philosophy of the Full Gospel Church International unarguably emanates from its worldview. The administration of their mission school is assumed to have embraced the philosophy of the church as the foundation and point of reference with regards to their operations. Reference to the first point of their philosophy suggest that the nature of man‟s constitution as a tripartite being – spirit soul and body, require holistic approach to his or her development for a proper functioning as a human being. The church has been known for the spiritual development of people. However, efforts are being made by most churches for example some churches in the charismatic fraternity for the development of the mind or intellectual capacity of people through the provision of education as well as the physiological development by the provision of health care. To talk of helping people who come in contact with their organization to develop a quality mindset within the context of a society that, as their statement of philosophy states, “has programmed human beings to have negative mindset which reflect in negative behaviour,” perhaps suggest that their provision of education factors as part of the training of the school children, part of the curriculum or program that attempts to address such a problem in the society. Positive behaviour borders on morality. If people‟s conduct and behaviour could be positive, it will largely be dependent on good moral foundation laid by instilled moral principles in them at the early stages of their human development. FGCI mission school, therefore, may have in place a deliberate program that attempts to achieve that objective. The belief that God has a plan and purpose for each person and that FGCI is set out to help people to “discover, develop and use their gifts, talents and abilities to enable them become useful and relevant to society, their community, and to fulfill their life-mission on earth,” perhaps expresses the intention of the FGCI of its strong belief in the potential of people and 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh commitment to empower people to discover and use what they have been endowed by the creator for their own good and the good of society at large. It could be assumed that their provision of education could have been considered by the FGCI as an opportunity to empower the youth for their usefulness and proper fitting into society. Again, by their philosophy, they are “the voice and the hand that encourage and empower people to change their lives with hope comfort and peace, so they can live a purpose-driven life,” is an indication of the motivation driving the establishment of their school in such a deprived community to change the lives of the teeming youth from despair to hope. Education empowers the marginalized, disadvantaged and the poor in society access to opportunities that can change the trajectory of a life of struggles to the path of a dignifying and decent life. Unarguably, churches are predominantly into the provision of spiritual development of people in society. However, their involvement in the provision of education has the obvious tendency of having to extend a form of the spiritual nourishment being provided within the church setting into the school or classroom setting as an add on to the academic training being offered. That is a basic characteristic of a Christian school. It is not out of place to expect the inclusion of programs with spiritual, moral and ethical content to the academic programs being run by the Full Gospel Academy to reflect the worldview or philosophy of FGCI, the mother organization. 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.1.4 Vision Statement To reach and equip our generation to discover their purpose in life, using contemporary, creative and caring ways that will translate into one-million-member church of transformed 177 and devoted Christian 500 branches globally by the year 2033 (20yrs) To reach and equip people to discover their purpose in life using contemporary, creative and caring ways could take various forms. Perhaps the provision of education is considered by the FGCI as one of those forms in the pursuit of its vision. 3.1.5 Mission Statement To bring people to Jesus for membership in His family, build them to maturity and train them for ministry in church and send them to fulfill their mission in the world in order to magnify God‟s name by leading people to be devoted to Christ, building relationship with one another 178 and influencing their community for Christ. 3.1.6 Message and Teachings The Full Gospel Church International teachings are based on their philosophy and believes derived from the Bible of the Great Commission and the Great Commandment recorded in (Matthew 28:19-20; 22: 36-40) „The Great Commandment:‟ “And He said to him, „You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with your entire mind.‟ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, „You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets” 177 th See the Brochure of Ministerial Ordination and Commissioning Ceremony, 26 October, 2013 at FGCI TH Emmanuel Mensah Chapel, Community 1, Tema; and the Brochure of FGCI 18 Session of General Council th nd Meetings on 29 september – 2 October 2016 at Koforidua FGCI Freedom Temple, 4 and; FGCI Constitution. 178 Ibid. 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh „The Great Commission:‟ “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, „All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age‟” Full Gospel Church International believes that the centrality of the entire Christian experience culminates into these two scriptures and that they are foundational for the teachings of the entire Bible. Therefore it derives what it calls its‟ “five purposes” from these two biblical quotations. The teachings of FGCI therefore revolve around these five purposes. 1. To “Love God with all your heart” is “WORSHIP” 2. To “Love your neighbor as yourself” is “MINISTRY” 3. To “Go … make disciples” is “EVANGELISM” 4. To “Baptize …” is to “INCORPORATE INTO FELLOWSHIP” 5. To “Teach them … all things” is “DISCIPLESHIP” The church teaches that everything Christians do is worship unto God singing, dancing, giving, service, prayer, giving and so on and so forth. That God has not created any human being „giftless.‟ Everybody is gifted in one way or the other and by virtue of that God has shaped and designed each one differently and uniquely to accomplish their particular purpose by using their gifts to serve in the church and humankind at large. FGCI holds that people‟s gifts and talents are to be sharpened. People must excel in the use of their gifts to serve both in the church and outside the church wherever they may be. Education is one major means by which the youth could sharpen their talents and gifts. This could inform part of the reason for the provision of education by the FGCI. FGCI teaches that the discovery of one‟s true 64 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh purpose is in God and no one can discover their true purpose without a relationship with the purpose maker, God, through His Son Jesus Christ. It is incumbent on Christians to now respond to the call of the Lord Jesus Christ to make converts for Christianity to help people discover and fulfill their purpose and destiny. Thus people are to be taught and influenced with Bible principles to affect the communities positively. To raise matured and devoted Christians who will intend reach other „lost souls‟ for Christ in perpetuation of the mission cycle. Purpose and mission statements are basically statements that are derived from the bigger picture, the worldview or philosophy of an institution in the case of institutions or that of an individual with respect to their own personal worldview or philosophy for life. They serve as “basic guide in planning development, 179 evaluation, policy-making and all other institutional functions” The vision and mission of the church has direct influence on the vision and mission of subsidiary organizations and institutions of the church, for example Christian schools established by the churches. They provide the basis upon which the distinctiveness and intentions of the organization functions and the role for which it is set out to do is defined and established. 3.1.7 Summary FGCI‟s worldview is not at variance with the Christian worldview. It emphasizes the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all creation and the acceptance of his sacrifice on the cross as the only avenue to salvation for the souls of mankind. It upholds that the quality of life one can live is based on the quality of mind he or she possesses. However, due to the depravity of the state of mankind without Christ, a truly transformed mind is made possible by the renewal of the depraved mind through the agency of the word of God which is the Bible. FGCI holds 179 TRACS, Accreditation Manual (Forest, VA: Transnational Association of Christianity Colleges and schools,2001) 65 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh that people are have been blessed by God with talents, gifts, abilities and professions that must be developed and sharpened to be of benefit to them and their communities. 3.2 THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) 3.2.1 Brief History of ICGC The international Central Gospel Church is among the early charismatic churches to be established in Ghana. The International Central Gospel Church – ICGC – is an Evangelical, Charismatic Christian Church. It was officially inaugurated as a church th on the 26 of February 1984, in Accra, Ghana. The first meeting was held in a small classroom with an initial membership of just about twenty people. From February 1984 to April 1986, the membership grew to about one hundred and eighty (180) adults in regular attendance. The early meetings of the church were held in several facilities which included classrooms, a private residence, a public hall, a science laboratory, a mechanical workshop and a cinema theatre. In May 1986, the church settled in a rented scout hall – the Baden Powell Memorial Hall – which became its home for the next ten years. During this ten-year period, the membership rose to 4,000. This period also saw aggressive missionary church planting activities with local assemblies established in almost all the major towns in cities of Ghana. Several other churches were also planted in cities in Europe and United States. The first congregation which was established in February 1984, now designated as Christ Temple Assembly, has directly planted over forty others churches out of the original congregation in the Accra-Tema metropolis of Ghana alone. In 1988, the ICGC established a ministerial institute to train a new generation of leaders to carry out its vision. From the initial six-month certificate in ministry, the college has developed into the premier private-owned University in Ghana known as the Central University College. Again in 1988, the church instituted an educational scholarship scheme, known as Central Aid, to finance the education of selected needy student in pre-tertiary educational institutions. This scheme is now considered the largest non-governmental scholarship program for student in pre-tertiary education in Ghana. 66 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The International Central Gospel Church is a socially conscious Christian church which upholds the philosophy of Human dignity and Excellence. It engages in promoting and staging events whose impact have reached to the depths of the Ghanaian society and brought Christ 180 to the doorsteps of the people. The stories of the establishment of almost all the charismatic churches in Ghana have one thing quite common to all. Their story is characterized by humble and low beginnings, one of struggles with regard to place of worship and finances for building facilities and other infrastructural development. It takes them quite a long time for their establishment. However, most turn out to become very rich and embark on a range of developmental projects for their church and the community at large. Perhaps such an attitude could be learnt by other organizations. 3.2.2 Philosophy of ICGC Practical Christianity Human Dignity Excellence We believe Christianity is not a myth. God‟s word preached must bring truths that can produce results when applied to one‟s life. Every human being is created in the image of and likeness of God and must be treated with respect and honor. Also, everything the Christian or the human being will do must be in excellent shape to the glory of God. 181 (Daniel5:12). Practical Christianity, human dignity and excellence, all have basis in the Bible and are ingredients for the development of a person. Practical Christianity connotes character development, moral and ethical standards meaning the ICGC upholds the development of Christian and will promote it anywhere including their schools. Nothing promotes human dignity than education. It is quite obvious that human dignity being a part of the philosophy of ICGC will mean what translates into the establishment of schools. Excellence is linked 180 www.centralgospel.com accessed March 10, 2018. 181 www.centralgospel.com accessed April 7, 2017 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh with performance, leadership and competence. The ICCG upholding excellence implies that it will initiate and promote any initiative that will raise leaders and sharpen the skills of people especially the young. It has to be remembered that the philosophy of ICGC emanates from its worldview, the Biblical worldview and as such all its It can be inferred from the philosophy of the undertakings would be informed by the tenets of the Biblical worldview. It also means its vision and mission and that of all its subsidiaries would reflect its philosophy or worldview. 3.2.3 Vision Statement (Acts 2:42) To establish the house of God through the development of Model New Testament Christians and Churches. That is, we have the commitment to train and equip people who come to our church to develop and grow into maturity in Christ so they will manifest the character of Christ. The vision statement rhymes with the mission statement for a clear direction as to what the ICGC is set to do. 3.2.4 Mission Statement (Jeremiah 31:17) Raising Leaders Shaping Vision Influencing Society through Christ Through our programs, we trust to make the lives of our people better than they came to church, and redirect their perception and behaviour in conformity with God‟s word. This attitude which is based on the word of God will transform the lives of people in their communities, work place, schools and 182 anywhere else. The intention and the role ICGC seeks to pursue is embedded in its mission and vision statements. Clearly, influencing society through Christ, raising leaders and shaping vision 182 www.centralgospel.com accessed April 7, 2017. 68 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh brings to mind the youth. It brings to mind training and imparting of skills to the teething youth of the society. It reveals the intention to raise and prepare people with moral uprightness and ethical standards to be able to influence society through Christ, leaders that could influence society positively. The philosophy, mission and vision statements are interlinked. This resonates with each other and there is consistency as to what the ICCG stands for and the role it seeks to play in society. There cannot be disjointed philosophy, mission and vision statements of an organization. 3.2.5 Message and Teachings Salvation from Sin Acceptance for the Outcast Strength for the weak Prosperity for honest labour Dominion over the flesh These and many more are what we convey through various activities to all our members in particular and the world in general We trust God to enable us to present to the world the eternal truths of the Bible that is doctrinally sound, spiritually inspired, mentally 183 challenging and socially relevant. In his book Pentecostalism: The Eddies of Ghanaian Christianity, Kingsley Larbi writes extensively on the International Central Gospel Church. With regards to the message and teachings of the ICGC, he writes that “The distinctiveness of Otabil‟s theology is in the areas of what seems like Evangelical-Pentecostal Liberation Theology and human 184 development.” It must be noted that as a charismatic church, the ICGC upholds and teaches the fundamental believes and teachings of all charismatic churches, however, the foregoing, as observed by Kingsley Larbi, is distinctive of the ICGC. ICGC believes that its primary 185 commitment is “to prepare the African to be a blessing to the world” in three ways; “break 183 www.centralgospel.com accessed April 7, 2017. 184 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 352. 185 th www.centralgospel.com accessed on 10 March, 2018. 69 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the spirit of inferiority, cultivate a spirit of excellence, play our role in God‟s end-time 186 agenda.” The teachings of ICGC then focus on bringing transformation to the African through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible account in Genesis 9:20-27 about the curse of Ham, who is believed to be the father of the black race, has generated debate over 2000 187 years. The school of thought that interprets the bible account to mean that the black race is cursed makes assertions to suggest that the curse of Ham had to do with the drunkenness of Noah his father and the accompanying shameful act of Ham seeing the nakedness of his 188 father. The exegesis that black Africans, as offspring of Ham were cursed, possibly „blackened‟ by their sins was advanced during the Middle Ages, but became increasing 189 common during the slave trade of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There is the likelihood that those that postulated this kind of interpretation were largely Christians and did so perhaps for their own interest to suit their ideological agenda. The founder of the Latter Days Saint (LDS) church taught that black people could not be eligible to the priesthood of the Latter Days Saints church. The leadership of the church continued same teachings after the death of their Smith. Smith affirmed the curse of Ham and justified slavery in these words As the fact is incontrovertible that the first mention we have of slavery is found in the holy bible… „And he said cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren‟… the people who interfere the least with the decrees and purposes of God in this matter, will come under the least condemnation before him; and those who are determined to pursue a course which shows an opposition and a feverish restlessness against the designs of the Lord, will learn, when perhaps it is too late for their own good, that 186 www.centralgospel.com 187 David M. Goldenberg, The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity and Islam, (London: Princeton University Press, 2003), 157. 188 Sarna Nahum, “The Anticipatory use of Information as Literary Feature of Genesis Narratives” in Friedman, Richard Elliot, The Creation of Sacred Literature: Composition and Redaction of Biblical Text (California: University of California,1981), 76. 189 Benjamin Braude “The Sons of Noah and the Construction of Ethnic and Geographical Identities in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods,” The William and Mary Quarterly LIV 54, no.1 Constructing Race (Janauary 1997):103-142. See also John N. Swift and Gigen Mammoser, “Out of the Realm of Superstition: Chesnutt‟s „Dave‟s Neckliss‟ and the Curse of Ham,” American Literary Realism, 42, no.1, (Fall 2009):3. 70 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh God can do his own work without the aid of those who are not 190 dictate by his counsel. In the thinking of Smith and his organization, Ham‟s curse offers legitimacy to the slave trade and that it is God‟s will to subjugate black people to slavery and servitude. He considered the subjugation of black people to slavery and servitude as God‟s divine will that must be done and that anything less amounts to opposition to God‟s divine will. However, others hold an opposing view that the black race is not cursed. Robert Boyle a th theologian in the 17 century refuted the idea that black people are cursed. He argued that “the curse of Ham as an explanation that black people are cursed was a misinterpretation 191 embraced by „vulgar writers,‟ travelers and critics” of his time. Thus, some might have capitalized on the situation and skew the fact to serve their personal interest. Mensa Otabil debunks the thought that black people have been cursed. He rather argues that Ham was blessed and the black race is therefore blessed and not cursed as being postulated by some scholars. He brings to the fore in his teachings that throughout the entire Bible, black people have played significant role in God‟s plan in human history. Otabil posits that after the flood, 192 God blessed Noah and his sons. He explains from the same account of Genesis 9:1, 18, 22, 25. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. The three sons of Noah were blessed by God after the flood. Sometime after that, Ham committed the offence. Verse 22 states that 190 Joseph Smith, Latter Days Saints’ Messenger and Advocate 2, no.7, Letter to Oliver Cowdery from Joseph Smith Jr. Kurtland, Ohio: Frederick G. Williams, Apr. 1836): Wikisource 290. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Evening_and_the_Morning_Star, retrieved March 15, 2018. 191 Robert Boyle, Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours, (London: Henry Herringman, 1664), 160. https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Curse_of_Ham , retrieved March 15, 2018. 192 Mensa Otabil, Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia: A Biblical Revelation of God’s Purpose for the Black Race (Accra: DPI Press Ltd, 2004), 33. 71 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh And Ham, the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father. It was Ham who saw the nakedness of Noah, his father, when Noah was drunk and was laid naked in his tent. Shem and Japheth went to cover their father‟s nakedness after Ham had seen it and went to tell them about it. Ham was the culprit. However, when Noah was up from his sleep he pronounced a curse on Canaan, Ham‟s son instead of Ham himself. The verse 25 says And he said curse be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. Otabil elucidates that Noah knew that Ham had already been blessed by God in verse one and therefore he could not be cursed. Noah then imputed the curse unto Canaan, the forth son of Ham. It cannot be delineated therefore that Ham is cursed. Otabil advocates that the truth about black people as espoused in the bible must be told. “We need to re-define our theology to establish the true liberty of Christ in the lives of our people (black people). They must 193 know the truth.” By Otabil‟s interpretation of the biblical account, he has demonstrated that the whole truth about the African story had not been well handled. The facts about the black race have been skewed to drive certain ideological interest of some others. The result of this action is to keep the black race perpetually disadvantaged to the advantage of those who seek to advance such an agenda. Otabil further contends that the view that Ham was cursed and consequently the black race, is a “satanic agenda to teach a doctrine of superiority and inferiority of races….It is a sad commentary on Christianity, that these theories were supported by some clergy and instituted 194 through the help of some organized churches.” His position suggests rather that the opposing view is against the purpose and will of God and it is satanic because from God‟s perspective no race is superior over another. Proponents of such view seek to set some race 193 Mensa Otabil, Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia, 10. 194 Mensa Otabil, Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia, 33. 72 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh superior than others which serves as grounds for exploitation. Firstly, Otabil‟s call for a re- definition of theology in response to the misinterpretation of the biblical account under discussion is indicative of the fact that he acknowledges the existence of a perception among black people including the black Christian community, of an inferiority complex and a negative mentality about themselves traceable to the false propaganda about the supposed curse of Ham. Paul Gifford writes about his view of Mensa Otabil‟s teachings, saying, “Otabil‟s attempt to re-evaluate the role and worth of blacks strikes chords wherever he 195 preached across the continent. This message has enormous appeal.” Gifford‟s statement indicates the existence of a certain level of a sense of worthlessness and despondency among black people due to their circumstances and how Otabil‟s message appeals to them because it speaks to their situation and promises hope. The circumstances facing Africans today for example the underdevelopment of Africa with its associated complex problems and the seeming inability to deal with the problems seems to provide basis for the thinking among majority of Africans and non-Africans that Africa is indeed cursed. It is commonplace in the public space today of the presence of general mentality that there is something wrong with the African. The manifestations of this assertion could be noticed in the general behaviour of an average black person in almost all spheres of our national life – business, politics, education, governance, leadership and so on and so forth. The present context within which the average black person seems to function or operates from a sense of inadequacy, a display of lack of ability, unprofessionalism and less regard for excellence, ICGC has taken the challenge and is saying that the way forward for Africa is to know the truth about themselves, teaching Africans to understand their role and worth in human history demonstrated in God‟s divine plan in the pages of the Bible. The 195 Paul Gifford, „Ghana‟s Charismatic Churches‟ in Journal of Religion in Africa Vol. 24, Fasc 3 (August, 1994), 249. www.jstor.org/stable/1581301. 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh African, seeing him or herself in the pages of the Bible as intended in God‟s unfolding plan in human history, would heighten his or her consciousness and affords him or her the needed energy and desire to realize his or her full potential. Larbi, asserts that Mensa Otabil sees his church “generally as part of the universal church and particularly as an African indigenous 196 church whose divine mission is to bring leadership and direction to the black race.” Larbi adds that, it is Otabil‟s conviction that the Messiah has come to restore to black people, “their 197 God-given human dignity. To remind them who they were.” Otabil is not suggesting that the established fact that Ham and for that matter the black race is blessed by God is a substitute for hard work. It should be noted that from the biblical account, all the three sons of Noah were blessed. It is about the mindset, the attitude and the putting into use of what God has blessed mankind with which matters. It is about what is done with the blessing that makes the difference. In this regard, Larbi writes of Otabil that He teaches that through the God-given seed/talent within the individual, combined with hard work, motivation, confidence, studiousness, sacrifice, spirit of excellence, moral uprightness and 198 continued education, one can be successful. Again in his book, Otabil writes God has endowed every human being with unique talents, gifts, and ideas, which can be nurtured for beneficial use. These are our seeds. When they are discovered, valued, put to use and nurtured, they grow 199 and bear fruit. These statements reflect the essence of the teachings of ICGC. Every individual, black or white, has a God-given talent and gifts. By developing and engaging the gifts and talents will be beneficial for improving one‟s life and as incentive for the development of a nation at large. It is common knowledge that education is one important ways by which talent and 196 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 363. 197 Ibid. 198 Ibid, 361. 199 Mensa Otabil, The Dominion Mandate: Finding and Fulfilling Your Purpose in Life (Accra: Kairos Books, 2013), 43. 74 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh gifts can be developed. With Hard work, excellence, a sense of morality and all the other factors as indicated by Mensa Otabil, anyone can be successful in life. Secondly, Otabils‟s call acknowledges the churches responsibility to theologically re-orient its members to come to the knowledge of who they truly are. It is not the responsibility of the political class but the church‟s responsibility. 3.2.6 Summary Examining the worldview and philosophy of ICGC, cascaded through its vision and mission statements and teaching, it comes out clearly that a relationship between the Christian worldview and that of ICGC is established. ICGC takes an opposing view about the supposed curse of Ham and delineates to the effect that the black race is blessed and not cursed. ICGC embraces the challenge to correct the erroneous perception about black people by redefining theology to re-orient the black community of the truth about themselves and the need to discover and put to good use their God given talents and gifts for a prosperous life and development through hard work, sacrifice, morality and commitment to excellence. In the scheme of all this, perhaps ICGC provision of education occupies a very important place in the strategy for achieving its primary commitment of “preparing the African to be a blessing to the world.” Thus the worldview of the church, ICGC, is reflected in its philosophy, vision and mission statements, and the teachings and message of the church. Consequently, the vision and mission statements of their schools would reflect a link between the two in terms of the role, operations and direction of their schools. 75 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.3 THE ACTION CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL (ACI) 3.3.1 Brief History of ACI Action Chapel International (ACI) started in 1978 as a prayer meeting by Nicholas Duncan 200 Williams in his father‟s house in the airport residential area in Accra. The fellowship began to grow. The early meetings of the church were held in several places including school premises, student hostel, shop, teachers‟ hall, the Trade Fair Centre and to the present 201 location off the Spintex Road in Accra. The teaching emphasis on faith, prayer, prosperity and the visible demonstration of miracles, many young people were attracted to the church 202 from the schools, colleges and the TWMC‟s. 3.3.2 Philosophy of ACI The statement of faith of the ACI as numerated below conveys its philosophy. 1. The Bible. We believe the Bible, comprising both the old and new testaments, is the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God – II Tim 3:16, II Peter 1: 20-21 2. The Trinity. We believe that there is One God eternally existent in three persons; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. – Eph 4:5-6 3. Jesus Christ. We believe in Jesus Christ as The Lord and Saviour of the entire human race – John 1:1-4, John10:30 4. The Divinity of Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1: 18-25; Luke 1:30-35) died (John 19:30-35) and rose from the dead John 20:25-29, Luke 24:36-40) and ascended into Heaven (John 3:13; Acts 1:9-11, Ephesians 4:8-10). 5. Rapture and Second coming of Jesus Christ. We believe in the rapture of the Church and the Second coming of Christ. (I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Hebrews 9:28; Revelations 1:7) 6. Repentance. We believe that repentance is a requirement of salvation and that we are forgiven of sin and that we exercise our faith in Jesus Christ through act(s) of repentance. The repentance that leads to salvation requires that we change our mind and receive Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour. Repentance and confession with regard to 200 The Birth and Effects of Charismaticism in Ghana (1), Published 2 January, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2017. 201 Archbishop N. Duncan –Williams, Providence and Destiny: The Nicholas Duncan-William Story (Accra: Action Chapel International, 2015), 61. 202 Ibid. 76 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh sin is a daily act of our faith in the precious Blood of Christ, which is the means by which we are cleansed from all unrighteousness (Acts 3:19; Luke 24:47; Ephesians 1:7). 7. Regeneration. We Believe that regeneration by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God is essential for personal salvation (Titus 3:5; John 3:5; II Corinthians 5:17). 8. Divine Healing. We Believe that the redemptive work of Christ on the cross provide divine healing for the body and salvation for the soul of everyone that believes (1 Peter 2:24; Acts 3:16; Acts 9:32-35) 9. The Empowerment of the Holy Ghost. We believe that when an individual receives the empowerment of The Holy Ghost, he receives divine enablement for Christian service and to be an effective witness (Acts 1:8; 2:4; 3:1-26; 4:5-12). 10. Sanctification. We believe that sanctification is the will of God for us (I Thessalonians 4:3). The Father sanctifies us (I Corinthians 1:30) by the Holy Spirit (II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2; Romans 15:16) and in the name of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians: 11). However, we have a responsibility to govern ourselves in the light of these scriptures (Romans 12:1) 11. Eternal Judgment. We believe in the final resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the former to eternal life and the latter to eternal 203 judgment (Revelations 20: 11-15; I Corinthians 15:12-23). The vision statement, mission statement, philosophy and teachings of all the selected churches providing education are clear pointers to what their schools are consequently set out to do. The corresponding vision and mission statements of the schools established by the respective Charismatic churches would derive their strength from that of their respective churches. The operations and function of their respective Christian schools are expected to find a certain alignment with the philosophy, vision and mission of the mother organization, in this case, the various churches that established them. As creatures of their mother organizations, the churches, Christian schools have a responsibility towards the churches to pursue the interest of the churches and not their own interest. Some degree of synergy and a concerted effort between the mother organization and its subsidiaries is essential for attaining the overall goal of the organization. 203 www.actionchapel.net retrieved June 9, 2017. 77 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.3.3 Vision Statement 204 To make Jesus Christ known throughout the world. 3.3.4 Mission Statement To train and develop Christ-like disciples in their God-given gifts and callings empowered for the task of building the Kingdom of God 205 making them relevant in our time. 3.3.5 Message and Teachings Action Chapel‟s teaching covers all manner of areas with respect to the Bible. Life issues of prosperity, healing, prophetic manifestations, success in life, and so on and so forth as the statement of faith indicates. However, the central teaching has to do with Prayer and Spiritual warfare. In an interview with the chairman of the counsel of Bishops of the ACI, Bishop James Saah, he stated that with regards to the teachings of ACI, emphasis is laid on 206 “strategic prayer and spiritual warfare.” A clear manifestation of its prayer emphasis is the special prayer service on Thursdays called the „Jericho Hour‟ organized not only for members of the ACI but also for the public. Some attend from various part of Accra and other parts of the country including nationals from neighboring countries. The prayers offered are mainly focused on dealing with all negative cosmic forces believed to militate against the well-being and progress of people and the advancement of the church – spiritual warfare. People pray for God‟s intervention in their life for healing, progress and advancement in business, family, marriage, education and a range of other issues of life. Participants engage in Spiritual warfare against demonic forces believed to be responsible for 207 causing misfortunes and inhibitions regarding people‟s general well-being. The centrality of 204 Ibid. 205 www.actionchapel.net June 9, 2017. 206 James Saah, Chairman of the Council of bishops, interview granted the researcher in his office at the headquarters Church, the Prayer Cathedral, off the Spintex Road, Accra, June 15, 2017. 207 As a participant observer at the Jericho Hour service at the Prayer Cathedral off the Spintex Road, Accra on th Thursday 15 June, 2017. 78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh message generally espoused by the Charismatic Churches as identified by Asamoah Gyadu is a “message that affirmed the goodness of God and his desire to work miracles in the lives of 208 believers” therefore, the ACI‟s emphasis on prayer connotes the understanding that prayer is a very important spiritual exercise for the activation of miracles for generating solutions to people‟s spiritual needs. 3.4 Summary ACI worldview espouses the tenants of the Christian worldview. It seeks to train people to discover their callings and gifts and use it to expand the kingdom of God on earth. It promotes training people to be relevant in life. ACI teaches the supernatural power of God released through prayer and miracles for victory over demonic forces that militate against Christians. Prosperity and success in life prominently feature in its teaching. Prayer and belief in the miraculous according to the beliefs of the charismatic churches, play a role in the wellbeing and prosperity of people. However, the thought of pursuing a cause for making people relevant in their time as stated by the mission statement of ACI, suggests taking into account the establishment of an academic institution for training and development of the intellectual capacity of the youth as part of the plan of making people relevant in their time. 3.5 Conclusion Chapter three has attempted to examine the philosophy, vision and mission statements and the teachings of the three selected churches. It was found that the selected churches‟ philosophy vision and mission statements and teachings reflect the Christian worldview and are pointers to what their educational philosophy represents and consequently what their schools are set out to do. A church‟s vision and mission statements are facsimile of the meta- narrative that it holds. They demonstrate the intent and trajectory of the church. They serve as 208 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatic, 113 79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh a guide and bring all operations and functions of the church into focus. Consequently, the philosophy of mother organizations informs that of their subsidiaries. For instance, the philosophy of a subsidiary, either a school, or a hospital or others, established by a church, derives its philosophy from the mother organization, the church. By extension, the operations and activities of the established subsidiaries are conducted with recourse to the philosophy of that of the mother organization. Most times the philosophy of the mother organization finds expression in the motto, vision and mission statements of subsidiaries. In the specific case of educational institutions as subsidiaries of churches, the assumption is that, the church‟s philosophy would influence its philosophy of education. Philosophy of education is considered as a “set of beliefs behind every school and every teacher that influences what and how students are taught. It represents answers to the questions about the purpose of schooling, a teacher‟s role and what should be 209 taught and by what method.” Again, “Philosophy of education is a label applied to the 210 study of the purpose process, nature and ideals of education.” The meta-narrative held by the selected churches of study would determine the nature and ideals of education they provide. The worldviews of organizations have direct relationship with the brand they create for themselves. Organizational branding is basically a process by which organizations try to position themselves in ways that offers them distinctive identity and image in the eyes of the public. Qualities that enhances an organization‟s image contributes to its branding and places it in a way that brings to the fore its distinctive roles and unique contribution to society. This is a feat that organizations work to achieve. Some churches have been able to create a good brand 209 www.highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072877723/student_view0/chapter9/index.html, retrieved March, 14 2018. 210 www.philosophybasics.com/branch_philosophy_of_education.html, retrieved March 14, 2018. 80 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh in respect of the form of education they provide. In Ghana for example, it is common knowledge that the names of certain schools are almost synonymous to quality, discipline academic excellence, high moral standards. Names like Wesley Girls Senior High School, Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (Presec), Saint Augustine‟s Senior High School just to mention a few, established by the Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic churches respectively are well known. These mentioned churches, on the strength of the Christian worldview, have attempted to influence their educational institution subsidiaries to reflect what they represent. The opportunity exist for charismatic churches in the education space that on the strength of the Christian worldview their provision of education could be identified in the Ghanaian society with some degree of uniqueness or a brand. The next chapter discussed the rationale for the provision of education by the selected churches. It focused on finding out and analyzing the factors that determine the rationale for the provision of education by the selected churches. 81 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR THE RATIONALE FOR THE PROVISION OF EDUCATION BY THE THREE SELECTED CHARISMATIC CHURCHES. 4.1 Introduction: The Charismatic churches were considered uninterested in social services from the time of their emergence on the Ghanaian Christian landscape in the late 1970‟s. However, as has been discussed early on, there had been a shift in paradigm with regards to some charismatic churches participation in the provision of social services as had been the case of the TWMC‟s in Ghana. This chapter focuses on answering the research question for this research by attempting to find out the rationale for the provision of education by the FGCI, ICGC and ACI respectively. 4.2 THEFULL GOSPEL CHURCH INTERNATIONAL (FGCI) 4.2.1 Samuel Noi Mensah – Leader of FGCI The Rt. Rev. Samuel Noi Mensah is the current president of the Full Gospel Church International (FGCI), the first independent Charismatic Church in Ghana headquartered in Tema with 73 branches in Ghana and six branches abroad S.N Mensah had his ministerial training at the All Nations for Christ Bible Institute in Benin City, Nigeria; the Eston College, Canada and the Canadian Bible College. After his pastoral training, he served as a pastor of the church and rose through the ranks, held various positions in the church including the Principal of the Full Gospel Bible School from 1988-1998, which has trained over 300 pastors at home and abroad both from FGCI and other churches. Finally he became the next president after his father, the founder of FGCI, the Very Rev. E. A. Mensah in the year 2000. He is currently the Dean of the Full Gospel College. Under his 82 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh leadership, the FGCI had experienced remarkable progress, seeing to the planting of more churches, the creation of church structures and vision, and the building of leadership capacity of the church for performance. On the ecumenical front, he serves as a member of the council of the National Executive Council of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches (GPCC) and currently the longest serving executive member of the Council. He served as the International Crusade Director for Africa, for the Brent Regis Evangelistic team of Unite States of America that organized a city wide crusade at Ho and Hohoe in the Volta Region, attracting well over 100,000 people in 1995, served as the central committee chairman of the Greater PEACE gospel crusade by Reinhard Bonnke in Accra in 2013. He holds a Bachelor of Theology (BTh) from the Canadian Christian College (Toronto, Canada), a Master‟s degree in Governance and Leadership (MGL) from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, and a Master of Arts in Social Policy Studies from the University of Ghana, Legon. A prolific writer with a number of books authored to his credit. It is his firm belief that all human beings were created to make contributions to life and has a strong passion to equip people with knowledge and skills for their success in life. 4.2.2 Rationale for the Establishment of the Full Gospel Academy The Full Gospel academy is a Primary and Juniour High School established by the Full th Gospel Church International on the 17 April, 1994. It is located in Ashaiman, a deprived community near Tema. The school has produced several students into the universities and other tertiary institutions over the years. Bishop S.N Mensah, responding to the question posed by the researcher on what was the rationale for the establishment of the FGCI Juniour High School states that “the 83 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 211 establishment of the school was in response to a need in the community” adding that “the community in which the branch of the FGCI church was located in Ashaiman, is a very deprived community and the average parent had a challenge providing their kids an affordable education and so the church thought to set up a school to provide basic school education for the community at a token fee so that the children in the community could be 212 educated” . He explained further that “the decision by the church was based on the seven- 213 point philosophy of FGCI.” He asserted that, as the FGCI philosophy stipulates, the human being is a tri-partite being, spirit soul and body and all the three parts of the human being must equally be developed for a person to be able to function well in the society. FGCI therefore is not only poised to meet the spiritual needs of people but also the intellectual, physical and social needs of people. Provision of education by the FGCI is motivated by its philosophy based on the Christian worldview. Focusing on the deprived community also finds its motivation in the tenets of its philosophy. Attempts to meet the needs of the poor in society, to give them hope for the future, to help develop their potential by giving them the opportunity to be educated are principles enshrined in the Christian worldview. The Rev. Francis Tawiah, Vice President of the FGCI, is the pastor whose branch started the school under the approval of the leadership of FGCI. He stated that “FGCI believes that it must remain relevant to the community by helping meet the community needs.” According to him, the establishment of the school was in keeping with meeting the identified needs of the community for example affordable education for that deprived community by providing opportunity for the youth to be empowered through the acquisition of knowledge so as to grow to be responsible adults, making useful contribution for the development of 211 Bishop Samuel Noi Mensah, President of FGCI, interview granted the researcher in his office, March 24, 2017 at 5:30 pm. 212 Bishop Samuel Noi Mensah, interview. 213 Bishop Samuel Noi Mensah , interview. 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 214 society. Thus, the second point he identified as part of the rationale for the provision of education by FGCI is relevance. According to him, FGCI believes in being relevant in the community wherever they are located and that providing education is one way by being relevant as a in the community. An organization‟s relevance is determined by its input geared towards the wellbeing and development of at least its immediate surroundings, its ability and willingness to respond to the critical needs of the community. It is taking a stand to be actively involved in the development of the immediate community within which the organization finds itself; however, it is position taken based on the organization‟s philosophy of life and its interpretation of reality. A. Knowledge and Godliness The Rev. Francis Tawiah stated that the school‟s motto is „Knowledge and Godliness‟. In trying to explain the motto of the school, he asserted that the acquisition of knowledge by the youth is to be accompanied with godliness explaining that knowledge without godliness may not bring to bear the full potential of the benefits that knowledge produces for the 215 development of the community. According to him, godliness combined with knowledge will curb a lot of the evils that befall society today. He states further that Godliness will instill good Christian character in people to put their nation first and shun ills like dishonesty, corruption, greed, theft and all other negative behaviour which creates situations detrimental 216 to the general good of society. With high incidence of corruption and other social vices in our society today, it appears the charismatic churches‟ appreciation for the fact that character, moral and ethical standards contributes to the creation of a better society is on the ascendency. That appreciation is 214 Rev. Francis Tawiah, Vice President of FGCI and Pastor in Charge of the Ashaiman Central Branch, interview granted the researcher in his office, March 8, 2017 at 10: 00 am 215 Rev. Francis Tawiah, interview. 216 Rev. Francis Tawiah, interview. 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh finding expression in the inclusion of the moral and ethical content in the programs being run in the Christian schools they establish. The thinking is that it is not enough to provide academic content in their Christian schools but a moral dimension must be included to produce a particular „product‟ of pupils, students or graduates depending on at what level the education is being provided, fit for the community. K.A Busia, in allusion to this view in reference to indigenous education and his expectation of what formal education is supposed to achieve, has state that “everything the young were taught had relevance to the life and 217 culture of the community and to the kind of life they were expected to lead.” The indigenous system of education focused on producing a specific type of young people trained to deal effectively with the challenges of the community within acceptable norms for the benefit of the community. The headmistress of the FGCI Academy, in response to a question posed by the researcher regarding the focus of the administration of the school, mentioned that“ the school, by its motto, exist to train the children to acquire knowledge and the fear of God to be able to 218 impact their community positively and make meaningful contribution to society.“ Deliberate efforts by Christian schools to maintain their status as Christian institutions, informs the reason they are keen on ensuring the sustainability of the moral content of the curriculum for their pupils or students. This is what establishes the clear difference between them and public schools. The lack of exhibiting good moral conduct by the citizenry has serious ramifications for a nation‟s development. Recently in Ghana, a phenomenon of great concern has emerged, the “Galamsey” menace and has generated lots of interest in the public space and in the media. Galamsey is a local word for illegal mining in Ghana. It is causing the depletion of vegetation and farmlands and 217 Busia, Purposeful Education for Africa, 15. 218 The headmistress, FGCI Academy, interview granted the researcher in her office, March 9, 2017. 86 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the destruction of water bodies in some parts of Ghana in devastation proportion that threatens the very existence of Ghanaians. On a radio program in Accra recently on Asempa 94.7 FM, the Rev. Opuni Frimpong, the general secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana was being interviewed by the program host on the issue of Galamsey and this was his initial response; “if you educate children without moral values you produce intellectual 219 criminals.” Education that only focuses on academic training or intellectual development without a moral content has high possibility of producing people with moral, ethical and character deficiencies which in turn has serious consequences for society. Some believe that the possibility of clandestine involvement of some powerful people within the political and elite class in this illegal activity could not be ruled out. The Galamsey situation is just a microcosm of the challenges in the Ghanaian society that requires serious attention. Talking about challenges facing the church in Ghana, the Ghana Catholic Bishops stated that Our country is also acclaimed as a religious nation owing to the big number of people who profess to be Christians, the proliferation of religious movements and manifestation of religion at public events. In spite of these positive signs, Ghana is faced with the problem of materialism, secularism and moral decadence especially among our 220 youth and young adults. The challenges facing the church as identified by the Catholic bishops in the wider context are the nation‟s challenges. There is no a hundred percent guarantee that once people receive moral education they would always and in every circumstance live by those standards. However, the effort must be made to at least minimize the effect that could have happened if no efforts were made at all to inculcate morals and ethics into people. 219 Rev. Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, General Secretary of the Ghana Christian Council, interviewd by Kojo Asare Baffour Acheampong, host of the program, March 28, 2017. 220 www.myjoyonline.com/news/2014/september-25th/we-are-challenged-with-materialism-moral-decadence- ghana-bishops-tell-pope.php. Address by Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, bishop of Konongo-Manpong and president of the Ghana Catholic Bishops‟ conference on the occasion of the Ad Limina visit to Rome of the Catholic Bishops‟ conference, September 22-25, 2014. 87 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh B. Worship Services for Pupils The researcher undertook a participant observation in the Wednesday worship service of the 221 FGCI Academy. All pupils from both the Primary and Junior High School were in attendance including all the teachers and the headmistress. The program entailed singing songs of worship and praises, dancing and solemn time of prayers by the children for themselves and by the preacher for the children. Prayers for divine protection and for academic excellence were said for the children. It was followed by preaching based on texts from the Bible titled “Communication with God.” The children were taught the need to always acknowledge the fatherhood of God and to understanding that he loves them and wants them to talk to him about whatever concern their lives assured that God will meet their needs. The preacher emphasized also that the children can ask God for knowledge and wisdom for academic excellence. The teacher in charge of worship of the school, in an interview, told the researcher that “the worship service on Wednesdays is meant to instill the 222 fear of God in the children.” The Rev. Francis Tawiah alluded to the Wednesdays worship service of the school as “the main major program in place by the school‟s administration to 223 ensure that a sense of morality is being instilled in the children” The researcher observed also that the school children played various roles in groups like choir and instrumentalist in the worship service. The children apart from imbibing moral lessons are also being given the opportunity to serve the school with their gifts. This could generate in them the desire and confidence to use their skills and abilities to serve the wider society in the future. This is in resonance with the philosophy, mission, vision and teachings of the FGCI. 221 The Researcher sat in the Worship session of the school, March 15, 2017. 222 Mr. Alex, Chairman of the Wednesdays School Worship Committee, interview, March 15, 2017. 223 Rev Francis Tawiah, interview, March 8, 2017. 88 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh C. Curriculum Curriculum and programs run by a school to a large extent determines the caliber of students produced at the end of the day. The Full Gospel Academy uses the Ghana Education Service (GES), prescribed curriculum for all public schools. It also offers moral education for pupils. Herbert Byrne contends that “In other areas of Christian education, the efforts at building a 224 true Bible centered curriculum have been few,” meaning some Christian schools lag behind compared to others in the provision of moral content in their schools. However, the president of the church, the Rt Rev. S. N Mensah indicated that the church‟s plan of running a moral program alongside the GES curriculum in FGCI Academy is a well 225 thought out program to maintain its uniqueness compared to the public. The question is whether the moral program in the school is having the needed impact. Rev. Francis Tawiah revealed that the school “only Christian teachers are employed from any church provided 226 they believe in what we do here” The vice president of the FGCI, Rev Francis Tawiah, the senior pastor in charge of the Ashaiman Central branch of the church, intimated that “most of the pupils have been so influenced by our Christian values of which many are from a Muslim background and their 227 parents are comfortable enrolling their children in our school.” It may be assumed that unsurprisingly, Muslim parents may be reluctant to enroll their kids in Christian mission schools if they do they naturally may have cause to worry because suspicion of imposition of Christian beliefs on their wards. By law, imposition of one religion on another is illegal. Mariama, a Muslim parent whose three children attended and completed the FGCI Academy, explained why she and her husband enrolled their kids in the FGCI academy: “the God 224 Herbert W. Byrne, The Christian Approach to Education, (Grand Rapids, 1961), 177. 225 Bishop. S.N Mensah , interview. 226 Rev. Francis Tawiah, interview, 2017. 227 Rev. Francis Tawiah,, interview. 89 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh fearing atmosphere set by the school for the children is the reason why myself and my 228 husband decided to enroll our children in the school.” Muslim parent enrolling their children in a mission school on the basis of Godliness and a God-fearing atmosphere provided by the school is quite interesting. Bakari, is a Junior High School (JHS) 3 Muslim pupil. He indicated to me that “though I am a Muslim, I am learning about the Christian 229 religion also.” He added that Christianity is not being imposed on him by the school. Clearly, the FGCI Academy does not impose its Christian beliefs on pupils from different religious persuasions but rather expose them to Christian influence and the inculcation of Christian moral values, perhaps in hopes of seeing some converting to Christianity but leaves the decision to the pupils to make in the choice of what religion to subscribe to. The response by the Muslim community to the FGCI Academy appears to be a welcome one. It appears the general community is appreciative of the school. D. Education for a ‘Token’ FGCI by its vision and philosophy is committed to making a difference in the lives of the community where ever their church is located. According the Bishop of FGCI, Rt. Rev. S.N Mensah, the Full Gospel academy was established particularly within the Ashaiman community “because that community was a very deprived community and the average parent 230 had a challenge financially of sending their kids to school.” He added that the church thought to do something about the need of the community by bringing education to the 231 deprived community “at a token fee” so that education could be provided for the majority th of the children in that community. He made reference to the 7 point of the philosophy of the FGCI, which reads; “We are, therefore, the voice and the hand that encourage and empower 228 Mariama, a Muslim parent, interview granted the researcher, March 15, 2017. 229 Bakari, a JHS pupil and a Muslim. Full Gospel Academy, He attended in the worship session on the Wednesday March 15, 2017 interview granted the researcher after the worship session. 230 Bishop S.N Mensah, interview. 231 Bishop S.N Mensah, interview. 90 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh people to change their lives with hope comfort and peace, so they can live a purpose-driven life,” Hands that encourages and empower people, especially the poor and less privileged in society, changing their lives and giving them hope of education for a better life is a very necessary endeavor especially in communities in a developing country like Ghana. It is common knowledge that nations do not development with a mass population of its people uneducated and unskilled. A third world country like Ghana means majority of its population live under the poverty line who cannot afford the cost of education and yet education for the masses of the youth to build human capacity is vital for the country‟s development. The FGCI‟s initiative therefore to provide education for a token of fees for a poverty stricken community is an encouraging initiative worth emulating by other charismatic churches. In an interview, a parent, who gave his name as Kwaku Kotoko and has four children enrolled in the Full Gospel Academy, in response to a question posed as to why the enrollment of his four children in the Full Gospel Academy gave the reason that “If some parents are unable to pay the fees of their wards, the school still understands and allows the children to study while parents pay when they get money.” He said further that “when I don‟t have money to pay fees and I tell the headmistress, she will say „if even you have only one 232 Ghana Cedi, bring it and I will record it so your child can be in school.‟” Another parent with four children enrolled in the school, David, says to the researcher “as I 233 speak now, I have not paid all my children fees but the school understands.” The people in the community are feeling the impact of that hand that provides hope and opportunity for the deprived to be educated despite the financial constrains that those members of the community are faced with. It also reveals the fact that the church has kept focus and remains true to what 232 Kwaku Kotoko, parent, interview grated the researcher, March 15, 2017. 233 David, a parent, interview granted the researcher, March 15, 2017. 91 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh it set out to achieve so far. „Education for a token‟ also means that the Full Gospel Academy is not keen on profit making but that does not entirely rule out the issue of profit since it is a self-sustaining institution. Although, the school administration ensures that undue pressure on pupils and parents is avoided to enable pupils to study with peace of mind, the school eventually ensures that the required fees are fully paid. 4.2.3 Summary The Full Gospel Academy was established by FGCI in response to the need to provide education for the deprived community of Ahaiman. Its establishment was motivated by philosophy of FGCI to be the voice and the hand that gives hope to people and empower them to live a purposeful life. To achieve this, the school is engaged in empowerment in terms of development of the intellectual, skills, and moral capacity of the youth to become responsible and useful adult members of their community. The school has in place an „education for a token‟ that offers a stress-free fee paying regime to allow pupil access to education in spite of financial constraints of parents. The education for a token idea aids parents to pay their wards fee with any amount they could provide at a time at their own pace. However, fees are expected to be fully paid by the end of the day. The moral development program is primed on the idea to train pupils in Godliness based on Christian principles from the Bible. Worship session is observed weekly to allow pupils to receive moral lesson from teachings from the Bible. FGCI believes that intellectual and skill training without Godliness or moral development is deficient, lacks the strength and robustness required of citizens for national development. The S th 92 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.3 THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) 4.3.1 Mensa Otabil – Leader and founder of ICGC Mensah Anamuah Otabil was born at Sekondi to parents who hail from Ekumfi Adansi for the father and Elmina for the mother respectively in the Central Region of Ghana. The family moved from Sekondi to Winneba and later relocated to Tema, a sea port and industrial city near Accra in 1966, when Mensa Otabil was six years old where his father worked as 234 personnel officer and later as procurement officer with the Tema Boat Yard Corporation. Mensah Otabil‟s education was impeded when his father unfortunately had a stroke and the financial issues of the family were seriously affected, however, he managed to complete his 235 Ordinary level education. Perhaps, the difficulties Mensah Otabil went through while growing up might have contributed to most of the social responsibility programs his organization has embarked on for example the scholarship program, the Central Aid. The family were originally members of the Anglican Church but Mensa Otabil had „the born again experience‟ at the Scripture Union at the Tema Community two primary when he was 236 twelve years old. After that experience, he left the Anglican Church and started fellowshipping with the Tema Fellowship and later on the whole family left the Anglican Church and fellowshipped at the Tema Fellowship. Later in 1973, his mother and the entire 237 family joined the Assemblies of God. The Tema Fellowship metamorphosed into a group called the Power House Fellowship in August 1975, which Mensa Otabil was a member. As a member of this group he had another experience, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in September, 1975 and developed a passion for 234 Larbi, Pentecostalism, 339. 235 Ibid. 236 Ibid., 340. 237 Ibid. 93 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 238 evangelism. Larbi indicates that, according to Mensa Otabil, the Assemblies of God, Tema Fellowship and the Power House Fellowship mostly influenced his life. These experiences may have perhaps contributed to the evangelistic drive for which ICGC was known which consequently contributed to the initial growth of ICGC. Mensa Otabil worked as a Trainee Technical Officer with Information Services department of the Civil Service and became a Technical Officer at the time he resigned in 1982. He started the ICGC in February 1984 with 239 Edwin Donkor, his convert as his assistant. Through his personal evangelism activity his assistant was produced with whom he steered the affairs of the growth of the church. The evangelistic drive and passion of Mensa Otabil and his church perhaps may have been among the influencing factors for an initiative to undertake the provision of education later on in the future, envisioned to, aside the intellectual development of pupils and students, also attempt to influence them to Christianity. The trajectory of a Church is largely influenced by its leadership as in the case of all other organizations. The worldview of the leader informs the worldview of the leadership as a team and the entire organization as a whole. The act of Evangelization is a Christian duty traceable to the Christian worldview by which Christians are mandated to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people for the salvation of souls. 4.3.2 Scholarship Scheme (Central Aid) The church has established a scholarship scheme that awards scholarships to brilliant but needy students in Secondary, Technical and Vocational institutions in Ghana irrespective of their gender, religion, ethnicity disability or denomination. The majority of beneficiaries of scholarships awarded by the scheme have no connection with the International Central 238 Ibid. 239 Ibid, 341. 94 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 240 Gospel Church. Paul Gifford wrote that the Central Aid of the International Central Gospel Church has offered scholarships of an amount of 200 Million Cedis worth to about 241 500 brilliant but needy students from the 1990‟s, majority of which are Muslims. The opening up of the scholarship scheme of ICGC to cover beneficiaries beyond its members brings to the fore a certain attitude and commitment on their part to be actively involved in addressing the socio-economic challenges Ghana faces. Poverty is undoubtedly a major barrier to education for many of the youth in Ghana. However, by this intervention of ICGC, many of the youth in Ghana who may never have had the opportunity to be educated would have the opportunity irrespective of their economic or religious background. 4.3.3 Rationale for the Establishment of the La ICGC Primary School According to Mr. Yaw Barima, chairman of the board of directors, the La ICGC primary th 242 school was established by ICGC on the 6 of February, 2012. The school is currently from 243 crèche to primary two. In an interview Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, the director of the pre- tertiary education department of ICGC in his office at Miotso, disclosed that the church so far 244 has 18 primary and Juniour High Schools (JHS) at various levels across the country. ICGC‟s early childhood education program train children “to develop the cognitive structures 245 that predispose the child to further learning across his/her life-span development.” It also 246 takes cognizance of the needs and individual differences among children. With this approach to child development the growing child does not only develop cognitively but the 240 Mrs. Diana Akorfa Asante, Administration Officer of the Central Aid, interview granted researcher at her office at Miotso Prampram, March 29, 2017. and also available at the secretariat‟s website, Centralaidgh.org, accessed April 10, 2017. 241 Paul Gifford, Ghana’s New Christianity: Pentecostalism in a Globalized African Economy (London: Hurst and Company, 2004), 115. 242 Mr. Yaw Barima, the Board Chairman of the La ICGC Primary School, interview granted the researcher in his office on the school premises at La, March 27, 2017. 243 Mr,Yaw Barima, interview. 244 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, Director of pre-tertiary education ICGC, interview granted the researcher in his office at Miotso, March 29, 2017. 245 This information is from the ICGC „Philosophy of Education‟ Document, made available to the researcher by the Director of Education, ICGC Head Office, Miotso, 5, May 15, 2017. 246 Ibid. 95 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh unique qualities of the child are identified by which teachers and parents could appreciate and offer further guidance for the child‟s development. Aspects of the ICGC early child development program address the moral/spiritual development of the child. The early child centers are considered by ICGC as “the cradle where we begin molding the ICGC adult in the image of Christ…. This is the potter‟s house for the development of Christ-like character we 247 desire to see in all the products of our educational endeavors.” All educational endeavors of ICGC would include education provided at all levels from primary to tertiary. The church, according to him, had not fully started the establishment of Senior High Schools though it is the church‟s plan to do so quite soon. A. Worship Service for Pupils The integration of faith and learning system of education being embarked upon by the ICGC, according to Mr. Clement Adjei Brown is in its initial implementation stage. Its full implementation is being worked on by the church. He adds that “the church is in the process of establishing our own educational college at the Central University which will train people 248 how to teach in our schools using this (integration of faith and learning) concept”. However, in addition to that the schools have in place the Wednesdays worship session by which moral lessons are being instilled in the children from the Bible. Mr. Yaw Barima stated 249 that the Wednesdays worship session is intended “to inculcate morality in the children” 250 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown refers to the Wednesday worship services as the “moral link” programing ended to running all the pre-tertiary schools of ICGC. Commenting on the 247 ICGC Philosophy of Education Document, 5. 248 Mr. Clement Adjei,29 th March,2017 249 Mr. Yaw Barima, March 27, 2017. 250 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, March 29, 2017. 96 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh program, he said “the Wednesday worship program for the school children is the major 251 program in place for now with respect to our moral link program” B. Curriculum According to the director of pre-tertiary education of the ICGC, Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, the curriculum being run in all their primary schools is largely the Ghana Education Service curriculum. The Junior High school also runs fully the Ghana Education Service curriculum. However, their Senior High School, yet to be commenced in 2018/2019, shall run a 6-year program, 4-year IGCSE and a 2-year a level boarding school system using the Cambridge International Examination (CIE) curriculum with emphasis on science, design and 252 technology. The reason for adopting CIE by ICGC is to expose their Senior High schools students to training which offer them internationally recognized qualifications to be able to pursue studies in any universities anywhere around the world if they so choose. This way, the students have a wide range of options in their education and career development. Technical schools, which are also yet to be established, will run the Ghana Education Service curriculum. The ICGC system of education therefore runs a mix curriculum. J.E. Hull contends that, “What normally passes for Christian education can be more accurately named Christians educating” which is essentially a “Christianity-enhanced 253 public school brand of education.” Hull in his own words is describing the situation that pertains many Christian or mission schools the world over where the Christian schools operate both the public school curriculum together with their Christian or moral content programs. There has not been any radical move by majority of mission schools to 251 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, interview. 252 ICGC Philosophy of Education Document, 10. 253 John E. Hull, “Aiming for Christian education, Settling for Christians Educating: The Christian school's Replication of a Public School Paradigm,” Christian Scholar's Review, 32, no. 2(2003): 204. 97 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh reconstruct and fundamentally transform their curriculum to mirror a complete mission school. Hull is calling for a total re-engineering of the curriculums of mission schools to perhaps become to a large extent independent of that of the public schools. “Christians educating” as Hull describes it, suggests the situation whereby a Christian school fundamentally runs the public school curriculum as well as ensuring that pupils or student come under Christian influence by the inclusion if some moral and ethical content into the curriculum and programs as have been indicated with respect to the selected schools under study in this research. Though in Hull‟s view, the current prevailing situation in Christian schools with the form of provision of education does not represent the actual Christian education envisaged, it is also not the same as the form provided by the public schools. There is clear attempt and effort on the part of the Christians schools in their provision of sustainable adequate moral, ethical and character development content in their school programs. C. Integration of Faith and Learning ICGC‟s education system seems to be focused on the concept of „integration of Faith and Learning.‟ In the researcher‟s interview with the director for tertiary education of ICGC, Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, I asked what is the rationale for the provision of education by the ICGC. His response was that “we want to use education as a social responsibility to 254 propagate the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He further said that “all that we do from pre-tertiary to tertiary that is what we want to use education for. We want to use the gospel of 255 our Lord Jesus Christ to inspire students” He stated further that “our form of education is what we call „the integration of faith and leaning.‟ It is a concept where when a teacher is 254 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, interview, March 29, 2017. 255 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, interview. 98 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 256 teaching, he or she uses Biblical concepts to explain what is being taught.” He added that 257 teachers are also expected to infuse the concept into their lesson notes. The whole idea is that whatever subject is taught, pupils attention should be drawn to similar principles in the Bible for the purpose of drawing and imbibing moral lessons from the Bible into the children. In his attempt to throw more light on the concept, he made an interesting explanation that if, for example, a teacher is teaching a mathematics topic say „Acute Angles‟, in his definition of what an acute angle is, thus an angle less than 90 degrees, the teacher could draw the attention of the children to the Biblical principle that “no matter how small one‟s unconfessed 258 sins may be, they still have the power to keep separating one from God.” The idea is to relate the Bible to academic discourse such that the student could be made to imbibe biblical principles in the course of their academic work. Mr. Clement Adjei Brown refers to it as “the moral link” to the provision of education by the ICGC. He indicated that their church‟s form of provision of education emanates from the vision and philosophy of the ICGC and that though the various branches of the church across the nation establishes the schools, the schools are being run based on the ICGC vision and philosophy. In this regard, all the teachers and staff attend periodic training aimed at sharpening their professional skills and receiving instructions in carrying out their duties in tandem with the philosophy and vision of the ICGC. In the same vein, periodic faculty training from Oral Robert University in the United States of America on how to incorporate Christian values and 259 concepts in all teaching is organized. Well trained, knowledgeable, and well vexed teachers in the rudiments of the concept is fundamental to the success of the integration of faith and learning initiative. 256 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, interview. 257 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, interview. 258 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, interview. 259 Mr. Clement Adjei Brown, interview. 99 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.3.4 Factors Responsible for the Upsurge of Private Higher Educational Institutions in Ghana The upsurge of private higher educational institutions in Ghana had taken place within the 260 past three decades from the 1990‟s till date. The deregulation of the education sector with 261 the formation of a structure for accrediting private universities, begun in 1993. Paul Effah has identified the cause for the proliferation of private higher institutions in Ghana as largely because of the “increased demand for tertiary education resulting from higher population growth and expanded enrollment at the basic and secondary level, which far exceeds the 262 capacity of the public institutions.” The existing public universities and other tertiary institution in Ghana over the years have not expanded enough to meet the growing demand for access to university and other tertiary institutions in the face of population increase. Government‟s inability to build adequate educational infrastructure to generate access to quality education for qualified applicants is a contributing factor. Altbach and Kinght have stated most o governments the world over cannot expand higher education fast enough to 263 meet the demand though it is governments traditional responsibility. Takyiwaa Manuh et al have indicated that the rapid development of private universities in Ghana was as a result of 264 “increasing demand for access and the liberalization of the economy,” which has consequently created a form of competition between the public and private universities. 260 Akilagpa Sawyerr, “Challenges facing African Universities: Selected Issues,” African Studies Review, 47 no. 1, (2004), 18. 261 Kajsa Hallberg Adu, “Ghana: Private Higher Education on the rise,” no. 82, (2009) www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090626115442537 accessed May, 2017. 262 Paul Effah, “Private Higher Education in Ghana” in Growth and Expansion of Private Higher Education in Africa(ed.) N.V Varghese, (Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning, 2006), 55-75. www.unesco.org/iiep, accessed May 24, 2017. 263 Philip G Altbach and Jane Knight “The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivation and Realities”, Journal of Studies in Higher Education 11:3-4 (2007): 290-305. 264 Takyiwaa Manuh, Sulley Gariba and Joseph Budu, Change and Transformation in Ghana’s Publicly Funded Universities: A Study of Experiences, Lessons and Opportunities, Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (Accra: Woeli Publishing Services, 2007), 48. 100 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Statistics indicates that in 1991/1992, universities enrolment increase by 436 per cent from 265 11,857 to 63,576 in the 2003/2004 academic year. Available data from the offices of the National Council for Tertiary Education has shown the high demand for placement in the universities in Ghana. Applicants admitted into the universities in Ghana between 1996/1997 266 and 2003/2004 ranged from 25 to 40 per cent. Thus, there is a high rate of the churning out of qualified applicants for university education in Ghana due to the sheer numbers caused by population increase. I think equally important, and perhaps the very fundamental reason for the upsurge of private education institutions in Ghana is the fact that it is traceable to the mindset of the population. Most Ghanaians in contemporary times are becoming increasingly aware and appreciative of the role education plays in their quest for personal development growth and the development of the nation for collective advancement. The average Ghanaian parent is not oblivious of the need to educate their children. Even if the funds to pursue education is not readily available, some parents will do all it takes to give their children the education to the highest level. 4.3.5 Rationale for the Establishment of the Central University The central University was started under the leadership of Pastor Mensa Otabil in October 1988 as a theological College. In 1993, it became known as the Central Bible College. It metamorphosed into the Central University College in 1998 and now it is Central University after being accredited as a fully-fledged University by the National Accreditation Board. The motivation for the establishment of the Central University is captured in the vision of the school that reads, “Raising Virtuous and transformational leaders for our world” especially 265 Paul Effah, “Private Higher Education in Ghana”, 56. 266 Ibid. 101 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 267 for Africa. Africa is described as a third world. Among the peculiar problems that characterize Africa are poverty, illiteracy, diseases, poor leadership and conflicts. Six decades of post-independent Africa, much has not changed. In as much as Ghana is not where it used to be at the time of independence, it is nowhere near what it ought to have achieved in sixty years. It is common knowledge that the illiteracy rate in Ghana is high, health facilities and delivery is poor- you have situation where patients, including pregnant women, sleep on the floors of our hospitals for lack of beds. Shortages of vaccines for children are rampant, undersupply of health personnel. After sixty years Ghana is still struggling with sanitation problems, vast arable lands lie undeveloped. Infrastructural development is way inadequate- bridges, roads, housing are in huge deficit. Poor road network has become a major cause of death in Ghana. Countries like Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore got independence around the same period Ghana got its independence, however, these countries have transited from third world countries to first world countries within the space of sixty years. Socio- economically Ghana has not made much progress. Ghana‟s situation is same for the rest of Africa. The challenges of Africa largely still persist after sixty years of political independence. African can be developed by Africans themselves. The challenge has been what potent and sustainable home grown solutions that Africans themselves can fashion out to solve their problems. Some are of the view that poor leadership is the bane of Africa‟s development. Across Africa and in Ghana for the past few decades, there has been a general call by various groups - the clergy, civil society groups, youth groups and the general citizenry of the need for strong, visionary, transformational and accountable leadership as key to solving the problems facing the African continent. “Africa lacks virtuous and transformational 267 Mr. Ntim Gyakari, the Executive Secretary to the Vice Chancellor of the Central University, interviewed granted the researcher in his office at Miotso, May 15, 2017. 102 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 268 leaders,” represents the official position of the Central University and it is indicative of the general perception of the majority of Ghanaians. “So it was thought” Gyakari adds “that why not put up a university that will train virtuous and transformational leaders who will possess 269 the qualities for transformation and growth and this is what Central University is about” It is quite clear that the establishment of the Central University is in response to the prevailing socio-economic and political context of post-independence Ghana. To find answers to the questions of corruption, poor leadership in general and political leadership in particular, poverty and the many other third world challenges. Central University is a Christian university. It is set up to uphold Christian principles and values. Joel Carpenter, describes Christian universities as those universities or colleges that currently acknowledge and embrace a Christian identity and purpose in their mission statements and shape aspects of their governance, curriculum, staffing, student body and campus life in the light of their 270 Christian identity. In other words, a Christian university is Christo-centric in its organizational beliefs and practices. Christian beliefs and principles inform its operations and function. The American theologian, Robert Bernne confirms this position and states that 271 Christian universities give a central privileged place to Christian beliefs and practices. Christian principles and practice is expected to be pivotal in in the affairs of a Christian university. Christian principles and practice are derived from the teaching of the Bible and hence on the strength of the Christian worldview. The mission statement of the Central University reads “Faith, Excellence and Integrity.” According to Ntim Gyakari, these are the three pillars or cardinal values upon which the central university stands and work to achieve it aims. It must also be stated that the vision 268 Mr. Ntim Gyakari, the Executive Secretary to the Vice Chancellor of the Central University. 269 Mr. Ntim Gyakari, interview. 270 Perry L. Glanzer and Joel C. Carpenter, “Conclusion”in Christian Higher Education: A Global Reconnaissance (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing,2014), 5. 271 Cited in Glanzer and Carpenter, Christian Higher Education, 5. 103 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh mission and values upheld by the Central University emanates from the worldview and philosophy of the ICGC, a Christian worldview and philosophy. In the light of what Joel Carpenter and Robert Bernne have posited, it stands to reason that, as a creature of the ICGC, the Central University vision and mission statements draws on the strength of the Christian worldview and philosophy of ICGC which cascades into that of the University to serve as a guide to its operations and function. An academic Christian university would have as its focus first of all to train for the intellectual and skill capacity development and also the spiritual and moral capacity development of students. Aspects of its programs and curriculum purely academic and other aspects that is religious in nature as posited by Carpenter to be able to achieve its goal. It would therefore not be out of place for one to expect that for the purposes of achieving the goal of a Christian university, the curriculum and programs must reflect both. A. Curriculum and Programs The Central University in addition to running the academic courses, including that of the school of Theology, also run religious programs like Christian ethics compulsory for level 272 100 students, envisioned to imbibe in students Christian ethical and moral values. Christian services are officially held as part of the school program on every Wednesday for all students for the same purposes of instilling Christian values and morals in students. Different Christian groups on campus organize other Christian activities and programs for their respective group members. These programs are not only targeted at ICGC members but opened to the general student body. The point must be stressed that these programs are mission oriented programs, with the aim of evangelizing and reaching the students with the gospel of Christ. The approach for evangelization in the case of the Traditional Mission Churches by their Christian schools was more stringent as has been discussed in chapter two. 272 Information provided by Ntim Gyakari. 104 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Once the schools were nurseries for their churches, enrolling in a mission school at the time then meant that the school children ended up as members of the church. By the end of their training, almost all are incorporated into the churches. The focus of their programs, apart from instilling morals and Christian values in the pupils, was also a deliberate, systematic and well thought out plan to assimilate the pupils or students into their church membership. In the context of today‟s contemporary pluralistic world with increased awareness of people‟s freedom of worship and association, it will be unacceptable for churches to use their schools as nurseries of their churches, or as a recruiting post of stringent measures designed for the sole purpose to generate members into their churches. It would be considered an attempt of imposition of Christianity on people against their freewill to choose what religion they consider good for themselves. It will also amount to an attempt to infringe on people‟s right of worship. Although Christian organization like churches have the right to uphold their Christian beliefs, and values and even bring it to bear on the operations and function of their subsidiary organization like their Christian schools but cannot impose it on others who do not subscribe to same faith. People of different religious persuasions from Christianity have the right to choose to work in any secular organization or even in any religious organization that does not necessarily uphold their own personal religious beliefs. Workers within any Christian system and those who interact with the system from outside must choose whether or not to subscribe to the beliefs of that Christian system and be Christians. The choice is always their s to make. A Christian school has the right to run their schools on the basis of a Christian worldview, Christian beliefs and values; however, they do not have the right to impose their Christian beliefs on the students or school children against their wish. However, a mission school could provide education within a deliberately created atmosphere of Christian principles and values 105 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh intended to influence the pupils or students to choose to be Christians or not on their own volition. B. A Relaxed Fee Paying Regime Private provision of higher education has been criticized and concerns raised by section of the public with regards to profit making by the providers in the industry. John Okpako argues that the motive for the establishment of private universities is for “profit maximization or 273 entrepreneurial development.” Okpako‟s statement suggests an attribution to both secular and religious private schools. Meaning both groups are into provision of education for the purposes of profit. Daniel L. Bennett et al in agreement with Okpako indicate that higher 274 education institutions are profit-driven. In as much as private schools are criticized, it must be acknowledged that their role in the provision of education increase access and consequently employability of the youth. Private schools must be self-sufficient with their main source of funding from the school fees they charge and Central University is not an exception as confirmed by Ntim Gyakari. However, the school operates a relaxed fee paying regime for students who for good reasons cannot pay their fees. The system allows that category of students to receive tuition following a procedure involving an engagement with their parents to ascertain enough justification for qualification for that facility. This suggests that the institution is not only keen on profit making but also affords all students, poor and rich, the opportunity to be educated, an action that is consistent with their worldview or philosophy and mission. Perhaps such a move is a strategic plan by the school to eliminate any financial barrier for all qualified students 273 Cited in “Education, at What Cost” in Change and Choice: The Development of Private Universities in Nigeria, ed., Anthony U. Osagie (Benin City: Rewel Fortune Resources, 2009), 37. 274 Daniel L. Bennett, Adam R. Lucchesi and Richard K. Vedder, Centre for College Affordability and Productivity: A policy Paper from the Centre for College Affordability and Productivity, July 2010. 106 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh allowing space for the enrollment of large numbers of students into their Christian system to be influenced by Christian values. However, it has to be stated that a relaxed fee payment regime does not necessarily mean the fees are being absorbed by the school. It rather means the school offers the latitude for affected students to pay their fees at a more comfortable pace with the pressure of financial difficulty and frustrations largely reduced if not completely eliminated to allow affected student a stable mind to study and pass their examinations. Hence the school‟s profit objective as a private entity in essence is not defeated. Rather, perhaps, a Christian hand of support is being extended to affected students. With this measure in place to reduce financial pressure on affected students they are expected to have completed paying their fees before examination. Defaulters are prevented from writing examination. 4.3.6 Summary Early childhood development program of ICGC has two aspects. The first is to train the children to develop their cognitive, physical, emotional and social potentials. Good Learning materials and facilities and proper atmosphere are provided to achieve that goal. The other is the moral or spiritual development. In this regard, the ICGC schools pursue what it refers to as the „moral link‟ to learning which consists of worship sessions to instill moral lessons into the children and students. The worship session program is observed across the early childhood schools through the basic school to the university. Aside that, the „integration of faith and learning‟ concept, by which Christian principles are integrated into subjects and disciplines, is being applied to strengthen the „moral link.‟ Periodic faculty and teachers training is structured to ensure that teachers are abreast with required standards and expertise to deliver. 107 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The Central University (CU) exists to develop transformational leaders with faith and integrity. Graduates from CU are trained to provide transformational leadership in their communities, country and Africa. The fee paying regime at CU is a relaxed one where students with financial constraints are offered pay fees at their pace to ease the financial pressure on them to be able to focus on learning. However, if full payment of fees is not made defaulters are refused writing their examination this is to ensure financial sustainability of the university. 4.4 THE ACTION CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL 4.4.1 Nicholas Duncan Williams – Leader and Founder of ACI th The Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams was born on 12 May, 1957 to Florence Bruce and E.K Duncan Williams, an Ambassador, politician and a chief. He is one of 43 children of his father. Doctors had told the mother that her pregnancy posed a risk to her health and that a medical procedure to terminate the pregnancy was the only way out for saving her life. It was later discovered after the medical procedure that; Madam Florence was actually pregnant with twins in which one had survived which happened to be the Archbishop Nicholas Duncan 275 Williams. Perhaps it was an act of divine providence to preserve his life for a special assignment. Growing up at a younger age under very difficult circumstances, Nicholas had to learn to survive. He nearly lost his life on several occasions. In 1976, under some influence, he lost three of his fingers. “A voice commanded me to light a candle in my bedroom so I did. The voice once again commanded me to stick my right palm upon the blazing flame of candle… 276 as my fingers roasted upon the candle flame” and in that excruciating pain on his sick bed 275 www.actionchapel.net, retrieved June 15, 2017. 276 Archbishop N. Duncan –Williams, Providence and Destiny: The Nicholas Duncan-William Story (Accra: Action Chapel International, 2015), 49. 108 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh at the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital in Accra, he gave his life to Jesus Christ through the nurses 277 who attended to him namely Mrs. Rajj, an Indian, and the Acquah sisters. Nicholas had an insatiable desire to know more about his new Christian experience and asked questions and acknowledges that “the Acquah sisters labored patiently to explain the difficult questions I 278 279 raised” After his conversion, he had a brief stint in the church of Pentecost in Kaneshie, Accra. He went on to have his theological training in the Archbishop Benson Idahosa‟s Church of God Mission International Bible College in Nigeria in 1978 and returned in April 280 1979. On his return from the Bible school in Nigeria to Ghana, he expressed the desire to work with 281 the church of Pentecost as an Evangelist but that did not materialized. He proceeded to the Full Gospel Church International, known then as the Prayer Group and Evangelistic Association (PGEA) to be a part of the „Site 21 Revival‟ that had already started in Tema community one, site 21, under the leadership of the Rev Emmanuel Ashong Mensah. It was Rev. Emmanuel Ashong Mensah who encouraged the young Evangelist Nicholas- Duncan Williams to start something in his father‟s house in Accra which became Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM) and later Action Chapel International (ACI). The beginning of Nicholas Duncan-Williams‟s ministry was about preaching to students in the secondary schools around Tema and Accra alongside what he had started in his father‟s 282 house. In his own words he alludes that “I started evangelism and outreach by visiting the universities and secondary schools reaching out to the students, preaching Christ and giving 283 them my testimony.” Preaching to students in the schools is indicative of his special 277 The Birth and Effects of Charismaticism in Ghana (1). 278 Duncan-Williams, Providence and Destiny, 52. 279 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics, 112. 280 Asamoah Gyadu, African Charismatics, 112. 281 The Birth and Effects of Charismaticism in Ghana (1). 282 Asamoah Gyadu, Africa Charismatics,112. 283 Duncan –Williams, Providence and Destiny, 53 109 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh attachment and passion for the youth to influence them for Christ. Perhaps the same desire and passion for the youth may have influenced the decision for the establishment of the Dominion University College to afford him much more space and much more control to influence students with Christian principles. 4.4.2 The Rationale for the Establishment of the Dominion University College The Dominion University College was established by the Action Chapel International in 2012. It is located in Accra, off the Spintex road. The Dominion University College aims to “train a new generation in excellence and ethical leadership for ministry, government and 284 business.” In an interview, Bishop James Saah - the chairman of the college of Bishops of the ACI, in response to the question of what is the rationale or motivation for the establishment of the Dominion University - stated that the rationale for the provision of education by charismatic churches in generally in Ghana is not different from that being provided by other private individuals or institutions outside the church. He mentioned that, as in the case of non-faith based private entities, the provision of education by charismatic churches “is being driven by 285 money or profit and the desire to meet a social need.” This suggests that the motivation for the provision of education by ACI and other charismatic churches is for the purpose of profit, and also for the purpose of filling in the gap of the education demand in Ghana. According to him, since the inception of the university college, the ACI has supported the funding of the College, a situation he envisages is going to continue for quite some time until the school is self-sufficient. Meaning, though the school has in mind making profit, it is also driven by the desire to meet a social need by virtue of the fact that ACI has been making huge investment into the establishment and success of the DUC at least for all this time of its 284 www.actionchapel.net. retrieved on June 15, 2017. 285 Bishop James Saah, interview granted the researcher in his office at the Prayer Cathedral, off the Spintex Road, Accra, June 15, 2017. 110 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh existence. He adds that ACI support for DUC will persist for some time perhaps until DUC is self-sustaining. However, it is quite clear that the motive of profit is not ruled out. Bishop James Saah made a quick admission of a third reason for the provision of education by the charismatic churches which distinguishes the churches from other private providers of 286 education in Ghana as the opportunity “to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ” suggesting that DUC is established not only to train students for their intellectual and career development but also as a platform to make converts to Christianity. Mr. Rebily David Asante, the administrator of DUC, stated that “DUC provide education to supplement government effort of provision of education for all, but in addition, we provide quality 287 education to promote Christian ethical principles into students.” He added that “we produce not just educated people but educated people imbued with Christian ethical 288 principles.” Thus, the inculcation of moral and ethical standards by DUC into students is in response to the degeneration and worrying trend of ethical and moral standards in the Ghanaian society. It also suggests that charismatic churches that are into provision of education have the opportunity and responsibility to provide spiritual/moral and ethical upbringing of its pupils and students. The fourth point Bishop James Saah puts forward as part of the motivation for establishment 289 of schools by the Charismatic churches is „prestige.‟ Bishop Saah explained that the function of the chancellor, who doubles as the head of the church, exhumes a kind of prestige. He clarified for instance that the chancellors of private universities, especially Christian universities, derive a sense of prestige from their work and functions of presiding over meetings and ceremonies of the school, graduating ceremonies with the wearing of 286 Bishop James Saah, interview. 287 Mr. Rebily David Asante, Registrar of Dominion University College, interview granted the researcher in his office at the Dominion University Campus, off the Spintex Road, Accra, June 9, 2017. 288 Mr. Rebily David Asante, interview. 289 Bishop James Saah 111 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh academic robes surrounded by professors to confer degrees of all kinds on students and so on 290 and so forth. This according to him communicates a sense of prestige and honour to the chancellor and his church which most charismatic churches desire to bask in. In essence, the charismatic churches providing education believe that it is a prestigious enterprise in respect of the fact that they are making meaningful contributions to the socio-economic development of their country. The phenomenon of provision of education by churches in Ghana have been dominated by the TWMC‟s for decade‟s right from the time of their arrival to the Gold Coast as has been extensively discussed in chapter one. Consequently, the TWMC‟s have been perceived by many to have a reputation for having made and still making significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the nation and that has projected a certain respect and earned them some prestige in the public space over the years. This is perhaps what the charismatic churches also desire to earn from the public as they contribute not only to the spiritual needs of people but also the socio-economic needs of people and the nation as a whole. A. Curriculum and Programs 291 DUC offer courses in Business, Information Communication Technology and Theology. It also runs a separate diploma awarding Seminary which focuses on training ministers of the Gospel for ministry. The seminary school is opened to the public to train anyone from any 292 denomination with the desire for pastoral ministry. Business, Information Technology and Theology are typical of courses offered by private universities. These courses are less cost effective to offer and do not demand specialized facilities as in the case of courses like engineering and the sciences. Some have criticized the Christian private universities of capitalizing on this to maximize profit. 290 Bishop James Saah 291 Mr. Ribily David Asante, Registrar of DUC, interview. 292 Mr. Ribily David Asante, Registrar of DUC 112 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh As a Christian University College, DUC runs what it calls “spiritual formation course” thus 293 Christian Ethics, as compulsory for all new entrant students at level 100. This course is offered in keeping with its vision and mission which emanates from the Christian worldview of the ACI. Bishop James Saah asserted that “its intended to influence students‟ thinking and students‟ decision making with Christian principles. “It is meant to influence them to make 294 Christian informed decisions in life” he adds. The aim of offering Christian ethics and running other Christian programs which we will discuss following this paragraph is to influence students to choose on their own volition not by imposition, to be Christians and to apply Christian principles based on the Bible or not to. The vision of DUC is “to produce graduates of character, integrity and workplace competence for emerging economies” and its mission is “to advance learning and knowledge transfer, imparting Christian ethics and producing leaders of integrity.” Clearly, the evangelistic agenda of ACI is intended in the vision and mission of the DUC. Thus, students are not only prepared for the job market but attempts are made to instill moral and ethical behaviour for sound character and integrity for the job market and the society at large as well. In pursuance of this, aside from the compulsory course of Christian Ethics, the College 295 organizes what it terms as “College gathering,” every Tuesday, where students are exposed to the preaching and teachings of the Bible by clergy, both from ACI and from other churches. Christian Professionals in various fields are also invited to share with students their 296 success stories including the head of ACI, the Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams. Perhaps such a subject is to provide students the opportunity to have practical example of people who have succeeded in life through the power and grace of Christ Jesus and to have a 293 Mr. Ribily David Asante, Registrar of DUC 294 Bishop James Saah 295 Mr. Ribily David Asante, Registrar of DUC 296 Both Mr. Ribily David Asante, Registrar of DUC and Bishop James Saah attested to that. 113 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh clearer picture of what they can also achieve in their lives if they accept and commit to Jesus Christ and his principle. There is also Thursdays prayer service “Jericho Hour” which 297 students who are interested participate in. 4.4.3 Summary DUC is established “to produce graduates of character, integrity and workplace competence for emerging economies” and its mission is “to advance learning and knowledge transfer, imparting Christian ethics and producing leaders of integrity.” By this, it believes it exists to train people to be relevant to the emerging economy of Ghana and other emerging economies in this contemporary time. Consequently, programs geared towards the intellectual, professional or career development as well as the ethical and moral development of students is being pursued by DUC. The provision of education by ACI is viewed as an investment that is expected to yield profit. ACI‟s provision of education, as it is the case generally for other charismatic churches providing education, is also motivated by the prestige associated with making contribution to the development of the nation at large. Essentially, the motivation or rationale for the provision of education by ACI is not different from that of the other FGCI and ICGC. 4.5 Conclusion Benson describes Christian education as deliberate, systematic and sustained divine and human effort to share or appropriate the knowledge, values, attitude, skills and sensitivities 298 and behaviours that are consistent with the Christian faith. The Christian faith is a worldview. Benson mention of the appropriation of knowledge “consistent with the Christian faith”, suggests that whatever knowledge, that is inconsistent with the Christian faith could not be infused into the body of knowledge a Christian school may have to teach its students if 297 Mr. Ribily David Asante, Registrar of DUC 298 W. Benson „Philosophical Foundation of Christian Education‟ in M. Anthony (Ed.), Christian Education: Foundation for the Twenty- First Century (Grand Rapids MI: Baker Academic, 2001) 26-34 114 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh it claims to be offering a Christo-centric system of education. On the other hand, it suggests also that any knowledge that may not necessarily be overtly „spiritual‟ in content and at the same time not contrary to the Bible could legitimately be considered a part of Christian knowledge. Frank Gaebelein, headmaster of Stoney Brook School in Long Island in New York, and an associate editor of Christian Today, has posited on the philosophy and practice of Christian education as “the watershed for the ultimate frame of reference was a high view of 299 scriptures.” Gaebelein‟s mention of scriptureis in reference to the Bible as the revealed truth of God, the creator of the universe. The Bible, the revealed truth of the creator of the universe is the foundation of the Christian faith from which Christian worldview emanates. He stressed that, for integration of faith and leaning to be achieved, four principles he identifies as mandatory conditions have to be satisfied as follows: 1. Christian Education can only be done by Christian teachers who understand and embrace a Christian worldview 2. The Bible is to be at the center of the curriculum 3. Through excellence in education the integration process most readily take place 4. 300Christian Education must be democratic in a biblical sense. Gaebelein‟s view of integration of faith and learning is another perspective of the same call that Hull and Benson have made – a more radical approach to the provision of education by churches. In that context, provision of education by churches, in other words Christian schools must demonstrate a rather deeper commitment to a major tenet of the Christian worldview as enshrined in the Bible in Matthew 28:19, 20 and must reconstruct a 299 Cited in Michael J. Anthony and Warren S. Benson Exploring the History and Philosophy of Christian Education: Principles for the Twenty-First Century (Eugene Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers,2003) 365-366 300 Cited in Michael J. Anthony and Warren S. Benson Exploring the History and Philosophy of Christian Education: Principles for the Twenty-First Century. 115 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh fundamentally different curriculum from what exist currently in many Christian school, a curriculum that radically positions evangelization at the center of the provision of education by the churches. Matthew 28:19, 20 command Christians to preach the Gospel of Christ to all people bringing them into union with Christ. The actualization of a complete re-engineering of the curriculum and programs run by Christian schools could have legal, human resource, financial, logistical, infrastructural and other implication which most Christian schools especially in third world countries like Ghana cannot satisfy. For instance, in this radical approach, the critical role of teachers feature in the scheme of things as Gaebelein has indicated. Sikkink has posited that “the whole person of the teacher is engaged in the transformation of 301 the whole person of the student.” If the teachers‟ worldview is in variance with that of the organization its collective effort would be undermined. “The worldview of the teacher, in so 302 far as he is effective, gradually conditions the worldview of the pupils.” Teachers engage with pupils or students on a daily basis for the whole duration of the program and so are a greater source of influence on the school children aside parents. Hence teacher‟s commitment to the application of the principles of the Christian worldview is a critical factor. The Full Gospel Academy, the ICGC schools and DUC, all employ Christian teachers, however what is being called for is whether the teachers life practically reflect the philosophy or worldview of their schools both at work as well as in private. In allusion to Gaebelein‟s first point on the role of teachers in the radical approach Hetzel and Stranske in their article Educating for Faithful Presence assert that “in essence, the goal of the educator is first to respond to God‟s faithful presence in his or her own life, to model it, to practice it and to encourage its development in his or her students‟ lives – through 301 D Sikkink, Do Religious School Teachers Take their Faith to Work? Research Evidence from the United States. Theo-Web Zeitschrift fur Reliogionspadagogik 9 (1), 160-179. 302 F.E Gaebelein, The Pattern of God’s Truth (BMH ed.). (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 2009), 37. 116 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh relationship and through the curriculum and then watch God produce the fruit and woo youth 303 to himself.” A Christian or mission school operating a qualitative and distinctive Christian program for pupils or students requires the critical role of a certain caliber of teachers with high Christian standards and values. Hetzel and Stranske, assert that “If Christian educators wish to be excellent coaches or mentors in the good life; they themselves must be 304 experienced identifiers with and imitators of Christ” and “as teachers, we duplicate who we 305 are.” One cannot model out something and mentor others without first experiencing it. It is only fair to say that one can only impart what he or she carries. Rogoff argues that “children come to share the worldview of their community through the arrangement and interactions in which they are involved, whether or not such arrangements 306 and interactions are intended to instruct them.” Rogoff is suggesting that just put in place a well-structured, functional, effective and efficient Christian worldview system for the children to interact in and the system itself will generate the desired results. However, such a highly efficient Christian school system would mean a very high level of commitment from the right personnel and commitment of resources that would create the system which comes with a cost that some may be unwilling or unable to afford. 307 Myers (2011) para. 2 has contended that spiritual nurturing in Christian schools be “planned, intentional and systematic.” Some Christian schools may appear to be Christian schools on the face value but may not really be what a Christian school really represents if it is subjected to a strict proof in the real sense of the word. Praying the Lord‟s Prayer each 303 June Hetzel and Tim Stranske „Educating for Faithful Presence‟ in Foundations of Education: A Christian Vision (ed.), Matthew Etherington (Eugene OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2014), 77-87. 304 Perry L. Glanzer, “Educating for the Good life” in Foundation of Education: A Christian Vision (ed.), Matthew Etherington (Eugene OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2014), 93-103. 305 June Hetzel and Tim Stranske „Educating for Faithful Presence‟ in Foundations of Education: A Christian Vision 93-103. 306 B. Rogoff Apprenticeship in Thinking: Cognitive Development in Social Context (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), 98. 307 J. Myers, Revolution number nine: ACSI accreditation, spiritual formation and discipleship. Passing the Baton International, Inc. (2011).Retrieved from http://www.thecultivateproject.org/resource4.html 117 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh morning or attending worship services by students, teachers and other staff may not necessarily connote a Christian school. Christian schools perhaps may have different meanings to sections of the general Christian community. For some it does not make much difference to operate a Christian school with the public school‟s curriculum and add the moral, ethical, character dimensions to it –referred to by Hull as ”Christians educating” or Christianity- Enhanced brand of education. While, for others it means operating a fundamentally different curriculum structure and a more elaborate Christian school system referred to by Hull as “Christian education”. The first group perhaps st appreciate the realities of the of 21 century context of a pluralistic and human right regime which perhaps apprises them to be cautious and draw the boundaries. There is the point to also ensure that private schools satisfy government standards for the participation of the school children or students in the national examinations. For the second group it may sound good to want to run a “christen education” system but it calls for a lot of resources and commitment. Again where do we draw the boundaries to ensure that people‟s right to worship is not infringed upon and of course satisfying government requirements for examinations. It appears what Hull and others are calling for is a bit in semblance to that of TWMCs system of Christian education system in the early history of Christianity in Ghana. The TWMC‟s as has been discussed in chapter one, which though was meant to develop the intellectual capacity, personal, and national development, it at the same time presented a more stringent system that positioned their schools as nurseries that churned out school children into the churches. The context as compared to contemporary times has drastically changed. What dominantly pertains currently being practiced by the charismatic churches is the Christianity- enhanced brand of education. By the Christian-brand of education system school children or students are exposed to Christian influences in anticipation of making converts to Christianity 118 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh but the final decision is left for the school children without compulsion. Christian influence from courses like Christian ethics, worship services, moral lessons and others are pursued for the school children or students to make a decision to subscribe to Christianity or otherwise and to decide if they become converts, what church they choose to attend not necessarily that of the school being attended. It is important to notice that from all the three selected churches under study, aside the intellectual academic training of school children and students, additional spiritual or moral Christian programs are run to ensure Christian content in the curriculum in a way to justify their status as Christian schools. The charismatic churches appear to follow the precedence set by the TWMC‟s. However, the approaches are different. In the case of the TWMC‟s centuries ago, the schools played significant role as breeding grounds in growing the numerical strengths of their churches but in the current context, the approach is that of exposing the students or school children to Christian content curriculum and programs intended to give the non-Christian pupils and students the opportunity to be converted to Christ and be influenced with Christian principles and values. And for those already Christians to be more strengthened to keep in the Christian path. Thus, the focus is not necessarily making the schools nurseries for growing the membership of their respective churches. Student or pupils may or may not join the membership of the church providing the education. People have the right of choice. By the exercise of the power of choice people decide what to do with their lives including what religion to subscribe to. People have intrinsic value on which basis human rights principles are derived. In this sense, one could argue that human rights have existed since human history. However, human rights th th are more pronounced in contemporary times than it probably was in the 17 and 18 st centuries. In the 21 century context of heightened levels of pluralism and freedom of worship, people could not be subjected to any form of coercion intended to solicit the 119 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh inclusion into a particular religion is unacceptable. The operations and functions of the Christian schools in lieu of the current context are conscious and measured in their actions to ensure the respect of the rights of the students or pupils. The extent to which Charismatic mission schools can go in order not to trample on people‟s religious rights is exposing students and pupils to Christian influence via the religious content programs in anticipation of seeing some converted to Christianity on their own volition and those already Christians encouraged keeping to the Christian faith. The expectation for the provision of education by the charismatic churches is to produce pupils and students imbued with Christian character and morals to make informed choices in life based on Christian principles for a positive difference in society and the development of the nation as a whole. The contribution of the charismatic churches to education therefore is multidimensional and has broader implication for national development. Apart from increasing access to education and the intellectual development of the youth, the charismatic churches‟ provision of education attempts to address their spiritual and moral needs as well, which is germane for national development. Among other important pre-requisite for national development, a spiritually and morally sick society or nation cannot develop. Addressing this need is part of the rationale for the provision of education by the charismatic churches 120 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Introduction The Traditional Western Mission Churches have been into the provision of education since their arrival in the Gold Coast. Although the schools established by the TWMC‟s aimed at the intellectual and academic development of school children, there was enough demonstration by them to Christianize their pupils or students. The establishment of schools played a critical role in missionary activities in the sense that the schools were used as conduits and nurseries for their churches growing the membership of their churches. The emergence of the Charismatic churches on the Christian landscape saw the introduction of a new Christian experience of charismatic spirituality characterized with the manifestations of charismata which categorized them as „experiential‟ by nature and so were perceived to be preoccupied with only the spiritual development of people. The charismatic churches for a period of time from their inception did not show much interest in the social issues confronting society and the nation. At least, with respect to the provision of education as compared to the Traditional Western Mission Churches, the charismatic churches were not keen on being involved. However, for the past three decades, they have made significant contribution socially in various forms including health and the provision of education in particular for purposes of this thesis. This research has explored and identified the rationale for the provision of education by the three selected charismatic churches. This concluding chapter would highlight the findings gathered as part of the rationale for the provision of education by the charismatic churches in Ghana. 121 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2 Summary of Findings The provision of education is not a new phenomenon in the history of the church in Ghana. Precedence has been set by the Traditional Western Mission Churches in the past for purposes of development of the school children and evangelization in fulfillment of the demands of the Christian worldview as discussed in chapter one. The Christian worldview advances among other things the mandate to spread the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people (Matthew 28:19-20). Similarly, the Charismatic churches, in conformity with the demands of the Christian worldview, have ventured into the provision of education in response to the existential challenges facing the Ghanaian society. In the case of FGCI, the provision of education has been focused on the pre-tertiary education of primary and Junior High School. The research revealed that the rationale for the establishment of the Full Gospel Academy was first of all in response to the need of providing affordable education for a deprived community. FGCI thought to establish the Full Gospel Academy in the poor community of Ashaiman to afford the poor to access basic education at an affordable fee. Affordable in the sense that considering the deprived situation of the community, a more relaxed fee paying regime is being implemented to enable parents pay fees at their own pace without their wards being denied access to basic education because of financial constraints. Again, the „Token‟ fee paying system at Full Gospel Academy is meant to reduce the pressure of financial burden on parents. However, as a self-supporting private institution, the issue of profit is not ruled out. As private entity, school fees-paying is the most reliable source of funding for the school. In that vein, even if the payment arrangement in place is by installments in tokens, it does not still rule out full-cost recovery to ensure that the school at least breaks even and stay in business. However, for the viability and sustainability of the provision of education, profit making is inevitable. 122 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Secondly, the provision of education is an avenue to influence the pupil and students with Christian values and morals and possibly for conversion of souls to the Christian faith. Thus, providing education in which focus is not only on the intellectual and academic development of the children but the moral, character and spiritual development as well. Christian principles and moral content of curriculum and programs is ensured. ICGC provides pre-tertiary education up to the Junior High School level. It intends to go into the provision of education on the Senior High School level in the near future. It appears the ICGC is not very keen on the provision of pre-tertiary education. It is more focused on the Central University. Currently it operates 18 Primary and Junior High Schools across the country. The research reveals that the ICGC‟s provision of education on the pre-tertiary level is motivated by the need to increase access to basic education and for the moral and spiritual development of the pupils. Economic gain is factored as part of the motivation once the schools are self-financed and self-sustaining. In the wake of the upsurge of private universities in Ghana, people have questioned the motive for the involvement of the charismatic churches in the provision of tertiary education. Particularly, in the case of the Central University being the first ever university to be established by a charismatic church in Ghana. The research revealed that the Central University was established in response to the need for raising transformational leaders with Christian values to affect their community positively. Again, for the purpose of increasing access for university education and for training students instilled with Christian virtues and values with the profit factor not ruled out. The ACI‟s Dominion University is established with the rationale to train students imbued with Christian values, make Christian informed choices in life, demonstrate competence at 123 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh their places of work and make a positive difference wherever they find themselves. And for profit as in the case of the other two churches. Another rationale for the provision of education that rhymed through all the three charismatic churches is the fact of providing education to establish relevance in the society. Demands of the Christian worldview, charges Christians to show interest in the basic needs of people and to make a difference in their lives. There is a sense expressed by the charismatic churches throughout this research to the effect that their social contribution with respect to education to society is a justification of their commitment to staying socially relevant in society. Thus, not to be only preoccupied with the spiritual needs of people and do nothing or less about their social needs. They are also motivated by the respect and prestige in the eyes of the public associated with the fulfillment of their social commitment to society. The research also showed that the schools established by the charismatic churches operate what Hull describes as “Christianity- enhanced brand of education” where the curriculum that is run is not fundamentally different from that of the public schools except for the inclusion of the moral, ethical and character development dimension. The moral dimension is what establishes the distinctive role of the Christian schools established by the charismatic churches from that of the public schools. 5.3 Findings On the whole the rationale for the provision of education by the charismatic churches is informed by the tenets of the Biblical or Christian worldview which places a duty on Christians to bring the love of God and the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to mankind through evangelization for the salvation of souls. Salvation in the sense not only in preaching the gospel as it were but by responding to the felt needs of society. Felt needs with regards to 124 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh empowerment through education, influencing lives with Christian principles, values and morals, and with anything of salvific value for the restoration of their human dignity. Among the important factors that determine the development of societies the world over are values and moral standards. As faith based organizations, the charismatic churches, on the basis of the Christian worldview, have assumed the responsibility of offering empowerment through education, skill training and moral education in response to the educational deficit, skilled manpower deficit and the social vices caused by the decline of values and moral standards in the Ghanaian society. The waning of morality as confirmed by the many incidences that exposes the character and moral deficiencies of people in the Ghanaian society seem to be of a serious concern for the charismatic churches and the faith community as a whole in Ghana. The implications of moral, ethical and character deficit in the fabric of the Ghanaian society is dire to the collective development of the country. The charismatic churches involvement in the provision of education is a response to not only the need for the intellectual, academic, career and skill development of the youth but also for the moral and character empowerment of the youth to influence them to make choices and decisions based on Christian principle for a positive impact in society, culminating into the development of the nation as a whole. The provision of education by the charismatic churches is again motivated by the need to increase access to education. The deregulation of the educational sector afforded the private sector the opportunity to join the government efforts in the provision of education to the citizenry. The establishment of schools by the charismatic churches therefore is to boost government efforts in providing education for the populace. Access to education was significantly limited due to the sheer numbers of pupils moving up the ladder of education to the secondary and tertiary schools with limited infrastructure and capacity in the public schools to absorb qualified students. The involvement of education of the charismatic 125 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh churches therefore affords qualified students access to education which could not have been provided by the public schools. The rationale for the provision of education by the charismatic churches is also motivated by profit. All the selected schools have in place a form of fees paying regime that allows payment of fees by students and pupils saddled with financial constrains the breathing space to pay their fees with minimized financial pressure that financial constraints pose to them. However, such an initiative does not rule out full cost recovery from fee paying at the end of the day. As private organizations, the only reliable source of funding to enable their schools remain self-supporting and self-sustaining is school fees and hence the element of profit cannot be ruled out. The presence of the charismatic churches in the education arena is again motivated by the desire to be relevant to society. To be seen to be making meaningful contribution to the social needs of society with its accompanying prestige and respect in the eyes of the public. The TWMC‟s involvement in the provision of education earned them the respect and prestige in the Ghanaian society. On the other hand, the charismatic churches hitherto had been under criticism for their absence in the social sector. With this background, the advent of the provision of education by the charismatic churches has been motivated by the desire to also establish their social relevance and be accorded with the respect and prestige they deserve in society. 5.4 Satisfying Research Objectives. This thesis set out to achieve these set of objectives in order to be able to answer the research question that was posed. Three objectives were set as follows: 1. Examine the philosophy, vision, mission, message and teachings of the three selected charismatic churches. 126 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2. Analyze the curriculum and programs run by the schools established by the three selected charismatic churches. 3. Find out the rationale for the provision of education by the three selected charismatic churches. In the introduction in chapter one, the background to the study was extensively explored. The provision of education by the TWMC‟S was discussed on church by church basis, each church was examined and their respective initiatives in the provision of education. As pace setters in the provision of education with regard to the Christian faith community in Ghana, the contribution of the TWMC‟s to education in particular in Ghana could perhaps serve as an inspiration for the charismatic churches. The emergence of the charismatic churches by their various strands, characteristics, theology and how they have developed over the years on the Christian landscape in Ghana has been discussed in chapter two. The interest to veer into the provision of education by some of the charismatic churches was acknowledged in the discussions. Chapter three identified and examined the philosophy, vision, mission, and message of the selected charismatic churches to establish the linkage or otherwise of their philosophy or worldview, mission, vision and message with their actual functions, role and operations. Chapter four discussed and found out the rationale for the provision of education by the three selected churches. 5.5 Conclusion The research focused on establishing the rationale for the provision of education by the charismatic churches. The schools established by the Full Gospel Church international (FGCI), International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) and the Action Chapel International (ACI) were studied. Chapter one dealt with the introduction in which the background to the 127 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh study was extensively discussed. The provision of education by the TWMC‟s and their examples in the establishment of schools and the rationale behind their provision of education was brought to the fore. Chapter two discussed the emergence of the charismatic churches in Ghana. Chapter three identified and discussed the worldview or philosophy, vision, mission and teachings of the selected charismatic churches to ascertain the connections or otherwise between them. In Chapter four, the rationale for the provision of education by the charismatic churches was established. Findings showed that the charismatic churches provide education for reasons to empower the children and youth with academic or intellectual development, skill training as well as the inculcation of Christian values and the instilling of moral and ethical principles into pupils and students. The churches also take the opportunity to present the love of Christ through the gospel of Christ Jesus for the salvation or conversion of pupils or students to Christianity. Furthermore, the charismatic churches are into the provision of education for the reason of increasing access to education, supplementing government effort in the provision of education in Ghana. The charismatic churches provide education also for the purpose of profit. As private entities, school fees paying is the major source of funding for the sustainability of the educational services provided. In that regard, no matter how relaxed school fees payment regime is in place as is the case for all the selected schools, full cost recovery factored in the cost build-up of the school fees. Hence by inference, profit is a motivation for their provision of education. The need for relevance in society through contribution to the socio-economic development of the country with its associated prestige is also part of the rationale for the provision of education by the charismatic churches. Chapter five focused on the summary, conclusion and recommendations of the thesis. 128 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.6 Recommendations 1. This research work provides the opportunity to widen the frontiers of knowledge and to enrich the debate with regards to education in Ghana. It is recommended therefore that the findings of this work should provide a platform for more exploration and research into other thematic areas with respect to the activities of the charismatic churches in Ghana. 2. It is recommended that, without neglecting the academic, intellectual and skill training of pupils and students by the charismatic churches in their provision of education, impetus and focus should be maintained on the evangelization, moral and ethical values motive for the provision of education. 3. It is recommended that a yearly review and evaluation be conducted by the charismatic churches providing education to ascertain whether or not progress is being made especially with regards to the inculcation of morals and Christian values into pupils and students. 4. Best practices around the world with regards to the provision of education by faith based organizations should be studied and adopted by charismatic churches providing education in Ghana to improve upon what is being done by their churches. 5. Consideration should be made by charismatic churches in Ghana aside the moral and character development of their pupils or students, to initiate and establish scholarship schemes in their churches for needy students of their schools. 6. All charismatic churches in Ghana should consider providing education in their various communities where they may be located in order to contribute to the education needs of the nation and promote the moral upbringing of the pupils and students for national development. 129 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh BIBLIOGRAPHY Acquah, Ione. Accra Survey. London: University of London Press, 1958. Agbeti, Kofi. West African Church History: Christian Missions and Church Foundations: 1482-1919. 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