The Birth of the Missions Enterprise of The Church of Pentecost

The history of The Church of Pentecost is linked to the missionary work of Pastor James McKeown, an Irish missionary from the Apostolic Church in Bradford, UK, who travelled to the then Gold Coast (now Ghana) in response to a divine call. The arrival of McKeown and his wife Sophia in 1937 has had a profound impact on global Christianity. His ministry significantly transformed the evangelistic and missionary landscape, leading to the phenomenal growth of the church he founded. Today, The Church of Pentecost operates in over 190 nations, making it the fastest-growing Pentecostal church worldwide.

Through his vigorous evangelistic efforts and the dynamic involvement of indigenous believers, the Gospel spread rapidly from Ghana to various parts of the African Continent. The growth was so swift that by the time Reverend McKeown handed over leadership to the first African leader in 1982, the church had established branches in Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. Between 1988 and 2008, the church expanded into Europe, North America, Asia, and many other African countries. The Gospel spread like wildfire, reaching all continents and nations.

Formation of the Missions Office

The Missions Office, located at the General Headquarters of the church in Accra, Ghana, was established in 1991 to coordinate the church’s continuous global growth. Currently, the church is operational in 190 nations.

The Office is headed by the Missions Director (MD), who is a member of the Executive Council of the church. The MD is supported by other staff who together form the working team for the Missions Office.

The Missions Director coordinates all missionary activities by implementing decisions of the Missions Board, sending out missionaries, paying missionaries’ salaries, providing grants for church projects, receiving and analysing reports from various nations, organising training programmes for missionaries, orienting newly called missionaries, paying Apostolic visits to the churches globally, and many more.

Missions Directors

Since its establishment in 1991, the Lord has blessed The Church of Pentecost with dedicated, dynamic, and spirit-filled leaders to navigate the church’s missions front. Their leadership have enabled the church to make significant inroads, breaking new grounds in hard-to-reach nations with the transformative power of the Gospel. Here are the distinguished men who have led the missions office:

• Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah (1991-1996)
• Apostle Benjamin Kofi Arthur (1996-2001)
• Apostle Dr. Stephen Kofi Baidoo (2001-2011)
• Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo (2011-2021)
• Apostle Emmanuel Agyemang Bekoe (2021-date)