Pastor Training in Ghana

Ghana is a nation of 23 million people on the southern coast of West Africa, where African Leadership has been training Pastors and church leaders since 1997. As of March 2008, we have more than 630 students attending 37 classes at 25 training centers, with over 2000 total graduates.

Our National Director is Rev. Sam Oppong, who also serves as our West Africa Regional Director, overseeing the programs in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Sam is a very distinguished and respected Christian leader in Ghana, having formerly served as the Director of the Ghana Evangelism Survey, a comprehensive, national survey to determine the religious affiliation of the entire country.

African Leadership is thankful to have a presence in Ghana. For many years, Ghana has had one of the highest enrollments and yearly graduation rates for African Leadership, even though the national average income is only 520.00 per year, and the vast majority of Ghanaians are poor, with very few resources for the average Pastor or church leader to go to school or seminary. Responding to a church leadership or Pastoral calling, they often draw from what little they learned from their prior church experience, usually untrained leadership, as the majority of church leaders have no formal training, and often little education beyond secondary school.

As African Leadership equips National Directors like Sam Oppong to make a lasting impact in churches and communities throughout Ghana, we are grateful for the support of our donors who make this national transformation possible. As we travel to visit our Directors and attend graduation ceremonies in Africa, we are amazed at the dedication of these pastors. They often work full time jobs in addition to their pastoral workload, and go to school 2-4 days a week. The desire to be better teachers and preachers is reflected in their joyful completion of the 2-year program, which provides comprehensive training in all phases of church leadership equivalent to a foundational-level seminary or Bible College degree, utilizing a 10-course, 2,500-page Bible centered curriculum, developed by Dr. Dennis Mock and translated into a nine African language by African Leadership.

Please pray for Sam and his family and staff, as they labor to bring hope to the communities of Ghana, by increasing the impact of the Gospel through training of pastors and church leaders. African Leadership-Ghana is graduating an average of 300 students each year, and when their training is finished, they will periodically attend alumni training for HIV/AIDS issues, Islam apologetics, and financial management. Many new classes are often established with networking of alumni and teachers, spreading the word about our Training Program, resulting in more and more Pastor registrations and expanding educational outreach to even more cities.

With such immeasurable need for training of Pastors and church leaders, African Leadership is working to bring accessible, affordable training to Ghana, for the vitality and health of the Church. In bringing the Gospel to Ghana though, the African Leadership team members and teachers face many travel difficulties, with dependable vehicles always in short supply, as they travel crude roads to organize and teach their classes. Please consider how you might lend your support, as you pray for Sam Oppong and his family and staff, as they labor to bring hope to the communities of Ghana, by increasing the impact of the Gospel through training of Pastors and church leaders.