I arrived in Tamale on the 22nd of April to join Brother Stephen Ashcraft to tour the Eastern Corridor of the Northern region Churches of Christ. This follows the action plan of visiting the past students of T.I.B.S in the three Northern regions. We set off the journey from the 23rd of April 2016 and returned on the 27th of April to prepare for the Seminar to be held in the school on the 28th and 29th of April 2016.
DETAILS
1. From Tamale we stopped over at Yendi to visit brother Stephen Roy and the wife at their residence.
2. Yendi to Bakpaba on Bimbilla road to meet brother Francis Waja and the entire congregation.
3. In Bimblla we met brothers Kwame Lot and Nlakidi Lot, but could not meet with their congregations because we had a mechanical fault with our vehicle. We were caught by the curfew so we spent the night in Bimbilla in a sister’s family house.
4. We left Bimbilla on Sunday morning to worship with the Sibi congregation where brother George Talafor preaches.
5. We returned to Bimbilla to meet with Kwame Lot and his leaders to discuss the challenges facing the church. The Bimbilla church has no place of worship, no chairs and no accommodation for the preacher. He comes from a far village on bicycle to worship. There is need to buy a plot of land for them since Bimbilla is a district capital.
6. From Bimbilla we traveled to Kpandai where we met the following brethren: Godwin Bentikwe and Michel Bingrini,
7. We returned to Damonko where we met brothers Samuel Nayan, a drop out student who wants to come to school. The brother is sick with hepatitis C. Brother Ashcraft gave him money to buy drugs.
8. We visited brother David Waja and Isaac Moakel all of Salaga and their congregations. We spent the night in Salaga and came to Chamber the following day. In Chamber we met with two congregations with their preachers namely Albert Tamanja and Johnson Telinyi. These brethren requested a Seminar to be organized in their area. They also requested for regular visits and donation of used clothes.
9. We finally returned to Tamale on the 27th of April, and the proposed seminar took off on the 28th and ended on the 29th of April. I returned to Accra on the 30th of April.
The purpose of the visitations was to educate the congregations on the need to support their preachers by helping them in farming and with food items so that they may have ample time to serve the Lord in the rural communities. Churches are dying because of lack in preacher’s support.
The issue of the Bimbilla church not having a place to worship was so sad that if care is not taking, we shall loose the church in the district capital. They urgently need a plot for at least a permanent structure for worship. By the help of some brethren, I have got one thousand Ghana Cedis to assist them in the purchase of a plot. The chief and the traditional counsel with the office of the District Assembly has offered them a plot of land at a very convenient place. The price is two thousand Ghana Cedis. We made part payment of GHC.1000 and the plot has been released to them. We need to raise the balance and all land document including land registration will be given to us.
I thank the leadership of Church of Christ, Accra Road for releasing me for such a wonderful mission. I further appeal to the leadership to sacrifice their preacher to help the very needed congregation in the North and any other needed areas in the country including congregations established by Accra Road. I believe this, my humble appeal, will not be rejected.
I thank the Bear valley Institute for training preachers in Northern Ghana. God richly bless them. I suggest preachers who are really on the field working hard to the glory of God and are facing challenges like distance walking to serve two or three congregations must be provided with motto bikes.
Report by brother Francis Ayine
Coordinator