Presbyterianism in ghana from 1978 to 2013: responding to the existential needs in the Kwahu Presbytery.

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November, 2016
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Abstract
This thesis examines the various strategies adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) to contextualize the gospel message to meet the spiritual and social needs of people. The study was conducted in four Church Districts using a sample size of 140 respondents, personal interviews with the clergy, church leaders and administrators as well as chiefs and community leaders. Secondary sources in the form of written text were also employed. The simple random and the purposive sampling techniques were employed to select respondents and interviewees respectively. Since the research was a qualitative one the descriptive survey design was used. The thesis revealed that Presbyterians in the Kwahu Presbytery perceived the provision of their spiritual and social needs as the main task of the Church. This is because the gospel message entails an enhancement of both the spiritual and physical wellness of people. The presentation of the gospel message was therefore closely connected with the people’s anxiety of familiar oppression, witchcraft and hope for a better future encountered in their way of life. The lively and vital nature of the church’s worship style and prayer pattern empowered them to fulfil their spiritual emptiness rooted in their cultural settings identified during the period 1978-2013. Provisions were made to cater for their health, education, and socio-economic activities. The study showed that there is a direct linkage between the strategies adopted by the church and its numerical growth in addition to human and community development. These were made possible because of the mutual co-operation that exist between the communities and the Kwahu Presbytery. Emphasizing its liturgy to be Christ-centred but African in nature, participatory and modern was recommended to enable the PCG fulfil its mandate in the study area.
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A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master of Philosophy in Religious Studies.
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