Prophetism in the Church of Pentecost in Ghana

Abstract

The Church of Pentecost (CoP), in Ghana employs prophecy in contemporary times to appoint people to higher offices, transfer Church workers, and give direction generally. These functions have sometimes caused hatred, divisions, envy, insecurity, embarrassment and social incoherence due to its unchallenged powerful presence. Notwithstanding, prophecy identified and nominated Prophet M. K. Yeboah and Apostle M. K. Ntumy as Chairmen in 1988 and 1998 respectively averting states of confusion that would have ensued in the Church. There is therefore a debate as to whether to use or not to use prophecy. Since the inception of the Apostolic Church (AC), the CoP's precursor, there has been a shift in the understanding of prophecy. Initially, prophecy was acknowledged as divine in origin and infallible. Currently prophecy is viewed as a divinely inspired message but that it passes through the theological lenses of the one speaking. To forestall confusion, prophets are thus graded to determine who can or cannot give direction to the Church via prophecy. Phenomenological methods were employed to investigate the merits and demerits of using prophecy in the CoP. Observations, interviews, as well as the use of archival material generated by the CoP and its American and British antecedents were used to arrive at conclusions. Even though prophetic guidance has been helpful to the CoP, this work concludes that different methods could also be employed rather than making a given method the norm. Finally, the CoP, as a denomination needs to choose a governmental system most satisfactory and realistic as the occasion demands.