FROM FRANCE WITH DEEP NOSTALGIA

   

L-R: Pastor Andrews and Mrs Faustina Gyamfi. Mrs Ntumy. Mrs Victoria and Pastor Asante

FROM FRANCE WITH DEEP NOSTALGIA

They came from France;

A delegation of four;

Two Pastors and their wives--

Andrews and Faustina Gyamfi of Paris District,

Obeng and Victoria Asante of Mantes-La-Jolie District.

The Church of Pentecost, France, occupies a special place of affection in my heart. 

In July 1995 while serving as National Head of our church in Cote d'Ivoire, the leadership of our church asked me to be temporarily responsible for our church in France. This meant that I would need to pay short-term missionary visits to that country to nurture the young church.

Martha and I during one of our visits to France

My first visit to the church in France was in September of that year. That was when our churches in Europe were reeling in the wake of church splits arising from the doctrinal errors of ancestral curses and post-conversion deliverance. My first strategy was to stabilize the churches through sound doctrinal teaching and prayer meetings to meet the various needs of the saints.

Pastor Andrews Gyamfi and his wife Faustina. Andrews was one of my Elders when we ministered in France. Faustina is a Musician with many albums to her credit.

By early December when I returned to Cote d'Ivoire, only a handful of our members in Paris had left the church. My wife and I returned the following year after which we were asked to take up residency as National Head in May 1996. We had churches in Paris, Marseilles, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Mulhouse and Mantes-La-Jolie. Surely, such growth and expansion of the church without a full-time minister was a real testament to the lay leaders who shepherded the church from its infancy coordinated by Elder Emmanuel Apea (now, Rev. Dr. Apea), then UNESCO Director for Science Education.

With my wife and our two youngest children, Mike and Joanna, we eventually arrived in May 1997. We went straight into action, establishing and equipping the members and reaching out in evangelism and church planting. By the turn of the year we had, through the grace of God, planted three new churches in Lyon, Avignon and Troas.

Martha and I in our backyard garden in Hamburg. Spring is here; the flowers blossom after the terrible winter. Surely when weeping comes in the night joy follows at the break of day.

There was great excitement in the church as all indicators promised a very fruitful missionary assignment. The leadership of our church at the international headquarters was happy because being young (I was then 39),  they knew I could spend many years there as resident missionary for the benefit of the church. This was, however, not meant to be. Exactly one year later (May 1998), at our General Council Meeting in Koforidua, I was elected Chairman of the church.

We eventually left France in August 1998 for Ghana to assume office as 4th Chairman of COP, then operating in 44 countries.

Apostle Dr Emmanuel Owusu and his wife Pat. Dr Owusu is currently the National Head of COP, USA.

After a couple of ministers had played acting roles in the church in France, Apostle Dr. Emmanuel Owusu was posted from Canada as National Head from 2003 to 2009. He was succeeded in the same year by Apostle Osei Owusu Afriyie (the incumbent) from United Kingdom.

Apostle Osei Owusu Afriyie, current National Head, COP France

 Now you can understand why the visit of these precious brethren aroused so much nostalgia in us. And even more, it was during my apostolic oversight that both Pastors were ordained Elders in the church. You see the relationship?

Pastor Obeng Asante and his wife Victoria

Their heart-cry, like that of the millions of others, is one--- that the LORD would lift me up to my feet again.  

"IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO ACT, LORD" (Psa. 119:126 NIV)