ADIEU TO APOSTLE FELIX ELVIS ANTWI: A FRIEND, A COLLEAGUE

Apostle Felix Elvis Antwi

Listed among the Ministers of The Church of Pentecost (COP) to have retired from the full-time pastoral ministry in August 2013 at age sixty-five was Apostle Felix Elvis Antwi. This however was not to be for, on 2nd May, 2013 his Master, in whose Vineyard he had labored tenaciously for over three decades, decided to call him Home; an earlier celestial retirement ahead of the planned terrestrial one.

By his death, COP has lost a precious gem. Apostle Antwi was a seasoned Apostle, a gifted Evangelist and an accomplished Pastor. His powerful sermons, anointed music ministry, passionate "worship" sessions at church, and moving gospel messages with accompanying miraculous signs and wonders would be remembered for many years to come. Even when he was not the one preaching or leading the singing, Apostle Antwi's voice was not always still. "Move on, brother;" would be heard from him as a preacher would be advancing a crucial point in his homily, or "Ka--Soooo" when a particularly illuminating point was made. He was the "Platform Manager" during congregational singing sessions. He would turn around to the leaders on the dais and with clapping and singing, urge them saying, "Platform, platform, platform." Often, he would jump down from the dais and lead the leaders in dancing to the glory of God. He was always well-dressed, the "Gentleman Apostle", a connoisseur of the latest habiliments, making his young-looking frame look even younger. He knew how to socialize and appreciate the merits in others. To the well-dressed he would say, "W'asi fam" ("You have landed"); if somebody applied practical wisdom and discernment in doing something he would say. "Wonim fam" (literally, "You know how to get around") and to one who accomplished a feat, he would offer a handshake with the appellation, "Kantinka" ("Mighty one")

Apostle Antwi preaching 

Apostle Antwi's path in the COP ministry crossed mine a couple of times. We first met in the Volta Region where he was based in Kwame-Krom and I in Krachi-Nkwanta. To us younger ministers, he was (together with Apostle D. Obeng Atuah Rtd.) the "Chief Abdulai," literally, the "Defender/Encourager of the young and weak." When certain things did not go well for any of us, he would be sure to go to that person, put his arms around him and say, "Come on, move on, brother."


Next, our paths crossed at the missionary front. In the mid-1990s when he served as  National Head of COP in Sierra Leone, I was in Ivory Coast as National Head of our church. From time to time, to or from Ghana, he stopped over to visit us in Abidjan. During one of such visits, his place was etched in our family when he dedicated our new-born son, Mike in 1995.

COP Executive Council 1998-2003 with Apostle Antwi

Little did anyone of us know that three years from then, and for ten years (1998-2008), both of us were going to serve on COP's Executive Council, he as member and I as Chairman. His zeal for the LORD and the church was great. He had an over-riding desire: that believers would "dream big, think big, and act big because we serve a BIG GOD." By so doing, he aroused the faith and resolve of many, encouraging the weakling to pluck up courage, the distraught to find their bearing, and the suppliant to take hold of the inexhaustible resources of God.

COP Executive Council 2003-2008 with Apostle standing at the extreme right

When I attended our General Council Meeting in Ghana last month, among the thousands of faces I expected to see and the words I expected to hear was that of Apostle Antwi's saying, "O Chief, how the go dey go?" in typical Creole. His face was absent; his voice not heard. Then during an Executive session our Chairman made an emergency announcement, "Brothers, Apostle Antwi is in coma. Let's pray for him." The next day the inevitable followed, "Apostle Antwi is no more; he's gone to be with the Lord."

On Saturday 22nd June, 2013 as the COP family joins his family to pay him our last respects, I remember my friend and colleague with deep emotion. His was a life lived in the service of his Maker; a life well-lived, an assignment faithfully discharged, and a race fully ran.
 


On behalf of the NTUMY FAMILY, I extend our deepest condolences to Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah Chairman of COP in his traditional capacity as "Chief Mourner,"  to the widow, Mrs Comfort Antwi and their eight marvelous children, to the bereaved family and the wider COP family.

WE KNOW HE IS RESTING IN THE BOSOM OF THE LORD WHOM HE LOVED AND SERVED