Ghana Church Plant: The Story So Far
Time, they say flies. We can hardly believe that 3 years and 7 months have passed since we first arrived here in Ghana as a family of 4 on a one-way ticket.
Upon our arrival in Ghana, settling down in our newly rented accommodation was quick but it wasn’t so with finding suitable schools for Emmanuel and Mary. Getting school placements proved to be a bit more of a challenge than we had anticipated. In the end, Emmanuel and Mary had to attend separate schools, something we wouldn’t have done if we had other options.
With Emmanuel and Mary in school, my wife and I started to re-establish old contacts and make new friends. We spent a lot of time talking to people (both known ones and new ones) about the fact that we had come back to Ghana to live with the sole purpose of planting a Church that will, in turn, plant many other Churches in the future.
Surprisingly, not many people thought it was a good idea for us to have left the U.K with all its promising good life (good health care, education, facilities, good leadership etc) behind to come to Ghana just to plant a church. Some even enquired if we couldn’t have planted the Church in the U.K and kill two birds with one stone – plant a Church and still live in a developed nation, especially for the sake of our children. 3 years and 7 months later, we still meet people who think we would be better off going back to the U.K.
Some (including extended family members) have even suggested a compromise: I stay in Ghana and my wife and children go back to the U.K to live there. For most in Ghana, being able to live in the U.K or any other advanced country is seen as a blessing from God. Many even go to specialised prayer and fasting meetings to try to make this happen or to receive prophetic direction to be able to travel abroad.
To be fair to those who are advising that we return to the U.K, most of the issues they are raising as the basis for their concern are legitimate. As a developing nation, Ghana lacks developed systems and infrastructures as compared to a country like the U.K. In Ghana, poverty is high, healthcare is underdeveloped and education is not in a good shape. In addition to this, Ghana is ranked high on the international corruption league table. Who would want to live here?
Since our arrival, we have taken note of how difficult living in Ghana is (to be fair we knew it before coming to Ghana anyway). But COVID and other world issues have made things worse than when we first arrived. For example, at some point between the later part of last year and early this year, street inflation rose to more than 100% (government figures was less than 50%).
In addition to the economic hardships facing everyone, thieves broke into our house in our absence and stole our valuable items just 4 months after moving from our rented house into our own half-built house.
But in the midst of all this, we have no plans to go back and live in the U.K. We believe that we have been sent by Jesus (Mathew 28:18-19, Mark 5:19, John 20:21) to do his work which we have only just begun. So, long as Jesus will have us do his work, we shall continue to do it as a family of 4. Only when Jesus decides to move us on from the work here in Ghana will we move.
In the meantime, Jesus has not left us without help. We have been receiving love and support from the amazing Ghana Church plant team (on behalf of Commission) which is made up of Kevin (Madrid), David (Grace Church, Salisbury, U.K) and Pelumi (Life Church Southampton, U.K). In the period during which we have been in Ghana, we have received two visits. Firstly by Kevin Bartlett and Simon Redmill and, more recently, by Kevin Bartlett and David Venegas (both from Madrid).
In addition, Grace Church Salisbury have also been helping and supporting us with love, prayer and finance ever since we arrived in Ghana. We are very grateful for such amazing heartfelt support from Grace Church, with them even coming to our aid when thieves broke into our house.
We are also grateful for the various expressions of help and support that have come (and continue to come) from other individuals and Churches across Commission. are are grateful for the love and support that we continue to receive from Simon Redmill and Miles Jarvis. Thank you all for praying for us and loving us in different ways.
Greetings from us here in Ghana to the worldwide Commission family. God bless us all.
As we push forward in all that God has called us to in Ghana, prayer is key, for Ghana, Eustace and his family and the Grace Community Church, Ghana. A WhatsApp group has been setup to share prayer requests and news. If you’d like to be added to this group, please email office@gracechurchuk.org with your name, phone number, church and permission to be added to the WhatsApp group.