The EMS partner church in Ghana
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The Presbyterian Church of Ghana
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) is one of the oldest Christian churches in Ghana. It was founded in 1828 through the efforts of the Basle Mission. After World War I, the church came under the administrative control of the Church of Scotland. In 1926, it became an autonomous church and adopted its present name. Today the church has approximately 450,000 members, 70 percent of them are women and approximately 60 percent are under 35 years old. The church is divided into 14 "presbyteries" (superintendent's districts), which, following a process of decentralisation over the last few years, have increasingly assumed responsibility for ecclesiastical work. The districts consist of up to 15 parishes which are headed by a district pastor. Local parish work, however, is performed by catechists. The PCG commits itself to educational and health care work, maintaining educational institutions which range from kindergartens and primary schools through to grammar and vocational schools. Altogether it supports about 1,800 schools all over the country. In the tertiary education sector, it runs several teacher training colleges and, since the end of 2003, it has been supporting its own university which is situated in Abetifi. Pastoral education takes place in Trinity College, a seminary under ecumenical sponsorship. The PCG supports four hospitals, several regional clinics and mobile basic health care centres which closely co-operate with the state public health care services. With these activities, the PCG covers about nine percent of the national medical care requirements. In addition, it sponsors a number of agricultural projects, especially in the north of the country.
For the church, offering these services means spreading the word of the Gospel in a holistic way and trying to implement it in reality through the institutions. It sees its existence as a missionary task. The charismatic "Bible study and prayer groups" have a growing influence on the entire church and, through their evangelisation, they form one of the most dynamic parts of the church. Due to their work, the number of church members is rising. Church work is performed within the relatively disciplined organisations for children's and youth work and men's and women's work. Something which also plays a major role in church life is the establishment of music and choir groups.
