A LIFETIME OF SERVICE – THE STORY OF PASTOR HAYFORD AHIABU
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3: 23 -24 NKJV
Hayford Ahiabu’s missionary journey began in 1988 when Pastor Enoch Nyador, former Director and founder of Ghana Christian Mission (GCM) introduced him to the mission during his time as a Cross-cultural Mission lecturer at the Ghana Christian College and Seminary (now Ghana Christian University College).
Six months after graduating from the Bible College, he moved to Obanda with his wife Joyce and three children Bismark, Ben and Monica to work among the Ntrubo People Group in the Oti Region of Ghana. Intensive church work started after he learned the Dilo (Ntrubo language). Ten churches were planted, out of which two collapsed as a result of lack of leaders. Through intensive discipleship, leaders of the churches were identified and trained. They were raised for ministry in the churches for roles such as leading worship service, children ministry, preaching and leading communion devotion on Sunday. As evangelism was part of the mission from the beginning, the people continued to witness to and win their people, discipling them to grow and continue to plant new churches that teach in their own local dialect.
In 2011, he was appointed as the Church Planting Coordinator of GCM. His role as Church Planting Coordinator has yielded the following fruits:
· Over 5,200 baptisms
· Over 100 churches planted
· Over 8 church planters have been sent to various mission fields and over 10 other pastors raised through church planters
· Over 500 elders, deacons and deaconesses have been raised and ordained through the local churches.
Pastor Hayford Ahiabu is happily retiring in August of this year after over 35 years of hard work and dedicated service. We are grateful to God for the opportunity given to him to serve in His vineyard. We are thankful to God for the many lives that have been touched through the grace granted Pastor Hayford as he served faithfully and diligently on the mission field. We are also grateful to his wife and family for all the support and standing by him through the many years of service. Our sincerest gratitude also goes to Pastor Enoch Nyador for the opportunity he gave Pastor Hayford to serve all these years.
From all of us at Ghana Christian Mission, we wish him and his family well in their next phase of life. Thank you for your service, Pastor Hayford! God bless you!
Pastor Hayford is being succeeded by Pastor John Kpormegbe who served as a missionary in Banda (Oti Region) for ten years. He has moved with his family to Tamale, where he has been stationed, to carry on the work as the new Church Planting Coordinator of GCM.
Hayford is thanking God for the continued work of pastors such as Pastor David Akpese
Six new converts comprising 3 males and 3 females were baptized by immersion. Please keep them and the Transformation Christian Church in your prayers.
Prayer Points
Kindly pray for the ongoing projects to be brought to a successful completion.
Kindly pray that as the clients grow in numerical strength, many of them will experience the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Kindly pray for upcoming trips to various parts of the Northern regions in June
Kindly keep our Executive Director, Wisdom Nyador, in your prayers as he prepares to visit the US in June.
APRIL 2024 REPORTS
Sampson Darko
God is good and faithful. Efforts are ongoing to start a church at Jumbu No2. Due to some challenges the people were initially hostile to the gospel, however we got a few who made a decision to follow Christ. We need the intervention of God to speak to their hearts. We were able to gather a few of them (pictures attached).
Three people received Christ at Keri and have been baptized.
Pray for my wife for full recovery from her chronic health issues; she is currently in Tamale for treatment.
Pastor Yona Lati
May the Peace of God be multiplied to us all. Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. By the grace of God, the members, leaders and pastors in the district are all doing well.
In the month of April, the following activities were observed in the district:
1. REVIVALS – Chenderi/ Magnendo Zone
The Chenderi zone made up of Magnendo, Lumbuisu, and Namondo met at Chenderi for a five-day revival service. And by the grace of God the program was successful. To the glory of God during this revival, it brought a great spiritual awakening in the zone. During these five (5) days joint revival, four people gave their lives to Jesus Christ and have not been baptized yet and two people re-dedicated their life to Christ.
Borae Central / Ayigbe Akura joint revival
The Borae Church collaboration with Ayigbe Akura zone held a revival service at Borae, under the leadership of Pastor Yonah Lati under the theme "Transformation Conference”. In this joint revival, there was a great spiritual awakening and two people gave their lives to Jesus Christ. They are yet to be baptized.
2. PROJECTS
Borae Central Church building project has reached the stage of plastering, fixing of glass windows, flooring with tiles and painting.
3. PRAYER REQUEST
· We need your prayers that souls won during the Magnendo Zone end-of-month revival will grow and become deeply rooted in Christ Jesus.
· The projects hanging will be brought to completion soon.
Pastor Felix Nsejamese
We give thanks to God for His grace upon us.
In the month of April, we went to Kanjido to show Jesus’ film and by the grace of God the people came out to watch. We are doing follow-up so that we would win more souls.
Aside showing Jesus’ film as a tool for evangelism, I also use the information center where I preach every morning.
Through the information center we won this woman and her family over to Christ and we give God all the glory.
Pastor Paul Lawson
We give glory to God for another merciful month.
A 4-year program of training in sewing has ended successfully where 5 young ladies have received their certificate of completion of apprenticeship.
The program was mentored by the church and the greater joy is the transformation agenda. We are grateful to Madam Rita for the training she gave these ladies and the possibility to open their own businesses and train others.
A sewing machine was given to them besides the funds raised to support them.
The entire community was impressed by the presence and contribution of Ghana Christian Mission (GCM).
Although 20 ladies began training, only the five mentioned successfully completed their training. It is worth mentioning that out of the 20, 12 gave their lives to Christ and 9 of them were baptized.
We thank also all our partners and donors.
May the Almighty bless all of us for a greater harvest.
Pastor Ernest Nyador – Akplale Church
The month of April was very successful.
The grace of God is sufficient for the church and all.
Through the support of donors, we were able to complete the chapel floor tilling project.
We are now plastering inside of the chapel, which is almost complete.
The enthusiasm of everyone is very encouraging.
The ongoing support from Mission Resource to support businesses, is yielding positive results.
Evangelism is being intensified, with two souls won who are pending baptism.
Thanks to all donors for their relentless support.
May God continue to bless you as you continue to be a source of blessing to the world.
Pastor Ernest Yeboah Junior - Yeshua love Christian Church, Garu
Evangelism team train was at Garu, brother Ismael led them in confession and prayer of acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Pastor Bismark Kassata
Praise God, hope grace has found everyone healthy.
The church in Ntrubo area is doing well by grace.
We are thankful to God for the flock He has entrusted into our care.
By grace, we celebrated our children's day as we do every year. Over 50 children joined the occasion with the recital of different Bible verses.
· We therefore request your prayer for the children to grow up with the fear of the Lord and to serve PCC family both home and abroad.
· I request you to pray for two of our members who lost close relatives.
· I request you to kindly pray for the leadership of the Ntrubo Churches to be more committed to the service to the work of God.
Help me to thank God for his mercies upon the life of my children and continue to pray for good health for them.
Finally, pray for me – for almost 3 weeks now, I have been feeling serious pain in my left hand. Medication from the hospital have made no difference.
PASTOR JOHN KPORMEGBE / PASTOR ELISHA MALU
Praise God for being faithful with us throughout the month of April.
I want to use this medium to communicate my gratitude to almighty God for gift of life upon me.
In the month of April, these are the activities that took place:
Our prayer meetings and Bible studies or teachings are ongoing, helping many to renew their faith and also encourage others in their lives.
Also, crusade and evangelism organized to win souls for the kingdom was very fruitful where souls were won and baptized.
Home cells and visitations have been intensified as well.
Project at the church and children ministry are ongoing. Kindly pray that these projects are brought to a successful completion.
PRAYER REQUEST
1. We need your prayer support towards the souls which have been won to grow in the Lord’s house and be rooted and grounded in the Kingdom of God.
2. Pray for spiritual and numerical growth of all the churches in the district
3. Pray for the women fellowship in the district to stand firm in the Lord
4. Pray for GCM staff, donors and sponsors that God will continue to bless them with long life and open more doors for them so they can continue to advance the work of God.
5. Pray for funding for two motorbikes to make transportation during evangelism easier.
Pastor Kingsley Nyindam
God be forever praised. The month was very eventful as the women's fellowship of SAKTTAYEBI held their maiden convention at Saboba. In attendance were more than three hundred women from various churches.
Prayer needs:
· Continue to pray for the Ibubu Church in Togo which is suffering from a very prolonged ban on their church activities. This is affecting the church negatively.
· Continue to pray for the church project at Tatale that the work will go a bit faster.
· Pray for our daughters, Gloria and Jane, who will be writing their final examinations in the WASSC and BECE respectively.
Pastor Paul Akuteye
Easter is traditionally the principal Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ after His crucifixion and is the biggest Christian holiday in April.
Indeed, the Biblical message for the whole of April is “Rejoice for the Lord has risen from death and saved us from sin”.
We observed our monthly revival service from Wednesday, April 24th to Sunday, April 28th, 2024.
On April 21st, 2024, we were able to baptize two of our old members by immersion: Mrs. Christabel Anaman and Mr. Stephen Mensah.
Our evening services have also been well attended than the Sunday morning services.
To God be the glory. The zeal and the love of members for the things of God is phenomenal.
I am very much excited that by the grace of God we have successfully come to the end of another challenging month.
Please kindly pray with us for the completion of our church building.
Your partnership and prayer support over the years is highly appreciated.
Pastor David Addy Akpesey – Transformation Christian Church, Awutu Papaase
Six new converts comprising 3 males and 3 females were baptized by immersion on Sunday, 7th April, 2024.
Pray for these new souls to remain faithful to God and their new faith.
Pray for the financial growth of our church so that we will be able to meet the growing financial expenses of the church.
Mathew Nwedo and Abraham Yahaya
To God be the glory for His sufficient grace and gift of life upon us, our wives, children, and the Chakali communities as a whole. Thanks be to God for His sufficient grace over the life of our brother Danaa Dajiema's recovery.
We are much grateful to the mission for supporting Danaa for over a year by assisting in covering his medical bills because this has really given us a big chance to speak to the people of the community in which he lives. The people of the community give us a listening ear whenever we go for evangelism due to the support given to our brother Danaa Dajiema.
Now, we have persons from Chaggu (the community in which Danaa Dajiema comes from) joining us for prayers on Fridays and Sundays and few have been led to receive Jesus Christ into their lives. We thank God for sharing His love through His word and also an act of kindness which has opened a door to an entire community and people have come to know Christ through that.
By God's grace our church services and weekly activities are ongoing.
Prayer request
Pray for God to continue to strengthen and help our brother Billy (Joseph) to stand firm in his faith and also not go back into alcoholism.
Pray for Dawuda and his household to remain firm in their faith.
Pray for the new converts to remain firm in their faith (some of the new converts are being persecuted by their families for worshiping the living God).
Pray for God's grace and strength over our lives to do His work and win the hearts, minds and souls of the Chakalis for Him.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth about Jesus Christ to the Chakali people as we also send the message to them.
Newman Peni – Nkwanta/Adele
God is still protecting my family and the church. There is calm in the area and Sunday services are being carried out as usual. We still have difficulty freely moving to certain places in the area because of the conflict. This has made work here difficult but we praise God for how far He has brought us. We know He is working out things for our good. May His name be praised that since this conflict started, no church member has been involved in any casualty.
Kindly pray for peace to be restored as the conflict is affecting members of the church.
Pastor Daniel Liwamor
My family and I are most grateful to Almighty God for a healthy life and a peaceful month.
We did not encounter any difficulty throughout the month and we praise His holy name for our lives.
We had our first three days of revival program at Bombari from April 18-20.
The last week of April was spent visiting all members.
Francis Addae
I thank God for helping me to see the end of April 2024 with my family. May His name be glorified.
I am living still dealing with the death of my wife and I need your prayers to comfort me and also strengthen me in the work.
All my children and grandchildren are doing fine and being consoled in the Lord.
The churches and our leaders are doing well. They are working hard by visiting new communities in order to do evangelism and to plant new churches.
Prayer needs:
· Motorbike for visitation to the churches.
· Support for the Salaga church building and other churches worshipping under trees.
Pastor Nicholas Sekyere
Praise be to God for the month of April
I thank God for the lives of my family and myself.
Despite the challenges, I thank God for the opportunity to start a home cell which will greatly help members of the church.
APRIL 2024 CHAPLAINS REPORTS
Pastor Ernest Nyador – Akplale Clinic
Although the month of April was very successful, it came with the usual challenges.
However, God is still in control of every situation.
Normal clinical activities with devotion as usual. OPD cases are improving at a very slow rate.
Some challenges are lateness to work by staff, with patients having to knock on doors of staff in order to be attended to.
I am still of the opinion that we reduce the staff number at the facility. This will generate some seriousness and dedication among the rest.
Thanks to Ghana Christian Mission (GCM) Management for their continuous passion and support for the facility.
Pastor Felix Nsejamese
We give thanks to God for the great things He has done.
By the grace of God, treatment is ongoing and for now the unity among the staff is better.
Evangelism in the clinic is going on so that through medical evangelism, souls are won into the kingdom of God.
This boy is called Richard. He is from Bombare. He had an accident that resulted in the amputation of his leg. He is always happy when he comes to the clinic. This is because he received free clutches from the clinic to aid in his walking after the amputation of his leg. We thank God for how He is using the clinics to touch lives and put smiles on the faces of many.
Pastor Paul Lawson
We give glory to God for another merciful month.
We are still using our presence in the clinic to pray and share the good news.
The youth in the community of Yizesi have decided to support the clinic in terms of some renovation works. The purpose is to make the environment more attractive and work more efficient.
We pray for another successful month.
By Pastor Yeboah Ernest Junior – Fame Clinic, Benwoko
We are grateful to God for His goodness towards us during the month of April. Glory and praises to our Father in Heaven.
Devotions and clinical activities are still ongoing. Staff continue to work as a team, knowing that it is our core responsibility to render good and quality health care to our patients. The good news of Jesus Christ is still being preached to our patients.
We appreciate the continuous supply of medicines. God bless GCM Management team. May more souls be saved through the outreach of Fame Clinic, Benwoko, as we spread the fame of Jesus Christ in Benwoko and beyond.
Pastor Francis Addae – Fame Clinic Makango
Praise be to God for His mercies towards us during the month of April.
We are doing fine in our daily activities and other clinical activities are ongoing. We want to use this opportunity to thank our management for taking care for our needs.
It is our prayer that all the staff will continue to work hard and attend to all patients that come for treatment.
May His name be glorified.
APRIL 2024 FAME BAPTISM REPORTS
Pastor Elisha Mboranan
Eight new converts were baptized by immersion on April 14 2024. Kindly keep them in your prayers. As captured in our earlier reports, this is the baptism we could not perform in March due to the lack of water.
Pastor Matthew Nwedo
To God be the glory – two souls (a husband and wife) have been baptized in Bulenga, one of the unreached people group (Chakali).
Please keep them in your prayers that the good Lord will sustain them for His Kingdom’s purpose and to use them as testimony to bring others to Christ Jesus.
Pastor Ernest Nyador
Mary gave her life to Christ and received baptism by immersion today.
Glory be to God.
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