Features
The Pentecost Church in Finland
Last week, the 27th Pentecostal World Conference was held in Helsinki, Finland, from June 4-7, 2025. The Conference featured powerful and anointed speakers in thought-provoking sessions designed to ignite the passion for evangelism, mission, and discipleship. It was organised by the Pentecostal Church of Finland, and the Pentecostal World Fellowship, among others.
The conference was climaxed with a church service last week Sunday (June 7, 2025) in Helsinki. The church service was led by the Global Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye. Attended by many pastors and church leaders from Ghana and other parts of Europe, it was hosted by the Church of Pentecost Finland (COP Finland), led by its National Head, Apostle Francis Owusu Kwaah.
Also in attendance were Apostle and Mrs Gordon Opoku-Boakye, Pastor Samuel Awugya of COP Darkuman (Accra), as well Rev. and Mrs. Daniel Sey, of the COP in Dansoman, Accra.
A Powerful and inspiring ministration
Organised under the theme, “Unleashed to live a life worthy of your calling”, the church service was indeed an unforgettable experience, attended by many worshippers in an occasion of powerful worship and ministration with spirit-filled songs of praise.
Apostle Nyamekye preached a powerful message on a topic from 1 Thessalonians 5: 19, where Paul exhorts the Thessalonians: “Do not put out the (Holy) Spirit’s fire”, which was also undoubtedly significant as last Sunday marked Pentecost Day, when the Holy Ghost filled the Apostles in the Bible.
The COP Chairman sermonised on the significance of that quotation, about the fact that without the (Holy) Spirit’s fire, we would live in darkness. It is extremely difficult to achieve holiness without the Spirit’s power, he said.
He sermonised further: “Now it is important to note that the purpose of the coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord, is to rescue us from our enemies, that we would be able to serve him without fear, in holiness and in righteousness all the days of our lives”, quoting Luke 1:74 & 75.
In Christianity, the church’s goal therefore is to become a beautiful and a perfect new society brought into existence by God himself, the anticipated perfection of the church is a moral perfection expressed in a visible holiness, he pointed out. The Church of Pentecost, he said, strives to be one whose members uphold values and lead lifestyles that should turn others to God.
Growth of the Church of Pentecost in Finland
Apostle Nyamekye said currently the Church of Pentecost is found in 190 nations with over four million members worldwide. He expressed gratitude and the excitement that members are committed to the Church of Pentecost, even in the diaspora, praying it will continue to multiply in the service of God.
The Church of Pentecost in Finland was established over 20 years ago. It started in September 2000 as a prayer group with a small number of devoted persons in Helsinki (see www.copfinland.fi).
The Church has grown and spread to other cities and towns in Finland, with two branches in Helsinki alone— the Akan Assembly where worship is done mostly in the Twi language and the other branch is the English Assembly (or the PIWC) which is attended by other nationalities and African immigrants, aside Ghanaian immigrants.
In a short interview, Apostle Nyamekye noted that in 21 years of the church’s existence in Finland, there has been increase in its membership, including ministers, deacons, and other leaders of the church.
Apostle Nyamekye revealed that during the Conference in Helsinki the church leaders also had an important meeting with the Finnish Pentecostal Council in order to be affiliated with them.
In 2013, the COP Finland had Apostle Edmund Appiah as its National Head and saw growth during this term, including re-organising the Vaasa branch. The growth has continued under Apostle Francis Owusu Kwaah, who took over from Apostle Appiah as the National Head of the Church in Finland around 2020.
Integration
Let us do reverse mission, for God has not brought us here in the diaspora for nothing. He has brought us here so that we can also knock on the doors of those (from Europe) who brought the Gospel to us (in Africa). “We are not here only for greener pastures. We are here for a purpose. Beyond work, we must know that there is a divine agenda for all of us”, he pointed out.
He exhorted members, especially the youth of the church to learn and sing Finnish songs during church services. “The church is in Finland; let’s balance things”, he said. Apostle Nyamekye encouraged the closing prayer to be said in Finnish by a Finnish woman who rose up to the occasion.
This is significant in the sense of integration efforts, and portrays the COP Chairman as supporting integration efforts by Finnish authorities and institutions. As I have been pointing out, Finland encourages efforts to integrate migrants into the host Finnish society through migrants’ own participation as one of the efficient ways to improve their inclusion.
Indeed, COP Finland has been one of the major channels for integration, also enabling the Ghana Union Finland (GUF), an association for Ghanaian immigrants in Finland, to make more contacts with members of the Ghanaian immigrant community. Thank you!
Email: perpetual.crentsil@yahoo. com
By Perpetual Crentsil
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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