Ghana

Ghana Mission Network

By Peter C. de Vries

The Ghana Mission Network is a gathering of Presbyterian congregations, presbyteries, organizations and individuals who engage in mission in Ghana or who work with our partner denominations: the Presbyterian Church, Ghana and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana.  The overall purpose of the network is to share experience and expertise in order to enable each partnership to be more effective in its efforts. 

In July 2007, the network organized a four-day partnership meeting at the Presbyterian Women's Centre in Abokobi, on the outskirts of the capital city of Accra. The 60 delegates (20 from each of the three participating denominations) addressed the theme "Growing in Partnership: Facing the Challenges." Planning and leadership for the meeting was shared as equally as possible among the three denominations, but because of disparity in financial resources, the PC(USA) participants covered the majority of the expenses.

The purpose for the meeting was to strengthen our partnership relationships by learning from each other and considering ways that we can work together on issues that affect us all. On the morning of the first full day of the meeting, participants divided into two groups to discuss men's and women's issues in our two countries and to learn from our commonalities and differences about how to address these issues more effectively. In the afternoon, the two groups shared their learnings with the group as a whole. During the morning of the next day we held small group meetings to address eight issues that are most pertinent to our work together. In the afternoon, each small group reported to the entire group. The purpose was not to set policy, but to identify ways in which our various partnership relationships can address these issues more effectively. During the October 2007 World Mission Celebration in Louisville, Ky., we met to consider ways in which the insights gained at the partnership meeting can inform our continuing work together.

We continue to discover the benefits from this collaborative effort. For example, the two Ghanaian Presbyterian denominations were able to identify issues of common concern, which they are now addressing cooperatively. U.S. Presbyterians were able to deepen their understanding of the issues that they seek to address more effectively.

See pictures from the meeting in Ghana.