Thanksgiving and Evangelism in Ducie

Preaching the gospel is the commission Jesus Christ gave to His followers. But the big question is, “How?” How can we preach the Gospel with power, especially today? Times and things my change, but the message remains the same. We are commanded by our Leader of Salvation to “go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people” (Mark 16:15, GNB).

Evangelism in Ducie

The people of Ducie are part of the Chakali tribe in the northern part of Ghana, precisely in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region. They place much prominence when it comes to funeral services in the church.

A year ago the church in Ducie lost a member by the name of Joshua Pente after a short illness. The family marked the final funeral rites, inviting relatives and loved ones from other communities to come and help them. They informed the church, and we planned to have a thanksgiving service in remembrance of him. We also used the opportunity to do evangelism in the community. We spent three days in the community, from 25th September to 27th September 2020 (Friday to Sunday).

With my team of young emerging leaders we prayed a lot before we went to Ducie. We prayed especially for God to open more doors of opportunities for the advancement of the Gospel. There were also representatives from all our churches to help in one way or the other. In the village we put ourselves into groups to move from house to house to share the Gospel. This was effective because the groups were able to answer questions privately. It was a learning experience for these young men I am training.

The “JESUS” Film continues to be one of the best tools in evangelizing a village, and we showed it without any hindrance. People gathered in numbers—the old, young, men, women, and mostly children—to watch this movie in their own dialect. Fifteen adults—11 women and 4 men—accepted Christ as their personal Savior, and for children they were uncountable.

Many also came to me in secret because of family pressure, and I took the time to share Christ with them, trusting the Lord to reveal His will for them. I intend to consistently do follow ups to help these people who yearn to know the Lord.

Thanksgiving Service After we went round the whole village house to house to share the gospel and showed the “JESUS” Film, we had a remarkable church service in the community on the third day. Our church building would not have contained us. The community folks told me they never had such a church service for some years now. We used the community grounds mostly used for all gatherings to have our church service. A big tree is in the middle of the village with shade and was able to provide shelter for everyone. The seating available was not enough for everybody; people had to sit on rocks and others on their feet throughout the church service. Some came with their own stools and chairs from home just to take part in church. The community is characterized by rocks, and these rocks serve as seats when there is a gathering of this sort.

I preached on the theme “Hope in Heaven,” and many lives were touched. The Member of Parliament for the area, Mr. Godfred Bayon Tangu, who is highly respected, was in the service throughout. He is from the Ducie community. We took a special offering, and many donations were made to the departed family. The Member of Parliament also used the opportunity to preach peace during the coming elections and positive coexistence between the Islamic and Christian communities in Ducie.

To me, preaching the Gospel is the most imperative work on the face of the earth. Thus, it is critical that we, as Christians, know how we bring the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to every place of the world. While this might be a difficult task, Jesus expects His people to do their best. As long as we do our part, God will give the increase of our labor (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). I have been telling church members, especially those that I am training, that evangelizing or preaching the Gospel is not optional. It is an obligatory responsibility of every Christian. It is not something that we only do when we feel like it. Our lives should be a living testimony of what the Gospel is about. The words of the Apostle Paul must echo in the inmost places of our mind: “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16).