COVID-19 Appeal - February 2021 Update

Your gifts to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal are making a difference...all over the world

When we launched this Appeal almost a year ago, none of us could have grasped what the devasting effects upon the global community would be with almost two million dead and economies devastated. Vaccines provide a glimmer of hope, but we know it will be a long time before large parts of the world can access them.

The Outreach Foundation is grateful for your faithful generosity over these past months as your gifts of over $277,000 have allowed us to respond to urgent needs in 23 countries: Iraq, Syria, Ghana, Rwanda, China, Cuba, Venezuela and so many more. These gifts have provided food relief, tuition help for seminarians so that their studies could continue, salary support for pastors in impoverished villages, and refugee relief for those whose lives were already being lived on the edge of calamity. The Global Church has used these gifts to shine the Light of Christ upon those who might not yet know of him and to encourage the faithful to “hold on.”

Akrofi-Christaller Institute - June 2020 Update

Warm greetings from Akrofi-Christaller Institute (ACI) in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We hope that in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of you are doing well and keeping safe. We pray that our good and ever-faithful God will preserve and sustain you in these difficult times. It was heartwarming to see Jeff Ritchie leading an Outreach Foundation group to visit ACI last February, pictured above. This letter is to update you on how we are coping with the challenges imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

We have been closed since March 16 when the government of Ghana directed all educational institutions to close. Our international students, however, remain on campus. We have managed, ahead of schedule, to transition to online teaching. We have continued to supervise research students who are writing their project essays and dissertations during this period. We have had to postpone our annual doctoral seminar even though we are in the process of working out how to conduct graduate seminars online. We have conducted one faculty-led online seminar. Our face to face continuing education programs have had to be suspended and that, together with our inability to generate support from our partner congregations (because they cannot meet), has had an impact on our finances. We are currently working on how we can move our continuing education programs online.

Africa, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationJune 25, 2020Akrofi-Christaller Institute, Ghana

Northern Outreach and New Church Development in Ghana - February 2020 Update

Celebrating a Decade of Growth in Ghana

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana had its origins 191 years ago when Swiss Reformed missionaries started working in what used to be called the Gold Coast. With close to one million members, it continues to live out its missionary vocation through the establishment of Presbyteries to serve Ghanaian communities in many different locations.

The Outreach Foundation has had the privilege of walking alongside the Upper Presbytery since it was first established by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in November 2010. We rejoice over their ongoing faithfulness to Christ and Christ's work as they prepare to celebrate their tenth anniversary. During this time, they have added more than ten thousand new members to their rolls, which represents approximately one thousand new members a year!

Developing South-South Mission Partnerships - Update

Dear friends,

What follows is adapted from an article by Rev. Mario Gois, who is a minister of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB, by its initials in Portuguese). It appeared in the latest issue of “O Estandarte” (“The Beacon”) which is the official monthly publication of the denomination. The IPIB is the partner church of The Outreach Foundation in the country.

It was a true pleasure to lead the trip and to see how God’s people in both Brazil and Ghana continue to strengthen their relationships in mission. Because of the trip, the youth at one of the Brazilian congregations have raised support to help fund the education of Ghanaian lay leaders. Outreach’s South to South efforts are avenues through which new global initiatives and collaborations can be initiated and expanded. I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did!

Northern Outreach and New Church Development in Northern Ghana - March 2018 Update

“They are at the heart of all we do at our presbytery!”

In an unambiguous way Rev. Emmanuel Atami, chairperson of the Upper Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, described the importance of their 182 catechists, evangelists and caretakers (untrained catechists). Because the presbytery has 25 ordained pastors, 82 congregations, and 92 preaching points, the role that these dedicated volunteers play is of vital importance.

Located close to the borders with Burkina Faso, Togo and Ivory Coast, the northern part of Ghana is usually seen as the Muslim region of the country, although it is also home to a variety of traditional religions and a growing Christian community. The Presbyterian Church of Ghana lives into its call by equipping and commissioning as many people as possible to serve as leaders.

Partner Updates