Pray for Good News Theological College and Seminary in Accra, Ghana

August 2010 Prayer Requests

  1. Pray for Rev. Dr. Thomas Oduro as he leads and for all those attending the conference of the West African Association of Theological Institutions August 2-7, taking place in the Volta region of Ghana.  Most have traveled by road to be there.  Pray for safe travel.
  2. Pray for the Board of Governors of GNTCS as they meet in mid-August to consider making some important changes in the constitution.
  3. Continue to pray for the requests as presented in July.

July 2010 Prayer Requests

  1. Pray for the recruiting efforts of staff seeking to attract the right students to GNTCS.
  2. Pray for the resources to allow for the purchase of several new computers.  These will be necessary for meeting requirements of the accreditation board.
  3. Pray for the needs relating to faculty support, acquisition of books by African writers, and for scholarships. 
  4. Thank you for praying for Nicholas Kwakye.  His health has improved but sickle cell anemia is a disease that reoccurs regularly so he needs continued prayer.
  5. Continue to pray for the Akogyeram family.  Humphrey had to privilege of returning from the states to be with his family but will be leaving again to return to seminary in Philadelphia in August.  Pray also for those who have assumed the responsibility for teaching Humphrey's classes in his absence.
  6. Pray for the wife of a staff member who has multiple physical problems and is facing difficult decisions involving surgery.

April 2010 Prayer Requests

Accreditation

The seminary was accredited by the National Accreditation Board in 2008. Please pray for the faculty and staff as they prepare for a review of the accreditation status in March, 2011.

Staff and Faculty

  1. Pray for the health of Staff, Faculty and their dependents.  Thank you for praying for Nicholas Kwakye whose health has stabilized.
  2. Pray for Humphrey Akogyeram who is studying at a seminary in Philadelphia, PA. Pray for Mary (his wife) and the children as they endure the emotional challenges of separation.
  3. Pray for staff and faculty as they work under very difficult financial conditions. Pray for those who should contribute to the Staff/Faculty salary enhancement fund.
  4. Please pray for the Gadasu family as the surgery for Esi, wife of Matthew Gadasu (GN accountant), has been delayed. A new disease has been diagnosed and fear is beginning to grip Esi.

Students & Alumni/ae

  1. Many students have not paid fees; some have dropped out. Please pray for God to touch hearts to provide more scholarships for students.
  2. Pray for some students who still need to have a clear idea of their future ministries.
  3. Pray for students and alumni who seldom own personal tools of ministry. They need Bible dictionaries, commentaries, Bible atlases, concordances, and other textbooks. EWI will provide as resources allow.

Library

  1. Praise God for a friend of the seminary who donated a metal card catalogue to be used at the library.
  2. Pray for resources to allow for the purchase of two desk-top computers to enhance the cataloguing process and search for books.
  3. Pray for completion of the cataloguing of the backlog of books remaining to be done.

Enhancement of Ministries.

  1. Pray for the planning that is taking place to open city campuses, external education centers, and sandwich courses. Please pray for a successful strategy.
  2. Please pray for God’s direction and choice in the process of employing an Institutional Enhancement Officer.
  3. Pray for the running of leadership seminars for African Independent Church leaders.

Administration

  1. The constitution of the seminary is being reviewed. Please pray for the review team.
  2. New Board members are soon to be elected; Please pray for God’s direction.
  3. Praise God for African Independent Churches that support the seminary.
  4. Pray for greater commitment on the part of the African Independent Churches.

Infrastructure Development.

  1. Please pray for the full completion of the Erma Grove Female Dormitory. It is 75% complete.
  2. The computer lab has only 4 computers. At least 20 computers are required to meet the needs of users. Please pray about how you can help.

Research and Publication

  1. The publication of the Journal of African Instituted Church Theology has been put on hold due to lack of funds. There are scripts ready but we need $1,200.00 to resume the publication.
  2. Pray to God to touch hearts to donate to a Research Fund for Faculty. $1,000.00 would be sufficient as seed money for the fund.
  3. Please pray for the taking off of the proposed AIC Research Centre.
    1. The employment of a Centre librarian.
    2. Collection of books, articles, paraphernalia, etc. of African Independent Churches.
    3. One desk-top Computer for documentation and reference.
    4. Making of bookshelves.

Partners

  1. Praise God with us for touching hearts (individuals and institutions) to provide the needs of the seminary.
  2. Praise God for those who pray for the seminary and those who project the image of the seminary.
  3. Praise God for traveling mercies and effective ministries of short-term missionaries.

October 2009 Prayer Requests

1.  Continue to pray for Nicholas Kwakye, the General Services Officer, suffering from sickle cell anemia.  At times he is better but has had at least three additional crises since August.

2.  GNTCS is still enrolling students for the school year.  Pray that those who should be there will find the way and means to attend.  Pray also for the new week-end part time program.

3.  Continue to pray for Humphrey Akogyeram, enrolled in seminary in Philadelphia, and for his family as they remain in Ghana without him for a two year period.

4.Pray for the two new lecturers hired to replace the absent professors and for all as they have very heavy teaching and administrative loads.

5. GNTCS gives thanks for the fact that Viking Dietrich and his family received their work permit and have arrived and are settling in to life in Ghana. 

6.  Pray for the work at the Abuja, Nigeria campus of GNTCS.  Dr. Oduro reported that the teaching session in which he participated in August went very well but he asks for prayer as he prepares to go again during the first two weeks of November.

7.  Continue to pray for the wife of the school accountant who needs to have surgery in October.  The family must raise US$400 in order for the surgery to take place.

 8.  More than 100 African Indigenous Church (AIC) pastors from Ghana and Nigeria took part in the September conference held in Accra.  Praise God for a successful conference and for the safe return of all participants in spite of tiresome and dangerous travel by road.

August 2009 Prayer Requests

Special request:   GNTCS needs a qualified librarian in order to be in compliance with the requirements of accreditation.  Pray for the resources to hire someone or for a volunteer willing to serve the seminary for a period of three months or more.

From the Principal:  "Please pray with us over the following topics"

1. Nicholas Kwakye, the General Services Officer, has sickle cell anemia. He has been having some crises of late. Cold weather is not a good time for those having this disease. The weather from July to August is usually cold - though not equivalent to Minnesota. Please pray for him.

2. We are in the process of enrolling students into the 2009/2010 academic year. Thirty-three prospective students have inquired. Please pray with us and the applicants as they are preparing to take a life-time decision.

3. Humphrey Akogyeram is scheduled to begin a two-year Master of Theology course at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. He has got a student's visa and awaiting a ticket from the ELCA. He would leave Ghana during the last week of August. Please pray with him as he prepares to leave. Pray also for Mary and the kids as they prepare to undergo the emotional pain of separating from a husband and father. Praise the Lord with us also for the opportunity.

4. With the absence of Humphrey and insufficient funds to employ new Faculty members, the Faculty is obviously headed for heavy teaching schedules. Please pray for endurance as the Faculty shares the teaching load of Humphrey. He has been teaching - Old Testament, New Testament, Christian Ethics, Peace & Conflict Resolution, and Homiletics.

5. Humphrey has also been the Registrar, and Chairperson of the Film Outreach Ministry, and Scholarship Administration. Please pray with us as we search for people to fill these unpaid positions.

6. The seminary has applied for Work Permit for Dick and Caroline Seed, missionaries of The Church Mission Society (CMS) to teach as from September 2009.  The Immigrant Quota Committee of the Ministry of Interior will meet at the end of July to decide on the application. Please pray with us for approval of the application. When approved, Dick will be assigned to work with the Ghana Chapter of the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), whilst Caroline will be teaching at the seminary.  Plans are being made by the CMS to have the Seeds, who have been living in the UK, to leave for Nairobi, Kenya in August to have some orientation on how to work with AICs before proceeding to Ghana, should the application be approved.

7. Another Work Permit application has been put in for Viking Dietrich, the West African Program Director for the ELCA. When approved, Viking and his family will settle in Ghana. The kids of Viking need to continue their education in Ghana in mid-August 2009. Any delay in the approval will affect the continuity of the kids' education. Please pray with us.

8. Thomas Oduro is scheduled to leave Ghana for Abuja on 9th August 2009. He will be teaching at the Second Session of the Abuja Campus (10-21 August 2009). Please pray with him as he prepares his teaching notes. Please pray also for the students and other teachers of the Campus.

9. Esi, the wife of Matthew Afrikadzata Gadasu, the Accountant, is scheduled for surgery to remove a Fibroid in October 2009. Please pray with the Gadasu family.

10. Praise God with us for the completion of the temporary library. Expect pictures soon. Please pray with us - we have engaged some students to move books to the new building.

11. Please pray  for the success of a scheduled OAIC Conference in Accra (10-13 September 2009). Some AIC leaders from Nigeria and Ghana will participate in the Conference.

April 2009 concerns —

  • Progress continues on the temporary library but much remains to be done.  Pray that work can be completed soon to allow for occupation of at least part of the facility.  
  • Pray that funding for the school will continue in spite of the current difficult economic situation.
  • Pray for the provision of scholarships. Many students, clearly called to ministry, apply to the school but cannot be admitted without financial aid that is not currently available. 
  • Pray for Rev. Dr. Thomas Oduro, Principal, and all administration, faculty and staff as they have many responsibilities both on and off campus.
  • Pray for the film outreach ministry of the school and for the people in surrounding towns and villages who have either committed their lives to Christ or made a recommitment to serve Him faithfully.Drawing of the proposed permanent library 2009 
  • Praise God for the organization that provided funds for completion of the Women's dorm.
  • Pray for funding to allow for the construction of a permanent library and administration building.  Faculty offices, space for a computer lab, and a much expanded library and reference area are badly needed.