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HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies
ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422
Page 1 of 7 Original Research
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Author:
Peter White1
Aliaon:
1Department of Religion
Studies, Faculty of Theology
and Religion, University of
Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Research Project Registraon:
Project Leader: N. Niemandt
Project Number: 04317734
Descripon:
Dr White is parcipang in the
research project, ‘Ecodomy’,
directed by Prof. Dr Nelus
Niemandt, Department of
Science of Religion and
Missiology, Faculty of
Theology and Religion,
University of Pretoria.
Corresponding author:
Peter White,
pastor_white@hotmail.com
Dates:
Received: 01 Oct. 2018
Accepted: 09 Feb. 2019
Published: 15 Apr. 2019
How to cite this arcle:
White, P., 2019, ‘Missional
branding: A case study of
the Church of Pentecost’,
HTS Teologiese Studies/
Theological Studies 75(4),
a5278. hps://doi.org/
10.4102/hts.v75i4.5278
Copyright:
© 2019. The Authors.
Licensee: AOSIS. This work
is licensed under the
Creave Commons
Aribuon License.
Introducon
Christian organisations and branding are not in fact at war, nor are they mutually exclusive. Through
the journey of evangelism and social responsibility by the church, significant changes have occurred
in administrative and management culture regarding its brand, which should be seen reflecting in
the church’s own practices. Branding is increasingly considered a contemporary development that
continues to reshape an organisation’s identity (Aaker 1996:70,78). The effective performance of the
church as an organisation depends not only on the available resources but also its brand as required
by the organisation from time to time. Reading the Acts of the Apostles, the church developed a
brand of being Spirit-filled, communal-living and mission-minded (Ac 2:42-47; 4:23-24, 32-37). It
was out of this that early believers in Antioch were called ‘Christians’. The name ‘Christian’ therefore
became a brand name for believers and followers of Jesus Christ (Ac 11:19–26).
The church is regarded as a cohesive organism, which learns to adopt or find better ways of doing
things essentially in response to its environment. The question arises as to what really the church
should do to maintain or to optimise its situation in its environment? Should it focus on its financial
situation, technology or brand? Lyon (2000:76) argues that faith brand building is a key source of
sustainable advantage of the church because of an increasing rate of secularisation making a religious
choice linked to making a choice of supermarkets, cafeteria or ‘consumer items’ that can be purchased.
God identified the Israelites as a unique brand in a foreign land; for this reason one would expect
that the concept of branding would be a major tool for modern-day churches. On the contrary,
church branding has been pushed away from the centre stage of theological discourse, and it is
regarded as undermining and weakening the Christian’s commitment to God and religion. It is
assumed that worshipping the Supreme God does not depend on brand personality, brand
democracy, brand affinity, brand name or logo. However, everything is such a strong force that
hardly anything goes unbranded.
Although there are several publications on branding from the perspectives of marketing and
management (Aaker 1996; Andrivet 2015; Kornberger 2010; Shadel 2014), there is no such
academic research on missional branding, hence this research. This article contributes to the
interdisciplinary discourse on branding and development, with specific reference to the missional
branding of the Church of Pentecost.
I want to emphasise at this point that the purpose of this article is not to project branding ahead
of the missional role of the Holy Spirit and the role of missional discernment of what God is
Branding is a strategy designed by companies to help patrons or consumers quickly identify
their products or organisations and give them a reason to choose their products or organisations
over other competitors. In the Old Testament, God identified the Israelites as a unique brand.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ branded the church with the power of the Holy Spirit,
miracles, signs and wonders. Reading the Acts of the Apostles, the church developed a brand
of being Spirit-filled, communal-living and mission-minded. It was out of this that early
believers in Antioch were called ‘Christians’. The name ‘Christian’ therefore became a brand
name for believers and followers of Jesus Christ. In view of this, one would expect that the
concept of branding would be a major tool for modern-day churches. Although there are
several publications on branding from the perspective of marketing and management, there is
no such academic research on missional branding, hence this research. This article contributes
to the interdisciplinary discourse on branding, with specific reference to the missional branding
of the Church of Pentecost.
Missional branding: A case study
of the Church of Pentecost
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leading the church to do in a particular context. Rather, it
seeks to present missional branding as one of the missional
tools that can help churches in participating in the missio Dei.
Branding dened
The modern word ‘brand’ is derived from the word brandr, a
word from Ancient Norse meaning ‘to burn’.
Branding is the process of giving meaning to a specific
company, products or services by creating and shaping a
brand in consumers’ minds (Shadel 2014). It is a strategy
designed by companies to help people to quickly identify their
products or organisations and give them a reason to choose
their products or organisations over other competitors. On the
most basic level, branding is a phenomenon that links and
reorganises the two fundamental spheres of production and
consumption, which have been separated since the industrial
revolution. It transforms how we manage an organisation’s
identity, its culture and innovation (Kornberger 2010:xi).
Today, branding is a management weapon of choice to
structure the internal functions of organisations (Kornberger
2010:10). Companies tend to use different tools to create and
shape a brand. For example, branding can be achieved
through advertising and communications, product and
packaging design, in-store experience, pricing, sponsoring
and partnerships, as well as the visual identity of the brand
(e.g. logo, website and colours) (Andrivet 2015).
The branding process involves creating a unique name and
image for a product in the consumer’s mind, mainly through
advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding
aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in
the market that attracts and retains loyal customers (Business
Dictionary 2018).
Conceptualising missional branding
Missional branding can be traced as far back as to the period
of the Old Testament when God selected the Israelites as a
unique people on earth. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ
branded the church with the power of the Holy Spirit,
miracles, signs and wonders (Ac 1:8, 2:1–3, 3:1–7, 4:31, 33).
Peter’s statement that:
… you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises
of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light. (1 Pe 2:9)
is a brand statement that has set out Christians as a special
brand in light of other religions.
Missional branding is the process by which churches and
missionary organisations present themselves as a unique
entity with a unique call in their participation in the missio
Dei. This happens through their names, logo, colour branding,
vision and mission statement, leadership structure, sermon
content, style of music, architectural design of their church
buildings as well as the set-up of their worship environment.
Missional branding can also be seen in the call of a church,
missionary organisation or a person to a specific group of
people, region, country or continent. This can be clearly seen
in the call of Apostle Paul to the Gentiles. His missional brand
was therefore focused on the Gentiles (Ac 9:15; Rm 1:5).
Missional branding is necessary when religion is seen as a
product, most especially as worshippers are increasingly
becoming brand conscious. According to Aaker (1996:86–87),
the core identity for a strong brand should be more resistant to
change than elements of extended identity. Thus, the brand
position and communication strategies may change and so
might the extended identity, but the core identity is more
timeless.
This implies that if you get the values and culture of the
organisation right, the brand identity takes care of its self. Core
understanding of Aaker’s (1996:68–87) brand identity can be
said to be the case of the Christian religion and for that matter
the Church of Pentecost, which has become a recognised brand
as far as Classical Pentecostalism in Ghana is concerned.
History of the Church of Pentecost
The beginning of the Church of Pentecost is linked to the
ministry of Pastor James McKeown (1900–1989), an Irish
missionary sent by the Apostolic Church, Bradford, UK, to
the then Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1937 to help a group of
believers of the Apostolic Faith led by one Peter Newman
Anim in a town called Asamankese (The Church of Pentecost
2018c). James McKeown was born on 12 September 1900 in
Glenboig, a village of Lanarkshire in Scotland. His parents
originated from Antrim, Northern Ireland. The McKeowns
relocated to Coatbridge near Glasgow soon after the birth of
James. He left school at the age of 11 to help his father on the
farm. McKeown’s father, who was a member of the
Presbyterian Church in Antrim, became interested in
Pentecostalism, which was new in the UK. He joined the Elim
Pentecostal Church in 1908.
In October 1936, the Missionary Secretary of the Apostolic
Church – UK, Pastor Vivian Wellings, visited Apostle Peter
Newman Anim’s group at Asamankese in the Eastern Region
of Ghana. The visit was to strengthen the relationship
between the Gold Coast Church and the British Apostolic
Church, which eventually led to a permanent missionary,
named James McKeown, sent to the Gold Coast in 1937
(Debrunner 1967:324; Omenyo 2006:94–95). The request for a
missionary was to help Apostle Anim’s group to understand
the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and also to help establish the
Apostolic Church in the Gold Coast. The strong desire by the
Gold Coast Church for a white British missionary was also
probably to gain national recognition at a time the Gold Coast
was under British colonial rule.
Peter Anim’s early association with the Faith Tabernacle
Church, US, convinced him that divine healing was to be
pursued in times of sickness rather than the use of
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medicine. These teachings had been emphasised in his
church. Thus, when McKeown taught otherwise that there
was nothing wrong in seeking medical help from medical
practitioners whilst putting faith in God for healing, there
was strong resistance from the leadership of the Gold Coast
Apostolic Church.
By June 1938, two groups had emerged on doctrinal lines,
Peter Anim’s group with headquarters at Asamankese, who
later in June 1939 officially ended affiliation with the
Apostolic Church and adopted the name Christ Apostolic
Church (CAC), and James McKeown’s group with
headquarters at Winneba, maintaining the name Apostolic
Church, Gold Coast (Asamoah-Gyadu 2005:23).
McKeown continued to serve as a missionary of the UK
Apostolic Church for 15 years before seceding in 1953 to form
his own organisation, the Gold Coast Apostolic Church. He
was aware that the mainline churches westernised their
worship and practices and therefore had very little attraction
for the ordinary people.
McKeown’s strategy was therefore to contextualise the
gospel into the local context and develop a mode of worship
and practices that would attract indigenes who would
eventually lead the church. At the initial stages, the church
experienced slow growth because of language and cultural
barriers. The church began to experience tremendous growth
from the mid-1940s, with the conversion of some literate and
dedicated people who served as his interpreters. By the end
of 1952, 512 local congregations had been established
throughout Ghana, with about 10 000 members and at least
53 ordained African full-time pastors (Larbi 2001:180;
Leonard 1989:28).
McKeown and his wife Sophia moved from Winneba to the
Cape Coast in 1942 and finally to the capital, Accra, in 1948.
In August 1962, McKeown’s church, the Gold Coast Apostolic
Church, was changed to ‘the Church of Pentecost’ (Larbi
2001:210–211).
McKeown administered the affairs of the church with the
help of an Executive Council until 1982 when he retired and
returned to Northern Ireland. He handed over the
Chairmanship to Rev. Steve Fred Safo in 1982.
The regime (1982–1987) of Rev. Steve Fred Safo was an
entirely indigenous Executive Council and General Council.
Rev. Safo died in 1987 and was succeeded in 1988 by Rev.
Martinson Kwadwo Yeboah who retired in 1998 at the age
of 74. He was then succeeded by Apostle Dr Michael Ntumy
(Walker 2010:115). From 2008 to August 2018, the chairmanship
was handled by Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah (Asamoah
Akowuah 2013:23–26). In May 2018, Apostle Eric Kwabena
Nyamekye was elected to succeed Apostle Prof. Onyinah.
The Church of Pentecost currently operates in 99 countries
headed by apostles, prophets, evangelists and senior pastors
throughout the world and about 20 863 local assemblies in
2253 districts. Presently, the global membership of the
church stands at about 3 million, with children constituting
about 988 086. The Church of Pentecost has 130 959 church
officers at all levels and 2386 ordained ministers across the
world. Benin and Cote D’Ivoire are the two autonomous
nations of the church following the massive growth of the
church in those two countries (The Church of Pentecost,
Statistics 2018e).
The missional branding of the
Church of Pentecost
Just as we have multiple senses, a church brand touches
many areas of ministry – greetings, music, website, visuals,
preaching, community interaction with staff and congregation
(Scott-Lundy 2017). Since its inception the Church of
Pentecost branded itself as a church noted for evangelism
followed with miracles, discipleship, well-defined
administrative structure and leadership development (The
Church of Pentecost, Chairman’s Circular 1989 and 1991).
As part of the introductory statement of Apostle Prof. Opoku
Onyinah in the vision for 2018, he wrote:
I particularly want to acknowledge the efforts of Chairman M. K.
Yeboah, who initiated the idea of giving annual themes and
Chairman M.K. Ntumy who did not only formalise the giving of
the annual themes but also introduced vision statements. May
the Lord bless both of them and may their legacies live on
forever. (The Church of Pentecost, Vision 2018, 2014:8)
Apostle Onyinah also acknowledged the structures being put
in place by his predecessors in order to help the church
achieve its missional call (The Church of Pentecost, Vision
2018, 2014:8). Through these approaches, the Church of
Pentecost has branded itself as the first Classical Pentecostal
Church in Ghana with a strategic missional brand. The
following are some of the ways the Church of Pentecost
branded itself for missional purposes.
Brand name: The Church of Pentecost
Name of a product is very important in branding. Therefore,
many brand advocates usually see it as one of the things to
consider when choosing a name for a product or institution.
According to the Business Dictionary (2018), the process of
branding involves creating a unique name and image for a
product or organisation in the mind of patrons and/or
consumers, mainly through advertising campaigns with a
consistent theme.
Since 01 August 1962 when the name of the church was
changed from Ghana Apostolic Church to the Church of
Pentecost, the brand name has really worked for the church
in how Ghanaians accepted it to be a church with a name
linked to the event that happened on the day of Pentecost.
Currently in Ghana, the Church of Pentecost is found in
every community. As of December 2017, the church has
recorded about 20 863 local assemblies in 2253 districts
worldwide (The Church of Pentecost, Statistics 2018e; see
also Onyinah, State of the Church Address May 2, 2018).
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The Church of Pentecost has been branded as a church that
seeks to follow the precepts of the early Church in the Acts of
the Apostles. Their tenets (beliefs) say:
• We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit for believers
with signs following, and also in the operation of the gifts
and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.
• We believe that the healing of sickness and disease is
provided for God’s people in the atonement. The church
is, however, not opposed to soliciting the help of qualified
medical practitioners.
• We believe in the presence of the person of the Holy Spirit
and that the Christian life can be led only with his grace.
The new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit, and then the
baptism of the Holy Spirit for power to serve and the gifts
of the Spirit for building the body of Christ. The Holy
Spirit helps the individual to develop a Christ-like
character, manifest through bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
The leading of the Holy Spirit in all spheres of activity in
the Church is paramount. Administrative structures and
all other church distinctiveness have been by the leading
of the Holy Spirit. The Church, through its leadership at
all levels, cooperates in obedience (The Church of
Pentecost, Tenets and Core Values 2018g).
The above statements have created a clear missional branding
for the church and their congregants. Furthermore, the
Church of Pentecost also designed a logo that reflects their
tenets and core values. According to Walker, the theme song
for their radio and television broadcast, ‘The fire is burning’,
has become a brand since the 1970s, attracting many people
to listen to their radio and television broadcast dubbed as
‘Pentecost Hour’ (Walker 2010:1). In their brand identity,
they emphasise the power of the Holy Spirit, evangelism,
miracles, divine healing, discipleship, church planting and
lay leadership.
Developing church administrave and doctrinal structures
Administration presupposes authority, power and
prerogatives. These are derived from some form of organised
society or association or corporation. Administrative
authority – the right or power to govern and direct – is
inherent in companies, organisations, corporations, federations
or governments. Administration in the Church of Christ is
the exercise of those powers or prerogatives with which one
has been vested by the church (Robbins & Coulter 2002:176;
Rush 2003:17).
As much as planning and management are important aspects
of every successful organisation and brand management, in a
similar way, as the church participates in the missio Dei, it is
essential that we consider planning and management as part
of the missional tools for the management of the various
resources God has given the church (White & Acheampong
2017:1). It involves working constructively with resources
to accomplish organisational goals. According to Means
(2008:350), management relates more closely to the
stewardship of human and capital resources. Management
therefore requires effective and efficient coordination of all
resources through the process of planning, organising,
directing and controlling in order to attain a stated objective.
From a missiological perspective, the Harvestime International
Institute defines church management as a process of
accomplishing God’s purposes and plans through the proper
use of human, material and spiritual resources. According
to them, management is another word for stewardship
(Harvestime International Institute 2001:6).
One of the weaknesses of many of the Pentecostal Churches
in West Africa, and for that matter in Ghana, is the lack of
properly laid down administrative structures and plans for
the management of their churches. However, the same cannot
be said of the Church of Pentecost. From its beginning, the
church leadership put in place administrative structures that
would help the running of the church, leadership succession,
financial policy, liturgy and recruitment. The administrative
structures of the church became formalised in June 1971
(The Church of Pentecost, Constitution 2018b:1) and was
further restructured between 1989 and 1991 through a seven
member committee chaired by Apostle Opoku Onyinah,
the then International Missions Director (Walker 2010:123).
These have helped the church with their missional agenda.
During the past 10 years (2008–2018), under the chairmanship
of Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, the church had massive
progress. In analysing his 10 years vision (2008–2018)
outlined for his tenure as the chairman of the Church of
Pentecost, he reported that:
The Lord added 1,341,656 to the overall worldwide membership
of the church. This brought the worldwide membership of The
Church of Pentecost to 3,037,068 as against 2,995,463 projected in
Vision 2018. This represents a 79% increase to the 2007
membership of 1,695,412. The total number of assemblies at the
end of 2017 stood at 20,863, as against the 2007 figure of 13,418.
These were distributed across 2,253 administrative districts of
the church as against the 2007 figure of 1,284. As of December
2017, The Church of Pentecost operated in 99 countries.
(Onyinah, State of the Church Address May 2, 2018)
The above objectives were achieved through prayer and
prudent administrative and management structures put in
place by the leadership of the church.
Focus on the youth ministry
As the younger generation constitutes a very important part
of every organisation, the Church of Pentecost has branded
its youth ministry to attract young men and women into the
church. According to Larbi, until 1974, there was no
Pentecostal fellowship in any of the institutions of higher
learning in Ghana. The pioneering work of the Pentecostal
Students Association (PENSA) of the Church of Pentecost in
1974 gave rise to the establishment of such fellowships on
various campuses (Larbi 2001:198–200). Currently, almost all
the Classical Pentecostal Churches, and some Neo-Pentecostal
Churches, have their student groups or ministries on various
second cycle (Senior High Schools) and tertiary institutions
in Ghana.
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These groups serve as a means of keeping their youth in the
faith, even as they are away from their local churches. It is
also a point of contact and networking among the youth of
the various churches. The groups are semi-autonomous as
they are allowed to have their own leadership structure and
run their own programmes – both at the local and national
levels. They are, however, required to report to the national
leadership of their mother churches about their activities
(White 2014:213; White & Niemandt 2015:251).
During the school vacation periods, they go on mission and
evangelism outreaches, in conjunction with their mother
churches, either to plant a new church or to strengthen a local
church that is struggling with growth (The Church of
Pentecost, Youth Ministry 2018f.). In terms of ministry and
leadership formation, the youth ministry has also served as a
way of preparing the next generation of leaders for their local
churches. Many times some of the leaders of these groups are
later recruited into Pastoral ministry at the end of their
studies at university and other tertiary institutions.
For example, the current Youth Director of the Church of
Pentecost, Apostle David Nyansah Hayfron, was the
president of the Pentecostal Youth Association of the Church
of Pentecost at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, from 1998 to 2004 whilst
studying for a Bachelor of Pharmacy (and later a Master of
Science in Pharmaceutical Analysis and Quality Control). He
is assisted by elder Amos Kevin Annan (The Church of
Pentecost, Youth Ministry 2018f). In addition to the above
named national leadership, the church also appointed district
youth pastors who are trained and equipped to minister to
the needs of the youth (The Church of Pentecost Chairman’s
Circular 2018a:7).
Although the focus of this study is on the youth ministry, the
Church of Pentecost has also done well in strengthening
other ministries, such as Women’s Ministry, Men’s Ministry,
Children’s Ministry, and Evangelism Ministry. All these
ministries are headed by full time directors appointed by the
Executive Council to plan and administer activities of the
ministries.
Establishment of Pentecost Internaonal Worship Centre
The purpose of every brand is to meet the needs of a targeted
group or community. Apart from the traditional setting for
worship and practices in the Church of Pentecost, the church
initiated the concept of Pentecost International Worship
Centre (PIWC) in 1993 when it realised that the educated
elites and people of the middle- and upper-income classes in
their churches were being attracted to the Neo-Pentecostal
Churches (Larbi 2001:201–204). Bishop Osei-Bonsu (2005) of
the Roman Catholic Church of Ghana also expressed the
same sentiment when he said that:
… the boring and uninspiring nature of Christian worship in the
mainline churches is one of the reasons why some Christians are
leaving the mainline churches in Ghana to join Pentecostal
churches. (p. 14)
In this regard, Marais (2014) opines that churches have to
study their demography and react to it in order to be relevant
to the communities they serve. Local congregations are
therefore compelled to step out of their comfort zones and
cross boundaries for the sake of the mission of God (World
Council of Churches 2013:67).
According to the World Council of Churches (2013):
While cherishing the unity of the Spirit in the one Church, it is
also important to honour the ways in which each local
congregation is led by the Spirit to respond to their contextual
realities. Today’s changed world calls for local congregations to
take new initiatives. For example, in the secularizing global
north, new forms of contextual mission, such as new monasticism,
emerging church, and fresh expressions, have re-defined and re-
vitalized churches. Exploring contextual ways of being church
can be particularly relevant to young people. Some churches in
the global north now meet in pubs, coffee houses, or converted
movie theatres. Engaging with church life online is an attractive
option for young people thinking in a non-linear, visual, and
experiential way. (p. 66)
In 1993, Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah, the then International
Mission Director of the Church, proposed that the English
assemblies of the Church of Pentecost be named International
Worship Centre. The name ‘International Worship Centre’
was later changed to Pentecost International Worship Centre
(PIWC) in 1994 by the Executive Council of the Church to
make the centre more effective and truly resemble a church
that accommodates nationalities from various cultural
backgrounds (Asamoah Akowuah 2013:63).
The purpose for the establishment of the PIWCs was,
firstly, to provide a well-organised, cross-cultural church,
primarily for people of non-Ghanaian cultural background
(expatriates), who want a place to worship God. Secondly, it
was established for Ghanaian Christians who prefer to
worship in English or in a multi-cultural environment
(The Church of Pentecost, Vision 2018, 2014:14, 75). The
action of the leadership of Church of Pentecost in response
to the younger generation and professionals in bringing
on board the PIWC is what Aaker (1996:141–142) refers to
as ‘brand personalities’. According to him, the brand
personalities are a set of people associated with a given
brand. Thus, it includes such characteristics as gender, age,
education and socio-economic class. Missiologically, the
PIWC concept has helped the Church of Pentecost to attract
and maintain many of their youth as well as professionals.
The PIWCs are fast growing and have branches in various
parts of Ghana and internationally.
Recruitment of young graduates into full-me ministry
Many young people are eager to make good use of every
opportunity that comes their way (Dean 2004:6). They are
naturally passionate because they are open and willing to
give their all for a cause. Therefore, the church should make
room for them to do what they do best (Dean 2001:65, 67).
Youth are an important resource for the development of
nations and organisations. They are the future leaders who
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need grooming and opportunities to develop their potential
and capacities to take on future leadership responsibilities.
In the Bible, we read of people like Joshua being groomed by
Moses, and Timothy and Titus being mentored by Apostle
Paul. In a similar way, the Church of Pentecost has made it a
point to groom young people through their youth ministry
and at various levels. The purpose of this approach is to
develop the next generation of leaders for the church.
According to Vision 2018 of the Church of Pentecost (2014:26):
‘Apostles/prophets will be strengthened to coach pastors
and elders and mentor young prospective upcoming leaders’.
As a matter of policy, the Church of Pentecost has focused on
the recruitment of young graduates and professionals into
full-time ministry as well as leadership positions in the church.
This approach to pastoral recruitment has brought into the
church some form of momentum and fervency, particularly
among the youth of the church. Many of these young pastors
are assigned to serve as pastors at the PIWCs and others are
appointed as Youth Pastors for their campus ministry. This
approach has helped the church to strengthen and maintain
young people and professionals in the church. It has also
helped them to manage the generational gap in the church.
Church building and the community-based church
building project
Planting of churches in major towns and cities in either a
rented apartment or temporary place of worship with the
needed basic instruments is part of the missional branding of
the Church of Pentecost. For the past 5 years, the church has
made it a point to move all their classroom churches to either
permanent or temporal places of worship.
Apart from the issues of place of worship, visibility and
accessibility to the place of worship are one of the tools that
are currently being used by the Church of Pentecost in its
church planting. This approach has therefore enhanced soul
winning and numerical growth of the church. The church has
also embarked on what it calls the ‘community-based church
building project’. This project aims at building befitting
places of worship for communities where the Church of
Pentecost has been planted but do not have permanent places
of worship. The project is being sponsored by the national
headquarters of the church and with support from benevolent
individuals from the church (The Church of Pentecost, Vision
2018; 2014:13, 49–50).
With regard to infrastructure development in Ghana, the
church currently has 2333 completed auditoriums, 5270
uncompleted church buildings and 593 rented and free
premises of worship. It has also constructed more than 1152
ministers’ residences, with 185 of them yet to be completed.
In addition, 124 of the ministers presently stay in free and
rented apartments (The Church of Pentecost, Statistics 2018e).
Corporate social responsibilies
Transformation of people and society is a core component of
mission. This was reflected in Jesus’ statement:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to
set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
(Lk 4:18–19)
In Acts 10:38, we read that Jesus went about doing good and
healing all who were under the power of the devil, because
God was with him. Both Luke 4:18–19 and Acts 10:38 are
evidence that the Holy Spirit was given to the church for the
healing of people and society, and this in turn transforms
society (White 2018:133). The mission of the church is not
only to preach the gospel but also to be concerned about the
welfare of the people within and outside the church.
The church is called to service (diakonia) in every geopolitical
and socio-economic context; living out the faith and hope of
the community of God’s people, and witnessing to what God
has done in Jesus Christ. Through service the church
participates in God’s mission (White 2018:136).
The church’s quest to provide education, health facilities,
relief services and to address socio-economic needs among
its members and the communities in which it operates led to
the formation of the Pentecost Welfare Association
(PENTWAS) in 1980. The name was later changed to
Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS), and registered with the
Department of Social Welfare and the Association of Private
Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) in 2000. PENTSOS has a
directorate led by an Executive Director who co-ordinates
and supervises its five departments. PENTSOS is charged
with the following responsibilities: Disaster Prevention and
Relief Services, Economic Empowerment, Education Support
Schemes and Health Services, among others (The Church of
Pentecost, General Administration 2018d).
The church has also established the following: Pentecost
University College, Pentecost Convention Centre (the biggest
and the finest all-purpose conference destination centre in
Ghana), Pentecost Press Limited, Pentecost Hospital in Accra
and other clinics across Ghana, about 100 educational
facilities, Pentecost Television Station (Pent TV), Pentecost
Theological Seminary (PTS), among many others, all in an
effort to give back to society and disseminate the gospel of
Christ in a holistic manner to the unreached (The Church of
Pentecost, Statistics 2018e).
With the above-mentioned social interventions, the Church
of Pentecost has branded itself as a church that is not only
concerned with the spiritual and social needs of their
members and the communities within which they operate.
They have also shown that they are concerned with the total
well-being of the people they come in contact with.
Conclusion
This article discusses branding from a missional perspective
by using the Church of Pentecost as a case study. It was noted
that branding is very important for every commodity and
Page 7 of 7 Original Research
hp://www.hts.org.za Open Access
organisation. Therefore, the church is not an exception. The
article unearthed how the Church of Pentecost missionally
branded itself to take advantage of its context of missional
activities.
The article started with a definition of branding, missional
branding, brief history of the Church of Pentecost and
concluded with the missional branding of the Church of
Pentecost. The article concludes that the Church of
Pentecost since its inception branded itself as a church
noted for evangelism followed with miracles, discipleship,
well-defined administrative structures and leadership
development. As a result, their missional branding has
helped them in their church growth and church planting,
both in Ghana and internationally.
Among the Pentecostal Churches in Ghana, the Church of
Pentecost is a very strong brand as compared to other churches.
Acknowledgements
Compeng interests
The author declares that he has no financial or personal
relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced him
in writing this article.
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